Bomb threats in Hungary taken seriously ahead of elections

The Hungarian newspaper, Nepszabadsag, brought shocking news on Tuesday. A foreign grouping is planning a series of explosions in the running up period to the general elections, scheduled for April 9th and 23rd. The news was confirmed by Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany; the Slovak Intelligence Service (SIS) had issued a warning to Hungary's National Security Office. But in whose interest is it to set off explosions in Hungary?

Security expert and Regional Director of the United States Council for emerging national security affairs, Sebestyen Gorka:

"The question is in whose interest it would be to take such action. What we do know is that there have been several cases, since the fall of Communism in the region, amongst organised crime groups, where 'hit men' have been hired in Slovakia for use in Hungary in fights between organised crime groups. We also know that political violence or terrorism has been used by organised crime groups to put pressure on the Hungarian government.

"The placing of a bomb behind the Hungarian Parliament ten years ago is a good example, when an organised crime group wished to pressure the government into extraditing a Serbian hit man back to Serbia. These are many possible scenarios. I would probably look to organised crime as perhaps the explanation here."