Tuesday 28th April 2009
Irish Examiner
THE Government is facing demands for an investigation into the employment of right wing eastern European paramilitaries as security guards at Shell construction sites in Co Mayo.
It has emerged that members of the Szekler Legion, a paramilitary group which recruits among young ethnic Hungarians in Romania, have worked as security guards at the Shell Corrib Gas Project construction sites in recent months.
Among them the Szekler Legions leader 32-year-old Romanian Hungarian Tibor Revesz who worked for Integrated Risk Management Security (I-RMS) at the Mayo sites. There are indications other Szekler Legion members have worked in Ireland, with the organisations internet site selling patches associated with the Corrib project.
One patch, with a skull and Celtic motif carries the slogan OSS Operation Solitaire Shield 2008 Corrib Gas Project, believed to refer to the Solitaire ship which was to be used for pipe-laying at the site.
The Szekler Legion have been implicated in violent incidents in Romania. The group openly promotes neo-fascism and race hate.
Among the Szekler Legions members were Magyarosi Arpak and Elot Toazo. Arpak, 28, was shot dead by Bolivian security forces alongside Tipperary native Michael Dwyer, 24 in Bolivia. In the same operation Toazo was arrested.
The Bolivian government has accused the Tipperary man and his companions of planning terrorist attacks, including the assassination of the countrys socialist President Evo Morales. The gangs leader Eduardo Rozsa Flores, 48, was also killed in the raid. Flores was a neo-fascist activist and an honorary member of the Szekler Legion.
I-RMS refused to comment on whether they had knowingly employed members of the Szekler Legion. The company did state that Michael Dwyer worked for them until October 2008.
Sinn Féin Foreign Affairs spokesman Aengus Ó Snodaigh wants an urgent state investigation into what these extremists have been doing in Mayo and whether proper security checks have been followed.
He added: If they are issuing patches for so-called operations in Ireland it is a very serious development.
A postmortem was carried out on Michael Dwyers body yesterday following its return from Bolivia last Friday. His body is expected to be buried later this week.
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RELATED ARTICLE
Sunday May 3, 2009
IRISH NEWS OF THE WORLD
NEO-NAZI TRIBUTE AFTER DWYER’S FUNERAL
5 skinheads in graveside honour guard
EXCLUSIVE BY STEPHEN BREEN
NEO-NAZI thugs staged a secret sick tribute to military fanatic Michael Dwyer.
Five skinheads formed a guard of honour at the Tipperary man’s grave in Tullyglass cemetery just a few hours after he was buried last Thursday.
A Garda source said they were members of Hungarian right-wing group, the Szekler Legion.
Cops believe Dwyer forged links with the fascist group on the internet before flying to Bolivia to take a security job.
The 24-year-old was shot dead by Bolivian government troops at a hotel in Santa Cruz on April 16.
The extremists fled from his graveside after they were spotted by a man who tried to take a picture of them on his mobile phone.
Salute
The witness said: “These guys were all dressed in black and they gave a salute beside the grave.
They thought no one was around and formed a guard of honour. It was very sinister.
“Once they knew they had been spotted they rushed to their car and drove off at speed.”
Bolivian officials insist Dwyer was recruited by fascist Eduardo Rozsa Flores for an assassination attempt on President Evo Morales.
But family spokesman Dermot Ryan last night denied Dwyer was a neo-Nazi.
He said: “We totally refute the allegation that Michael was some sort of fascist.
“The true facts of his killing will come out in time. We are also not aware of anyone paying tribute to Michael at his grave.
“The people who attended his funeral are his real friends.
“The family are just grieving at the moment and will begin their quest for justice next week.
“We are liaising with the Department of Foreign Affairs and a trip to Bolivia is not out of the question.”
Authorities in Bolivia last week said Flores posed as a film-maker during his stay there.
Cover
Senior politician Ivan Canelas said he was using the cover of a documentary film to hatch a plot to blow up the president’s boat.
He said: “We now know the details of what this terrorist group was plotting.
“It was not only planning an attack on president Morales, but also on Vice-President Alvaro Garcia Linera and their ministers.
“Their objective was to separate the Santa Cruz province from the rest of Bolivia.”