29 June 2014, Budapest
Ladies and Gentlemen,
My first word is one of thanks. Thank you to the parents and thank you for the families for having brought up your children and given them an education. Thank you to the teachers for having prepared them to be able to stand here today. My second word is one of acknowledgement.
Dear Students, Dear Law Enforcement Officers,
You have chosen a difficult vocation and I congratulate you on your courage. Those who embark on a career in law enforcement must know that a police officer is the voice of the law, and accordingly they must represent the law with their every word and every deed. They must set an example to their subordinates and they must set an example to the people. If the members of the law enforcement services do not maintain the law every single day then the work of the legislators and courts will have been worthless. This is a great responsibility and a difficult but rewarding profession. Today, in our free and democratic Hungary, we can now state that through hard work we have reinstated the standing of the law enforcement services; the uniform no longer instils fear, it commands respect. But to be able to preserve that standing, Hungary needs committed law enforcement employees. People for whom this job simultaneously represents a secure income, a career opportunity and a vocation.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Today, you have sworn to uphold our new Fundamental Law. The Fundamental Law with which we have once and for all brought the overly long period of transition following communism to a close. We have set down in the constitution all of the values and principles in which we believe and with which, to the best of our belief, we can assure an attainable and dignified future for the people of Hungary. Our Fundamental Law is the foundation of our human and national freedom, and you have a duty to defend that freedom. It is from this freedom that the order that you have sworn to protect today was born. You are young, you did not experience it, but I would like you to know that this is the order that we dreamt of twenty-five years ago. We worked for twenty-five years, your parents worked for twenty-five years, before we succeeded in bringing and lifting Hungary up to where it is today. I therefore ask that you protect everything that your parents have worked so hard to achieve.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
The definition of order is a state of affairs that corresponds to the required standards. This means that order is dependent to a great extent on requirements that are based on the expectations of the Hungarian people. When we set about reforming the Hungarian law enforcement system in 2010, we also did so according expectations that the people of Hungary rightly had with respect to you, the Hungarian law enforcement services. One such expectation was that a police presence should be felt in even the country’s most remote villages. This required 3,500 new police officers. Another expectation was that the police should in no way seem to be on the side of criminals, rather than on the side of the victims of crime, and for none to perhaps even be among those who perpetrate crimes. In recent years we have succeeded in cleansing the police force of such issues. Another expectation was that the Hungarian prison service should be self-sufficient. As a result of the work we have performed during these past few years, the ratio of prison inmates who work increased to 75 percent by the end of 2013. And a further expectation was that there should be excellent, and in fact perfect relations between the various Hungarian law enforcement services, especially in the case of an industrial or natural disaster. And during these past few years you have proven that whatever trouble may arise, you are always there on the dykes. There may come an industrial disaster or extreme and unexpected snowfall that batters all of Europe or a flood of never before seen proportions, but we can always count on you; the people of Hungary can always count on you.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
For you to be able to work efficiently requires that we create suitable conditions. The fulfilment of our greatest debt towards you, the development of the law enforcement career model, is, however, still to be realised. The performance of this duty is one of our priority tasks to enable a more calculable, a more secure, a more stable and a more dependable career for all of you.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is in the mutual interests of all of us that only the most excellent and committed people, who have the required strength and tenacity to fulfil their calling, embark on a career in the law enforcement services. We need officers who love their country and who perform their duties in a committed manner and to the best of their abilities. Today, I see here before me people of precisely this calibre. I see police officers, fire service officers, prison service officers and customs and excise officers of this kind. And I can tell you that it is a reassuring sight. Only the best of the best can gain entry to the Law Enforcement Faculty of the National University of Public Service. You have received outstanding training and excellent, high-level knowledge. Your teachers and superiors have also set you an example with regard to a sense of vocation. Now it is up to you to win the respect and get out of life all that you expect. I wish you strength and good health for your work. I ask that you take this opportunity to serve your country with honour. The country and the nation need you. I wish all of you much success!