Julius Binder's efforts to abort the Danube lawsuit in The Hague
Julius Binder, - the boss of the Slovak construction firm, that built and now
operates the Gabcikovo hydroelectric plant, - is doing all he can to abort
the Danube lawsuit in the Hague. He is doing that, because hand he knows,
that the electricity he sells, does not belong to him and he wants to keep it
that way. He is also doing that, because he can afford to: Last year he
produced 2637 gigawatt- hours of electricity ($263 million at $0.1/KWH),
which goes a long way, when it comes to influence peddling in today's Central
Europe.
What is Mr. Binder doing in order to abort the lawsuit in The Hague?
Two things: One, he attacks the character (not the views) of the people who
oppose him (such as myself) and two, he organizes a phony environmental
movement, called the "Realistic Greens," who then proceed to support his
white elephant of Stalinist gigantomania. (Unfortunately, the "green" which
the "realistic greens" admire does not change color in the fall, it is not
nature's color.) I will briefly describe Binder's two-pronged strategy, which
aims to prevent the international legal system from delivering its just
verdict. First I will describe his attacks on his opponents. This issue I am
more familiar with, as the character he is attacking happens to be mine.
Kibitzer and Liar
For many years he just called me a buzzard and a kibitzer, because I have no
"business" in sticking my nose into what they do with the ancient Danube
wetlands. In his way of thinking, he is right. I certainly have no business
interest in this fight. Being a teacher and an author, I have nothing to gain
by the outcome of this fight. In fact, I have been spending my own time and
money for the last decade, so it is logical that his kind would probably call
me a kibitzer. I never defended myself against his insults, I never even
replied. Now, Mr. Binder has also called me a liar and that I can not
tolerate, that I must answer.
Mr. Binder has put out the word, that I never visited the offices of the
President of Slovakia Michal Kovac in Bratislava, I never presented the
Compromise Plan for the Danube to the President's staff of specialists, and
they never accepted these plans for further study. His efforts at calling me
a liar were not completely unsuccessful. On the 6th of November, 1996, even
the Hungarian News Agency (MTI) carried a quotation from their unnamed
Bratislava correspondent, which said, that I was never received in the Office
of the President of Slovakia, called the Chancery. The facts are these:
On the 26th of March, 1993, my wife and I were received at the Castle of
Bratislava in the Cancery. Present at the meeting were Dr. Milan Zemko, the
President's chief domestic advisor, former Vice-President of the Federal
Assembly of Czechoslovakia, Dr. Pavol Demes, the President's chief foreign
advisor, former Foreign Minister of Slovakia, and Dr. Erno Rozsa, member of
the Slovak Parliament, and member of the Parliament's Environmental
Subcommittee. Mr. Binder CAN NOT CLAIM, that he did not know about this
meeting, because he was represented at the meeting by his chief advisor, Dr.
Miroslav B. Liska. At the meeting, all participants received a Slovak
language copy of the Compromise Plan, which we prepared with the
environmental NGOs to resolve the Danube dispute, and which I also described
in Budapest, The Hague, Brussels and Washington. (Mr. Binder and Prime
Minister Meciar were outside the country and Mr. Horn held no relevant
position to be consulted, at the time.) After the meeting, Mr. Binder
received a full report from Dr. Liska, who also received a copy of the
Compromise Plan. So, I leave it to the reader to decide who is telling the
truth, when now Mr. Binder claims, that no such meeting ever occurred and
that I am a liar for claiming otherwise.
The "Realistic Greens"
Next week the Hungarian "Realistic Greens" will meet in no other place, but
at the National Academy of Science. They can do that, because today, Hungary
has a Prime Minister, who prior to 1989, did what all Communist Party
functionaries did at the time: supported the construction at Gabcikovo. The
"Realistic Greens" are supported not only by Julius Binder, but also by his
chief Hungarian ally, the designer of the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros project, the
Swiss resident Hungarian, Dr. Erno Mosonyi. All who support Binder in
Hungary, all dozen of them, will be together at the National Academy of
Science.
Julius Binder's plan is simple. Having successfully labeled his opponents
liars and having shown (he hopes, he will next week), that the Hungarian
"Realistic Greens" are also in favor of aborting the Danube Lawsuit in The
Hague, he will next manipulate the withdrawal of the lawsuit. This will not
be very difficult, because the two Prime Ministers, Vladimir Meciar of
Slovakia and Gyula Horn of Hungary are both former Communists, they both
supported Moscow, when she ordered the Gabcikovo construction and because
today, they have an excellent excuse for aborting the lawsuit: they both want
to join NATO and NATO wants all conflicts among neighbors resolved. So Julius
Binder believes and Prime Ministers Horn and Meciar agree, that the way to
resolve conflicts is not by allowing the International Court of Justice to
deliver justice, but by letting Binder's construction firm to dictate an
out-of-court deal.
Given the complacency of the Hungarian public and the ignorance of the NATO
and EU officials, he could be right.
Bela Liptak
November 27, 1996
Tel: 203-357-7614
The writer is the editor of the Environmental Engineers' Handbook and
president of the Foundation to Protect the Hungarian Environment
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