Taiwan, Hungary deny making pagers that exploded in Lebanon
Taiwan and Hungary have denied making pagers that exploded while being used by Hezbollah members in Lebanon. Taiwan’s Gold Apollo denied producing the devices and instead pointed the finger at its Budapest-based partner BAC Consulting KFT.
But Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said the company “is a trading intermediary, with no manufacturing or operational site in Hungary”.
“The referenced devices have never been in Hungary,” Kovacs said on X.
He added the case “poses no national security risk” and Hungary was cooperating “with all relevant international partner agencies and organisations” in further investigations.
‘More questions than answers’
As we reported earlier, Taiwanese pager maker Gold Apollo denied it produced the pagers that exploded in Lebanon, saying the devices were made under licence by a Budapest-based company called BAC Consulting.
Our colleague Assed Baig has sent us this update from Hungary’s capital:
“I am in the suburbs of Budapest, outside the building where BAC Consulting is registered. “This seems like a building where many businesses are registered, where mail is sent and forwarded on. We’ve tried to speak to some people there who really had no answer.
“We tried to contact the owner of BAC, who goes by the name of Cristiana Barsony-Arcidiacono. We made several attempts to phone her, email her; sent her messages, but had no response.
“What’s interesting is we spoke to someone here and showed them a photo of her, they said they’d never seen her. The website of BAC seems to have been taken down, but it can be found on internet archives.
“It’s very bizarre – we know that it’s a consulting business but also offers services such as jewellery-making and what seems like mushroom-growing in Argentina.
“The owner of this company has a LinkedIn profile, and according to the description there, she has advised organisations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency as well as the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
“There are reports that some media outlets have managed to get in contact with her where she’s admitted working with the Taiwanese company but said that her company is only an intermediary.”
UN Security Council to meet Friday over Lebanon pager blasts
The 15-member body will meet on Friday over the explosions in Lebanon targeting Hezbollah, according to Slovenia’s UN Ambassador Samuel Zbogar, who is the president of the council for September.
The meeting was requested by Algeria on behalf of Arab states, he said.
US Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez decries Lebanon attacks
Progressive US Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez raised questions about a possible US role in the wave of explosions in Lebanon, underscoring the attacks have harmed innocent civilians.
“This attack clearly and unequivocally violates international humanitarian law and undermines US efforts to prevent a wider conflict,” she wrote in a social media post.
“Congress needs a full accounting of the attack, including an answer from the State Department as to whether any US assistance went into the development or deployment of this technology.”
Israel’s pager attack in Lebanon detonated thousands of handheld devices across of a slew of public spaces, seriously injuring and killing innocent civilians.
This attack clearly and unequivocally violates international humanitarian law and undermines US efforts to prevent a…
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 18, 2024
