Speaking in Budapest on Thursday, 6 October – the memorial day of the martyrs of Arad –, Minister of Defence István Simicskó emphasized that there are events in Hungarian history that united the nation, and one of these was the 1848/49 Revolution and War of Independence, which welded our nation together even more.
During a commemoration held at the Batthyány mausoleum in the Fiume Road National Graveyard, István Simicskó said that a lesson from Arad is that no armies, retaliation or foreign power can get in the way of our “national striving”.
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The minister added that in the course of our history, we have learned that the only service that can give our life its true value is the one that “turns us towards the cause of our homeland”. He underlined that participation in the war of independence was a national cause, and reminded his audience that during this war, there were just a few months available for raising an army. However, as the Minister of Defence noted, the Hungarian soldiers’ perseverance “went beyond all sensible expectations”, because back then the Hungarian Defence Forces already had the secret weapon of patriotism.
The Minister stated that on 6 October, Hungary’s national day of mourning, we commemorate the first Hungarian Prime Minister Lajos Batthyány, the 13 martyrs of Arad and the other martyrs of our national cause, the thousands of Hungarian soldiers and dead heroes. He added that today the strong Hungarian Defence Forces are still an important pillar of Hungary and the Hungarian statehood.
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Our patriotism and our desire for freedom and independence are great and eternal values, the minister pointed out, and went on saying that no other nations “have been struggling so stubbornly for their survival like us, Hungarians”. István Simicskó noted that we have to preserve our heritage in the present age as well, at the time of a global wave of migration.
The commemoration in the Fiume Road National Graveyard was also attended, and wreaths of remembrance were laid, by the Head of State and the representatives of the government, Chief of Defence Gen. Tibor Benkő, Péter Boross, President of the National Memorial and Tribute Committee, Katalin Radnainé Fogarasi, Director-General, National Heritage Institute as well as representatives of the Budapest Military Attaché Corps, several non-governmental organizations, the municipality of Budapest and the local government of Józsefváros (8th district of the capital).
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Until four o’clock in the afternoon, anybody can light a candle in memory of the martyrs of Arad at the Batthyány eternal flame beside a military guard of honor.
(MTI)
