“Courage and the desire for freedom occupy an important place in the Hungarian character” Minister of Defence István Simicskó said on Thursday at a memorial to the 1956 Hungarian Revolution held at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics.
In his speech, the Minister stressed: “The heroes of 1956 showed an example of bravery and resistance to all of humanity”.
“Another important element of the Hungarian character is the ability to recognise and indicate trouble, because not everyone can see approaching danger and draw the right conclusions”, he said, adding that “There are also dangers today, and Prime Minister Viktor Orbán was the first to indicate these to Europe, after which Hungary took the required action.”
“The police and soldiers continue to hold their ground on our borders and are protecting Hungary; that is their task and duty”, Mr. Simicskó said. “The heroes of 1956, of the 1948-49 War of Independence and of the wars didn’t spill their blood so that the peace that we have struggled to achieve and the culture that we have established in Europe should now be taken away from us by another culture, which we respect”, he declared, adding that we must protect national interests and the future of our children.
At the event, which is one of a series of memorials commemorating the 1956 revolution and fight for independence, the Minister of Defence said: “The University of Technology is a historic place, because not only has the institution given the world outstanding engineers, but it was also the starting point for the events of the revolution and fight for freedom. It is an honour to be here with the heroes of 1956, who achieved great feats and accordingly deserve our respect for the rest of their lives”, he stressed.
“The heroes of 1956 gave their all for their homeland; they even risked their lives for it”, the Minister said.
According to Mr. Simicskó there are three kinds of people: those who do not recognise what they were born to do, those who live their own lives and are indifferent to community issues, and those who want to create something and act for the benefit of the community and the nation. The heroes of 1956 are members of the latter group, he said.
“The Second World War had not yet come to a close, the victorious world powers had already agreed that Hungary would become part of the sphere of interest of the Soviet system, and the Hungarians were not consulted; the decision was made over their heads, the country was handed over to a dictatorial system and the regime of fear was established. But there were young people here who bravely and justly criticised the system, and the reason they were so brave was that those who attended the University of Technology were not only taught by the lecturers and professors, but were also brought up and taught values; they were raised to be honest citizens, people who stand up for the truth. This is still the function and mission of schools and universities today”, he said.
“The world sent many statements and promises of solidarity in 1956, yet the country was left to fend for itself and the revolution was left to fight alone, because although gestures were made, no help arrived from abroad”, Mr. Simicskó recalled.
University Rector János Józsa stressed: “For the past 25 years it has been a tradition that the opening event of the 1956 memorials is held at the University of Technology, in memory of the student meeting on 22 October 1956 and the revolutionary deeds that came about as a result. Today, it is a tradition to salute what was then a historic act”, he said.
In addition to the “university students who stood their ground unconditionally” at the University of Technology, Mr. Józsa also spoke about the lecturers and professors who “supported and protected the students in a fatherly manner”. They often suffered persecution following the Revolution and their actions were only acknowledged more than 30 years later when they were rehabilitated”, he said.
Chairman of the “University of Technology 1956” Foundation Ödön Hajtó spoke about the famous list of 16 demands put forward by the students: “The student meeting began at 3pm on 22 October, during which discussions included increasingly important issues until regime change soon became the key topic. The political demands came into being through popular acclamation, after which they were written down and typed up using a typewriter”, he said. Many wanted the 16 points to be printed by a printing works or published by a newspaper, but nobody undertook to publish the anti-regime pamphlet, and so the students’ demands were copied using typewriters and carbon paper.
“By the following evening, the revolution had become a fight for independence, and the events at the University of Technology played a significant role in this. By that time, the crowd of 5-6 thousand technology students had grown into a crowd of a hundred thousand in the city, which the oppressive regime couldn’t handle”, he recalled.
At the end of the memorial, a wreath was placed at the University’s commemorative plaque to the 1956 Revolution, after which a torchlight procession began from the University of Technology to the József Bem Rakpart.
(MTI)
