“More than anything else, the Hungarians can be proud of the fact that they are free”, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Péter Szijjártó said on Monday in New York.

In his speech at the 15 March celebrations held at Hungary’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Mr. Szijjártó stressed: “Stronger nations have tried to take away our freedom on many occasions, we have always had to fight for it, but they were never able to break us and take away our freedom for good”.

The Hungarian nation is a “spiritually unified nation that transcends borders”; all Hungarians are entitled to Hungarian citizenship no matter where in the world they live, and nobody can be discriminated against because of their citizenship, the Minister emphasised.

“2018 will be decisive from Hungary’s perspective, because the country will decide whether it will have a government that fights the battles that are important from the point of view of the Hungarian people, or one that gives up those battles”, he declared.

“Recalling the past at today’s commemoration is a chance to show the whole world that we have not changed a bit and are still the people of freedom and a freedom-loving nation”, he explained. “Hungary remains the country of freedom to this day”, he stressed.

“Courage and persistence is a characteristic of the whole nation, in addition to which the Hungarians are a hard-working and industrious people who can stand their ground anywhere in the world”, he said.

The Minister said that in his opinion today we once again must fight for our freedom, while at the same time we must also undertake not to bring shame on the heroes of 1848-49. “Today, our task is once again to not bow to any kind of external pressure”, he stated.

“We are justified in expecting all nations to respect our identity and our heritage, just as we respect those of other countries. Hungarian identity and sovereignty are suffering many attacks, and we must take joint action against these attacks”, he pointed out.

Mr. Szijjártó thanked the members of the Hungarian diaspora for not taking the easier path and not giving up their Hungarian roots, and also “for having stood by us even amidst the most brutal attacks”. “The Government undertakes to always stand up for all members of the nation”, he added.

(MTI)