October 23 – State Secretary: Hungary did not cut its chains only to replace them

“Hungary did not cut its chains only to replace them again,” said Judit Varga, secretary of state for EU Relations at the Prime Minister’s Office. “It seems that the West has not understood that the reason Hungarians fought in 1956 was to hold on to their own culture and way of life.”

“Europe has forgotten to breathe with two lungs, with an eastern and western lung,” the state secretary continued, speaking at a commemoration of the 62nd anniversary of the 1956 Revolution and War of Independence. “If it were the case, the West would not launch any conceptual procedures against Hungary or Poland. They would not accuse us of crimes we fought against during communism. We gave our lives and blood for a free Europe, for a free Hungary,” said Varga at the event organized by the Fidesz-KDNP European Parliament Group and the Magyar Hullám Society.

“Subjected to this test, we’ll show what kind of people we are. The events of 1956 put us through a similar trial, and the Hungarian nation stood up to the test. Alone. The free world just sat back and watched the world’s largest army carry out a bloody quashing of the thousands of Hungarians who were fighting for democracy and freedom. Nevertheless, we stood up as we had so many times before. The West perhaps does not understand that its communist, liberal and socialist politicians of the European Parliament make false accusations against us, but we are not afraid,” she said.

Today’s migration situation, said Varga, cannot be compared to the Hungarian refugee wave of 1956. “Anyone who knows Hungarian history does not draw a parallel between the masses of people who fought for their freedom and against communism and the masses of people who leave their country for economic reasons.”

She added that the government acts in the spirit of 1956 by trying to help those who are fleeing war, offering millions of dollars in assistance, but it believes the most appropriate form is to help them rebuild and return home.

“Freedom is when we can choose our government and who we want to live with, in our own country, and the future we want to build for our children,” she said.

At the commemoration, Pál Csáky, MEP from the Hungarian Coalition Party in Slovakia, expressed his gratitude to everyone who “overcame doubts and fears and consciously, or instinctively, did something for that hard-earned freedom” 62 years ago.

“In 1956, the freedom-loving Hungarian spirit was simply blown up, and [considering that loss] we cannot be surprised, if we look at what Hungarians have undergone during the twentieth century,” he said.

“People can be hanged, locked in jail, and societies can be regulated for a while, but – thank God – the freedom that human souls desire cannot be snuffed out,” he said.

Based on a report by MTI Correspondent Artúr Bajnok