Hungary held national commemorations on the anniversary of its crushed anti-Soviet revolution of 1956 on Friday. The anniversary coincided with events marking the 20th anniversary of the change in political system.
Police reported no incidents or violence at commemorations. It did however launch procedures against activists wearing the uniform of the Hungarian Guard, the banned uniformed arm of radical nationalist party Jobbik.
President Laszlo Solyom, Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai and other dignitaries attended a flag-raising ceremony by Parliament in the morning and laid wreaths by the statue of martyred prime minister Imre Nagy. Solyom handed out “Imre Nagy” medals to five recipients at his Sandor Palace.
Opposition and governing parties held separate events.
Representatives of all five parliamentary parties visited the 1956 martyrs’ memorial in lot 301 of Budapest’s Rakoskeresztur cemetery to pay separate tributes.
Radical nationalist Jobbik held a rally in central Budapest, but no major incidents were reported.
@ Farkas Laszlo
I think I just found the answer I was looking for The obvious was staring at me.
“Representatives of all five parliamentary parties visited the 1956 martyrs’ memorial in lot 301 of Budapest’s Rakoskeresztur cemetery to pay separate tributes.
Radical nationalist Jobbik held a rally in central Budapest, but no major incidents were reported.”
The answer I was looking for:
5 parties paid tribute and ONE party had a rally on October 23, 2009.
Only 4 our of the 5 parties limited the day to “Remberance” I get it…
Hi Olga,
To a certain extent attendance at such an event is expected from most parties and their representatives. It doesn’t mean they all feel the same way about it all. It’s like all the grandkids showing up at their grandmothers’ funeral and going through the motions of paying their respects, even if some of them personally disliked the old lady.
Jobbik represents a more disenchanted element, and they will use the occasion to express their own issues.
Having lived under so many thought control regimes, Hungarians have learned to distinguish between public displays of respect and political substance.
@Olga: I think a fair summary of the situation as it unfolded was that
1. SZDSZ and MDF are largely irrelevant these days due to their own excesses and petty bickering, so anything they say would go unnoticed anyway.
2. MSZP and the President did all the official state stuff behind thick cordons and a heavy police presence, because the great unwashed cannot be trusted to pay their respects in a civilised way.
3. Fidesz, which is essentially just an expansion of Orbán’s ego, tried their best to milk the ’56′s heroism as usual, predicting that ‘Hungary is at turning point of a destiny defining victory’ (“Sorsfordító küzdelem vár Magyarországra”) in the elections (speech given is district XXII). http://www.hirtv.hu/belfold/?article_hid=293168
4. Jobbik were as you would expect, shameless. They say Vona is the new Christ or God’s wrath, depending on their mood.
As I’ve often said Hungarians excel in turning a celebration into a dirge and dignified acts of remembrance into a shameful farce. This year has been better (less shameful) than the last few though.