Hungarian American Coalition’s 10th Annual Gala Dinner

The Hungarian American Coalition (HAC) hosted its tenth annual Gala Dinner  in Washington DC on May 24^th of this year. The honorees of this year’s event were Bishop László Tőkés, The Hungarian Communion of Friends (MBK), and the late Congressman Tom Lantos. On this occasion HAC also celebrated the 25^th anniversary of Hungary becoming a democratic republic.

Vice President Andrea Lauer-Rice extended a hearty welcome to the many distinguished guests and VIP’s who attended this year’s gala event.

Max Teleki, the President of the Coalition paid homage to Ms. Alexandra Chalupa for her work with the Coalition on the US-Ukraine Crisis Team as well as for her dedication  to Central European unity. Mr. Teleki felt that the West has a moral duty to stand up for the Ukraine and  admonished The US and EU to take a firmer stand through NATO.

The Ambassador of Hungary, György Szapáry, applauded the work of the Hungarian American Coalition indicating that he himself would have enlisted in its ranks had he been int the US at the time of its founding. He conveyed  the Hungarian government’s appreciation for Coalition’s  labors in facilitating closer ties between the Hungarian diaspora and the mother country.

László Hámos, The President of the Human Rights Foundation, expressed his  genuine admiration for  the late Congressman Tom Lantos who was deeply committed to human rights and to the democratic process in Hungary as well as in other  former satellites of the former Soviet Union.

Anette Lantos expressed her thanks to the Coalition and to the Hungarian Community for the honor on behalf of her late husband, Tom Lantos. She indicated that being honored by Hungarians would mean a lot to her husband Tom, and she hoped the he would be present in spirit to see this.

Dr. Péter Forgách, the Chairman of the Board of  HAC introduced the event’s second honoree, The Hungarian Communion of Friends (MBK) for its contribution to the materialization of democratic rule in Hungary,  for providing a forum over the decades to various opposition forces supporting democratic ideals,  and for supporting minority rights.

Péter Kovalszki thanked the Coalition for the award  which was highlighted by the presence of  distinguished guests and other honorees. He also acknowledged the names of  other MBK leaders who could not attend the event, such as Lajos Éltető,  András Ludányi, László Fülöp, Balázs Somogyi, and Hajnal Minger.

Chair Emerita of the Hungarian American Coalition Edith K. Lauer introduced the third honoree. Bishop László Tőkés who was given the award for his courageous promotion of Hungarian minority rights within the Carpathian Basin. Mr. Tőkés came to the US on several occasions to testify before Congress to bring to the world’s awareness the plight of Hungarians in his homeland.  In 2009 the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation awarded him the Truman-Reagan Medal of Freedom for his life-long commitment to promoting freedom and democracy and opposing Communism and tyranny.

In his acceptance speech, Bishop Tőkés expressed how pleased he was that his first trip following the latest European Parliamentary elections has brought him to the US where he is being honored by the Hungarian American Coalition.  He then expressed his gratitude to Hungarian Americans and Americans in general.  He recalled that during  the darkest days of the Communist  oppression and nationalistic tyranny, Hungary and the ethnic Hungarian communities outside her  borders knew that they could count on American Hungarians to stand up and speak up for them.