Source: hungarytoday.hu

Poland’s new Prime Minister will pay his first official foreign visit to Budapest to meet his Hungarian counterpart on 3rd of January 2018, Viktor Orbán’s press chief said on Thursday.

Mateusz Morawiecki, who took office on December 11, will be accompanied by Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski, Bertalan Havasi told news agency MTI. The Hungarian prime minister last paid a visit to Poland in September. He held talks with then-prime minister Beata Szydlo, as well as with the heads of the Polish Sejm and Senate and the leader of the governing PiS party.

Earlier in December, Viktor Orbán sent a congratulatory message to Poland’s newly-appointed PM Mateusz Morawiecki. In his letter, the Hungarian Premier said he believed that by “working closely together at the European level, he and Morawiecki could create opportunities for their countries that could also contribute to the success of the whole of central Europe.”

Meanwhile, the European Commission has launched the so-called Article 7.1 procedureagainst Poland over its controversial judicial reforms. The Hungarian Deputy PM Zsolt Semjén called the move a “politically motivated procedure” against the Polish government and said Hungary would veto it.

Commenting on EC measures against to Poland, Viktor Orbán said in a recent radio interview that “if somebody attacks Poland, the whole of central Europe is under attack”. Hungary’s interest is to show solidarity with the Poles and make it clear that no EU punishment can be introduced against them, the Prime Minister insisted.

via hungarymatters.hu and MTI; photo: Mateusz Wlodarczyk – Nurphoto

Source: hungarytoday.hu

Reklám

Source: Adam Topolansky / hungarytoday.hu

For Hungarians and Christians across the globe, Christmas is the most sacred holiday event of the year. Families spend the “holy evening” (Szenteste) making final preparations for the Christmas tree to be decorated with carefully placed candles, then place the nicely wrapped presents under the tree prior to “lighting” the candles and the sparklers.

I remember those Christmas preparations so vividly. My father dropped me at my grandparents’ apartment on Karinthy F. út at about 4 in the afternoon. Grandpa Jenő let me watch some television on his Videoton set (especially if there was a Fradi soccer game on) and then he and I took tram No. 61 to the small chapel at Karolina út where he played the church organ and sang traditional Christmas songs. I proudly stood next to him and sang along. Father Vidor who celebrated the mass then wished us Merry Christmas and we either took the tram again to my parents’ apartment or my father came to pick us up by automobile (or more accurately with his Trabant).

By the time we got back to Baka Street, the doors to the inner room were closed and my younger brother and I were not allowed in until all grandparents arrived and my Dad rang a special bell to allow us into the room where the beautifully decorated Christmas tree was placed. Of course, we had to sing along with the parents and the grandparents those special songs “The Angel from Heaven” (Mennyből az Angyal), “Oh Tannenbaum” and “Shepherds, Shepherds, rejoicing” (pásztorok, pásztorok örvendezve), etc.

Christmas in Hungary has traditionally been about the birth of Jesus, the majestic songs (mostly German-inspired), grandma’s beigli, the Christmas tree, the candles and the sparklers. Hungarian tradition holds that it is Baby Jesus (Jézuska) who delivers the presents and not Santa, like most Americans believe. In most European countries Santa Claus (St. Nicholas) actually visits the homes on December 6, which is a separate and unique, although smaller holiday.

While few of the kids actually believe these myths to be true, they play along, since expectation, harmony and tranquility are all important part of the holy celebration. The music, the decorations, the church sermons, the food and the spirits are all carefully prepared and tailored for this holiday.

The Christmas dinner usually consists of Hungarian fish soup (made of carp or some other freshwater fish) or stuffed cabbage. Afterwards and for the forthcoming days, of course, there is always plenty of home-made beigli with poppy-seed or walnut filling.

For religious families, the midnight mass is another integral part of the Christmas celebration. Of course, younger children do not stay up for that. Hungarians traditionally used to wish each other Áldott Karácsonyt (Blessed Christmas) or Boldog Karácsonyt (Merry Christmas), however, during the Kádár era they were encouraged to use another toned down version: Kellemes ünnepeket (Pleasant Holidays)! In response to this more politically correct version one of our elder friends (CF) used to say: “kellemes” can typically be a foot bath, but not Christmas… Christmas can only be holy, blessed, majestic and/or magical.

The way Hungarians celebrate Christmas is largely similar to the way most Europeans celebrate this holy day. However, of the more than 2 billion Christians worldwide, various countries celebrate Christmas using some of these common features cited in the above.

Christmas in the United States

Christmas in America begins around the end of November with a major kickoff on Black Friday as most Americans focus on buying presents rather than focusing on the religious aspects of this holiday. However, the Christmas spirit is tremendous among Americans as they are overtaken by the spirit of the holiday and decorate their homes with special lighting and practically compete in most neighborhoods as to who has the most extravagant lighting effects and decor. There are some debates going on as to how we should wish each other Merry Christmas in America as multicultural influences now demand that people scale back from the Christmas spirit and focus on the non-denominational aspect of the holiday, wishing each other just Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas. This was especially true under the Obama years, the current president Donald Trump is attempting to reverse all that. Americans hold that presents are delivered not by Jesus, but by St. Nicholas or better known as Santa Claus. Santa climbs through the chimneys and the presents will be opened the morning of the 25th rather than the evening of the 24th.

The traditional Christmas meal in America is either roasted turkey with stuffing, ham or roast beef. A replay of the Thanksgiving meal in many ways. There is also some special egg nog served besides the meal. Of course, Christmas in New York is mesmerizing with the music, the decorated storefronts, the ice rink at Rockefeller Center and the mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Christmas in America is a joyful holiday season.

Christmas celebrated in other Christian populated areas of the world

There is no space for us to outline how various countries celebrate Christmas, but it should be noted that practically all nations have some type of a Christmas celebration other than, of course, the Muslim nations. Even some African and most Asian nations celebrate Christmas, although the Christian populations there are in a minority. For central and south Americans Christmas has special significance as they are committed Catholics even more so than North Americans are.

On the other hand, Christmas is totally banned in North Korea. South Koreans, of course, are allowed to celebrate Christmas just like other nations do.

Whatever your religious affiliation and/or nationality, people all over the world hold this time of the year to be very special and wish each other Merry Christmas, Feliz Navidad, Joyeux Noel, God Jul, Fröhliche Weihnachten, Wesolych Swiat or Buon Natale. Jewish people might say “Happy Hannukah” or the Back to Africa movement now impresses upon their followers to say “Happy Kwanzaa”. All of that is fine as long as we do not demolish each others’ churches and do not persecute people for their religious beliefs. Peace on Earth and goodwill towards Men! And yes, “men” in this case (old English) infers that women are naturally included.

Source: Adam Topolansky / hungarytoday.hu

Reklám

Hungary Today had the opportunity to sit down for an interview with renowned documentary film maker and director Zoltán Moys, whose cultural travel show ’Hazajáró’ (’Home-runner’), which is screened on Hungarian public television on a weekly basis, won the 2017 Prima Primissima Audience Award.

’Home-runner’ gets on its boots every week to range through the magnificent landscapes of the Carpathian Basin, in order to get acquainted with natural and cultural values, the built historical heritage, and the everyday life of inhabitants of the historic homeland of Hungarians. Their road leads through Transsylvania, Upper-Hungary (Slovakia), Carpathian Ukraine, Vojvodina, Moravia, Burgenland and inner Hungary, sometimes by foot or by wagon, sometimes by bike or by canoe. From the majestic ridges of the Carpathian Mountains and colossal castle ruins through little wooden churches and bloody battlefields to small, sleepy towns – the never-ending road of the “Homerunner” is accompanied by plenty of Hungarian memories.

This interview has been edited for clarity and concision, and translated from the original Hungarian.

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In 2017, the show Hazajáró (‘Home-runner’) won the Prima Primissima audience award. How did it feel to accept the award from E. Sylvester Vizi, chairman of the board of the Friends of Hungary Foundation? What does this recognition mean for the show’s creators, and how does the award speak to the show’s viewers? 

As I said at the award ceremony, this was an incredible honor for us. It felt very good to win, with the Prima Primissima, the award that is most valuable to us, the audience award. We work, first and foremost, for our viewers, and this was a wonderful response from them that we are on the right track. It seems that the message, the ethos, the spirituality, the imagery that we present in our show has struck a chord with a great many people. First and foremost, then, I would like to thank our viewers. This award was an important moment in the history of Hazajáró. It also comes with great responsibility, since it shows that many people are paying attention to us. For this reason, going forward, we hope to do our work with even greater élan, humility, and precision.

Let’s jump back a bit. The show was launched in October of 2011, and there have been over 200 episodes filmed since then. What was the inspiration for the show, how did this concept come about, and how did you make it onto the air?

Even before the show, some of the members of our group were already “Home-runners.” In our free time we traveled quite a lot around the Carpathian Basin, mainly hiking trips. Alongside the beautiful mountains we encountered historical memories, our built historical heritage, cultural sights, and local Hungarian communities. We made many friends and had countless adventures. This experience gave so much to us, that we decided to introduce it to others in the form of a TV show, so that they might see why it’s good to be a ‘Hazajáró.’ We were already working in media, when the stars aligned and a spot opened up for our planned show at Duna TV. We are grateful that, for six years running, MTVA has given us this opportunity, and this platform. From the beginning, we built our show on the following three pillars: natural wonders, built cultural heritage, and local communities. While our job is naturally easier in Hungary proper, we have had incredible experiences in Hungarian communities abroad as well. We’ve been to places where, not only has there never been a camera crew, it’s also possible that tourists have never even set foot there before. We have the opportunity to showcase regions, people, and communities that people have never been curious about before.

How do preparations for a single episode look? How much time does it take, what does the technical execution of filming look like?

First, hunched over a map, we think about where it is we want to go. At the beginning, we sought out spots that we had already been without a camera, but at this point there’s very few such spots left, and so now we go to increasingly remote areas. We receive many invitations as well: many people are proud of their hometowns, and would like us to showcase the region where they live.

As a first step, we find local people who are the “engines” of local knowledge, local history, and nature, who are also key to the continued existence of the local Hungarian community. In addition to getting in touch with people, we undertake thorough research in order to discover what would be worth visiting in a particular area. Our main concept focuses on smaller regions, ones that formed organically, over the course of centuries, on a geographical, cultural, or historical basis. In our show, we also endeavor to quote from famous Hungarians, and discuss what they experienced in a given region decades or centuries ago.

Researching these resources also takes a great deal of time. Generally it takes about 2-3 days to film an episode, but a filming trip generally takes longer than this, since we shoot 2-3 episodes while on the road. One of the central points of filming is always a hike, which is a rather intense test of strength, one which is greatly influenced by terrain and weather conditions. While filming, every trail takes much longer than it would if one were hiking without a camera.

Finding cultural institutions (for example, getting into a temple, or getting permission to film inside a historic landmark) isn’t simple either, especially in regions where Hungarians no longer live. When introduce a local community, we are not looking first and foremost for an “official” view, but rather authentic “Hungarian life”; in other words, those people who carry the reality of their organic culture with them in their everyday lives. Showcasing this everyday life, this “silent struggle,” is one of the main goals of our show.

Filming is followed by editing work, which is likewise not an easy task, since we have to whittle down 4-5 hours to just 26 minutes. Our colleague Zoltán Farkas barely leaves the editing room. Generally, six of us go out to film, and over the years our crew has been forged into a true community of comradery. In addition to our two “hazajáró” hosts (Oszkár Kenyeres, who also takes part in editing, and Sándor Jakab from Upper Hungary [the region of Slovakia inhabited by a sizeable Hungarian minority]), I would single out the exceptionally difficult work done by our cameraman (Dávid Schödl) and our sound engineer (József Tóth). Our team is further strengthened by our driver-technician colleague, who first and foremost helps out with logistical issues, while I try to pull together the production as a whole. Hazajáró’s crew is made up of people who not only put their eyes, ears, and mouths into the production, but their souls as well.

In the course of your work, have you run into any unusual or noteworthy difficulties in regions of the Carpathian Basin that have never been inhabited by Hungarians?

Naturally it’s harder to work in areas where there isn’t a shared linguistic or national identity. The amount of ethnic tensions and national conflicts that have filled the Carpathian Basin over the course of the 20^th century are well-known. Generally, though, we only notice this on the larger, political level, and occasionally in cities, where the negative trends that go hand-in-hand with urban life can be seen. In the countryside, in tiny villages, we have never encountered a negative attitude toward Hungarians. In fact, everywhere we have been welcomed with great enthusiasm. People respect and value that a Hungarian film crew wants to show how locals live. We always look for the values of communities living organically in the local soil, and for this reason we have showcased Ruthenian and Slovak communities as well.

Anyone, who feels at home in a given region and who is capable of taking care of it, who can live together without exploiting or crippling it, have a place in the region regardless of nationality. If we want to look for dividing lines, we won’t find them between nationalities, but rather between individuals’ modes of thought. We regularly notice that, the more isolated of a place we go to, the more positive personalities we come into contact with. Many people in isolated regions, even today, live lives rooted in tradition, which go beyond the pursuit of wealth, and which carry eternal values in them. At the same time, whenever we visit a larger settlement, we see the spread of globalization and the materialist, consumerist society that goes along with it. We love regions where we can find communities living in harmony with the natural world.

Could you mention one or two memorably positive or negative filming experiences?

We are now past the 200 episode mark, meaning that we have had tons of adventures and experiences. We have had many more positive ones than negative ones. The greatest experiences are those when we find Hungarians in areas where we didn’t expect to do so.

One example of this is the little village of Maradék [‘Remainder’], which is located even beyond the Kingdom of Hungary’s historical borders, at the foot of the mountain Fruška Gora in northern Serbia, whose very name is quite revealing. When we visited the settlement there was no longer a minister to oversee spiritual life and hold the Hungarian community together. We found just one old married couple, who told us, in tears, that in this southern region Hungarians are going to die out. There were tears in our eyes as we said goodbye to Uncle Géza and his wife. Nevertheless, later we heard that, thanks in part to our show, a minster agreed to take on the responsibility of serving the village. Now, there is a Hungarian House in the village, and ever-more people are returning to their roots. There, they actually succeeded in pulling the breaks on assimilation and emigration.

The difficulties we encounter are generally physical ones. The Parâng Mountains, located in the southern Carpathians, is what first comes to mind. There, we went on a winter hike and ended up in a snowstorm, meaning that we had no chance of reaching the 2519-meter peak. We spent our night in a ramshackle stone ‘shelter’. Before sleeping, though, we had to move meters of snow just to be able to get into the shelter. Filming this struggle required great emotional strength, and was a trying task. We weathered the below-zero temperatures of the night, but even this bore fruit: we received many positive responses from our viewers, they appreciated that we were showing not just sunny mountain peaks, but difficulties and mountaineering failures as well. There has never been a filming where there weren’t moving or difficult moments, and these adventures have really brought our team together.

What are your future plans? How long will the show continue, what ideas do you still have in your saddle-bag?

We always used to say that “the path of the ‘Home-runner’ is endless.” The more places we go to, the more we realize how many undiscovered treasures there still are in the Carpathian Basin. We will continue to do the show as long as state media gives us the opportunity to do so. We feel that this “home-runner” is starting to become a sort of lifestyle, which goes far beyond the show.

One result of this is the ‘Hazajáró’ Homeland Studies and Tourist Club, which operates in symbiosis with the show. From the beginning, our main goal was to get our viewers out of the house, so that rather than just sitting on the couch watching the show, they get up and hit the road as we have. It seems that this has come to pass, this desire was what brought the Club into being as well, which, we hope, will carry on the spirit of the show long after there are no new episodes. Our studio is also working on other projects, and will continue to work in the future, but will do so under the same principles that have informed Hazajáró.

Are you thinking about exploring Hungarian regions outside of the Carpathian Basin?

Definitely, partially because we have gotten so much feedback from across the Atlantic. We have held, and are planning, a number of Hazajáró meetups, film-screenings, and talks, both at home and abroad. Combining business with pleasure, we plan on brining cameras with us as well.

Many people have told us stories about how they, or their ancestors, were from a region that we visited in the show. There were some, who had never themselves been in their ancestors’ home regions, and watched the show with tears in their eyes. Others, inspired by Hazajáró, hit the road and went back to Hungary, for a longer or shorter time, from the opposite side of the world. We would like to produce a film about Hungarians living in the western diaspora as well, since we know that there are Hungarians all over the world who hold on to their roots, who proudly preserve and pass on their language and culture. This is a very important mission as well, this is why we view showcasing these communities as a great challenge. At the same time, this is a serious responsibility as well, since we don’t want to lose sight of our most important goal, the preservation of Hungarian communities in the Carpathian basin. There are huge differences between individual generations’ emigration stories; for example, in the last few decades, economic issues have come to the fore. For our part, we would not like to, even accidentally, push anyone to leave their homeland. In fact, the opposite is true! It is my belief that the road to the future lies in building a livable Hungary and a livable Carpathian Basin, where it is worthwhile to stay here and live as a Hungarian. In this building, we are counting on those living as emigres as well, since they can help Hungarian causes even from afar.

Many people living abroad, whose ancestors left Hungary generations ago, don’t speak Hungarian well enough to follow the show without difficulty. Perhaps it would help the international reputation of Hungary and its neighboring countries if Hazajárówere released with foreign subtitles as well. What do you think?

Yes, this would be an important mission! On individual occasions and screenings we have already added subtitles, but we haven’t gotten to the translation of the bulk of our episodes. Our resources of limited, but if there were significant demand we would definitely move in this direction.

Outside of Duna TV, where can those interested view old and new episodes of Hazajáró?

Thanks to an enthusiastic viewer they are on YouTube. We are also on mediaklikk.hu, but Facebook is where we provide our followers with the latest information on our show.

Where is Hazajáró headed next?

We’re near the end of the year now, the last episode of this season will be released on December 30^th. Generally, at this time we take a look back at some of the greatest moments of the past year, and we are currently working on such an episode.

Our next trip is probably going to be to Upper Hungary [in Slovakia], maybe to the Pohronský Inovec mountain range. In the spring we’ll be heading to the Apuseni Mountains in Transylvania and to Zakarpattia Oblast in Ukraine, as well as to a spot that has long been a dream of ours: we are preparing to film an episode in Bukovina on the forgotten world of the Rarău and Giumalău Mountains, and the Szeklers of Bukovina.

***

reporting by Tamás Székely

translated by Tom Szigeti

images: Hungary Today and Home-runner

Forrás: hungarytoday.hu

Reklám

Washington, DC – On December 2, 2017 the Hungarian American Coalition (Coalition) held its Annual General and Board Meetings at the House of Quakers in Washington DC, after hosting its 26th annual Mikulás Dinner the previous evening at the Embassy of Hungary.

On December 1, more than 100 Coalition members and guests attended the traditional Mikulás Dinner hosted by Ambassador László Szabó at the Embassy of Hungary.

Master of Ceremonies Endre Szentkirályi greeted the distinguished gathering and special guests, including hosts Ambassador Dr. László Szabó and his wife Dr. Ivonn Szeverényi; the evening’s keynote speaker Ambassador Kurt Volker, U.S. Special Representative for Ukraine Negotiations and Ms. Ia Meurmishvili; Ambassador April H. Foley, former Ambassador of the United States to Hungary and Chairman of the Board of The Hungary Initiatives Foundation; Ambassador Thomas Robertson, former Deputy Chief of Mission at the U.S. Embassy in Budapest; Ambassador Ferenc Kumin, Consul General in New York and Ms. Zita Bencsik, Consul General in Chicago; Dr. Ágnes Virga, Coalition Chairman of the Board; Mrs. Andrea Lauer Rice, President of the Coalition; Ms. Susan Hutchison,  Chairman of the Washington State Republican Party.

Other guests included Dr. Matthew Shank, President of Marymount University and his wife Mrs. Lynne Shank; Mr. Joseph Foster, Vice President of Marymount University and his wife Mrs. Stephanie Foster; Ms. Eszter Sándorfi, Head of the Department of North America at the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFA); Ms. Dóra Loydl, US Foreign Policy Coordinator, MFA; Ms. Andrea Gulyás, State Secretary at the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture; Mr. Zsigmond Perényi, Deputy State Secretary for International Affairs, Prime Minister’s Office; Mr. László Hámos, President of the Hungarian Human Rights Foundation; Mr. Imre Lendvai-Lintner, President of the Hungarian Scouts Association in Exteris; Mrs. Enikő Molnár Basa, Executive Director of the Hungarian American Educators Association; Mrs. Anna Smith Lacey, Executive Director of Hungary Initiatives Foundation and Mr. Marion Smith, Executive Director of Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation.

Mr. Szentkiráyi also welcomed Honorary Consuls Mr. Phillip Arnoff (TX); Mr. Miklós Bartsch (CA); Coalition Member Mrs. Eva Voisin (CA); Mr. John Parkerson (GA) and Ms. Alicia McCart; Ms. Katalin Pearman (WA); and Coalition Vice President Ms. Csilla Grauzer (MN). He also greeted Mr. András Juhász, Trade Commissioner from Chicago and Ms. Judit Czakó, Economic and Trade Commissioner, New York.

From the local Washington community, Mr. Szentkirályi welcomed Coalition Vice President Mr. Stefan Fedor and Mrs. Erika Fedor, founders of the American Hungarian Heritage House; Mr. Gabe Rozsa, Chairman and Executive Director of the Kossuth Foundation; Ms. Kinga Révész, President of the Hungarian Science Club of Washington; Mrs. Kinga Hydras, Hungarian Academy, Washington, DC and her husband Mr. Labros Hydras; Dr. István and Mrs. Krisztina Hargitai, DC Hungarian Scouts. He recognized Coalition Internship Program Alumni present, including Mr. Márton Aichelburg, Mr. László Baksay, Ms. Lilla Fördős, Ms. Noémi Szakonyi and her husband Mr. Máté Vincze, as well as current Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Internship Program participants Mr. Gábor Balogh and Ms. Eszter Rácz.

He also gave a special welcome to all the hardworking members of the Embassy of Hungary, including Dr. Zsolt Hetesy, Deputy Chief of Mission; Dr. Béla Gedeon, Press and Public Affairs Officer; Mr. Péter Gyombolai, Hungarian Diaspora Liaison and his wife Mrs. Eszter Gyombolai; Ms. Zsófia Koncz, Foreign Policy Officer; Ms. Dorottya Mártonffy-Nagy, Trade and Investment Attache; Dr. Krisztina Osvát, Counselor, Hungarian Diaspora Affairs; Mr. Zoltán Patai, Financial Director in Charge of Managing the Economic Region and his wife Mrs. Renáta Patai-Szabó, Consul; Mr. Lőrinc Páva, Economic and Trade Attache and his wife Mrs. Réka Páva; Dr. Dávid Singer, First Secretary, Cultural Affairs and Mrs. Nikolett Singer; Dr. Mónika Varga, Consul; Mr. Krisztián Janzsó, Head of the Economic and Trade Section; Ms. Dóra Zombori, Political, Military and Energy Officer; Ms. Szilvia Németh-Dudás, Office Administrator and Mr. Benedek Kovács, Assistant.

Finally, Mr. Szentkirályi welcomed all members of the Coalition, especially President Emeritus Maximilian Teleki and Mrs. Wendy Teleki; and Chair Emerita Edith K. Lauer.

Next, Ambassador László Szabó welcomed all the guests, and delivered a message from Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who at a meeting with Ambassador Szabó described Hungarians living in the US as “Hungary’s most important asset”. Ambassador Szabó underlined that the Coalition is the largest Hungarian umbrella organization in the US, and the US has the largest diaspora of Hungary. The Ambassador also highlighted the importance of the common ground created in the previous centuries and the welcoming environment that allows Hungarians to preserve their identity while being American citizens. He emphasized the fruitful cooperation between the US and Hungary since the system change, and pointed out the defense and security sectors as the greatest achievements. The Ambassador named areas where Hungarian and US foreign policy is completely aligned: fighting against terrorism; working on energy related projects to decrease the Russian influence in Central and Eastern Europe and assuring Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty. Ambassador Szabó concluded by stressing how remarkable work the Hungarian American Coalition is doing to preserve the identity of Hungarians in the US.

After the dinner, a video was shown on the Coalition Internship Program (available here) followed by Coalition President Andrea Lauer Rice’s welcoming remarks. Mrs. Lauer Rice provided a detailed description of her recent presidential trip to Hungary and Subcarpathia in November 2017, which she said was a perfect example of the kind of the behind-the-scenes work the Coalition does throughout the year and the unique role the Coalition plays in the Hungarian American community. During the trip, the following areas of Coalition work were included: diplomacy and advocacy; promotion of art, culture and history; Hungarian-American community outreach; building bridges between our nations; monitoring Hungarian human rights in the Carpathian basin and developing future leaders. Mrs. Lauer Rice stressed the significance of Hungarian language and education in maintaining Hungarian communities in Ukraine. As part of the cultural outreach, in 2017 the Coalition celebrated the premiere of the documentary “Cold Warriors,” which grew out of the Coalition-sponsored Memory Project: Hungarian American Visual History Archive of which Lauer Rice is a co-founder. She described the 7th annual meeting of the Diaspora Council, an event where 25 American representatives joined other global leaders of the Hungarian diaspora communities at a conference hosted by the Hungarian government. Following up on the video, President Lauer Rice highlighted the many achievements of the Coalition Internship Program that has helped train 82 Hungarian interns since 2005, with many participants who now work in leadership positions in Hungary and the Carpathian Basin. The President concluded her speech by thanking Mrs. Susan Hutchison, Ambassador April Foley and all Coalition members for making this program possible. She also gave special thanks to Zsolt Szekeres for his extraordinary effort with CIP and the Presidential trip.

In a surprise award ceremony, Edith K. Lauer, Coalition Chair Emerita recognized Ambassador Thomas Robertson, former Deputy Chief of Mission of the US Embassy in Budapest on behalf of the Board of Directors of the Coalition “for representing the best traditions of American diplomacy during Hungary’s historic transition and beyond”. The laudation also included: “His years of service on behalf of freedom and democracy and his friendship with the Hungarian people have earned the enduring gratitude of Hungarian-Americans”. Ambassador Robertson thanked the Coalition the help they provided in opening doors to work on issues of mutual interest and he also emphasized the role of the exchange and internship programs in maintaining Hungarian-American cooperation and friendship.

Coalition President Andrea Lauer Rice then introduced the evening’s keynote speaker, Ambassador Kurt Volker, US Special Representative in Ukraine negotiations. Ambassador Volker began his address remembering his times spent in Hungary during the preparation for NATO membership, and the Bosnian war in which Hungary was a reliable partner of the US. Next, he listed some challenges that the entire transatlantic community faces today: on the foreign side, there are China, Russia, ISIS and the deeply felt effects of globalization; on the domestic side, there are the elites, populists, threats to jobs, security, tradition, family and values. The first thing he stressed about the answers to these challenges is that we need to know who we are; and secondly, we need to take a stand. Thirdly, we have to recognize that not all who do not belong to us are our enemies. Fourth, we must hold our leaders to account and finally, we must be patient. Hungary and the US are friends who have some differences but these are not fundamental ones of who we are. Thus, to deal with the challenges, we have to face the real enemies and not those we perceive to be. Finally, Ambassador Volker brought up the new education law and minority rights in Ukraine. He stressed, that the citizens of Ukraine have to speak Ukrainian but at the same time the minorities must have the right to speak their own languages.  He added that there is a greater problem that needs to be solved first, which is the changing of borders in Europe by a foreign nation.

The dinner concluded with Hungarian Christmas caroling led by Ms. Noémi Bánhidi, Program Coordinator of the Coalition and a Mikulás toast from Coalition Chair Dr. Ágnes Virga.

At the Annual Meeting held on Saturday, December 2, Chairman of the Coalition Ágnes Virga greeted all members before presenting her formal report of the Coalition’s remarkable accomplishments in 2017.  Next, members heard the detailed report given by Coalition President Andrea Lauer Rice about the organization’s 2017 projects and activities.  The Annual Meeting voted to renew the terms of the following individual board members: Mr. Stefan Fedor and Mr. Peter Wm. Forgach.

Mr. László Hámos reported on the ReConnect Hungary Birthright Program by showing two videos and asked participants to spread the word about the program for the 6th round of call for applications. Mr. Gabe Rozsa also gave an update on the current state of Kossuth House, happily reporting that the Kossuth Foundation finally owns the building, but it will take a lot of time and effort until the building can be used again.

In the afternoon Board Meeting the three-year term of the following organizational board members were renewed: Hungarian Cultural Society of Connecticut, Hungarian (Magyar) Club of Chicago, Hungarian Society of Massachusetts, Civic Enterprises. The Board also approved Sarolta Borzási (Cluj Napoca, Romania) and Ms. Susan Hutchison as new individual members.

At the Board meeting, Mr. László Hámos and Mrs. Eva Voisin reported on the seventh Diaspora Meeting, and Mr. Hámos also asked participants to review and sign the Minority Safepack Initiative. Ms. Csilla Grauzer then presented her project ‘Medical Supplies Donation Program’ to Hungary, which is part of her non-profit Creative Cultural Exchange, Inc.’s Power Of Positive Impact (P.O.P.I.). In the framework of this program, they collect, organize and facilitate the shipment of basic medical supplies donations for mission purposes to hospitals in need throughout Hungary or in regions with Hungarian minorities mainly in Transylvania, Romania and Subcarpathia, Ukraine. Ms. Grauzer reported that they have already shipped more than 160 boxes to Budapest in August, 2017.

The meeting concluded with Andrea Lauer Rice saying a special thank you to all Coalition leaders, members and CIP interns who had worked so hard throughout the year.

December 4, 2017 | Washington, DC

Source: hacusa.org

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Reklám

Source: hungarytoday.hu

Addressing a hearing of the European Parliament’s Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) focusing on the rule of law in Hungary, representatives of Hungarian rights groups criticized the government of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán for restricting fundamental rights.

The hearing itself is unique in that it is the first instance in the European Union’s history that the EP is undertaking an investigation into whether EU values are being upheld in a member state.

Initiated by Dutch Green MEP Judith Sargentini, the hearing will ultimately lead to a report recommending whether the Parliament should trigger Article 7 proceedings against Hungary over “the deterioration of democracy and rule of law” in the country.

You can view Sargentini’s speech at the hearing below:

At the hearing, Márta Pardavi, co-chair of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, told LIBE that the government had systematically weakened its system of checks and balances, putting the fundamental values of the EU at risk. She added that

A free press and a strong civil sector are key in a democratic state for ensuring government accountability.

The Helsinki Committee, a human rights group that was nominated for Council of Europe’s Václav Havel Human Rights Prize this year, is one of the nearly two-dozen NGOs who have turned to Hungary’s Constitutional Court over the Orbán government’s controversial law requiring civil groups receiving foreign donations above a certain threshold to register as organizations funded from abroad. Since the bill’s passage, human rights and civil society groups worldwide have condemned the law as a move to silence “critical voices in society.”

The NGO law was also one of the issues that the European Commission (EC) has decided to refer to the Court of Justice of the European Union, which is the next step towards sanctions against the Hungarian government.

At the hearing, Gábor Polyák, the head of the Mérték Média Monitor, accused the government of handling criticism as “an attack” and

Using the media as a political communications tool.

Opposition Socialist (MSZP) MEP István Ujhelyi said Hungary had again been “shamed” as an EU member for “the government’s sins”.

Péter Niedermüller, an MEP for the leftist opposition Democratic Coalition (DK), called the government “pathetic” or failing to engage in a real debate and instead “repeating its own propaganda lines”.

Following the end of the hearing, Dutch Liberal MEP Sophia in ‘t Veld urged the European Peoples’ Party (EPP) to kick Orbán’s Fidesz out of its grouping, arguing that

In a democracy there is pluralism, and that is what Orbán wants to kill. For eight years Orbán has been stifling opposition, criticism, it is a fake democracy.

Fidesz Reactions

Miklós Szánthó, the director of the pro-government Center for Fundamental Rights, claimed that it was an “illusion” that Hungary had failed to observe EU laws, arguing that Hungary was a steady mid-fielder among EU member states from the point of view of the number of infringement procedures launched against it.

Meanwhile, Fidesz MEP Kinga Gál argued that she was baffled by the criticisms directed at Hungary, a country, she said, where demonstrators are not treated violently by the authorities, opposition politicians do not get arrested and journalists are not murdered. Lívia Járóka, also a ruling party MEP, said Brussels applied double standards against Hungary.

Speaking the LIBE hearing, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó turned away from issues of press freedom, democracy, and corruption, and toward one of the Orbán government’s favorite talking points: that Hungary rejects illegal migration and the quota system, and would

continue fighting for the interests and security of the Hungarian people.

He said the government would not shy away from debate, but claimed that there was a wide gap between the views of Budapest and Brussels on most aspects of the issue, including “the concept of nation, respect for traditions, border defense and security”.  He claimed that the EU, which has itself been the target of the Orbán government’s “Stop Brussels!” billboard campaign earlier this year, was “attacking” Hungary.

Szijjártó continued this line of commentary about migration issues at a press conference following the LIBE hearing, where he claimed that the committee and a large majority of European parliamentarians see illegal migration as a positive development, while the Hungarian government considered it a dangerous trend.

The Foreign Minister argued that the European Parliament’s decision on mandatory migrant quotas “cannot be implemented” because there is no mechanism in place for keeping people settled within the Schengen Area in a given country. Further, the mandatory migrant quotas “run totally counter to sober mindedness as well as to European laws and conventions.”

He added that the Hungarian government considers it a

violation of sovereignty if the EU wants to deprive them of the right to decide whom they allow to enter their territory.

Moving into conspiratorial language, Szijjártó claimed that he had “no doubt” that the report on Hungary “is already in place” and strongly reflected the political motivation behind “the political witch hunt” against Hungary. He said the report would not be “independent of the position of US financier George Soros.”

The Hungarian-American billionaire is currently the target of a lengthy Fidesz billboard and ‘National Consultation’ campaign, calling on people to ‘give their opinions’ on the so-called “Soros plan.” Both Soros and other observers (including Hungarian EU Commissioner Tibor Navracsics, a member of Fidesz) have argued that there is no evidence that any such “plan” exists, and that the entire ‘National Consultation’ is in fact nothing more than a

deceptive propaganda campaign.

Via MTI, Hungary Matters, europarl.europa.eu, index.hu, and EUobserver

Images via MTI and Twitter

Video via audiovisual.europarl.europa.eu

Source: hungarytoday.hu

Reklám

Source: hungarytoday.hu

Earlier this month, we had the opportunity to sit down for an interview with Réka Pigniczky, a Hungarian-American journalist and documentary filmmaker whose work often touches on deeply personal topics related to her own cultural upbringing.

Pigniczky, who lives in California, was in Budapest for the premiere of her latest film, Cold Warriors (Lövészek). Over the course of our discussion, she touched on her personal background, her directorial style, and the controversial paramilitary group at the heart of her new documentary, as well as her work on the Memory Project, a program aiming to document the oral histories of Hungarians who left their homeland for various reasons.

This interview has been edited for clarity and concision, and translated from the original Hungarian.

You often introduce yourself as a journalist and documentary filmmaker. Which is more important to you?

In the past, I was more of a TV journalist, mainly at the Associated Press TV, but nowadays I work more with documentaries; I see this as a natural evolution toward longer and more involved topics. My journalistic background certainly has an impact on my films, in that I do a lot of research before filming, but they are not all necessarily TV documentaries. Director Zsuzsanna Varga-Gellér once memorably told me that a documentary is not just a document, but also a film. I wanted to evolve to that point, and I hope that I have.

When did you decide to get into filmmaking?

It actually happened accidentally. After my father—who had never returned to Hungary after the 1956 revolution was crushed —passed away, my sister and I decided to find out more about his past, since he had never spoken much about it. We were curious as to what, exactly, he had done as a freedom fighter in the revolution. We decided to film everything we could over the course of our research, and, while I hadn’t planned on it while we were recording, it was this material that ultimately became Journey Home.

In addition, I had studied documentary filmmaking at Columbia University, although I ultimately chose broadcast news, because it was a field where you could actually make money. When I decided to make Journey Home, I applied for two grants from the Hungarian government and won both of them; this really launched me onto my current path.

Most of your films have some sort of thematic connection to Hungary. Is this deliberate, or have things just worked out that way?

It’s not deliberate. In Journey Home, there’s a roughly six-minute segment where I explain the perspective I was coming from in making the film, as well as my relationship to the 1956 Revolution. As a Hungarian-American who grew up in an ethnic “incubator,” I have a different view of 1956, as do others who grew up this way. When I showed a few scenes from the film in Hungary, people were surprised by some of the archival material [on Hungarian-Americans]. People had no idea how large and vibrant the Hungarian-American community in the United States is.

Later, I decided to make Inkubátor. This film paints a picture, for Hungarians in Hungary, of how Hungarians who fled to the US, as well as their descendants, live, while also examining Hungarian-American identity.

Your latest film, Cold Warriors, is about the Hungarian-American Rifle Association, a group of Hungarian emgirés undergoing paramilitary training in preparation for a second Hungarian Revolution. How did you find this topic?

Andrea Lauer Rice, who co-founded the Memory Project with me, was actually the one who found the story. A colleague of hers on the board of Lehigh University in Pennsylvania told Andrea about a certain farm in the area [also in the film], where Hungarians were ‘constantly shooting.’ According to her, it was like a small army. After this, she learned that the farm’s current owner kept some the group’s paraphernalia left on the farm, and had made a small exhibit of sorts out of them. Andrea called me the next day, asking if I’d heard of this group. My only answer was “No, I think you’ve been drinking too much coffee,” since through the course of my work I’ve gotten to know nearly every Hungarian-American organization, and I thought it was impossible that a small Hungarian army existed here without us knowing about it.

Despite this, I looked into it. It turned out that there really had been a boy scout-esque, militaristic group, but no one really wanted to talk about them. The sense I got was that they didn’t want to talk about them because they were afraid we would mix them up with the Hungarian scouts, who had traditionally had a poor relationship with this paramilitary group. After a bit of searching, I found András Ludányi, who had thoroughly documented the group’s past, and who as very happy to find a way to save the group’s memory.

In an earlier interview, you mentioned that you originally conceived of a trilogy of films dealing with Hungarian-American identity; Cold Warriors is now the fourth film on this topic.

That’s true. After we completed Heritage, I actually was planning on taking a break from films about Hungarian-American topics, since I’ve already dealt with questions concerning Hungarian-American identity, with 1956, and with how Hungarians abroad live their lives. The story of the Cold Warriors was one that I found to be quite fascinating, as it was something that very few people knew about. Just like the rest of my films, this one was also financed mostly through grants, in particular Hungarian ones tied to the 60^th anniversary of the 1956 Revolution. I have to add that these are not the only topics that I would like to make films about; and if these grant opportunities hadn’t presented themselves, I might not have been able to tell these stories.

The Rifle Association was decidedly militaristic in nature. Considering that, historically speaking, such groups were often closely tied to extreme-right political ideologies such as fascism, to what extent was this true of the group?

I didn’t want to make a film about an Arrow-Cross [Hungarian Nazi] organization, because that’s not something I’m interested in. To start with, politically speaking I lean towards the liberal end of the spectrum, as those who are familiar with my work already know. Despite this, there are people I know who didn’t even come to the premiere due to the film’s subject matter. I’m sad that they made that decision, because it shows that they are not open enough to get to know more about a topic that is alien to them. The people in the film are more patriotic than nationalist, and these two terms have very different connotations in the United States than in Hungary. I read all of the publications of the Cross and Sword Movement [Kereszt és Kard Mozgalom—the organization that sponsored the Rifle Association], and spoke to multiple historians regarding the group. Based on this research, I would say that the Rifle Association was not an anti-Semitic group, but it is true that there were older members who supported the Arrow Cross Party. Nevertheless, among the younger generation the group’s politics were simply anti-Communist. Overall, then, the Rifle Associations’ members, the ‘Shooters,’ weren’t extremists, but it was a conservative group.

Didn’t a paramilitary organization of this sort raise alarm among America’s security services?

One thing is certain, that this group never could have come into being in Germany or France, while in the United States it received an official charter. They did receive a few visits from the FBI, since it was an armed militia after all. Since they were anti-Communists, though, no one was worried by their activities, since this was during some of the hottest years of the Cold War. Their political views fit with America’s Cold War stance. My film tries to concentrate on all that these people were willing to do in order to bring freedom to Hungary. They would have, in all seriousness, set off to war with the Russian army, even if it would have put their lives in jeopardy (András Ludányi, who I mentioned, and who is in the film, had never even been to Hungary at this time).

Do films on this topic interest American audiences?

Surprisingly, Cold Warriors decidedly did. Many people wrote to me on Facebook, asking me why I don’t host a screening in San Francisco. This Hungarian-American militia caught peoples’ interest.

Two years ago, you launched the Memory Project, a digital visual history archive, which works to preserve the stories of Hungarians around the world in long-form interviews. What is the goal of this project?

The Memory Project is a bit like a start-up company, and we’ve now gotten to the point where we need to expand. We have conducted 125 interviews so far, but going forward the two of us, Andera Lauer Rice and I, won’t be nearly enough, since we would like to expand the project globally. It is particularly important for us that this project should bring Hungarians living abroad and those living in Hungary closer together. I hope that through this project we can help establish a dialogue of sorts between these two communities.

What topics do you plan to work on in the future?

There is a topic I’ve been working on for close to six or seven years. It’s about the legalization of marijuana in California, and with the exception of one participant it has no Hungarian connections at all. We’ve collected tons of material on it over the years, and have spent plenty of money on it. Full legalization, which is coming in January, will be an interesting, explosive development.

Reporting by Balázs Horváth and Tom Szigeti

Images via Tamás Komporday (Instagram: @tamaskomporday) and Réka Pigniczky

Source: hungarytoday.hu

Reklám

Source: hungarytoday.hu

Hungary’s Izabella Pörös has won the Top Shorts Online Film Festival’s award for Best Indie Filmmaker for Runaway, a music video featuring Hungarian vocalist Barbara Kiss, which gives voice to the tragedy and heartbreak of abusive relationships.

Like all of Pörös’ films, Runaway focuses on issues affecting women.  Violence against women, both physical and mental, are recurring themes in her work.  She has consciously chosen to focus her filmmaking efforts on the sensitivities of the female psyche.

Top Shorts, which on its official site claims to be “the world’s leading online film festival,” offers awards in 11 categories. The festival focuses on short, low-budget films, as well as music videos, webs series, and short experimental films.

Runaway has also been nominated for Best Director in the Music Video Underground November 2017 competition.  Established in Paris in 2016, the Music Video Underground is a monthly competition 100% focused on music videos.  Runaway is the only European video nominated in this category. You can view the video in its entirety below:

Born in Hungary, Izabella Pörös claims that her fascination for films began as a child. With her mother being an English language teacher and her father a film critic, she grew up watching English-language movies. Wanting to be a filmmaker, she attended screenwriting workshops, such as James V. Hart’s master class in Budapest, Hungary, and studied acting for five years; this training later helped her to work with actors.

In addition to her latest music video, Pörös has acted in a number of short films, and has worked as a director and writer. Her first short film, It’s a long way, premiered in New York and won several awards.  The film went on to become a 2015 New York City International Film Festival finalist (not to be confused with the much larger New York Film Festival) in the Best International Short Film Category. Pörös was nominated for Best Director as well.

Via Gulden Comm, IMDB, topshorts.net, and izabellaporos.com

Images via Gulden Comm

Videos via YouTube and Vimeo

Source: hungarytoday.hu

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The High Court of Cassation and Justice, Romania’s supreme court, in a final judgement annulled a decision of the National Council for Combating Discrimination (CNCD) from 2014. The decision in question was a milestone as far as minority rights protection is concerned, since it stated that the lack of bilingual street name signs in Târgu Mureș/Marosvásárhely constitutes discrimination and suggested that the Mayor’s Office placed the street name signs in two languages: Romanian and Hungarian. As a reaction to this, the Mayor’s Office brought the CNCD and the NGO that put up the bilingual street signs to court, asking for the Council’s decision to be annulled.

The supreme court’s decision comes after the Mureș Court of Appeal’s first degree ruling in favour of the Mayor’s Office. It is worth mentioning that the Romanian Law on the Local Public Administration clearly states that in the territorial-administrative units where the citizens belonging to the national minorities account for over 20% of the inhabitants, the public local authorities must ensure the use of that language in relations with them. Interpretations of these provisions lead to applying the law exclusively in the case of the name signs of the settlements and the inscriptions of the respective authorities, but not the street name signs.

Moreover, Romania has ratified the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages in 2008, in which it undertook to use the place-names in regional or minority languages in conjunction with the name in the official language. In a 2012 report on the application of the Charter, several recommendations were included, interpreting the term “place-name” as meaning not only the name of settlements, but also street names, for example. Nota bene, Târgu Mureș/Marosvásárhely is a city in Transylvania, Romania, having a 45% Hungarian population.

Anti-Hungarian hate-speech persists in Romanian football

Throughout this year our organisation has been drawing attention to the increasing xenophobia that Hungarian football players and their supporters have to endure in the Romanian football league. However, anti-Hungarian hate-speech during football matches does not seem to be abating.

During a recent football match between two U19 teams, FC Botoșani and FK Csíkszereda Miercurea Ciuc/Csíkszereda, the players and the supporters of the latter were exposed to very vulgar and racist language coming from the fans of the hosts. The referee did not stop the game, nor were there any measures taken after the match had ended.

Following the incident, the president of FK Csíkszereda, Zoltán SZONDI, addressed letters to the Romanian Football Federation and to the Central Committee of Referees, in which he complained that this is not the first instance in which the junior teams of his club have to endure xenophobic and racist slurs during games. He demanded for adequate action to be taken in such cases, and for the rules stipulated by the Romanian Football Federation to be respected. Only by taking firm action against racism and xenophobia can such incidents be avoided in the future.

Source: mikoimre.ro

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Barabás Lőrinc Hungarian jazz trumpet player and producer will be on tour in the US between 16 November and 6 December playing in New York and San Francisco.

Occupying a musical world on the border of jazz, world music, electronic music and pop, Lőrinc has published six albums through his career, all of them exceptionally well-received. Originally educated in jazz, he also draws on a wide range of influence from Bartók’s music to Native American culture.

The classically trained Hungarian trumpeter and composer showcases his versatility in style and elevation of classical jazz in a new era that fuses many genres of music from electronic, to pop and Euro-house, layered with synthesizers that perfectly blend the analog and digital worlds together to create a sound ripe for this generation.

Where many think of a one-armed trumpet player as impossible, Barabás Lőrinc can only imagine himself as “I’m Possible” in his seamlessly effortless stage shows and musical productions, where he takes on the roles of artist, producer and composer, whether in collaboration with a live band, as a one man band or scoring for films.

Having many generations of painters and sculptors in his family, Lőrinc’s affinity to visual arts is important. He describes his music as “playing with shapes and colors”. Lőrinc chose to concentrate on the trumpet, going on to make his mark in the world of music. Lőrinc has performed in Hong Kong, Sydney, New York, Paris and Moscow, played at the Montreaux Jazz Festival and at the North Sea Jazz Festival among others. He spent years in London and lived in the US as well.

Barabás Lőrinc in his musical formation and collaborations shows that he sees no borders when it comes to the art of music because music is truly a universal language that cuts across all man-made boundaries, limitations and labels.

Lőrinc is unstoppable in his zeal to present the sounds of his city Budapest and classical trumpet around the globe as he seeks more collaborations and fusions worldwide. Barabás Lőrinc is definitely an artist to watch in 2017 as he continues to shine his star power on the world, one tour at a time.

You can meet him and feel his illuminating power both with his solo act and with local musicians in various formations in the US.

Barabás Lőrinc Live Act

Trumpet player and producer, Barabás Lőrinc, has been a mover and shaker of the improvisative music scene in Budapest. Over the past decade his club events and bands provided fertile ground for kindred spirits experimenting at the crossroads of jazz and electronica. He gained wider international recognition on events such as the Montreaux Jazz Festival, iTunes Festival in London playing with Valerie June and also shared stage with the likes of Thievery Corporation and Bonobo.

His solo project blends dance grooves, meditative moods and all the shades in between. His live performances always have the excitement of a journey through unexpected modern tribal landscapes.

The unique repertoire of Barabás Lőrinc’s solo set is based on the concept of Elevator Dance Music (2015) and Sastra (2013) albums. On the stage he juggles keyboards, trumpet, effects, laptop and a loop station accompanied by cinematic projections.

Mistaken

Shakal Beats (solo)

121 (solo)

Subrail (solo)

Elevator Dance Music (2015) – https://play.spotify.com/album/312L8mi7NP07eqvOiWlA5M

Sastra (2013) – https://play.spotify.com/album/5mTapDmbwoLbqDkl4NTAWI

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Today, the National Day for the Victims of Communism, marks 100 years since the Bolshevik Revolution took place in Russia. The Bolshevik Revolution gave rise to the Soviet Union and its dark decades of oppressive communism, a political philosophy incompatible with liberty, prosperity, and the dignity of human life.

Over the past century, communist totalitarian regimes around the world have killed more than 100 million people and subjected countless more to exploitation, violence, and untold devastation. These movements, under the false pretense of liberation, systematically robbed innocent people of their God-given rights of free worship, freedom of association, and countless other rights we hold sacrosanct. Citizens yearning for freedom were subjugated by the state through the use of coercion, violence, and fear.

Today, we remember those who have died and all who continue to suffer under communism. In their memory and in honor of the indomitable spirit of those who have fought courageously to spread freedom and opportunity around the world, our Nation reaffirms its steadfast resolve to shine the light of liberty for all who yearn for a brighter, freer future.

Source: whitehouse.gov

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Hypocrisy may be the only consistent guiding principle of US foreign policy. Here’s a prime example of the “do as we say, not as we do” that is the core of how Washington does business overseas: In the same week that the the US Justice Department demanded that the Russian-backed RT America network register as a foreign propaganda entity or face arrest, the US State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DNL) has announced that it is launching a program to massively interfere in NATO-partner Hungary’s internal media.

So the US Justice Department is cracking down on RT America for what it says is manipulation of US domestic affairs while the US State Department announces a new program to manipulate Hungary’s domestic affairs.

The State Department’s new program would send three-quarters of a million dollars to Washington-selected Hungarian media outlets to “increase citizens’ access to objective information about domestic and global issues in Hungary.” On what authority does the United States pick winners and losers in Hungary’s diverse media environment? Since when does one government have the right to determine what news is “objective” in another country? Hungary is not a country to be “regime-changed” — it is a full democracy where the will of the people is regularly expressed at the ballot box and where the media competes freely in the marketplace of ideas.

Washington’s Hungarian media project is clearly meant to interfere in that country’s domestic political environment. Here are the stated objectives of the US government’s Hungary program:

The program should improve the quality of local traditional and online media and increase the public’s access to reliable and unbiased information.
…
Projects should aim to have impact that leads to democratic reforms, and should have the potential for sustainability beyond DRL resources. (emphasis added)

The State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor identifies its mission in this call for grantees as “promoting democracy and protecting human rights globally.” So what is it doing in Hungary? Hungary has had nearly three decades of democracy since 1989 and hardly needs the United States to tell it what kind of media is allowed (subsidized) and which kind should be suppressed.

In reality this is a US government program to ensure that the Hungarian media follows Washington’s policy line. Hungarians are all too familiar with this kind of toxic interference from an outside superpower: it was called the Soviet Union. Does Washington really seek to take on that role?

Stab in the back

This US government intervention in Hungary’s internal affairs must feel like a stab in the back to Orban and his government. Orban was an early — and rare — supporter of candidate Donald Trump among his European colleagues. Indeed, where Brusssels saw Trump as a gauche loudmouth, Orban openly admired the soon-to-be-president’s position on immigration and particularly on the mass immigration of mostly Muslim “refugees” that has proven to be disastrous for so many European countries. Likewise, Viktor Orban’s Fidesz party has managed to retain a high level of popularity through two election cycles by embracing and promoting the kind of nationalism that characterized Trump’s successful campaign.

Orban’s early support for Trump appeared to have paid off. Where Fidesz had struggled to make any headway at all under GW Bush or Obama’s State Departments, both of which were openly hostile, one of President-elect Trump’s first moves was to invite Orban to the White House. Orban, for his part, hailed Trump on inauguration day, welcoming in an era where national interest takes precedent over multilateralism.

As recently as last month, President Trump praised Viktor Orban, saying that the “strong and brave” Hungarian Prime Minister is “on my guest list.”

Then Trump’s State Department launched a program to undermine Hungary’s national sovereignty by interfering in the Hungarian media market. It seems national sovereignty is a one-way street for Washington no matter who occupies the Oval Office.

Hypocrisy…or policy consistency?

But perhaps it’s inaccurate to accuse the US government of hypocrisy in this case. After all, pressuring RT America with the intent of silencing the news network and spending our tax dollars propping up US-friendly media outlets in the Hungarian countryside are actually two sides of the same coin: the US government will tell you what kind of media you are allowed to consume. If you are a media network in the United States that allows voices who oppose Washington’s neocon-dominated foreign policy they will shut you down. If you are a news outlet in the Hungarian countryside that spews the US party line, they will prop you up. Both cases are the same: your media will toe the US government official line or else.

Note to Washington: This is not 1950. Hungary has been a fully free and democratic country with plenty of free elections under its belt. It does not need you to come in and attempt to manipulate its newspapers and broadcast media. What would you do if China sent in a few million dollars to prop up US publications who agreed to push the Beijing line? What about if Tehran sent some money to publications pushing the Ayatollah party line? You cannot even tolerate RT America — which is largely staffed by Americans but dares to feature prominent Americans who challenge the neocon foreign policy line. Hands off Hungary!

Note to Viktor Orban: You risked arrest — and worse — in June, 1989 when you directly confronted the communists who were occupying your country. Now that Hungary’s freedom has been won — in no small way due to your efforts — do not allow Washington’s neocons to take it away from you! If you do not confront this violation of Hungarian sovereignty, the neocons will continue to increase the pressure. The neocons want you out! Just this week, neocon commentator Anne Applebaum wrote that you are a “neo-Bolshevik” who has “little to do with the right that has been part of Western politics since World War II, and…no connection to existing conservative parties.” Do a little research and you will notice that Applebaum is a member of the International Advisory Council of the Center for European Policy Analysis — the organization your own government funded for a big conference this summer! Neocon knives are out for you. You’d be smart to make a better assessment of who are your friends and enemies in the United States…before it’s too late.

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Below, we are sharing the full text of Hungarian Prime Minister’s speech delivered at House of Terror Museum in Budapest on 23 October 2017. In his national holiday speech, Viktor Orbán not only remembered the heroes of Hungary’s anti-Soviet uprising in 1956 but also drew parallel between the times of the revolution and today’s political tensions in Europe. The summary of the speech can be found here.

“I greet Hungarians bowing their heads in honour of the heroes of the 1956 Revolution and Freedom Fight. I greet you all, wherever you are in the world, from Toronto to Paris to Dunaszerdahely, from Munkács to Szabadka, and all the way to Szeklerland. I greet those celebrating in the nation’s capital, and also those who join us in front of their screens at home. I greet those who appreciate that we Hungarians, the people of freedom, are a special nation of freedom. Whatever may come – rain, biting winds, tear gas or mounted police charges – we gather nonetheless. Because, wherever in the world we live, we want to remember: worthily and justly. We want to remember that wonderful day in October when an entire people said “Enough!”, and the pillars supporting the communist regime started to shake. We want to remember a moment which will always live in the memory of the free nations of the world.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

A motherland is a natural and spiritual reality. Soviet rule, however, pushed us into a space without history, and sought to destroy both our past and our culture. The strongest weapon against physical and mental terror is national remembrance. This is why today we came here, of all places. The building we see here was the headquarters of the Arrow Cross, and later the centre for communist party state terror. This building was a nest first for national socialists, and then for international socialists. This is where they imprisoned and tortured those who they feared the most, and who they therefore hated the most. In 2002 we cut it out of space and time with a blade-like wall, elevated it to a memorial, and created a museum here, in the heart of Budapest, of Hungary and of Europe. Let it remind the world that the Hungarians’ thirst for freedom cannot be denied. We created it in this place to also remind us that if freedom is lost, if national independence is lost, we ourselves will also be lost. It warns us that freedom is never given to us for free: we must always fight for it. We must always defend our freedom, whether from Austrians, Russians, Germans or Soviets, from those wearing the garb of the Arrow Cross or of communism. No one else will ever do this for us. This is what we are used to: here “liberation” has often meant the beginning of a new occupation. A nation which at the right moment, in the hour of reckoning, has sons and daughters who are ready to defend the motherland is a lucky nation. Because in this corner of Europe there regularly come times when it is not enough to talk about one’s love for the motherland: one must defend the motherland.

Today we remember those who one day woke up to find that everything had been taken away from them: everything which was not only worth living for, but worth dying for. What was taken from them was not only that which they had, but also that which they could have had. They were struck by the fear that if things continued in that way, they would lose Hungary forever. And then when they reached the edge of the precipice – about to see the crumbling of the thousand-year-old motherland and the Hungarian world – they rebelled. In 1956, from the half-light of oppression, there emerged the truly wonderful country which we had always desired. Before us flashed the realisation that there can be a Hungary which is built by the better angels of our nature. The Revolution was a national revolution. All of a sudden it turned out that those working in the factories here were not members of an international proletariat, but Hungarian workers. And we shall remember this moment for as long as a single Hungarian lives on this Earth. Let us digress a little, and admit that we not only remember: we also do not forget. We do not forget those who were on the other side. We are regularly accused of lacking the capacity to forgive. But in fact it is they who are unable to forgive us for all the sins they committed against us for almost half a century.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Though Westerners may have admired the Hungarian Revolution, they did not understand it. They didn’t understand the force that animated us. They didn’t understand why, so heavily outnumbered, we fought against a force that, according to human logic, we had virtually no chance of defeating. They did not understand that we fought because we insisted on our own culture and way of life to the end, and refused to be dissolved in anyone’s melting pot. We want to be respected for who we are and what we are. We have guarded Europe’s borders for a thousand years, and have fought for our national independence. We are a brave and combative nation which realises that those who are not respected are despised. We are not understood in Brussels today, just as we were not understood back then either.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The place we stand today is not only in front of the House of Terror Museum, but also on one of the world’s most beautiful boulevards. The beauty and grandeur that our nation is capable of are visible to us here in their true colours. Here we have the palatial villas of Andrássy út, Heroes’ Square is over there, and the Opera House and the Chain Bridge are further in the other direction. This is a heritage – a stunning heritage – that imposes an obligation on us all. Our time-honoured squares are not mere stage sets to idly marvel at: these are benchmarks, signals and warning signs. A nation that reached the heights that we did – and more than once – must not be content with less. Today, also, we must not be content with any less. There were periods when we needed to control an empire. There were times – more than once – when we needed to rebuild and restructure a ravaged motherland after its devastation by the enemy. We did not shy away from either responsibility, hard work or the will of God: we did what we had to do. Some of us stood their ground on the battlefield, while others won a place for us among the nations through their intellectual achievements. Today we celebrate a day when once again millions of Hungarians came to the simultaneous realisation that, though each of us lives our own life, we all belong to the same nation. We remember the moment when the cardinal and the lathe operator, philosophers and the “lads of Pest”, the archduke and the Soviet partisan turned defence minister all wanted the same thing. Today we remember the impact which broke through the walls dividing the severed parts of the nation, and reached the student gatherings of Transylvania and the cells of Szamosújvár Prison. Péter Mansfeld, Mária Wittner, László Dózsa, János Szabó, Gergely Pongrátz, Imre Nagy, József Mindszenty: we look at them, but we see a nation.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Remembering also helps us to hold the truth of our life today in a steadfast gaze. The truth is that, thirty years after communism, there is once again a world power which seeks to turn the European nations into a monochrome, homogeneous mass. Like all cultured European nations, we Hungarians have always had our own notion of our country: a vision of freedom and civilisation; a vision of how to be human and how to live as human beings. This is how, throughout history, we’ve always rebuilt Hungary, once we’ve rid ourselves of our oppressors. This is how it was after we tore down communism and sent the Soviets packing. The truth is that now, three decades down the line, everything that we think about Hungary and the order of life in Hungary is once again under threat. The truth is that after we regained our freedom in 1990, we have once again arrived at a crossroads in our history. We wanted to believe that the old troubles could no longer return. We wanted to believe that the deranged dream that the communists had of turning us Hungarians into Homo sovieticus could never return, ever again. And now here we are, astonished to see that the forces of globalism are trying to force our doors open, and are working on turning us Hungarians into Homo brusselius. We wanted to believe that never again would we have to deal with political, economic and intellectual forces seeking to sever our national roots. We also wanted to believe that in Europe there was no room for terrorism and violence.

That is not how things have turned out. Europe has been blinded by its former achievements, and, without even noticing, has found itself forced to the back of the world stage. It once dreamt of taking on a leading role in the world, but now even its own neighbours hardly bother with it, and it can barely put its own house in order. Instead of realising this, they started campaigns of revenge against those who warned them of the threats of intellectual and spiritual self-immolation and of nihilism. People who believe that Europe needs external borders that can be physically protected have been branded as closed-minded. Those who believe that immigration poses a threat to our culture have been branded as racists, and those who have spoken up for the protection of Christianity have been branded as exclusionists. Those who have stood up for the protection of families have been branded as homophobes. Those who believe that Europe is an alliance of nations have been branded as Nazis. And finally, those who have stepped off the Brussels economic policy path, that leads to a quagmire, have been branded as fantasists. Few have survived these campaigns of retribution. It was this arrogance that has led Europe into the economic, political and intellectual chaos that every country is now seeking to escape. This is the truth we must face today. A short digression: it seems that over there they’re not familiar with our king, Saint Stephen of Hungary’s most important admonition: “naught elevates, save humility; and nothing casts down, save pride and envy”.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The European people – including us – have had enough of being made to accept globalisation as an irresistible force. We have had enough of being told day and night that there’s nothing we can do, we must accept our lot, adapt and bow down. We wanted and continue to want the European Union to be a guarantee and a vehicle with which the European nations protect their shared ideas of civilisation. In reality, however, we have made ourselves more vulnerable than we used to be. In every crisis situation they cry “Europe!”, as if it were a magic word which on its own is capable of turning around our fate. Europe has found itself in a dead-end. We Hungarians know why, and we see this most clearly at times like this, on the twenty-third of October. In the twentieth century the trouble was caused by military empires, but now, in the slipstream of globalisation, it is financial empires which have risen up. They have no borders, but they have global media, and they have bought tens of thousands of people. They have no fixed structure, but they have extensive networks. They are fast, strong and brutal. It is this empire of financial speculation that has captured Brussels and several Member States. Until it regains its sovereignty, it will be impossible to turn Europe in the right direction. It is this empire that saddled us with modern-day mass population movement, with millions of migrants, and with a new migrant invasion. They developed a plan with which they now seek to turn Europe into a continent with a mixed population. We alone resist them now. We have reached the point at which Central Europe is the last migrant-free region in Europe. This is why the struggle for the future of Europe is being concentrated here.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

We Hungarians were the ones who broke the ice of silence. We are the ones who identified the forces which seek to sever Europe from its national roots. We brought them into light, and to combat them urged united national – and later international – solidarity. We could do no other. Our world is not that of half-light and covert warfare: we can never win with that approach. In darkness our enemies outnumber us. We only stand a chance of defending our borders, stopping the mass population movement and preserving our national identity in a battle fought with our helmets’ visors up, and with clear, straightforward talk. If we want a Hungarian Hungary and a European Europe, we must talk about it in a straightforward manner. And it is not enough to talk: we must also fight – as we have always done when our freedom and independence have been at stake.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Nowadays all elections in Europe are crucial. This is true of the recent elections in Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic, and this will be the case in Italy and Hungary next year. Now it is being decided whether the peoples of Europe take control back over their own national lives, whether they take control back from the European bureaucrats acting in cahoots with the economic elites. We must achieve far-reaching changes in every field: in politics, in the economy, in our intellectual life, and above all, in culture. Now it is being decided whether we can bring back our great old Europe: the Europe that existed in the days before multiculturalism. We want a Europe that is safe, just, civic, Christian and free.

Many people still believe that this is impossible. But let’s just think of 1956. On the morning of 23 October 1956, how many people sitting on the tram on the way to work would have thought that come the evening all that would remain of the statue of Stalin would be his boots? How many people believed that, if needed, even children would take up arms? István Örkény wrote about a little boy knocking on the door of a middle-class apartment in Budapest: “If I wipe my feet like a good boy, Lady, will you let me shoot out of your window?” And in 1988, how many people believed that within a year we would knock communism down, count it out, carry it from the ring, and send the Soviet troops from the country? And before 2010, how many people believed that we would soon have a new constitution based on national foundations, Christian in culture and capable of protecting our families? They said it would be impossible. They said it would be impossible to send the IMF packing. They said it would be impossible to hold the banks to account, it would be impossible to impose taxes on multinational companies, and it would be impossible to reduce household utility bills. They said it would be impossible to provide jobs for everyone, it would be impossible to resist mass population movement, and that it would be impossible to stop the migrant invasion with a fence on our borders.

Not once could I tell you with absolute certainty that we would succeed. In life there are no such guarantees. One thing has always been certain, however: if we don’t even try, we definitely cannot succeed. There is always some chance. In 1956 we salvaged the honour of the nation. In 1990 we regained our freedom. And in 2010 we embarked on the path of national unification. No one can tell us that something is impossible. We know that mass population movement can be stopped, that globalisation can be restrained, that Brussels can be reined in, that the financial speculator’s plan can be torpedoed, and that a straitjacket can be forced onto the insane idea of a United States of Europe. All it takes is for us here in Central Europe – Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, Romanians and Hungarians – to unite our efforts. All it takes is for us to discover the strength in our hands, in our heads and in our hearts, and to behave in a way that befits proud nations.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The stakes are high, and we must not treat anything casually. Our strength today must not lead us into complacency or inactivity. We must never underestimate the power of the dark side. We are strong favourites to win the next election, but we have yet to earn it, and we have yet to complete the fight for victory. We will need everyone. We will therefore make our preparations in the months ahead. In March we will start anew, and then in April we will win again.

Go for it Hungary! Go for it Hungarians!”

***

via miniszterelnok.hu; featured photo: Szilárd Koszticsák – MTI

Source: hungarytoday.hu

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