Amerikai Magyar Hírlap, 1989 (1. évfolyam, 1-24. szám)

1989-03-10 / 1. szám

AMERICAN Hungarian Journal Popular revolt or counterrevolution? In this issue we are discuss­ing the ongoing political chan­ges in Hungary. Imre Pozsgai, prominent leader of the ruling party, declared in the course of a broadcast interview that, con­trary to the former official standpoint, the revolution of 1956 was not a counterrevolu­tion organized from abroad, but a spontaneous popular revolt. It came as no surprise that this statement did not find une­quivocal approval in official circles. A few days later Mátyás Szűrös, secretary of the Com­munist Party’s Central Commit­tee, addressing an audience at Miskolc, found it necessary to point out the impossibility of defining the "complex happen­ings" of that time in a single word. This statement makes it clear that the differences of opinion within the party regarding this problem are still unresolved. It would seem justified to con­clude that the ruling political group is plagued by a grave ideological division. Further details were prompt­ly provided by the Budapest correspondent of the New York Times News Service. Though the report was presented in the papers in a way to suggest that "a compromise had been reached" within the Communist Party of Hungary regarding this issue, what happened in reality was merely that Károly Grósz had succeeded in getting his own view accepted. He is cautiously trying to reconcile the two views saying that the revolution had indeed start out as a popular revolt but later degenerated into a counter­revolution. It is common knowledge that the majority of Hungarians favors the popular revolt definition. It follows that the mere announcement of the minority opinion can under no circumstances be regarded as a compromise. Reports from the Parliament Hungarian papers reported that an enterprising group started anew the once famous Reports from the Parliament, originated by Lajos Kossuth in 1832 at the initiative of Count György Andrássy. According to the unanimous opinion of the papers, the chronicle, priced at 18 Forints, enjoys as much popularity today as it did in the time of Kossuth. Strike Law Being Prepared in Hungary Recently the Hungarian press published the draft of a law regarding strikes, asking for input from the public. After the comments, the government dis­cussed the plan, effected some changes and resubmitted the text to the public. The point of primary impor­tance is that the plan confirms the right of Hungarian workers to strike in order to defend their interests. The text prescribes "cooperation" be­tween employers and employees. According to a second version (B) of the planned law, there would be no need for previous reconciliation if the strike is initiated by the Union. Furthermore, they list the cases when a strike is illegal, and they point out that the abuse of the right to strike con­stitutes a crime punishable by law. Withdrawal of Soviet Troops to Start in May The first official statement has been issued regarding the start of withdrawal of Soviet troops stationed in Hungary. Colonel- General Matvej Burlakov, com­mander-in-chief of the southern army group, announced at a conference in Budapest that 22 Soviet units would be withdrawn. The operation will begin in May, and by the end of 1990 over ten thousand Soviet soldiers and 450 tanks will be removed from Hungary. We can say that now "the ice is broken", but only on a propagandistic level, the figures of the proposed withdrawal are rather meager and they do not repre­sent a major change. A Crisis Zone BUDAPEST - A leading reformer in Hungary, Imre Pozsgay, has described Eastern Europe as the world’s largest crisis zone. He has also lifted the lid on another taboo topic of Hungary’s past by saying that 600,000 peasants had been inter­ned under Stalinist leader Mátyás Rákosi. Pozsgay, a member of the ruling communist party Polit­buro, told party activists in the southern city of Tolna that the world’s "most extensive crisis zone" was in the Eastern Europe, the daily newspaper Magyar Nemzet said. "It’s not accidental that among the 35-40 nations that were able to face the world economic crisis, none were socialist," the paper quoted him as saying. "The model involuntarily adopted in the second half on the 1940s all but disfavored out­put, and this reated stagnation." Total pull out? The new Soviet commander of Warsaw Pact forces said Friday that the East Bloc’s planned troop cuts and reorganization would put it on a purely defen­sive stance within two years so that it would pose no threat to the West. Hungarian Premier Miklos Nemeth, concluding a day of talks on foreign policy and economic issues with top Soviet officials, underlined Moscow’s "readiness to pull out its military units from the territories of European socialist countries", Hungary among them, if NATO and the Warsaw Pact agree upon disbanding the two allian­ces. Nemeth’s comments, coming together with Soviet and East European statements, appeared to presage further diplomatic in­itiatives by Moscow and its allies at the Vienna negotiations, which will deal with the reduc­tion of conventional forces in Europe. All 35 countries that signed the 1975 Helsinki agreement on reducing East-West tensions are involved, but the actual negotia­tions will be conducted by NATO’s 16 members and the seven members of the Warsaw Pact. New Constitution for Hungary Amid the sound and fury sur­rounding Soviet glasnost and tepid talks between Solidarity and the Polish political monolith, Hungary is quietly preparing to grasp the torch of freedom from its Communist enemies with a Western-style constitution. Modeled after Stalin’s 1936 Soviet Constitution, Hungary’s existing 1949 Constitution is remarkable only for its brevity and hollow restraints on ar­bitrary government. At present, all significant power is exercised by a leadership elite of the Socialist Worker’s Party and the Presidential Council. The contemplated constitution would permit multiple political parties required only the pledge adherence to its provisions. The SWP would probably lose con­trol of Parliament. Elections would be by secret ballot. Members of Parliament would be elected by majority vote either by geographic dis­trict, or from specified grouping such as trade unions or farmers, or at-large based on receipt by a party of a particular percentage of nationwide support. A Kissinger Plan Former secretary of state HENRY A. Kissinger has proposed az East-West political settlement in Central Europe to end four decades of Cold War antagonism, according to Bush administration sources. Kissinger’s basic concept is that the weakening of the Soviet-dominated East Euro­pean bloc and, to a degree, of the U.S.-led NATO alliance re­quires "the first comprehensive discussion about the political fu­ture of Europe since the out­break of World War I." Sources familiar with Kissinger’s ideas said he en­visions further dramatic easing of Soviet political controls over the Eastern European nations of Moscow’s post-World War II empire and Soviet acquiescence in national self-rule by those countries without the threat of renewed Soviet military inter­vention. On Ferenc Erkel Our contributor István Czövek discusses Ferenc Erkel, the ever popular composer of the Hungarian National An­them, as the father of Hun­garian national opera. His most popular opera, László Hunyadi, is still in demand today as much as ever. Mr. Czövek mentions that the composer inserted a special aria for the French guest artist Anna La Grange, which turned out to be one of the highlights of the opera. Miracolous Hot Springs in Hungary Hungary is well-known for her rich thermal water resources. It is an important national task to turn this asset for the use of recreation and tourism. Sig­nificant efforts have been made so far to enhance this develop­ment, and it is our intention to continue this trend in the future. Centuries ago, the Romans knew of the therapeutic value of thermal springs, also called medicinal springs. Thermal water was introduced in Hun­gary by the Romans under Tiberius Nero when they dug the first thermal wells in the region, many of them in the province of Pannonia, in Western Hungary. Aquincum, the capital of Pannonia, was situated in what is now northern Budapest. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, Hungarian tribes settled near the hot-water springs in 896. In 1178 the first hospitals featuring thermal water baths were built by Johan­nite knights, among which was a hospital on Budapest’s Margaret Island and another near Gellert Hill. The Hungarian hot-spring baths reached the height of popularity during the reign of the great Renaissance monarch, Matthias Corvinus, d. 1490. During the 15th and 16th cen­turies, when Hungary became part of the Ottoman Empire, the Turks added many new baths to the old Roman sites. Many of these Turkish baths remain today in their original form. Medicinal waters have a com­plex effect: in addition to their physical characteristics, the chemical effects of the dissolved mineral substances are also im­portant. These substances are absorbed through the skin, and during the bath, the solute-rich vapor is also inhaled. European physicians regularly prescribe spa treatments for certain ail­ments, including all forms of rheumatism, locomotor diseases, gynecological disorders, cir­culatory diseases, after-care of fractures, etc. Therein is a prin­cipal reason that the great spa resorts of Hungary have a dif­ferent focus in the services and facilities offered to their quests. Our modern way of life invol­ves air-conditioned rooms, cars, lack of regular outdoor exercise and is also devoid of the various natural stimuli necessary for normal body function and con­servation of health. Recent tech­nological expansion in modern society has produced unex­pected and unbalanced demands on the human body which often fails to adapt fully and suffers physical and psychological damage. The body can be adversely affected by numerous factors related to our current Age of Anxiety: alcohol, smoking, pills, marital crisis, overeating, emotional stress, ex­haustion - the list goes on and on. From all this results a frightening increase in degenerative illness that modern medical practice has not been entirely successful in preventing. A vacation-cure at a Hungarian Health Spa Resort may seem to be the epitome of self-centered­­ness, but the restorative, refreshing effects produce bet­ter control of one’s existence. Despite the progress achieved 1989. március 10. AMERIKAI Magyar Hírlap in today’s medical science, the spa therapy "cure", a therapeutic approach which is thousands of years old, has lost none of its significance and is, in fact, being rediscovered by many. Heviz Spa There is only one thermal pond in the World, in New Zealand that is so aboundant in water and is of such a great extent and disposes of so many valuable qualities for balneotherapy as that of at Hévíz. The surface of the Hévíz ther­mal pond - dating back to a very early geological period - is 47,500 square metres. As the spring delivers an average of 36.000 litres of water per minute, the water of the entire lake exchanges every 24 hours. During the summer months, the temperature of the water is 33- 35 aC; even in winter the temperature never sinks below 26 aC. So even rheumatics, who are especially sensitive to cold, are able to bathe in the open air the whole year round. Another peculiarity of Hévíz Spa is the highly curative mud which covers the bottom of the lake in a thickness of about 1 metre. It is a peat mud predominantly of vegetal origin and also contains mineral ele­ments. The International Peloide Committee classifies the mud of Hévíz a type of mixed mud. The mud is smooth and pleasing for touch and because of its high thermal capacity it is especially suitable for mudpack­ings. HEREND It is always a pleasant, refresh­ing experience to walk the wide, modern halls of the Porcelain Factory of Herend, and not only because I have strolled many times through the somewhat patriarchial, old-fashioned rooms of the former manufac­tory at a time when my whole family was admiring the products of that workshop. Today, Herend continues to be the pride of the Hungarian ceramics industry; : no doubt, the beauty of its products and the popularity of china .'hroughout the world have much to do with it. Presently, Herend’s fine quality porcelain is being exported to over forty countries. In the spacious, sparkling clean halls, the newest machines perform the technical work, but the essence - the decorating and colouring of the porcelain - is done by hand. The men and women who work here are high­ly qualified designers contribut­ing with their expertise and fine artistic sense to a superior team-work. Rightfully, Herend is recognized for being a cornerstone of industrial art, where good tradition is cori­­tinued and supplemented with the best achievements of modern technology. Győző Sikota has compiled the results of his extensive, partly archival research into a monograph about the past and present of this Hungarian national institu­tion. Since its publication in Hungarian, his book has be­come a fundamental work. Beautifully illustrated, it presents Herend and the art of making porcelain to the world. Dezső Keresztury-

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