Hungarian American Coalition News, 1999 (8. évfolyam, 1-3. szám)

1999 / 2. szám

COALITION MEMBERS PARTICIPATE IN VARIOUS NATO EVENTS

On March 12,1999, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic became official members of NATO. The joining ceremony took place at the Harry S. Truman Library in Independence, Missouri, a historic site where in 1949 President Truman announced the initial creation of NATO.

Secretary of State Madeline Albright hosted the ceremony, which was attended by Mr. Janos Martonyi, Mr. Bronislaw Geremek, and Mr. Jan Kavan, Foreign Ministers of Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic, numerous dignitaries and supporters of the expanded NATO:

Representatives of ethnic organizations in the United States attended the historic ceremony. The Hungarian American Coalition was represented by the Hon. Peter S. Ujvagi, President of the Coalition, Mr. Eugene Megyesy, Jr. of the Hungarian Club of Colorado, and Mr. László Hamos, President of the Hungarian Human Rights Foundation.

On March 26, 1999, the Central and East European Coalition (CEEC) honored Senators William Roth, Jr., Joseph R. Biden, Jr. and Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Sonny Callahan for their “leadership in this region of the world,” as the CEEC believes that peace, stability and democracy throughout Europe serve the national security interests of the United States.

Over 100 were in attendance at the reception honoring these legislators. Coalition board member, Frank Koszorús, Jr., who spearheaded the organization’s NATO enlargement efforts in Washington, D.C., presented the CEEC’s plaque to Senator Biden.

On April 14, 1999, a reception sponsored by the NATO Enlargement Working Group was held on Capitol Hill. This coalition of American ethnic, veteran and religious organizations, which includes the Hungarian American Coalition, vigorously supported the expansion of the Alliance.

Hungarian Ambassador Géza Jeszenszky spoke to the more than 200 attendees: “Hungarians have always advocated the protection of human rights and rights of national and ethnic minorities, knowing that denial of such rights threatens stability and peace in the region.” Coalition member, Frank Koszorús, Jr. served as Chairman of the Working Group’s Steering Committee and was the master of ceremonies at the reception. Attendees included ambassadors, members of the Senate Foreign Relations and House International Relations committees, and dignitaries, including József Toth, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Hungarian Embassy, Edith Lauer, Chairperson of the Coalition and Coalition board members Anne Bader and László Hamos.

In April, 1999, Strange Bedfellows: NATO Marches East was published about the political process which led to NATO expansion. The author, George W. Grayson, Professor at the College of William and Mary, documents the substantial contribution of organizations such as the Hungarian American Coalition to the successful outcome of the NATO debate. Among others he mentions Coalition board member Frank Koszorús, Jr.’s participation in the “early, indefatigable efforts by bright, highly motivated activists .... Ethnic American organizations....such as “the Hungarian American Coalition and other organizations that had long advocated alliance membership for Central European states."

During the April 23-26 NATO Summit and 50th Anniversary Celebration several official and NGO- sponsored events were attended by Coalition members. These included the April 22 Gala Banquet and the April 23 Congressional Breakfast organized by the Polish American Congress; the April 23 official Opening Ceremony in the Mellon Auditorium where heads of state of the 19 current embers of NATO spoke and signed the original Washington Treaty which established the NATO Alliance in 1949; Gala Dinners at the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian, and at the Atlantic Council; and the April 24th Dinner at the White House.

2 • Hungarian American Coalition • June 1999