Itt-Ott, 2001 (34. évfolyam, 1/135-2/136. szám)
2001 / 1. (135.) szám
Kossuth Statue Dedication Magyar zászlók a vámosújfalui új községházán ana KOSSUTH SZOBOR AVATÁSA ALGONA, IOWA 2001. július 13-án az Egyesült Államokbeli Algona város főterén, Iowa állam Kossuthról elnevezett megyéjének székhelyén, a megye alapításának 150. évfordulóján, ünnepélyesen felavatták Kossuth Lajos egész alakos szobrát. A Magyar Köztársaság nevében Jeszenszky Géza nagykövet felolvasta Mádl Ferenc köztársasági elnök köszöntőjét, aki Kossuthot idézte: "Ahhoz, hogy a szabadságnapfényét megtaláljuk, Amerikába kellett jönnünk." Az Elnök örömmel állapította meg, hogy ma a világ legnagyobb részét beragyogja a szabadság napfénye, s hogy mára Magyarországon Kossuth és nagy tisztelője, Lincoln reményei és céljai nagyrészt megvalósultak. Remarks of Géza Jeszenszky, Ambassador of Hungary to the U.S.A. Algona, Iowa, July 13, 2001 Governor Wilsack, Auditor Johnson, members of the Kossuth State Committee, Ladies and Gentlemen, dear Hungarian Compatriots, kedves magyar Honfitársaim! It is a great distinction for me to be present when you mark the 150th birthday of Kossuth County by dedicating a statue to him. Kossuth and his fellow Hungarians in exile represent a very important link between the two peoples, also expressed in the message of the President of Hungary. [Mádl Ferenc köztársasági elnök üzenete] The decision to commission such a statue was a wise one. Although Kossuth is not a household name in the U.S., but neither is he unknown. Everybody visiting the Capitol in Washington and passing through its hallways comes across a bust with the inscription: KOSSUTH, Father of Hungarian Democracy, Hungarian Statesman, Freedom Fighter. In the last few months the citizens of Algona and Iowa in general had an opportunity to read and learn quite a lot about the man whose name this county bears. This is not the place and time to give an account of his significance in Hungarian and European history. Suffice it to refer to your great President, Abraham Lincoln, who welcomed Kossuth in the United States on the 9th of January, 1852 with the following words: "We recognize in Governor Kossuth of Hungary the most worthy and distinguished representative of the cause of civil and religious liberty on the continent of Europe." It must be a source of pride for you that your county is named after such a great European statesman. Kossuth was not only a towering figure for Hungary, but also one of the first trying to bring the smaller peoples, who live in the Danube Basin, together, to unite them against any possible encroachment on their freedom. Thus we can say, without exaggeration, that he aspired to something what the Atlantic Alliance has finally realized. This statue is more than just a memorial that im-42 ITT-OTT 34. évf. (2001), 1. (135.) SZÁM
