Fraternity-Testvériség, 2007 (85. évfolyam, 1-3. szám)
2007-04-01 / 2. szám
Dedicating the Victims of Communism Memorial The Victims of Communism Memorial was dedicated by President George W. Bush in a morning ceremony on Tuesday, June 12th. Washington's newest memorial honors the 100 million people who have been killed by communist totalitarian regimes worldwide. President Bush dedicates Memorial. The day of dedication concluded with a Gala Awards Dinner at the J.W. Marriott Hotel in Washington, DC, where the invocation was given by László Tokes, Bishop of the Romanian Reformed Church in Transylvania and founding member and president of the Hungarian National Council of Transylvania. "I proudly accept the Victims of Communism Memorial on behalf of the American people," said President Bush before the more than 500 people gathered at the new memorial near the Capitol. "We'll never know the names of all who perished, but at this sacred place, communism's unknown victims will be consecrated to history and remembered forever." The dedication ceremony was held on the 20th anniversary of former President Ronald Reagan’s famous speech in Berlin in which he called on then-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin Wall that separated the city and had divided a continent since the end of World War II. Bush noted that the wall would finally fall two years later, liberating the people of Central and Eastern Europe and changing the world. Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation chairman Lee Edwards remarked that the memorial will "send a very clear message that one-fifth of the world's population still lives under communism and not by their choice." The foundation's next mission will be to create a Global Virtual Museum, and then a brick and mortar museum in the nation's capital region to ensure that the world will never forget the crimes and victims of communism. President Jules Balogh and Secretary/Treasurer Les Megyeri represented the Hungarian Reformed Federation. Other members of the Federation present were László Hamos, member of HRFA Board of Directors, László Pásztor, Ákos Nagy, Erika Mason, and Kati Levay-Nagy About the memorial: The memorial, a 4.2-meter-tall bronze replica of the “Goddess of Democracy” statue erected by Chinese students during the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests, was the brainchild of historian Lee Edwards and former ambassador Lev Dobriansky, who spent more than a decade raising nearly $1 million to complete the project on a site located at the intersections of Massachusetts and New Jersey Avenues, and within view of the U.S. Capitol. The statue is based on America's Statue of Liberty. Its front pedestal reads: Les Megyeri, László Pásztor, Bishop László Tokes and László Hamos after the morning ceremony. "To the more than one hundred million victims of communism and to those who love liberty." The back pedestal reads: "To the freedom and independence of all captive nations and peoples." Fraternity - Testvériség / Summer 2007 5
