Amerikai Magyar Szó, 1990. január-június (44. évfolyam, 1-26. szám)
1990-03-01 / 9. szám
Thursday, March 1. 1990 11. AMERIKAI MAGYAR SZO ÁmÉBitflh HÚhcflBiflns ON THE VERGE OF A NEW ERA POPULAR UPRISING In the meantime, the committee of historians appointed by the central committee of the HSWP with Imre Pozsgay at its head to reevaluate the events of the past decades came to the conclusion that 1956 was a popular uprising, though counterrevolutionary phenomena also appeared in the process. Since then, the leading bodies of the HSWP and some of its leaders have criticized the unlawful proceeding against Imre Nagy, one of the founders of the HSWP, and others. COALITION EXPECTED In the wake of the 1990 elections, it is expected that the present Round Table will not remain unified either; thus, the probability is great that a coalition government will be formed, and a president of the republic will be elected by direct vote, whose function will probably resemble that of the Finnish or West German president; on the other hand, no major political voice favors a so-called presidential republic, like the USA. Also, the debate over the structure of legislature continues, though the majority would like a one chamber parliament. POLITICAL PARTIES litated. The same process was repeated for those less well known persons who were buried in unmarked graves. The government also announced that in accordance with a regulation, all those whose rights were violated before or after 1956, i.e. were imprisoned, resettled, interned, would receive moral, political and financial recompense. NATIONAL RECONCILIATION Both the opposition groups and the government agreed: the funeral of Imre Nagy and his associates should signal the day of national reconciliation, after which the representatives of the various trends of political thinking should unite in order to pull the country out of its present political, economic, and ethical crises. Whether this will happen is yet to be seen; for the time being, the picture is full of contradictions. But one thing is certain: during the funeral and in connection with it, not only the representatives of the 10 million Hungarians living within the country's borders, but the representatives of another 5 million living abroad also participated in the ceremonies held in Budapest and the statements and speeches they made both here and aboard were made public by the Hungarian media. Around today's Opposition Round Table we can find political groups with centrist as well as right and left wing convictions. Social democracy and parties representing small holder interests both have traditions in Hungary. Whereas parties representing the intelligentsia and the middle strata of society, which wish to give themselves either urban or so-called folk character, are being organized along new lines. The newly created main parties at present are as follows: the Social Democratic Party of Hungary, the Small Holders and Middle Class Party, the Hungarian Democratic Forum and the Christian People's Party. THE REHABILITATION OF IMRE NAGY AND HIS ASSOCIATES On June 16th, the country was preoccupied with an event of great importance; the reinterment of several leaders and other participants of the popular uprising of 1956, who were placed from unmarked graves to their new places of rest accompanied by thousands of mourners and watched by many more on television. Since the government had for three decades refused to do this, the change in its point of view is of especially great significance, though it came too late to be hailed with unequivocal appreciation. In the wake of the chief public prosecutor's complaint, the Supreme Court reexamined the case of Imre Nagy and his associates and in the spirit of the prosecutor's plea concluded that during the course of the trial a number of important rules of the criminal procedure law were violated, and thus, for lack of evidence of unlawful actions, all the defendants were declared innocent and were rehabiMOSCOW AND WASHINGTON SYMPATHIZE The picture provided by Hungary's present position on the international scene is favorable; leaders in Moscow, Washington, London, Paris, Bonn and Vienna are following the present political openness with interest and approval. In all these capitals they know that the government to be set up after the 1990 elections will want to live in peace and friendship with all neighboring as well as more distant nations. Hungary wishes to put the bad times behind her as soon as possible and cooperate with them and hopes that the feeling of support will be mutual. President Bush's visit of last summer has been taken as a sign of such good-will, as has the understanding and moral support provided by Gorbachev's Soviet Union. AN ERA COMES TO AN END "On the Verge of a New Era" - the title has become all the more apt since the sad news was broadcast before we went to press: János Kádár, who defined more than three decades of Hungary's most recent history, has passed away. It is up to history to decide how good a leader he really was; for their part, the generations living now find him controversial. Few doubt his since- rety. But he stood at the head of the country at a time when the rules of the game were different- instead of a parliamentary democracy and a multiparty system, the basis of political life was a single-party system with Marxist-Leninist ideology. On the other hand, for a long time János Kádár was not a rigidly sectarian leader; he tried to break with extreme dogma and to achieve national consensus. His career spanned much of the political scale. After the Soviet intervention of 1956, he accepted the leadership of the country, but with time, especially in the 60s and 70s,, he was able to win the trust of much of the population, as the Western press emphasized. He placed Hungary's interest in the forefront in matters of international relations, and made overtures to the West even when Hungary's allies thought that such a move was premature. But time passed him by, and in May, 1988, he was relieved of his office as First Secretary of the HSWP, and during the summer of 1989, of his post as honorary president of the party. It was Willy Brandt who said of him that considering the realities of the situation, he had done what was best. (This article was taken from the Hungarian Digest, published in Hungary.) SZEGED DISCOVERIES Whenever I tell Hungariams that I am studying in Szeged, they assume that I am a medical student at the Albert Szent- gyorgyi Medical School. Most of them do not realize that there is a flourishing Hungarian Studies Program taught in English for foreigners at the József Attila University. This program began 18 years ago, largely through the efforts of the Magyar Baráti Közösség (Hungarian Friendship Association) in Portland, Oregon. Portland State University is the main channel of information about the JATE program and also transfers all final credits for students from other colleges. JATE provides a stimulating variety of classes in Hungarian history, literature, art history, ethnography, geography, economics, political science, sociology, culture and linguistics. There is also an intensive Language Studies Program for those who are interested mainly in learning Hungarian. Many students are of Hungarian origin, from one parent or both. At the same time it was a pleasant surprise to see how many students came here because of an interest in Hungary in spite of the fact that is not related to their ethnic roots. This is a time of great political and social change in Eastern Europe, and Hungary in particular so we are all excited to be witnessing it so directly. With the exception of one Dutch woman, the rest of us are American. Although the majority comes from Oregon, there are also representatives of Cleveland, New York, Seattle, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, Michigan and Arkansas. Many discovered the JATE program through University channels, but others heard about it through the Hungarian Embassy or reference books on foreign study options. We are particularly glad to be studying in Szeged because of its history as well as its quiet charm. During our week of orientation we visited the highly impressive Somogyi Library. We were fascinated by the Vasváry Collection and the. wealth of carefully documented information it contains. F. (From the Vasvary CoUection Newsletter.)
