Fáklyaláng, 1965. október (6. évfolyam, 1-10. szám)
1965-10-23 / 10. szám
4 FÁKLYALÁNG of their fellow freedom fighters who died in the streets of Budapest and elsewhere in the country, or who were executed or died in prisons or concentration camps in Hungary or in the Soviet Union. They also are obliged to speak up for the Uungarian people who cannot express their will freely at home and whose behavior, political, and moral, has many times been misrepresented in articles published by non-Hungarianspeaking visiting correspondents of leading newspapers from all other parts of the world. The events that took place in Poland during the summer and early autumn of 1956 moved all Hungarian students and they decided to show their sympathy towards the Polish people at a mass rally at the Bern statue in Budapest. This took the Communists by surprise and in their fear they opened fire on the people in front of the headquarters of the Hungarian State radio. At the same time, the armed forces of the Soviet Union started to move in, shooting indiscriminately at anyone on the streets. Step by step, the sympathy meeting turned into a demonstration, then later into a Revolution and finally into a Freedom Fight for the whole nation. Although the Revolution and Freedom Fight were unexpected, they were long overdue. Looking back at those events, it can be established that the events of those tragic days were forced upon the Hungarian people by the long reign of terror of the Soviet-imposed Communist stooges who kept the Hungarian people in slavery. It was against this slavery that the Hungarian people rose unanimously: workers and peasants, students and apprentices, intellectuals and uneducated people, young and old, men and women alike. No one tried to reason about the odds to be overcome. The people of the country were led by the sublime principles their ancestors had so many times offered their lives for: freedom and national independence. The restoration of respect for the individual and his rights after ten years of imposed collectivism lends historic importance to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The principles manifested by the revolutionaries reassured the world that the peoples of the once free countries of Central and Eastern Europe will not be led by ultra-nationalism, chauvinism and political extremism but by respect for the rights of the individual and also by a sincere desire for cooperation in a Europe united in freedom. The events of 1956 gave newr strength to the people under Soviet-Communist rule to continue their fight for the preservation of their national identities. The events of the Revolution and Freedom Fight also demonstrated that a revolution may be fought without leaders if people are united in their ideals. 1956 was also the anniversary of the Battle of Nandorfehervar against the Ottoman Turks. Then, as in 1956, the Hungarian people managed to stop the invaders and performed miracles in their victories. They finally however, succumber to their enemies; their victories were short-lived and followed by long years of foreign domination. After the fall of Hungary, however, people in Western Europe became aware of the mortal danger coming from the East. The Revolution of 1956 also awakened the people of the world to the dangers of Communism and Soviet imperialism. We must be certain that, as it happened after the liquidation of Turkish rule, the Hungarian people will again regain their independence and freedom. In drawing parallels between the events of 1456 and 1956, it must also be admitted that while Hungarians always united in battle until victory was reached, they fell victims to discord after victory had been won. The Revolution and Freedom Fight were won because people fought side by side without regard for political affiliation, class origin or religion. People wanted to render service to their nation and they did not contend for decorations or merits but for a place among the fighters for freedom. Hungarians are disunited but only in exile. At home they are united under the duress of Communism. This lack of unity follows the pattern of earlier exile political activities. It is also certain that the disunity of the exiles of 1956 has contributed greatly to the loss of prestige we have suffered everywhere in the Free World. Professionalism took the place of voluntarism. Instead of mass rallies, the anniversaries of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 are commemorated at small gatherings that will not impress anyone nor induce the great powers of the world to raise their voices on behalf of the Hungarian people. Another meaning of the Revolution and Freedom Fight is that the Hungarian people rejected any form of Communism and attempted to establish a democratic system of government free of any extremism. The restoration of freedom and the introduction of a democratic system of government could not be tolerated by the rulers of the Kremlin and they decided to nip in the bud the newly regained freedom that, if it had been permitted to last longer, would have put an end to Soviet-Communist rule in the other captive countries of Central and Eastern Europe. And while a nation of ten million has fought valiantly against the armed might of a nuclear power, the Free World was watching, offering not a helping hand but only excuses. Genocide in Hungary took a new form in the last nine years. During the Turkish rule Hungarians by the million were made slaves or driven out of the country. The Soviet-imposed Communist stooges in Hungary hope to weaken the nation by a skillfully invented method of cutting the natural increase of the population. Statistics trickling out of the country show that more people are dying in the country than there are babies born. Finally, the Hungarian Revolution and Freedom Fight was the starting point in the decay of the authority of the United Nations. This U.S.-maintained organization which was so effective in furthering Soviet aims against the interests of the Free World proved to be impotent against the Soviet Union. It is again inactive in the case of the persecution of the Hungarian minority in Rumania whose rights to live in freedom were guaranteed in peace treaties. Hungarians all over the world are grateful to those American senators and representatives who have raised and still continue to raise their voices against the persecution of Hungarians in Rumania. Nine years after the events of 1956 the Hungarians must realize that they are still alone. While people speak about the greater freedom in Hungary they forget that freedom cannot be qualified: There is no greater freedom or smaller or lesser freedom. Either there is freedom or there is no freedom. Those who preach about this “greater freedom” fail to understand the basic tenets of communism which rejects any form of rule of the people, for the people and by the people: the ideals we were all fighting for. MIHÁLY HOKA
