PE526 European Parliament 10-2006 - Pres. Hungary SOLYOM, 50 YEARS REVOLUTION 1956

Commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956

25.10.2006: Invited to Strasbourg, the President of the Republic of Hungary, Laszlo Solyom, addressed the European Parliament on Wednesday as part of the commemorations of the Budapest uprising of October-November 1956. For Lazlo Solyom, these commemorations do not only concern Hungarians, because "everyone can identify with the October Revolution of 1956". It embodies the rejection by an entire people of a political system that was imposed on them, a people who were later able to choose of their own free will to join the European Union and NATO.

In his speech, the Head of State, while expressing his gratitude, was full of praise for the welcome that the Austrians and Germans had given to the Hungarian refugees of 1956. He also recalled a more painful page of history, denouncing the attitude of the great Western powers of the time - the United States, Great Britain and France - who had "left the Hungarian government (Nagy's, editor's note) in deception", giving hope for a Western intervention announced by certain radio stations specializing in broadcasts aimed at communist countries...
Sources DNA