Government: Hungarian nation has no boundaries

The Day of National Cohesion, the anniversary of the 1920 Trianon Peace Treaty, which concluded the first world war and ceded two-thirds of Hungary to neighbouring countries, “shows us how important it is to preserve our national unity and Hungarian identity”, István Simicskó, parliamentary group leader of the co-ruling Christian Democrats, said in a statement sent to MTI on Sunday.

Referring to the “Trianon dictate”, Simicskó called it “perhaps the largest disaster of the nation”, and said Hungary “did not have much of a say” in the negotiations. He said the decision had been the result of “the shortsightedness of the great powers and the greed of neighbouring countries”. After the treaty, Hungary was left “weak and divided up”, he said. The Day of National Cohesion, however, focuses “on the vitality and unity of Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin rather than on the tragedy”, he said.

“There lives a much weathered nation in the middle of Europe which keeps proving to the world that … it can overcome the hardships and is able to protect its values and fight for its interests,” Simicskó said.

Tamás Menczer, state secretary at the foreign ministry, told a commemoration held in Piliscsaba, outside Budapest, that “only a strong country can fight for ethnic Hungarians in other countries”, adding that the government’s strategic objectives were instrumental in those efforts. Among the objectives, he mentioned the protection of jobs, pensions, and the government’s utility price cap programme, as well as support for families. On another subject, Menczer said ethnic Hungarians could benefit from balanced relations with neighbouring countries and from efforts “to build a successful central Europe together, where ethnic minorities will connect rather than separate these countries”.

Leaders failed to stand up for the Hungarians

Bence Rétvári, state secretary at the interior ministry, spoke at a commemoration in Zebegény, north of Budapest, and said “in war times Hungary must stay outside the conflict and fight for Hungarian communities by all means.” “Those that do not care for ethnic Hungarians in other countries will not care for Hungarians in this country, either … we must always focus on Hungarians and each Hungarian must stand up for all other Hungarians,” he said. Hungarian leaders 103 years ago “failed to stand up for the Hungarians … we must learn that historic lesson,” he added.

Zsolt Molnár, party director of the opposition Socialists, attended a commemoration at Budapest’s Rákoskeresztúr Cemetery, and told a press conference after the ceremony that “a nation can be successful if it is undivided over historic issues”, adding that “those sowing divisions have a serious responsibility because they will weaken national cohesion”. He said his party believes that “Hungarians in the Carpathian Basin will live together with other nations in peace and understanding for at least another one thousand years”. “We, Hungarians, share a responsibility, a life, and future,” he said.

Árpád János Potápi, state secretary of the Prime Minister’s Office, said June 4 had been a day of mourning for a long time, but since 2010 “we have also been saying that we can gain strength from Trianon,” at a commemoration in Dombovar, in southwestern Hungary. Looking back at the hundred years that have passed since the Treaty of Trianon, Potápi said, “we can see that Hungarians have survived and are thriving despite all the odds.” “They cut the country to pieces, tore families apart, weakened us, put enormous burdens on our shoulders, yet, we have recovered and have a vision for the future,” he said.

Cohesion Day: Hungarian nation has no boundaries

The basis of national cohesion is that every Hungarian must know and experience that the state of Hungary has borders, but the Hungarian nation does not, Gergely Gulyás, the head of the Prime Minister’s Office, said at a commemoration held on the occasion of the Day of National Cohesion in Satoraljaujhely, in northern Hungary, on Sunday. Speaking at the event organised by the Rákóczi Association, Gulyás said it is the duty of the Hungarian state, the motherland, to support every Hungarian to stay and prosper in their homeland, while also making every Hungarian a home.

“The great lesson from Trianon is that we must stand by each other even when we are torn apart,” the minister said. Gulyás said young Hungarians must discover and get to know the Carpathian Basin in order to feel at home in it. With the national policy achievements of the past thirteen years, the government has done a lot, he said, to make it clear to everyone that every Hungarian is responsible for every Hungarian, and Hungary bears responsibility for the fate of Hungarians living beyond the country’s borders.

“The task of the Hungarian state is to open the gates, support the initiatives that can help us preserve our mother tongue and strengthen our cohesion. This is why we need Hungarian kindergartens, schools and universities, this is why we need the Mathias Corvinus Collegium, the Korosi Csoma scholarships, a support system strengthening Hungarian businesses in the neighbouring countries, and this is why the community-building work of the Rákóczi Association is also indispensable,” Gulyás said.

On the occasion of the Day of National Cohesion, with the help of the Rákóczi Association’s Student Travel Programme, around 5,000 students of l93 high schools in the Carpathian Basin will travel to another school by crossing at least one border. The aim of the programme is for Hungarian students living in the countries of the Carpathian Basin to commemorate the day together.