Anniversary of 1956 anti-Soviet uprising marked in Washington Congress

New York (MTI) – The anniversary of Hungary’s 1956 anti-Soviet uprising was marked in the United State House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., on Thursday local time.

According to house rules, commemorative speeches are rarely allowed in Congress and Thursday’s event was one such occasion.

Dennis A. Ross, a Republican member of the House of Representatives from Florida and Marcy Kaptur, a Democrat member from Ohio, co-chairs of the Congressional Hungarian-American Caucus, gave speeches.

Both politicians stated that the spirit of 1956 still lives on and since 1990 US-Hungarian relations have been based on the shared values that were brought into effect for a few days in 1956, such as freedom, democracy, the rule of law and respect for universal human rights.

Hungarian Ambassador Réka Szemerkényi, who was a guest at the session, told MTI that it was “an event of outstanding importance, with an outstanding message”.

It was symbolic that Hungary’s revolution was remembered even amidst the presidential election campaign, on the last week when Congress met before the elections.

“The gesture was also symbolic because politicians of the two parties gave speeches one after the other, conveying the message that Hungary-US relations enjoy support from both parties,” she added.

Source: MTI