Parliament commemorates victims of 1956 fusillade

mti

Budapest, October 25 (MTI) – The revolutionaries of 1956 wanted a free, independent and democratic Hungary, deputy speaker of parliament János Latorcai told a conference commemorating the victims of the Oct 25 fusillade on Tuesday.

“We remember those who took action for their country’s independence in one of the most difficult historical moments of the 20th century”, Latorcai, of the co-ruling Christian Democrats, told the event.

The cruel revenge for the anti-Soviet uprising left deep wounds on Hungarian society but despite this, the revolution of 1956 was not a failure, he added.

Mass demonstrations in Budapest and the countryside claimed many victims at that time. Protesters gathered in front of Parliament on October 25 were shot from the rooftops of neighbouring buildings, killing scores of people. Some 70 victims have been identified so far and several hundred were wounded. According to historians, the shots were fired by members of the Hungarian secret police ÁVH and by Soviet soldiers.