Polish president Andrzej Duda marks 1956 anniversary in Budapest

Budapest, October 23 (MTI) – Hungarians “have always been friends” and they can always rely on Poland, “even in difficult moments of the future”, Polish President Andrzej Duda said in his address at a commemoration of the 1956 revolution in front of Parliament on Sunday.

Referring to the Poznan uprising, which preceded developments in Budapest, Duda said that Polish revolutionaries wanted the same things as Hungarians: “a decent living and freedom, all that communism had taken away”. Hungarians, however, went even further: they demanded the withdrawal of Soviet troops, independence for the country, self-determination and a multi-party system, the Polish president said.

Poland is “proud and grateful” that it was able to provide aid to the Hungarian revolution, Duda said, and noted that his people had sent 44 tonnes of medicine and medical equipment as well as 800 litres of blood to Hungary shortly after the uprising broke out. “Poles are proud that the grandchildren of 1956 heroes have, symbolically, Polish blood in their veins”, the president said.

In Hungary’s freedom fight “thousands died, but after some decades, finally, you recovered your freedom through much suffering and sacrifice,” Duda said. He also voiced his conviction that “through hard work both Poles and Hungarians will achieve the living standards of western societies”.

Concerning the traditional freedom between the two countries, Duda said that they together “carry on the thousand-year-old Christian tradition in Europe”, and insisted that those traditions were just as important as freedom.

“God bless Poland and Hungary, glory to the heroes of the Hungarian revolution,” Duda said concluding his address.

Photo: MTI

Source: MTI