Another 65 Hungarian nationals including 18 children have been rescued from Israel.
The group is aboard a ship on its way to Cyprus, the foreign ministry quoted, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó as saying. The rescued Hungarians will be met by members of the Hungarian embassy at the port, and will be provided a special flight to return to Budapest on Friday afternoon, the minister said. He also added that the next group of Hungarians still in Israel would soon be notified about the next evacuation operation.
“The goal continues to be to help all Hungarians in trouble return home,” Szijjártó said.
UPDATE
Group of 65 Hungarians evacuated from Israel arrives in Cyprus
A ship carrying a group of 65 Hungarian citizens, among them 18 children, evacuated from Israel has arrived in Cyprus, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Friday.
Owing to the insistence of Hungarian diplomats, the government was able to acquire 200 tickets for a ship bound for Cyprus, which were then offered to the Hungarians stranded in the Middle Eastern country, 65 of whom boarded the vessel, Szijjártó said on Moscow.
“It’s good news that the ship has docked in Larnaca, where my Cypriot colleagues are waiting for the Hungarians,” Szijjártó said. “They will accompany the group to the Larnaca airport, where the Hungarians will board a plane reserved by the foreign ministry that will take them home.”
“So these Hungarian citizens are scheduled to arrive home sometime this afternoon or evening, and will then be permanently safe,” the minister said.
Later on Friday, an aircraft of the Hungarian Armed Forces left Israel with 105 people, 89 Hungarians and 16 foreigners on board, Szijjártó said, according to a ministry statement.
The plane evacuated Hungarian, Slovak, US, Israeli and Austrian citizens. Of the passengers, 44 are children, he said.
As we reported, hundreds of Hungarians have already been rescued from Israel. However, some of them are still waiting there. With El Al, Israel’s flag carrier, you can still travel from Budapest to Tel Aviv. Obviously, it is not advisable to travel to a country in war. Here is what Wizz Air advises you can do with your plane ticket to Israel.
Given the complete uncertainty of the situation, the Hungarian Consular Service does not recommend entering Israel until informed otherwise. That is why Utazómajomcontacted Wizz Air to find out how long the Hungarian low-cost airline intends to sell tickets to Israel, and if people can cancel tickets they have already bought, and if so, for how long.
Evidently, no one knows whether the ticket they have bought for next March will take them to a safe country. However, it would be preferable if the tickets were not stuck in the meantime. Tel Aviv was the second busiest destination for flights from Budapest after London in terms of passenger numbers. Thus, the issue is of great concern to many people.
Wizz Air has shared the following options with Utazómajom:
Wizz Air is continuously reviewing the situation due to the war in Israel with the authorities and experts and we will keep our passengers informed of any schedule changes accordingly. In the event of a flight cancellation by Wizz Air, passengers can choose between a free rebooking, a 100% money refund or a 120% credit of the original fare in WIZZ points.
The low-cost carrier added that if it restarts its flights to Israel, it will in the near future offer passengers who have a ticket but do not wish to travel to Israel the possibility to cancel their previously purchased ticket at no extra cost.
“To do this, they must log in to their Wizz Air account and request the cancellation there. In case of cancellation, we will refund 100% of the ticket price according to the original payment method or credit the customer’s Wizz Air account with WIZZ points,” the airline added.
“Wizz Air regrets the situation, but would like to remind passengers to be prepared for unexpected situations before travelling. You can change or cancel your ticket free of charge by purchasing Wizz Flex up to 3 hours before scheduled departure. When planning your trip, you should also consider taking out travel insurance, which you can do on the Wizz Air website when purchasing your ticket.”
A service of solidarity was held at Budapest’s Dohany Street Synagogue to express support for Israel recently attacked by the Hamas terrorist organisation, on Wednesday evening.
At the service, Andor Grósz, head of Hungarian Jewish federation MAZSIHISZ, said “the mourning and grief of the Jewish community is shared by Hungarian society.” He said the inhuman terrorist attack launched on the holiday of the Torah had not hit Israel and Jewish people only: “they not only took human lives but brutally violated the Ten Commandments, a gift of the Torah to mankind.”
“The Jews, non-Jews, Christians here want to pass a world to their successors that is not ruled by terror,” Grósz said.
Israeli Ambassador to Hungary Yakov Hadas-Handelsman thanked the Hungarian nation, church leaders, and politicians, for their solidarity with his country. Israel is at war, the ambassador said, but warned that it was not only Israel’s problem as the attacks could eventually reach Europe, too. He noted that groups supporting the terrorists had celebrated the attacks across the world. He voiced confidence that Israel would win the war. The Jewish community of Israel has a secret weapon: they have no other place to go and will protect their homeland at all cost, he insisted.
Róbert Frölich, the chief rabbi of Hungary, said the war was not just a cause for Arabs and Jews but “for all of us that live on this planet and consider ourselves human … it has not just been an attack on a country: terrorism and hatred has declared war against civilisation.”
The service, organised by MAZSIHISZ and the Jewish community of Budapest (BZSH), was attended by President Katalin Novák, Cardinal Péter Erdő, the head of the Hungarian Catholic Church, Bishop Zoltán Balog, head of the Reformed Church, Budapest Mayor Gergely Karácsony, United Hungarian Jewish Community head Slomo Koves, and other dignitaries.
Another five Hungarian citizens have managed to leave Israel, Péter Szijjártó, the minister of foreign affairs, said on Wednesday, noting that anyone seeking consular protection is given updates every two hours about the situation and options for leaving the country.
Amid continuing armed operations, employees of Hungary’s Tel Aviv embassy must regularly go to shelters, Szijjártósaid in a ministry statement.
He said consular services nonetheless operated 24 hours a day and in Budapest consular staff have been increased so that everyone who has registered for consular protection receives it.
He dismissed reports of the embassy failing to keep in touch with citizens as “lies”, adding that there was documentary evidence to prove this.
The Turkish airline which normally operates services to Israel has cancelled its flights, while flights from Budapest of Israeli carrier El Al sometimes reach Tel Aviv and sometimes land in Larnaca and turn back to Budapest, he said.
Whenever a flight reaches Tel Aviv, consular staff at the airport try to assign Hungarian passengers to the remaining seats, which is how five people managed to leave the country the previous day, he said.
The minister said that departing Israel by air was increasingly difficult and dangerous, while departures by land were limited to four border crossings, three towards Jordan and one in the direction of Egypt, and crossing could be made only during the day.
He said that as long as Hungarian citizens were in Israel, “we will keep in constant contact with everyone”.
Szijjártó said that regrettably signs were that the situation would further escalate, and he urged the international community to do everything possible to prevent this from happening.
The minister warned of “one of the most serious humanitarian disasters in the history of mankind” in the coming period if nothing was done to prevent it.
The government is in contact with every Hungarian citizen currently stuck in Israel who has registered for consular protection, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Tuesday, adding that the consular service was updating everyone on the latest information.
The Hungarian Air Force rescued a total of 325 people form Israel on board three aircraft on Sunday and Monday, but more people have asked to be evacuated since then, Szijjártó said after a meeting of representatives of the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council in Muscat.
“I would once again like to ask everyone not to delay their registration for consular protection,” he said, warning that those who did not register on time could end up like those currently stuck in the Middle Eastern country.
The government is constantly monitoring the security situation in Israel and has been informed of a missile strike near the Tel Aviv airport yesterday, Szijjártó said, noting that all flights from Budapest to Tel Aviv have been cancelled.
The minister added, at the same time, that there were alternative routes out of Israel to which there was limited access.
Hungarians still in Israel who have only recently applied for consular protection are being kept updated on these routes, he said.
“Because the security situation is extremely fragile, all decisions have to be made with the utmost care and caution,” Szijjártó said.
MEP Márton Gyöngyösi’s (Non-attached) thoughts via press release:
Earlier this week the president of the ethnic Armenian breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh territory signed the directive for all the Armenian authorities and institutions of Nagorno Karabakh to be dissolved by January 1 2024, with the territory returning to Azerbaijan’s rule. After a tragic war going on for over thirty years, this event marks the end of the conflict (hopefully at least).
Unfortunately, we have no reason to be overly optimistic; the settlement of the Karabakh issue still seems far from a happy end.
Massive waves of the Armenian population have been fleeing from Karabakh, and the Azerbaijani authorities have been making vague and controversial statements about the area’s future.
It is a fact that Karabakh and the surrounding territories were occupied in violation of international law amidst the Soviet Union’s collapse, and the local Azeri population was driven away against all norms of humanity. Nagorno Karabakh’s Armenian authorities clearly had a responsibility in the destruction of villages and towns.
However, it does not provide any grounds for Azerbaijan to take revenge on Karabakh’s Armenian population now, thirty years later.
Responsibility clearly lies with the winner. Now we and the European Union must remind Baku that the restoration of territorial integrity and sovereignty does not grant an unlimited mandate. The norms of international law must still be respected under any circumstances.
We must make it clear that just as Azerbaijan has the right to its own territory, Karabakh Armenians also have the right to live in their homeland and preserve their linguistic and religious legacy.
Furthermore, Nagorno-Karabakh was already an autonomous republic within Azerbaijan during the Soviet times – although we do have our suspicions as to what such autonomy exactly meant back then; its symbolic value is nonetheless significant.
So, Azerbaijan is absolutely rightfully expected to guarantee the territorial autonomy and collective rights of Karabakh Armenians as well as to treat the area differently from its other territories. It is a key condition, not only for the survival of local Armenians but for the peace and stability of the Caucasus region, too.
Disclaimer: the sole liability for the opinions stated rests with the author(s). These opinions do not necessarily reflect the official position of the European Parliament.
András Toma, the last Hungarian WWII prisoner of war spent 53 years forgotten in a mental hospital in far-off Russia. He only returned home to Hungary on the 11th of August in 2000. Here is his story:
His captivity after WWII
As Blikk wrote, András Toma was conscripted in 1944 at the age of 19. As a soldier of the Hungarian army, he was captured somewhere between Auschwitz and Krakow in January 1945. The young man was then transferred to the POW camp at Boksitogorsk near Leningrad. After that, he was transferred to Bistrica, 1500 km to the east, in the spring of 1945. In 1947, the warrior with nerves shattered by the inhuman conditions and the awful journey was sent to the Kotelnych mental hospital. It was located 800 km from Moscow, and András Toma spent 53 long years at the institution.
Following Soviet practice, once the man had passed through the gates of the psychiatric institution, his name was removed from the POW list. Therefore, it did not strike the Hungarian authorities that he did not return home even after the easing of the situation after the end of WWII.
Source: Youtube / Laszlo Erdos
How he got home
Toma had not learned Russian in his fifty years of captivity. He would presumably have died in a Russian institution if a Slovak doctor had not noticed him. The doctor got suspicious as he only spoke Hungarian and was registered at the psychiatric clinic under the wrong name, András Tamás. Later, Toma attracted the attention of the Russian and then the Hungarian press, as well as the Hungarian authorities. The authorities sent András Veér, neurologist and psychiatrist, who officially confirmed that the elderly man was without doubt Hungarian. He finally returned home on the 11th of August in 2000.
After his return, at a Hungarian psychiatric clinic, it was found that his mental illness could be treated with medication. In addition, he was given a new artificial leg, which was 1.5 kilos lighter than the old Soviet one. Researchers found out that the elderly man was from Sulyánbokor, near Nyíregyháza. He was then taken to the village to meet the family that was believed to be his. Later, DNA tests confirmed the family links. The family documents revealed that András Toma was already suffering from mental illness at the front. He even had the opportunity to visit his old school and meet his classmates who were still alive.
András Toma and Hungarian star journalist Vujity Tvrtko:
Compensation
After his return, Toma was promoted to reserve sergeant major by the Minister of Defence for his decades of service. He also received his salary from the past years, which eventually amounted to several million forints, as his service was considered continuous during his time in the psychiatric hospital. However, the family was not satisfied with the compensation. The elderly man spent four years with his family after his return. His sister, Anna, cared for him until he died in 2004.
Here is a video of the inauguration of his memorial:
As you can see and hear in the video, the old warrior could still sing the Hungarian Appeal (Szózat) even after over 50 years of Russian captivity!
If you are interested in history, you might also want to read the following articles:
Hungary taking in Polish WW2 refugees commemorated in Warsaw
A commemoration was held in Warsaw on Monday, marking the 84th anniversary of Hungary opening its borders to Polish refugees at the beginning of the Second World War. The event was held at the memorial of Jozsef Antall Sr and Henryk Slawik, who organised the rescue effort, and attended by Orsolya Zsuzsanna Kovacs, Hungary’s Ambassador to Poland, and Jan Józef Kasprzyk, the head of the Polish office of war veterans and those persecuted in war. Polish Speaker of the House Elzbieta Witek sent a letter greeting the participants.
In his speech, Kasprzyk noted that in September 1939, Hungary opened its borders to Polish refugees displaced by German and Soviet aggression. He called Antall and Slawik heroes of the Polish, Hungarian and Jewish people. “Those two men showed that we must preserve our humanity and love for our brethren even in the hardest of times,” he said.
Chemical compounds classified as chemical weapons may have been found in a laboratory at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE). ELTE has neither confirmed nor denied that these are life-threatening substances.
Chemical weapons found at ELTE?
Chemical compounds classified as chemical weapons may have been found in one of the laboratories of ELTE, RTL Híradó reported. Nearly 40 vials containing dangerous substances were seized by the authorities on Tuesday evening at the Faculty of Natural Sciences.
According to RTL, sarin, mustard gas and tabun were among the substances. ELTE did not confirm or deny that these substances were involved. As they wrote, on Tuesday evening, in one of ELTE’s laboratories, researchers discovered an old-labeled chemical that was originally considered dangerous, but is now presumed to be completely degraded.
The competent authorities were immediately informed and they promptly secured the site. The residues found were transported for testing and destruction. ELTE researchers, teachers and students were not in any danger during the incident, and on-site tests in the laboratory environment did not reveal any harmful substances. Teaching and research in the building could continue unhindered the next morning.
ELTE Faculty of Sciences. Source: ELTE TTK
Quick and unfriendly death
The response from the National Police Headquarters revealed that an investigation has been launched into the case, and “in the interest of the ongoing proceedings” they are not disclosing any details.
According to security policy expert József Kis-Benedek, the listed agents belong to the category of chemical weapons. “They cause quick and unfriendly deaths,” he said. According to him, similar nerve agents had been used in Iraq, among other places. “Even a little can result in serious injuries,” he added.
According to József Kis-Benedek, this is why these agents are used in war situations. They are not substances that are harmless in a civilian environment. The security policy expert stressed that universities can store and use these dangerous substances for experimental purposes if they have been declared to the TEK (Counter Terrorism Centre). Otherwise, if a citizen becomes aware of the use of neurotoxins, they should immediately notify the authorities.
Update: official police statement
Yesterday, a statement appeared on the website of the Hungarian police:
“On the evening of 12 September 2023, unknown chemicals were found in a laboratory at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE).Following the notification of the authorities, several units of both the police and the Hungarian Defence Forces went to the scene and all incriminated substances were transported to the MH Sordó László 102nd Chemical Warfare Regiment, MH HAVÁRIA Laboratory for identification. The National Investigation Office of the Hungarian Police Service has initiated criminal proceedings in the case with the involvement of the chemical protection experts of the Hungarian Defence Forces.”
The primary expert tests concluded that the substances found in the university laboratory did not contain any toxic compounds dangerous to humans. Further expert investigations are ongoing.
PM Viktor Orbán touched some important topics at the Kötcse symposium last Sunday. His keynote speech aimed at setting the direction of his political movement; and since it is not recorded, information about what the prime minister was actually talking about emerged slowly. Now, one of his supporters said that Orbán believes there is a 50% chance that the EU will collapse. Meanwhile, President Putin made a grand gesture towards Hungary and the Czech Republic.
According to ATV, politologist Tamás Fricz dessected Orbán’s speech on Hír TV, a government-close television channel. He said Orbán reckons the EU has a fifty-fifty chance of surviving or collapsing. Orbán added that Hungary must be prepared for both two scenarios. The prime minister held his talks behind closed doors, in which he also mentioned his plan of remaining in power until 2034.
Putin: it was a mistake to send tanks to Hungary
Meanwhile, Russian President Putin said “that the Soviet Union’s decision to send tanks into Hungary and Czechoslovakia to crush mass protests during the Cold War was a mistake”, Reuters wrote. “It is not right to do anything in foreign policy that harms the interests of other peoples”, he added. But he did not go on about his decision to send troops to Ukraine.
Putin: region Hungarians live in is old Russian land – Read more HERE
That comes after the scandal concerning the new history textbooks issued in Russia, which label the Hungarian anti-Communist freedom fight of 1956 as a fascist rebellion. Furthermore, the educational materials also mention that Putin deemed it a mistake that the Soviet Union withdrew its troops from Central Europe, including Hungary. We wrote about that HERE.
Ukraine’s gesture
Ukraine’s minister responsible for the country’s EU accession said Kyiv was ready to provide minority and education rights to the ethnic Romanians and Hungarians. Therefore, multilateral talks started moving towards a possible compromise, which would satisfy all three parties, 444.hu wrote. That comes after President Katalin Novák and Zelensky’s meeting in Ukraine, during which the Ukrainian President promised to solve the minority issues.
Ukraine wants to join the EU, but securing the necessary language use or education rights for the national minorities is a prerequisite. Olha Stefanisina cleared that Ukraine would not grant the same minority rights to the Russians but the country is open to make amends for Romanians and Hungarians. PM Orbán blocks EU-Ukraine accession summits because of the previously mentioned anti-Hungarian measures. We wrote about the latest one HERE. Critics believe Orbán would not support Ukraine’s EU accession even if the minority and education problems were solved as they are just excuses to veto Ukraine’s attempts to be part of the union.
The “pro-war” leading figures of the opposition Democratic Coalition, Ferenc Gyurcsány and his wife Klára Dobrev, “today met an American representative who supports the war,” the ruling Fidesz party said in a statement on Thursday, referring to David Pressman, the US ambassador to Hungary.
“[US President Joe] Biden’s man, David Pressman, hosted the meeting with Mrs Gyurcsány,” the statement said. As well as Pressman, Jason Crow, “one of the most vocal pro-war American Democratic politicians” attended the meeting, it added.
“Just as David Pressman has always tried to educate the Hungarian government about what’s good for Hungary and the Hungarian people, Jason Crow did the same…” Fidesz said, adding that Crow had explicitly declared prior to the meeting that the purpose of his visit was in support of Ukraine.
The sole purpose of the meeting was to find ways to “drag Hungary into” the war in Ukraine “as soon as possible” and involve the country in “massive arms deliveries”, Fidesz said.
The Americans were getting the DK politicians to continue to vote for sanctions that have negative consequences for Hungary’s economy, the statement said.
Hungary backs peace and a quick cessation to hostilities and will not supply weapons to Ukraine, it added.
Hungary supports the proposal Turkmenistan will put forward in the United Nations for the development of a Global Security Strategy, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said after a phone call with Rashid Meredov, his Turkmen counterpart, on Thursday.
Every proposal aimed at strengthening the Charter of the UN, the peaceful political settlement of conflicts and supporting diplomatic efforts to prevent wars is important right now, Szijjártó said in a post on Facebook.
“If ever there was time to enforce the Charter of the UN and the goals defined in it, this is certainly it,” the minister said.
Hungarians and other nations, too, are directly impacted by the challenges and suffering caused by the war, he said.
“We support everything that could finally bring about peace in any part of the world, especially in our neighbouring country,” Hungarian Foreign Minister said, adding that he had also reaffirmed this position to his Turkmen counterpart.
As a neighbour of Ukraine, Hungary stands up for the soonest possible peace and will continue to do so “despite all the condemnation and attacks”, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó told a session of the United Nations Security Council in New York.
Szijjártó said Hungarians had “already paid a high price” for the war in Ukraine even though they were “not responsible” for it. It was baffling why Hungary’s arguments for peace were not “the mainstream position”, he said, adding that a resolution to the conflict would not be found on the battlefield but at the negotiating table.
Speaking after his Ukrainian counterpart, Szijjártó said conditions for starting talks aimed at a diplomatic settlement were worsening each day and he warned that “the longer the war lasts and the more weapons [Ukraine] receives, the more people will die and the worse the destruction will be.”
“We want the international community to send more peace than arms,” Szijjártó said.
Also, severing communication channels would equal “the world giving up all hope of peace”.
The minister welcomed “all efforts aimed at peace” such as those of the Vatican, Türkiye and countries in Africa.
Szijjártó noted the significance of the security of food supplies with regard to Africa, and warned that interruptions in the food supply could “easily lead to serious security challenges with global consequences” such as further waves of migration and terrorism.
“How could we cope with multiple security challenges if we cannot cope with a single one?”
The minister said global security had never been as bad in the past 80 years, with certain countries “openly and shamelessly referring to their nuclear capabilities”, while the possibility of a third world war was, he added, higher than ever before.
Szijjártó said the world was “quickly falling into blocs”, adding that “central Europe has very bad experiences” whenever the region was “on the losing side of conflicts between East and West”.
“When we argue for civilised cooperation between East and West … we do so because it is in our national interest,” he said. “And the longer the war lasts, the less of a chance there is [to achieve this].”
Dániel Duzsár, a 16-year-old Hungarian teenager with Ukrainian citizenship, found refuge from the war in Győr. The boy disappeared in Prague a month ago, and people are desperately searching for him. The Police Station of Győr has issued an international wanted notice for the underage missing person.
As Blikk reported, it is believed that Dániel was heading from Prague toward the Polish-Ukrainian border. It is possible that he was caught by the Ukrainian border guards or police and immediately conscripted. Therefore, it cannot be ruled out that he is now somewhere on the front line, where more and more young people around his age are fighting and dying in the senseless war. Dániel’s girlfriend was waiting for a message from the boy who went to Prague with his friends on the 19th of June. After a week without any information on the boy’s whereabouts, his girlfriend notified the police. The girl believes that Dániel headed towards Poland with his friends, but it’s still a mystery why.
Ukrainian conscription
There is a total mobilisation in Ukraine, as was the case in 2014. Men aged 16-65 are conscripted, young and old are in the rear, but 18-year-olds are fighting at the front. The Ukrainian police are checking civilian men on the streets as part of the forced conscription. Police are raiding streets, shops, gyms and workplaces to find men who are fit for joining the army. Anyone who does not have a certificate of exemption from conscription (due to work or medical problems) is immediately beaten up and forced into a car. If Dániel tried to return home for some reason, it is possible that this was his fate as well. If that’s the case, it is no wonder he can’t text back to his girlfriend as his phone must have been confiscated.
Women aren’t exempt from military service either. Educational institutions have listed students with medical qualifications who have been issued a military certificate. These women are taken to the front with buses during major military operations where many casualties are expected.
Atrocities against Hungarians
According to the people living in the Transcarpathian, it is not only the forced conscription that puts Hungarians at risk. Sadly, there are more and more anti-Hungarian atrocities in the country and at the front. Hungarians are no longer being conscripted only into the 128th Brigade in Transcarpathia. In addition to that, there are many Ukrainian nationalist officers and professional soldiers in these units who are taking advantage of the war to punish and threaten Hungarians.
Hungary is donating EUR 100,000 to support Chad’s efforts to provide for the refugees arriving in the country fleeing the civil war in neighbouring Sudan, Tristan Azbej, the state secretary for aiding persecuting Christians, said on Monday.
Speaking to commercial broadcaster ATV in the sub-Saharan country, Azbej said in a video also shared on Facebook that the project was the first instance of cooperation between the countries, and it aimed to ensure basic support for the refugees.
Mahamat Yacoub, the head of Chad’s migration committee, warned that the country could barely feed the throngs of refugees arriving. Water and tents are also in short supply, he said.
In the Facebook post, Azbej said the flood of refugees had overwhelmed Chad refugee camps and triggered a humanitarian crisis. Hungary is supporting the communities receiving the refugees and promoting co-existence among religions, he said.
ATV reported some 4,000-5,000 people were arriving from Sudan to Chad every day.
“Brussels keeps pressuring Hungary” as it transpires from its fresh report, “a new attack” on the country despite its fulfillment of every recommendations and continued dialogue with the European Commission, the government’s information centre (KTK) told MTI in a statement on Wednesday.
KTK issued its statement in response to remarks made by Vera Jourová, Vice-President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency, while presenting in Brussels the EC’s 2023 rule of law report including all 27 EU member states. Jourová said despite positive developments “more work needs to be done” to improve the situation regarding the independence of the judiciary, corruption and the media.
“Hungary is being attacked because we refuse to join the pro-war camp,” KTK said.
The Hungarian government does not want “migrant ghettos” to be set up and refuses plans aimed at scrapping the utility price cut scheme. The government in addition has the courage to ask the European Commission the question “where is the pile of money that has been given to Ukraine?”.
Hungary promotes civilised East-West cooperation along its national interests based on historical experiences, not because it is anyone’s friend or spy, Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó said on Friday.
The ministry cited Szijjártó telling a panel discussion at the EU-Central Asia Economic Forum that Europe was facing huge economic challenges which justified in itself that Hungary considers cooperation with central Asia important.
He told the discussion focusing on ways to improve the regional business climate that the world had regrettably started moving towards the formation of blocs. “This is the worst possible news” for central Europe, he said, arguing that history had shown that the region always lost out on conflicts between East and West.
When Hungary argues in favour of connectivity and “civilised” cooperation between East and West, it is not because the country is anybody’s friend or spy but because “we are aware of our own national interests and we are aware of our own national experience,” he added.
The minister said Hungary was a good example of how a country could benefit from civilised East-West cooperation “based on mutual respect and mutual trust and aiming at mutual benefits”.
Hungary has been able to become an important meeting point for investors from the East and West because it has never applied any discrimination against investors based on their nationality, Szijjártó said. This is all the more true in the field of electromobility which is key for the future success of Europe, he added.
The war poses a threat to the normal operation of the world economy, which is why Hungary argues for restoring peace as soon as possible and appreciates the pro-peace position taken by central Asian countries against the war rhetoric, he said.
Europe’s security starts in central Asia because if there is stability in the region, then there is less migratory pressure on Europe, he added.
He called for a comprehensive free trade agreement between the European Union and the countries of central Asia in order to strengthen competitiveness.
The Ambassador of the Republic of Poland in Budapest was outraged by the words of the Hungarian Chief of General Staff, who drew a comparison between the current geopolitical climate and the outbreak of the Second World War. Sebastian Keciek condemned Gábor Böröndi’s statements in an open letter.
Controversial statement
Lieutenant General Gábor Böröndi, the recently appointed new Chief of the General Staff of the Hungarian Army, said on M1 television that “the Hungarian government considers peace-making important because of the danger of war escalation. In 1939, the German-Polish war started as a local war, but it was not terminated in time by a peace treaty, and this led to the Second World War.”
The statement was already greeted with puzzlement by many on Tuesday. Some accused Böröndi of outright falsifying history, writes telex.hu.
The Polish Ambassador reacted
Sebastian Keciek, the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland to Hungary, also reacted to Böröndi’s words. The diplomat is perplexed by the Lieutenant General’s words and has written an open letter to the Hungarian Chief of General Staff, reports index.hu.
“I was shocked by your statement on Poland in an interview with M1 state television on 9 May this year, in which you described Nazi Germany’s 1939 aggression against Poland as a ‘local war’ that would not have escalated into World War II if it had been stopped in time by the peace process,” Keciek began his letter.
The ambassador added: “These words, which could be interpreted as accusing my country of complicity and escalation of a global conflict, are for us an unacceptable distortion of history and should not be uttered, especially by a representative of a close ally.”
The ambassador said the world should learn from history and take action against unlawful aggression.
Domestic criticisms
Besides Poland, Hungary does not agree with the statements. According to the national curriculum, Böröngi’s statement is not correct, since it is well known that Germany was preparing for world war from the very beginning.
“The next target of the “territorial settlement” (in fact, aggression) promoted by Germany was Poland. It became clear that Hitler was not only planning to annex German-inhabited territories to his empire but he was preparing for a war that threatened the whole of Europe,” reads the history textbook published by the National Curriculum.
Hungarian soldiers who died fighting German troops towards the end of the second world war in southern Czechia were commemorated in a ceremony at Zlata Koruna on Monday.
Representatives of the local government, the Hungarian embassy in Prague, as well as the Association of Hungarians in Czech Republic (CSMMSZ) laid wreaths at a local monument and at the place where five Hungarian soldiers were buried in 1945.
Hungarian soldiers arrived at Zlata Koruna in 1945, ordered there by Hungary’s Nazi government. They then cooperated with Czech resistance fighters, however, supplying them with weapons. They were killed during a conflict with an SS unit over command of a bridge.
The representatives of CSMMSZ and the Hungarian embassy also paid their tribute to the tombs of two further Hungarian soldiers, executed by the SS, at nearby Tyn nad Vltavou.
Featured image: illustration, cemetery at Větřní, Český Krumlov District, South Bohemian Region, Czech Republic – gravestone of WWII victims. Source: Wikimedia Commons/Czeva
