Author: rendszergazda

Open letter for the Szekler Freedom Day

“Live in freedom or die for it with courage…”
(Mór Jókai)

Dear Compatriots,

March 10th is Szekler Freedom Day!

We, the executives and members of the National Alliance of Hungarians in Canada stand together in spirit with those who walk along the streets of the former capital of the Szeklerland, Marosvásárhely. With deepest sorrow we bow our heads before those who have been victims of Communism. We also bow our heads in memory of our Székely Martyrs, the brutally murdered victims of the freedom fight for the Szekler independence form the Habsburg oppression. On Moarh 10, 1854 in Marosvásárhely (Postarét), the Habsburgs executed János Bágyi Török, Mihály Martonosi Gálfi, and Károly Nagyváradi Horváth. Later, on 19 April, in the township of Sepsiszentgyörgy, István Bartalis and József Váradi were executed. We designate their names as our Székely Martyrs. We are grateful to our priests Áron Márton and Cardinal Mindszenty who, with the help of God, fought with tremendous faith and courage so that we, in posterity, could live in humanity and freedom. In our thoughts, we pay tribute to the upcoming 60th Anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution. This national heroic struggle opened the road towards the collapse of Communism. Today, for all Hungarians, Szekler Freedom Day must be more than just remembering, it must be a day of Solidarity.

Regardless of which part of the Carpathian Basin you were born, as a member of the National Alliance of Hungarians in Canada, we stand united for the autonomy and national sovereignty of the Szeklerland.

We must work together, so that a monument shall be erected in Marosvásárhely (Postarét), with the inscribed words of the great author Mór Jókai: A “Legitimate, Free and Independent National Resistance”, for the autonomy of Szeklerland. We must work hard that in the 21st century, in Europe’s heart, laws which forbid or ban the use of our ethnic mother-tongue, in an artificially instigated anti-Hungarian environment, will be eliminated, or cannot be labelled in court cases as ethnic reprisals.

Whether in the country of your birth in Europe or somewhere in the world, we can only defend our language and culture if we are free and live in a truly democratic system. Everyone has the right to an independent national life. So, let us adopt Mór Jókai’s words as our slogan for the struggle of Szekler autonomy.

Nóri Kovács

On November 21, the Canadian tour of Nóri Kovács, under the banner “I sing my mind freely”, has arrived on our shores. In nearly three weeks, Nóri has graced the stages of eight cities, taking her fans and the public back to a soul-refreshing journey into the Carpathian Basin’s rich folkloric heritage.Nóri Kovács In the 90 minutes program we could indulge in the shear beauty of authentic folk-songs, some of them in modern arrangements, and through a couple of Christmas carols we could ready ourselves to the up and coming festivities. It proved to be a clever selection, since it appealed to every age-group in the audience. The performer through her spontaneous charm connected immediately with the public and, beside describing the sometimes adventurous field-trips during which a folk-song is found, recorded, analyzed, authenticated and how it reaches, finally, the stage, she has also involved the audience in a lively sing-along. Following the concert, she stayed over for our folk-dance party, as well.

Sárdy, My Love

The passion of a woman once in love with the renowned singer János Sárdy comes to life when her grandson finds her diary. By switching back-and-forth between the roles of the three principal characters, and some others, this one-act monodrama brings to life some of the most beautiful songs of the 20th century singer János Sárdy, as well as a wealth of human feelings and values.

A report (in Hungarian) about the show in Montréal is here.

Hungarian-Canadians concerned about the deepening migration crisis in Europe

Based on the massive input from our member organizations and, as such, from a large population of Canadians of Hungarian origin, the National Alliance of Hungarians in Canada is expressing its concerns about the deepening migration crisis in Europe.

The Alliance is especially troubled by the very negative image that Hungary is being given in the media. We also distance ourselves from the misleading articles which spread lies and absurd allegations – serving certain political aims. Thus far, Hungary has seen close to 230,000 migrants descend on its borders. As an EU country, it is obligated by the rules of the Schengen Agreement and the Dublin Regulation to register all these migrants. The migrants disregard the EU laws and demand free crossing of Hungary toward western and northern countries without registering and allowing their fingerprints to be taken. Many of them are defiant and rebellious, leaving behind a trail of unimaginable garbage and filth. A number of Hungarian police and border enforcement officers have been unjustly injured.

Despite this avalanche of often antagonistic people, the Hungarian Government, NGOs and humanitarian groups have provided them with food, water and medical treatment as needed – with very little assistance from the rest of Europe. We don’t see or hear much of those helping hands, yet they do heroic work each and every day. Hungary is burdened with a humanitarian disaster of epic proportions and is building a fence to defend itself – and the rest of Europe, as it has done over many centuries.

Most recently, both Austria and Germany have adjusted their approach to migrants, i.e. reinforced their own border checks, whereas initially they threw open their borders in violation of the Schengen and Dublin agreements and welcomed the migrants with open arms, only to collapse and rescind their promises once the first thousands arrived.

Hungary has done its part. Let others now share in the burden.

Hungary has just been emerging from a near-Greece like disaster by becoming one of the most vibrant economies of Europe, thanks in large part to its own ingenuity. In fulfilling its international and European obligations, Hungary has demonstrated its commitment to law and order, humanitarian intervention, and protecting its European partners.

For more information on the Hungarian perspective of this crisis and the NAHC, please refer to the Hungarian Reporter www.hungarianreporter.com or our website.

This press release was delivered to:

  • Brodie Fenlon
    Managing Editor, Digital Media, CBCnews.ca
  • Mr. David Walmsley
    Editor-in-Chief,Globe and Mail
  • Mr. Mark Stevenson
    Editor,Maclean’s Magazine
  • Mr. Terence Corcoran
    Editor, Financial Post
  • CTVNews.ca team
 CC:

  • His Excellency Dr. Bálint Ódor
    Hungarian Ambassador
  • Dr. Stefánia Szabó
    Hungarian Consul General
  • Mr. Peter Gyombolai
    Hungarian Diaspora Liaison

NAHC’s letter to the Editor of The Globe and Mail

To: Mr. David Walmsley
Editor-in-Chief
The Globe and Mail
Toronto, Ontario M5V 2S9
dwalmsley@globeandmail.com
Letters@globeandmail.com

17 December 2014

Dear Mr. Walmsley,

RE: Hungary’s unjust condemnation

Mark Mackinnon’s 14 and 15 December articles on Hungary – ”Hungary at centre of Cold War-style struggle between Russia and the West” and ”Statue in Budapest based on Second World War evokes dark history” – suggest to Canadian readers that Hungary is gradually turning into a dictatorship, while it “sympathizes with Russia in the conflict over Ukraine”. It also implies that democracy in Hungary is in danger and that Prime Minister Orbán ”expresses admiration for the systems” of Vladimir Putin’s Russia, as well as Turkey and China.

This is simply misguided and untrue.

Hungary never took Russia’s side in the Ukrainian conflict [Ref. 1], however, it emphasized that a peaceful resolution – preferably without the economic sanctions hurting EU member states including Hungary – should be sought. If one wants to read into this any side taken by Hungary, than it’s rather the side of Ukraine, since during the height of the crisis (when Russian gas supplies were stopped to Ukraine), Hungary pumped more gas to Ukraine than any other country, dropping its own reserve levels to dangerous levels – close to the minimum limits set by the EU. Pumping more gas was technically not feasible, as confirmed by EU Commissioner for Energy, Günther Oettinger in September 2014 [Ref. 2].As for the “admiration” of the likes of Russia, Turkey and China: the original speech from Prime Minister Orbán in Hungarian (delivered on 26 July 2014 in Tusnádfürdő, Romania), stated that “the most popular topic in thinking today is trying to understand how systems that are not Western, not liberal, not liberal democracies and perhaps not even democracies, can nevertheless make their nations successful. The stars of the international analysts today are Singapore, China, India, Russia and Turkey.” [Ref. 3] This is quite different than what Mr. Mackinnon implies! It simply states the fact that some nations, which appear to emerge as winners in the global economic race, are not part of the family of standard Western liberal democracies. Also, how could Hungary be an “admirer of Russia” when it actually reduced Russian influence in Eastern Europe by a number of steps, for example by buying back 21% of the shares of MOL, Hungary’s oil and gas conglomerate from Russian Surgutneftegas [Ref. 4]? Finally, for the suggestion that Hungary is turning into a dictatorship, it is best to cite the 2002 Nobel Prize winner for literature, Mr. Imre Kertész of Hungary, who as a Holocaust survivor and one who lived decades under the communist rule in Hungary, has experienced two dictatorships first-hand. In a recent interview to the New York Times (NYT), Mr. Kertész replied to a direct question from journalist David Straitfeld that although he is “not pleased with everything happening in Hungary today,… but certainly Hungary is no dictatorship. This is empty, ideological language, to call Hungary a dictatorship today!” [Ref. 5]. To his (and our) disappointment, Mr. Kertész’ words were never published by the NYT, – in his view because perhaps this was not the answer the NYT journalist was looking for [Ref. 5]. It demonstrates the true greatness of a Nobel Prize winner that his opinion – which he based on facts – could not be distorted neither by the popular trend of unjustly portraying Hungary as the “enfant terrible of the European Union” (as Mr. Mackinnon writes) nor by his own subjective views.

As Canadians of Hungarian origin, as well as representatives of the largest Canadian Hungarian organization, we aim to promote the friendship between Canada and Hungary, two allied nations within NATO. This, however, requires fair and facts-based reporting about either country in the other’s media. We hope that The Globe and Mail will strive to ensure that the highest journalistic standards are upheld and that it will contribute to reporting about Hungary to Canadians by fair and facts-based reporting in the future.

We would appreciate if you would publish our opinion in the Letter to the Editor section.

Thank you. Regards,
The 16 members of the Board of Directors of the National Alliance of Hungarians in Canada (NAHC)
an umbrella organization founded by 65 Canadian-Hungarian organizations www.kmosz.ca