The Ministry of Defence and the Museum and Institute of Military History most firmly reject the claims made by the Association of Hungarian Resistance and Antifascist Fighters and the Labor Party 2006, which suggest that the Ministry’s paying tribute to the World War II battles for Budapest are meant to encourage and strengthen the far right.
The goal of the February 12 event is “not to glorify dubious political views but to pay the tribute of honor to the memory of civilians and soldiers, that is, the human victims.”
On February 12, 2005 – the 60th anniversary of the battles fought for Budapest in 1945 – the MoD Institute and Museum and Military History and the local government of the 1st District of Budapest jointly unveiled a marble plaque which commemorates the fallen soldiers. Since then, they have jointly organized annual remembrance ceremonies, “whose dignity is further enhanced by the presence of members from the Military Attaché Corps accredited to Hungary. For example, on the latest occasion in 2012 the Russian, Ukrainian, German, Romanian and American attachés as well as the doyen of the attaché corps also attended the event.”
On this day, we remember not only Hungarian and German but also Soviet and Romanian troops. “Those soldiers who fight by observing the law of war, carry out orders while protecting the civilian population, go above and beyond the call of duty in the military and in consequence lose their lives can be considered heroes regardless of their citizenship, nationality, political and religious convictions.”
Therefore, the goal of the event to be held next Tuesday is not to glorify dubious political views but to pay the tribute of honor to the memory of the civilians and soldiers, the human victims. In the light of this, the Ministry of Defence deemed it unacceptable that anyone or any organization accuses the commemorators of supporting dictatorial ideas, so it most firmly rejects all such statements.
In a press release issued on Thursday, the Association of Hungarian Resistance and Antifascist Fighters – Unity for Democracy called on the government “to take measures in compliance with the Paris Peace Treaty to prevent the Neo-Nazis from holding their planned public assembly, which violates humanists, the memory of the people deported during the Holocaust and damages Hungary’ international reputation.” The Ministry of Defence was requested to cancel its scheduled wreath-laying ceremony in honor of the soldiers who had fallen in defence of Buda Castle, because that would evoke Neo-Nazi mentality and would encourage and strengthen the far right. In its press release sent to Hungarian News Agency MTI on Friday, the Labor Party wrote that they initiate an international protest about the “Ministry of Defence commemorating the Nazis”. As they wrote, the party “calls on European antifascist organizations all around Europe to jointly condemn the pro-Nazi step taken by the Hungarian government”.
(MTI, Ministry of Defence)
