On Monday morning the Day of National Unity (also known as the Day of National Cohesion) was commemorated in Kossuth tér in front of the Hungarian Parliament with a ceremonial raising of Hungary’s national flag, accompanied by a guard of honour and the playing of the national anthem.
President of the Republic János Áder, Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and Speaker of Parliament László Kövér attended the ceremony, as did members of the Government, several members of Parliament, members of the diplomatic corps and two hundred children from Hungary and neighbouring countries.
Deputy Prime Minister Zsolt Semjén officially opened the programme of events for the young at the House of Hungarians. He said that there are two conditions for continuity of the Hungarian nation: unification through citizenship and the reinforcement of Hungary’s cultural heritage. He noted that ‘The point of the commemoration is not to mourn for the past or to acknowledge genuine historical facts which have not been distorted, but to serve the continuity of the Hungarian nation.’
Mr. Semjén expressed gratitude to Hungarians outside Hungary who have preserved their Hungarian identity in often difficult circumstances. He also mentioned that fifteen thousand schoolchildren have been able to visit areas beyond the borders populated by Hungarians as part of the Without Borders! programme, thus strengthening the links between Hungarians in the Carpathian basin.
In a written announcement, President of the Republic János Áder stated that the Treaty of Trianon was unjust in every respect and created a humiliating situation for all peoples: the victors as well as the vanquished. He also wrote that the feeling of solidarity will not be nourished by anything other than the acceptance of responsibility for one another.
He continued by declaring that the Day of National Unity sends a message to all Hungarians (including the members of national minorities), all our neighbours and all European peoples that the foundation for our common future and success can only be openness to cooperation and mutual respect shown to each other.
The President affirmed his support for all those who were forced to leave Hungary because of their ancestry, religion or political convictions, either after 4 June 1920, under the dictatorships of National Socialism or Communism, in 1956 or subsequently.
His message to the national minorities within Hungary is that Hungary depends on them, and respects their efforts to preserve their traditions, languages and cultures, because this is also seen as strengthening their Hungarian identity and patriotism.
* * *
Parliament declared 4 June the Day of National Unity in 2010. The country is remembering this year for the second time the day of the signing of the Trianon peace dictate as the Day of National Unity and the fact that every member and community of the Hungarian nation subjected to the jurisdiction of multiple states forms part of the single, unified Hungarian nation.
On 4 June 1920 the Peace Treaty of Trianon closing World War I was signed, which designated the new borders of Hungary, Austria and Romania on account of the disintegration of the Austro–Hungarian Empire and the newly established Czechoslovakia and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. With designation of the new borders, Hungary lost more than two thirds of its territory and the number of its inhabitants decreased from 21 million to less than 8 million. It is in consequence of this pact that to this day millions of Hungarians live directly beyond the country’s borders, in Romania, Ukraine, Serbia, Slovakia, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia.
Hungary therefore regarded 4 June 1920 as a day of national mourning for a long time, while during the communist regime it was simply forbidden to remember it at all.
Hungarian society has had the opportunity to experience and truly appreciate the value of national unity with Hungarians beyond the borders, to acquaint themselves with the true details of history and to foster relations with Hungarians living beyond the borders since the political transition of 1989/ 90.
Based on society’s overwhelming support, Hungary’s new Fundamental Law, too, confirms Hungary’s commitment to our national unity with Hungarians beyond the borders. With a view to unity and cohesion, the Hungarian State not only takes responsibility for Hungarians beyond the borders but also promotes the survival of their communities, the enforcement of their individual and collective rights, the establishment of communal municipalities and their advancement in their native land, the Constitution proclaims.
The Orbán government has made possible the acquisition of dual citizenship as of January 2011, which some 250,000 individuals have applied for to date, and launched the website www.nemzetiregiszter.hu for Hungarians around the world.
Parliament passed a law on Hungary’s Day of National Unity in 2010 which Hungary no longer looks upon as a day of mourning but as a day of celebration together with all Hungarians beyond the borders. See the text of the Act in English:
http://www.nemzetiregiszter.hu/admin/download/9/93/00000/Nemzeti_osszetartozas_torveny.pdf
(kormany.hu)
