Imre Pákh: I inherited the preservation of Hungarianness

Maybe the turul bird that fell from the steps of the Münkacs castle will be placed on a new pedestal in Nagydobrony or some other settlement, but even then, it must return to Munkács, an even more beautiful and even bigger turul bird than before - Imre Pákh told PestiSrácok.hu at his home in Budapest , a businessman from Münkac, living in America, who says that the matter of the turul is much more than a matter of restoring a statue. It is none other than Hungarianness, the symbol of the survival of Hungarian consciousness in Transcarpathia. Imre Pákh also spoke to the newspaper about the Russian-Ukrainian war. He stated that in his opinion there will be no winners in this war. Among its huge losers are the Transcarpathian Hungarians, the boys who are expected to give their blood and their lives in other people's wars, because there on the front with zero combat and military knowledge, the way young people are brought to the front, you can only die. "Those who are truly pro-peace don't say that you have to fight to the last Ukrainian soldier. And there can be no other reasonable, human goal than peace," said Imre Pákh.

As is well known, although not without precedent, on October 13, the turul statue restored in 2008 by Imre Pákh and his family was toppled from the top of Munkácsi Castle, bypassing the Münkácsi council and based on an online executive committee decision. Although the barbaric vandalism was condemned even by 18 members of the Münkacsi council, they protested against it, and the statue decision was followed by widespread indignation. Recently, the three-pronged harpoon, the state coat of arms of Ukraine, was placed on the original obelisk erected to commemorate the millennium.

Imre Pákh, the erector and financier of the turul monument, takes the position that the statue, since no documents were prepared about the donation and it was not handled properly by the city leaders, is his property, and the statue decision, which was carried out behind his back, secretly, using illegal means, is vandalism . That is why he takes the matter to court, while swearing at the grave of his parents, who were important ambassadors for the preservation of Munkács' Hungarian values, that one way or the other, he will return to his original place.

Imre Pákh also made an offer that if the statue can be restored and raised back on the obelisk, on which he considers it unacceptable to have a Ukrainian coat of arms, then he will have the Ukrainian emblem erected at another point of the castle at his own expense. The offer fell on deaf ears. Imre Pákh, on the other hand, does not sit idly on his laurels. The businessman recently traveled to Budapest and took part in several meetings regarding the turul.

In response to the PS's question, he said at his home in the capital that several people from Hungary and Transcarpathia had contacted him saying that they would be happy to host the turul, and that they would like to have the statue exiled from Munkacs Castle erected at their place. Imre Pákh gladly accepted the offers. He said that he would be happy to give it to a place where he knows that it will have good owners, but he will not, he is not willing to give up on the return of the turul to Munkács Castle, because that is where it belongs, and it is also a very important symbol of what will be the outcome of this matter.

Maybe we will erect the fallen statue in Nagydobrony, for example, but then an even bigger, even more beautiful bird will return to Münkacsi Castle, he declared.

Imre Pákh spoke at length about how important the Subcarpathian Hungarian city is to his heart, where, although there are very few Hungarians left, it will always remain Hungarian in its history and essence.

I haven't lived in Munkács for fifty years, and even my father spent the last years of his life elsewhere. Worker does not allow. There is a saying that you may be able to leave something, but it won't leave you. That's how I am with Munkácc, Subcarpathian. I spent my childhood there, I still have my house in Münkac, and I go home. A worker always stays at home for me. The city that my parents, my father left to me to preserve its Hungarianness - said Imre Pákh.

He reminded that the intention of the mayor of the city, Andrej Baloga, and his father, the Ukrainian member of parliament, Viktor Baloga, is obvious: to completely evict the Hungarian city by settlement, for which the war also provides a suitable excuse. But Munkács and Transcarpathia will remain Hungarian as long as the Hungarians preserve it and do not renounce it and their Hungarianness.

Although in his view Munkács has changed a lot, it is very difficult to see the old beloved Munkács in him. But countless positive things have happened thanks to the Hungarian government, which does not let go of Transcarpathia's hand. He noted that, for example, the Hungarian state bought the patina building of the old bank in Munkács and renovated it. Thanks to this, Hungarians today have their own community center in the city, which bears the name of Mihály Munkácsy. But the house of the famous Transcarpathian painter Béla Erdélyi was saved in the same way.

I remember that house well because I used to go there when I was a child. I learned to paint. Today it is a memorial house, fantastically renovated. These initiatives are extremely important, said Imre Pákh.

He also spoke about the war to the PS. This is someone else's war, but the loss of the Hungarians is also huge. Hungarian boys must, against their will, give their blood and their lives in a war with which they have nothing to do with anything in the world.

This is not our war. What do we have to do with this war? he asked the question.

Yet young Hungarian boys are dying every day. For whom? Why? They believe that after they are taken to the front, they will learn to fight in a day or two, a week or two. You can't learn it in a week or two. There is only one thing: die.

There will be no winners in this war, only losers. Peace can only be the goal of any sensible person who thinks it through. Because more and more people die every single day.

For this reason alone, Hungarians cannot take any other position than an immediate ceasefire and peace.

I really am a pro-peace person. I don't want quasi-children from either side to die who don't even know why they're fighting. But whoever, say, in Germany, France, or even in England, does not say that it is necessary to fight to the last Ukrainian soldier, he is immediately branded as a Putinist. They even jump on the Pope. In the meantime, how could the pope represent something else when Christianity is about something else, a Christian cannot support bloodshed, declared Imre Pákh.

For example, America announced that as long as the war lasts, they will support Ukraine. The opposite is true. As long as Ukraine is supported from the outside, the war will continue. It won't be over until then - believes Imre Pákh.

He reminded that Ukraine went bankrupt a long time ago. State institutions have not been functioning for years. The entire country cannot function without external help. He wouldn't even be able to fight without external support.

Imre Pákh visited several European countries in recent months. He says that his personal experience is that Hungary and the Hungarian government's approach to war is the most sane:

I feel very well in Hungary. Especially lately. Hungary is different from the other countries I visited in recent months. Here, they judge the Russian-Ukrainian war quite well and see behind the left-liberal propaganda, he noted.

Source and full article: PestiSrácok

Featured image: MN/Tamás Berecki