As a strong nation, we must respond to the challenges of the present, as a strong nation, we must be the resource of the Europe of nations, said Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister Katalin Szili at the commemoration held at the final resting place of Count Albert Apponyi in Éberhard, in the Highlands, on the occasion of the Day of National Unity.
In her speech, Katalin Szili pointed out: in the 103 years since Trianon, Hungarians have already proven that they are a united nation despite the dividing borders, but at the same time, we need to make the neighboring states aware that the goal is not to change the current status quo, but to ensure that in today's European situation a kind of unity and cooperation should be formed that would also create a possible new European center of gravity.
Europe of nations
He added: it must also be shown that the Europe we are formulating is not based on a cosmopolitan way of thinking and an outmoded internationalism, but on what national sovereignty and the Europe of nations mean in the future.
"When we talk about Trianon today, there is no reason to be self-absorbed, but what is important is what we can do in the midst of the current challenges in order to be a strong resource for this Europe as a strong nation"
Katalin Szili stated.
Speaking about Albert Apponyi, the chief advisor to the Prime Minister, he said: the count is mostly remembered as the one who defended the entire Hungarian people and the Hungarian land as the nation's great defense lawyer in Trianon, but at the same time it is also important to emphasize that he was the one who, after the peace decree, always stood up for the for the rights of national minorities.
Photo: MTI/István Filep
He pointed out: if Apponyi were still here today, he would be faced with the fact that a hundred years later, there are the same minority aspirations as those for which he already fought. He gave as an example that the count wanted it to be possible for the minority communities to turn directly to the Council of the People's Association in matters of education.
"It should be possible for minority communities to litigate these issues before European forums"
Katalin Szili stated.
Krisztián Forró, the president of the unified Hungarian party in the highlands, the Association, said at the commemoration: in Trianon they tried to divide, and after the Second World War they continued to try to weaken Hungarianness, but despite this, after more than a hundred years, it can be said that around half a million Hungarians still live in He wants to prosper in the highlands and here as well. On the other hand, what the future of Hungarians in the Uplands will be, depends to a large extent on what results the Association and thus the Hungarian community in the Uplands will be able to show in the early parliamentary elections in September.
"After September 30, we must be able to say what is due, and we must work to get it"
- said the president of the Hungarian party.
Gyula Bárdos, the president of Csemadok, the largest cultural and public organization of the Upland Hungarians, said in connection with the September elections: the community, the nation, needs every single Upland Hungarian, as the Upland Hungarians are facing a contest that will have a serious impact on the Hungarian community, not only in the Highlands, but also in the whole Carpathian basin.
During the weekend, commemorations on the occasion of the Day of National Unity were and are being held in several settlements inhabited by Hungarians in the Highlands
The commemoration organized by the Csemads in Éberhard, near Bratislava, is considered central among such events. The commemoration connected with the ecumenical service is traditionally held in the local chapel, at the final resting place of Albert Apponyi. After the Saturday service, the commemoration continued at the local community center.
MTI
Featured image: MTI/János Vajda
