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Opening
speech of Pál SCHMITT, MEP
President
of the Hungarian EPP-ED Delegation
Dear
Mr Mayor of Poznan, dear Fellow Members of the European Parliament, dear Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It
is a real pleasure for me to stand here today together with our Polish friends
to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the democracy movement in Poznan, Poland,
as well as in a wider sense, to remember the beautiful year of 1956. A year
that marks the "beginning of the end" of communism in Central Europe.
We know that several years had to pass before the system finally collapsed in
1989, but it is clear that the brave, self sacrifice of thousands of people in
Poland, and later that year in Hungary marked the first steps in a historic
process of liberation. These popular movements for democratic rights and civil
liberties gave a shining example that the love of freedom of the Polish and
Hungarian nations could not be oppressed, not even in the face of Soviet tanks
and collaborating communists in both countries.
As
Mayor Grobelny and my fellow-Member, Filip Kaczmarek have said, the June events
in Poznan provided a great inspiration to Hungarians who stood up in a heroic
Revolution against their communist rulers and against the Soviet Union only 4
months later, in October. And we should also remember today the historic
solidarity and friendship between our two countries. Throughout our tumultuous
history, Poles and Hungarians have been friends for centuries. As the popular
saying goes in both countries, "Polish - Hungarian, two friends, together
they fight their battles and drink their wine." (lengyelül kiejtve:
Polak - Wenger dwa bratanki, ido slabi, ido sklanki") And so it is our
duty today to remember these historic similarities, to remember the strong
solidarity between our nations, and to drink a glass of wine together to honour
the memory of the heroes of 1956.
It
is an honour for us, the Hungarian Delegation of the EPP-ED, to be able to
celebrate together with our Polish friends. Our Delegation have planned a
series of events this year to remember 1956, and so it is a special privilege
for us that we can remember this anniversary together with you. As our
contribution, you will find some pictures and information about how the Poznan
demonstrations inspired the Hungarians in Budapest to hold solidarity marches,
and how that led on to the Hungarian Revolution on the 23rd of October 1956. We
have also invited four young, talented Hungarian musicians, the Sturcz Quartet,
who play here today to honour this anniversary. I wish to thank Mr Kaczmarek,
Mayor Grobelny, and the entire Polish EPP-ED Delegation on behalf of the
Hungarian MEPs, for this opportunity to join your celebration and this day of
remembrance.
Let
us not forget the heroes who gave their life for freedom, who - by their
personal sacrifice - set out an example and an inspiration for the next
generations to reject totalitarian communism, to always believe in freedom, and
to never give up.
Thank
you.
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