1956 Commemoration with President Baka
‘‘For us in Ireland… any mention in the future of national independence … or the right of self-determination by any spokesman of the Soviet Union will always evoke in our minds a single name, a name on which the courage and endurance of a very gallant people have shed a great and undying glory, the name of Hungary.’’ As local representative of the EU Presidency, Ambassador Almqvist was deeply honoured to deliver remarks at the Sandor Palace yesterday in response to President András Baka’s address to EU Ambassadors in Budapest.
In the week we mark 1956 revolution, the Ambassador recalled the above statement– one of Ireland’s very first contributions to the United Nations in 1956.
He remembered too the 540 Hungarian refugees fleeing Soviet tanks who were welcomed to Ireland that year – a fraction of the 200,000 displaced by the revolution’s violent suppression and granted sanctuary across the world.
Paying tribute to President Baka’s moral clarity, Ambassador Almqvist quoted the President’s words at the UN last month, condemning Russia’s aggression and underlining that ‘‘the freedom Hungarians demanded in 1956 is a freedom we must uphold for Ukrainians today.”
The Ambassador ended his remarks saluting: ‘‘The Hungarian heroes of 1956 – whose memory we honour this week and always. The very gallant people of Ukraine – whose freedom we must uphold today. And the values of the European Union that we’re privileged to call home. And which our gracious host this evening has done so much to protect.’’
The full text of the Ambassador’s remarks are available below.
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