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50 years later, calls for unity

Hungary's leader decries f racture s ahead of the revolution's anniversary.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published October 23, 2006

BUDAPEST, Hungary - Hungary's president made a plea for national unity during Sunday's commemorations of the 50th anniversary of the anti-Soviet uprising, trying to keep bitter political divisions in the country from spilling over into the celebrations.

Speaking during a gala at the Hungarian State Opera on the first day of ceremonies to mark today's anniversary, Laszlo Solyom said people were interpreting the 1956 revolution to suit their own interests.

"People are not only celebrating separately, they are also celebrating something else," Solyom said. "The fashionable slogan is that there were many 1956s, and with this, the value and significance of 1956 is relativized.

"But I say there is only one 1956 revolution," Solyom said, his words interrupted by applause.

Opposition parties and several veterans groups planned to boycott events where Socialist Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsany will speak. Protests against Gyurcsany have been going on since Sept. 17, when he was heard admitting on a leaked recording that his government lied about the economy to win re-election in April.

Also, many question the right of the Socialists - heirs of the Communist Party that ruled Hungary until 1989 after the 1956 revolution was crushed by Soviet troops - to lead the official commemorations.

Solyom said, "Oct. 23 could be a real national holiday if we wanted it to be and if we took the steps leading back to the unity and uniqueness of 1956."

About 2,800 Hungarians and 700 Soviet troops were killed in the revolution. Some 200,000 Hungarians escaped the country, and at least 225 Hungarians accused of participating in the revolution were executed.

Austrian President Heinz Fischer, speaking as a representative of the foreign guests attending the ceremony, said the revolution had not been in vain, and pointed to Hungary's European Union membership.

"In a democracy, political opponents are not enemies; no party has exclusive possession of the truth," Fischer said, echoing Solyom's words. "Parties are important, but the country is even more important."

Delegations from at least 56 countries are in Budapest for the commemorations. The U.S. delegation is led by New York Gov. George Pataki, whose paternal grandparents were Hungarian immigrants.

The 1956 uprising

-The Hungarian uprising against the Soviet Union's grip on the country began on Oct. 23, 1956, with mass antigovernment and anti-Soviet demonstrations in Budapest and elsewhere. Protests spread and hundreds were killed by Soviet troops and their Hungarian loyalists. In November, Soviet warplanes bombed the last pockets of organized resistance, and the uprising was over. Thousands of Hungarians and Soviet troops were dead.

-The Western powers denounced the Soviet Union's actions but ignored the revolutionaries' pleas to intervene.

[Last modified October 23, 2006, 02:06:53]