of Hungarian Independence to honor the sacrifice of prime minister Imre Nagy and his martyred associates, who lead the 1956 anti-Soviet revolution.
Medgyessy, a former Communist turned Socialist, proposed to hold the national holiday on June 19, 1991, when Soviet troops left the country for good. Medgyessy made his announcement as several ceremonies were underway to commemorate the executions of Nagy and his aids exactly 44 years ago, on June 16, 1958.
"The mourning of the families has become one with that of the nation," said Medgyessy after a "shocking Sunday morning meeting" with the martyr’s relatives.
MEMORIAL MEDAL
He also announced that the Imre Nagy Memorial Medal would be founded for scientists, artists and public figures with "outstanding contributions to promoting Hungary’s independence, social dialogue and national unity."
It will be awarded by a committee comprising the Hungarian president, the Parliament speaker, as well as the president of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences and a representative of the Nagy Imre Association and Foundation.
Medgyessy and Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs were later among those laying wreaths at a memorial plaque for Imre Nagy, at what was his home in Budapest. Nagy’s daughter, Erzsebet, also placed flowers at the memorial, Hungarian media reported.
RESPECTS TO MEMORY
Following the ceremony, Medgyessy wrote in the guest book of the Imre Nagy House, "I pay my respects to the memory of the committed left-wing, democratic politician, Imre Nagy."
Although he a leader of the Hungarian Communist Party from 1944, Nagy soon criticized what he saw as Soviet leader Stalin’s "cult of personality" and the forcible farm collectivization. Nagy was removed from the party leadership in 1949 but resurfaced as leader during the 1956 revolution, which broke out on October 23, 1956.
He became prime minister on October 24 and spoke out for the departure of Soviet troops. Nagy also announced the reinstatement of the multi-party system and after the arrival of additional Soviet forces despite a cease-fire he pronounced Hungary’s neutrality and withdrawal from the Warsaw Pact in November 1.
NO INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT
He failed to receive the requested support from the international community, and the revolution was soon crushed by Soviet troops, leaving thousands dead and wounded.
The Soviets arrested Nagy and took him to Romania. He was condemned to death on trumped-up charges in a closed and secret hearing in Budapest on June 15, 1958, and was executed the next day.
His full rehabilitation and formal reburial took place on the eve of the democratic change-over, on June 16, 1989, with tens of thousands of people attending. It also symbolized an end of an era when especially active Christians and dissidents were persecuted.
COMMUNIST BACKGROUND
Despite his Communist background, current Prime Minister Medgyessy promised relatives of Nagy and other martyrs that his left-of-center government would continue "the democratic leftist traditions of 1956 and preserve its spiritual legacy."
However some 1956 veterans have criticized Medgyessy, who as a deputy prime minister from 1987 to 1990, allegedly knew about secret service activities against anti-Communist dissidents.
Medgyessy’s government was also criticized Sunday, June 16, at a rightist rally of former Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has been criticized internationally for working closely with far right politicians.
HUNGARY BECAME "CORPORATION"
Orban told thousands of supporters in Budapest that the new leadership has turned Hungary "into a corporation" and that the former Communist country is now "ruled by big money."
The former prime minister is seen as the spiritual leader of an estimated 8,000 civic groups in Hungary, which mushroomed after April’s Parliamentary elections.
Medgyessy has denied the accusations, saying that his governments wants to work for the unity of Hungary. He is also seeking close co-operation with churches, who were long seen as irrelevant by the Communists.
