AMBASSADOR DR. GÁBOR TAMÁS NAGY'S CEREMONIAL ADDRESS ON THE OCCASION OF MARCH 15TH. - CONTINUATION OF ARTICLE

Dear Celebrating Community!

March 15th marks the anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution. On this day in 1848, the revolution began, which later evolved into a war of independence. This date symbolizes spring, hope, and the desire for freedom in every Hungarian heart. It was on this day that the revolution's demands, the 12 Points, were formulated. Sándor Petőfi wrote the National Song: "Rise up, Hungarian, your country calls!" And the red-white-green cockade (kokárda) was born from the Hungarian tricolor, showing that its wearer carries the fate of their homeland in their heart.

Dear Fellow Citizens!

Wherever we may live in the world, we carry this March celebration in our hearts. Let us briefly recall the events of this historic day. The March Youth gathered at the Pilvax Café in the morning. Upon hearing news of the revolution in Vienna the previous day, they decided action was needed in Pest-Buda. At the Landerer and Heckenast printing press, they printed the National Song and the 12 Points on machines seized in the name of the people, without censorship approval. By three in the afternoon, a crowd of ten thousand had gathered in the National Museum's garden, then marched to the Council of the Governor-General. In the evening, they freed Mihály Táncsics, imprisoned in Buda Castle for his political views, and concluded the day with a gala performance of "Bánk bán" at the National Theatre. The young revolutionaries achieved more in one day than the Parliament had in years of debates. The revolutionary demands were sanctioned by the ruler on April 11th. We can say that this spring day is the birthday of the Hungarian Nation, and to this day, it remains a community-forming force. Even 177 years and 18,000 kilometers away, it brings us

Hungarians together, wherever fate may scatter us across the world. Just as the revolution became intertwined with the name of the poet Sándor Petőfi and the patriotic fervor of the National Song, the subsequent freedom fight became associated with Lajos Kossuth, the opposition leader of the reform parliament and celebrated orator, who later as finance minister of the independent Hungarian government created the Kossuth banknote, the forint. They established the army almost from nothing, and when it became clear that the emperor was unwilling to compromise with the Hungarians, Kossuth, as governor, declared the dethronement of the Habsburg dynasty. The lives of these two historical figures exemplify the fate of the Hungarian people. Petőfi represents the expression of heroic desire for freedom and the acceptance of death in the fall of the freedom fight following the revolution. Kossuth was able to unite and inspire Hungarians, and later, during the years of oppression, he and the forced emigration embodied living hope. One became credible through his death and set an example, while the other did so through persistent perseverance and by spreading Hungary's good reputation around the world. His American tour was a veritable triumph, and it is no coincidence that the only statue of a foreign statesman in the American Capitol is that of Lajos Kossuth. The independence struggle failed. We know the history: even all the forces of the Habsburg Empire were unable to defeat the Hungarians, so in an unprecedented manner in history, they could only suppress the freedom fight with the help of another empire. The fight was lost, and Görgei, realizing this, chose to protect Hungarian lives instead of meaningless death and laid down arms at Világos. But the achievements of civil Hungary - public burden-sharing, equality before the law, independent, responsible government, freedom of the press - were all realized in the Compromise of 1867. Based on these, Hungarians formed an equal state-forming force in the Austro-Hungarian

Monarchy. Albert Wass taught us that one must not only die for the homeland but also live for it. In oppression, and if not possible, in foreign lands - but never forgetting that we were born Hungarian and have a unique treasure, our Hungarian mother tongue. In this language, numerous scientists and artists have created and achieved world-renowned results and successes. There is something in the Hungarian way of thinking that arms us with special power - the magic of folk tales: the more we are oppressed, the harder our life becomes, the more tenaciously and strongly

the Hungarian survival instinct emerges.

From this historical perspective, another outstanding poet of ours, Attila József, formulated the task and responsibility of posterity in his poem "By the Danube":

"The battle our ancestors fought

memory resolves into peace

and to finally settle our common affairs,

this is our work; and it is not little."

Dr. Gábor Tamás Nagy

Ambassador of Hungary in Wellington