Defence Minister: Hungarians want peace

“We owe it to every Hungarian that we don’t drag them into a senseless and avoidable war being fought for others’ interests,” Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky said at a ceremony.

The minister said the communist dictatorship had “devalued” the first world war and the sacrifices that had been made for the homeland, adding that the restoration of monuments to honour the heroes of the second world war had been an important symbol of Hungary’s transition to democracy.

The declaration of the memorial day for Hungarian heroes at the turn of the millennium, he said, meant that the country would again pay tribute to its heroes and appreciate the thousand-year journey taken by its soldiers in defence of the homeland.

He said 20th century history showed that “politicians who are stupid enough to dream of war and refuse to listen to the sober voices of the people and soldiers never make the right decision”.

“It is from here, by the graves of the heroes who died for the homeland, that we say to them that we Hungarians don’t want war, but peace; not dead heroes, but living men, husbands and fathers,” he said.

Hungary’s parliament passed the law on the memorial day honouring Hungarian heroes on July 19, 2001.