Hungarian Days in Arad

The traditional program series began with a ceremonial service in the Reformed Church of downtown Arad. Pastor Zoltán Levente Baracsi welcomed those present, including Defence Minister Dr. Csaba Hende, András Király, the Romanian State Secretary for Education, Oszkár Füzes, Hungary’s ambassador to Bucharest, Mátyás Szilágyi, the Consul-General of Kolozsvár (Cluj-Napoca), Lt.-Col. Mátyás Sándor, Hungary’s defence, military and air attaché to Bucharest and Dénes Faragó, the MP of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania.

In what followed, Levente Horváth, the Vice-Mayor of Arad opened the Hungarian Days in Arad. In his speech, he noted that occasions like this reveal the values that give holding power to the some 23,000 Hungarian inhabitants of Arad. Keeping the memory of the 13 martyrs alive strengthens their Hungarian identity.

After the opening ceremony József Kerekes, the Pastor of the Királyhágómellék Reformed Church District in Nagyvárad (Oradea) held a service.

Addressing the participants, Dr. Csaba Hende stressed that the time passed since October 6, 1849 has shown that the sacrifice of our martyrs was not meaningless! Let us not forget that the cause they had been fighting for eventually prevailed. The growth of passive resistance brought out the virtues of our nation, setting some nice examples of courage and joining forces. Our national will finally led to the Compromise of 1867, which was a sober one, bringing about reconciliation from which a new and peaceful world has been built.

After expressing these thoughts, on the occasion of the Hungarian Days Dr. Csaba Hende went on praising the richly illustrated “historical postcard collection" entitled “Our Beautiful Arad County", a book co-authored by two residents of Sopron, József Göncz and Béla Bognár. He stressed that Arad is the common treasure of all of us whose ancestors appear in the book. But what will the future bring for Arad? – this was the question Dr. Csaba Hende asked. Looking to the way ahead, he said that the European Union enables us to put together again everything that history had broken into pieces in the 20th century. For almost a century, we have lived in a country whose cross-border roads did not lead anywhere. All what remains shows us that it is worth weaving the broken threads together.

“The task of our generation is to re-establish these relations, and we highly appreciate the role of the Council of Arad County, and especially the role Vice-Mayor Georghe Falca plays in this field. We highly appreciate the efforts the Romanian government is making to further common interests, common persistence and harmonic co-existence", the Minister added. Dr. Csaba Hende emphasized that Hungary continues to actively support Romania’s accession to the Schengen Area so as to make sure that neither in our hearts nor in real life can the border separate us any more.

In what followed, the guests went to see the Hungarian House in Arad and the editorial office of the periodical “Nyugati Jelen" (Western Present), then attended a church funeral service involving a wreath-laying ceremony by the just unveiled memorial in the public cemetery of Arad of the 12 unknown Hungarian honvéd heroes who fell in 1944 in the line of duty, defending the Vaskapu (Iron Gate on the River Danube).

The Defence Minister commemorated these heroes too, saying that, thanks to the efforts made by today’s community of Arad, a stone block brought from Farkaslaka (Lupeni) has been erected here to immortalize them after 50 years of anonymity. These 12 honvéd soldiers sacrificed their lives for the homeland, so we must commemorate them because their supreme sacrifice connects us all", Defence Minister Dr. Csaba Hende said.