Jaap de Hoop Scheffer Greeted The Troops In Hungarian

Kossuth Square, right in front of the Parliament building, has not hosted a military celebration for two years now. On 9th October, the fourth rotation of the Hungarian Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) returning from Afghanistan’s Baghlan Province lined up on what used to be the place of the commissioning of officers. Two hundred Hungarian, and nine Bulgarian, Croatian, and Slovakian soldiers wearing desert training uniforms stood at attention before the leaders of NATO and the Hungarian dignitaries.

General András Havril, MoD Chief of Defence Staff, Lieutenant General (Eng.) László Tömböl, Commander of the Joint Forces Command of the Hungarian Defence Forces, and of course, the commanders of the previous Hungarian contingents to Afghanistan also attended the event.

But two Hungarian soldiers, posthumous Lieutenant Gyula Kovács and posthumous Major Krisztián Nemes, who died with honour in the line of duty, could not be present at the ceremony. The event began with commemorating the two deceased, and Defence Minister Dr. Imre Szekeres handed over a token of appreciation to the families of the heroic soldiers.

Following the awarding of various certificates and service tabs ’for peacekeeping’, Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer greeted the Hungarian soldiers returning from Afghanistan.

"Jó reggelt! (good morning)" – he said in Hungarian, then emphasized: even though in the past six decades NATO has been defending the security of its member states with success, in recent years, a multitude of new threats have emerged, making the Afghanistan assignment more dangerous.

"Today there are more than 60,000 NATO troops serving on operations under the command of the Alliance, in various locations all over the world. And every allied country, among them Hungary as well, greatly contribute to these joint operations" – stressed the Secretary General. He added: in Afghanistan – which is the greatest commitment and most challenging operation of the Alliance to date –, NATO troops risk their lives in order to bring a better future for the Afghani people, who have suffered so much. At the same time, their efforts are aimed at preventing Afghanistan from becoming the shelter for terrorists – this can never happen again.

In the opinion of Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, soldiers serve more than one noble cause since their mission is of key importance from the aspect of the security of our nations and citizens as well. All 26 NATO Member States are committed to succeed in this mission.

"I have been to Afghanistan a number of times. Last time, I was there a few months ago. I have experienced personally how unfavourable the circumstances are, and I am aware of the challenges caused by the conditions, the situation in the country. Nevertheless, I am also aware that our commitment is a service not only to improve the lives of Afghani people, but to guarantee our own safety as well" – said Jaap de Hoop Scheffer. The Secretary General also emphasized that the development in Afghanistan is the achievement of people who are willing to leave their homes and families behind, move to this Central Asian country, and work hard to improve the living conditions of Afghani people. And while they are away, their families have to cope with the tasks at home. This is exactly why the relatives of these soldiers would deserve an even greater recognition.

"Unfortunately, two soldiers who went on mission with you, cannot be here with us now. Major Krisztián Nemes and Lieutenant Gyula Kovács were serving with the EOD platoon. They are the first Hungarian soldiers to sacrifice their lives in Afghanistan. I would like to use this occasion to express my sincere condolences for their families and loved ones" – said the Secretary General of NATO at the end of his address.

Defence Minister Imre Szekeres highlighted: returning from a mission is always a joyful moment. Today’s celebration in honour of the return of the troops is a special one, for our allies are here with us as well on this day, since our country is also hosting the informal meeting of NATO defence ministers this week.

"Now we are greeting the corps in which these two excellent soldiers, our two EOD experts were serving. They cannot stand here now in Kossuth Square, for they died heroically in the line of duty" – said the Minister, who also told later that upon losing our soldiers, we have also experienced that the aim of the enemy forces is clear: to increase the casualties of NATO forces, whose purpose is to establish peace. And the reason behind this is that they want Member States to lose the support given to their Afghanistan task.

"This aim is clear, yet we are aware of that, and act against that. We are strengthening the security of our troops and join our forces to firm the support of peace-loving nations with our performance" – said Imre Szekeres. The Defence Minister underlined: the Hungarian soldiers who have just returned from the theatre of operations had completed their task with success. This task is the most important mission of NATO, and all 26 allies agree on that, moreover, its importance is also reflected in the fact that every Member State stations troops in this remote country.

At the ceremony marking the return of the fourth rotation of the Hungarian PRT, Imre Szekeres also spoke about the new Hungarian contingent serving in Afghanistan, in addition to the Provincial Reconstruction Team. As of 1st October, seventy Hungarian soldiers have taken over the control of the Kabul international airport.

The minister underlined: one of the most important issues of the current ministerial meeting is the Afghanistan commitment of the Alliance. Regarding this, two questions arise: one is strengthening the solidarity of the allies, and the other one is to have a strategy on the future of Afghanistan, which is unanimously adopted by the member states. The Alliance hopes that in a few years, the ratio of active military tasks can decrease gradually, while training-related tasks can show an increase. Therefore in the coming months, the most important issue is the stabilization of Afghanistan.

Upon concluding his address, Imre Szekeres also mentioned that in the past years, peacekeeping and crisis management have become the national task of the Hungarian Defence Forces. There are a thousand Hungarian soldiers serving in three continents, in thirteen countries. The Hungarian Defence Forces assist the international cooperation with a regiment. This amounts to 12 percent of the Hungarian land forces, and makes us one of the few member states that fulfil the 8 percent ratio urged by NATO.

The event celebrating the return of the troops ended with the procession of the Hungarian contingent, and later the Hungarian soldiers returning from Afghanistan, and their families attended a reception at Stefánia Palace.