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In a video posted on his Facebook page on Saturday, the Secretary of State for National Policy of the Prime Minister’s Office said that 2022 was the year of the nation that acts. Árpád János Potápi said that the year was defined by joint action: in April 2022, the “nation once again decided its fate together.”
He added that 318,083 Hungarians living beyond the borders took part in the parliamentary elections, almost 94 percent of whom voted for the “continuation of the work begun,” i.e. for Fidesz-KDNP, which has been in government since 2010.
Thanking the Hungarians living abroad for their support, the secretary of state noted that the Russian-Ukrainian war, which broke out after Covid-19, poses a new challenge for the entire Hungarian nation, but especially for Hungarians living in Transcarpathia, Ukraine.
Hungarians – both within and beyond the borders – are united in helping the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia,”
emphasized the politician.
He continued that the Hungarian government would not give up on its strategic goals, and even in this difficult situation they would do their utmost to continue the national unification process started in 2010. Since then, 1, 150,000 Hungarians living abroad have already become Hungarian citizens, 5,400 investments have been made abroad, and the government continues to contribute to the education of 300,000 children and young people in their mother tongue every year. In addition, they ensure the continued functioning of Hungarian institutions abroad, the Secretary of State said.
In the fields of culture, youth, churches, sports, and the economy, we are thinking in terms of a united Carpathian Basin, a united nation,”
Potápi underscored. “As we stated in the final declaration of the Hungarian Permanent Conference: it is in the common interest of all members of the Hungarian nation to have peace as soon as possible,” he said. We are confident that the year 2023 will bring peace to Europe, he added.
The Secretary of State for National Policy has recently been on a tour in Transylvania, Romania, where the biggest Hungarian community lives beyond the borders. He was accompanied by Justice Minister Judit Varga, with whom they visited the Siculicidium monument in Mádéfalva (Siculeni, Romania) to commemorate the 1764 Mádéfalvi massacre, when imperial troops serving the Habsburgs slaughtered hundreds of Szeklers.
The attack was preceded by the re-establishment of the Szekler border guard ordered by Empress Maria Theresa of Germany and Queen of Hungary in 1760. The Szeklers complained that under the new rules they would have to serve abroad under German-language command, and could not regain their old rights of freedom in return for their military service. Many of them fled from the forced conscription, but some 2,500 gathered in Mádéfalva and presented a protest petition to Maria Theresa. At dawn on January 7, 1764, the imperial troops unexpectedly attacked Mádéfalva, and the attack eventually broke the Szekler resistance.
At the Siculicidium monument, the Hungarian Justice Minister reminded everyone that the Szeklers of Mádéfalva defended their sovereignty and identity, and although the world has changed a lot since then, “defending Hungarian constitutional identity and sovereignty is still our daily task.” Varga stressed that for the Hungarian government, the most important thing is that Hungarians living in Transylvania can preserve their Hungarian identity.
Featured photo via Facebook/Árpád János Potápi