Celebrating the Anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution

Floor Speech

Mr. HARRIS. Mr. Speaker, on the anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 1849, I would like to salute the people of Hungary, a trusted ally of the United States, for the great heritage of those freedom fighters who stood up against tyranny and risked their lives in the name of liberty. I know that Hungarians today are no less committed to the principles of freedom, self-reliance and national sovereignty than our heroic ancestors.

As an American of Hungarian origin I recognize that celebrating 1848 is nothing less than celebrating freedom. And indeed, it is the ideals of freedom and liberty that have linked our countries so inextricably together for centuries.

It is a little known fact, that after the Revolution was crushed with the help of the Russians, it was the United States that negotiated Kossuth's release and thanks to this, the great freedom fighter could sail across the Atlantic to raise public awareness about the situation in Hungary. And this year marks the 160th anniversary of his Congressional address which he delivered in these very chambers to U.S. Representatives.

In his address he said: ``Your generous part in my liberation is taken by the world for the revelation of the fact, that the United States are resolved not to allow the despots of the world to trample on oppressed humanity.'' Even in the most difficult times, when domestic affairs in Hungary were hard to decipher, Americans found the proper and prudent way both officially and unofficially to help those who were truly committed to freedom against those who strove to ignore the will of the people.

Hungarians in 1848 took up arms in order to reclaim their national sovereignty, an ideal that I know Hungary's current government values very much. As Kossuth said while in America, ``The sovereign right of whatever nation to dispose of itself to alter its institutions, to change the form of its government, is a common public law of nations, common to all, and therefore put under the common guarantee of all.'' Americans treasure our own independence and share in the celebration of the Hungarian revolution.

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