UN Secretary General Ban in Budapest--Recalls Spirit of 1956
Speaking at Budapest's Corvinus University, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon recalled the times and spirit of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution.
In an address to Faculty and students, the Secretary General stated, "This month marks the anniversary of the 1956 uprising. Back then I was only 12 years old--perhaps not old enough to know the details of the revolution so far from my home in Korea. But I knew enough about the cause of freedom."
Ban implored, "Our heart was with the people of Hungary. On behalf of my school, I sent a letter to the United Nations Secretary General at the time: Dag Hammarskjold. The letter appealed to him to support the brave people of Hungary."
"Exactly 50 years later, when I was elected United Nations Secretary General, your government recognized my very modest effort by designating me a 'Hungarian Hero of Freedom."
The SG conceded, "It is a humble reminder to me that the struggle for human rights is constant everywhere."
After seemingly overthrowing the communist- installed regime in October 1956, the Hungarian Revolution was soon crushed by Soviet tanks in November. Neither the UN, nor the Western powers, did anything to stop the fighting, but played an important role in refugee resettlement in the following years.
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