Peter Slipper (Fisher, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I have always been a great admirer of Hungary. Many people would ask why, but as a young person I had some really good Hungarian friends who used to regale me with stories of what happened in Hungary both before and after the 1956 uprising. They introduced me to Hungarian cuisine, and I must confess that I suffered in the sense that I enjoyed it far too much.

Hungary is a country where, as the honourable member for Melbourne Ports said, we have had 40 wasted years, but now Hungary once again is free and once again is able to take its part in the world. It seemed to me for a long time that the essential genius of Hungary and Hungarians was smothered by the wet blanket of communism. Now that has been removed, of course, the opportunities for Hungary and Hungarians in central Europe are really unsurpassed and unlimited.

It always touches me how, throughout world history, the concept of ‘freedom’ has provided such heightened motivation for the people who do not have it. People who have been denied freedom, stable government and security are prepared to risk much in order to attain these things, if not for themselves then for their children and others who will come after them.

This was the case some 50 years ago in the Hungarian Revolution. It was an event in which the people of the nation spontaneously came together to launch a powerful and united offensive against Soviet rule and against communism. What had started as a well-meaning march by students captured the imagination of their fellow frustrated citizens. It was such that the inner anger of many individuals, suppressed for so long by the hand of communism, was simultaneously released to become one united force. One man—and I am going to blame my friend the member for Fairfax if my pronunciation of this name is incorrect—Arpad Szilagyi, a student at the time, wrote:

… It was a revolution in the true sense of the word: A fight of the whole nation against repression and tyranny in the name of creating a better and more just society …

In 1956, optimism swept through Hungary. Hopeful 13- and 14-year-olds enthusiastically joined the movement, using Molotov cocktails and small-calibre rifles to attack Soviet tanks and play their part in attempts to overthrow the occupiers and end years of communist rule. Yet, despite this reckless courage and desperation, the revolution understandably was soon crushed by the Soviet forces. The two-week uprising, from 23 October to 10 November 1956, left 3,000 dead in the capital, Budapest, and around the countryside. But the desire for change was not dead. As is most often the case, failure was to turn around to become a seed for future success. As George W Bush noted, of the event:

Liberty can be delayed, but it cannot be denied.

The winds of change, some theorise, had started with the death in 1953 of one of the fathers of communism, Joseph Stalin, and the appointment of Imre Nagy as Prime Minister. Mr Nagy immediately began to introduce reforms that were more in touch with the real needs of Hungary and the wishes of its people. However, he was dismissed from this position in 1955 and Hungary was quickly steered back onto the old path—the path that was not supported by the people of Hungary.

The student procession in October 1956 aimed to present a petition of grievances to the then leader, Erno Gero. However, his confrontational speech in response to the students, together with shots fired towards the crowds by the state police, sparked riots that became the Hungarian Revolution. As one writer noted, the revolution was:

... a stark reminder throughout the Cold War that the nations of Eastern Europe were not communist by choice.

Although short-lived in relative terms—just 18 days from start to finish—this uprising set the environment for the eventual end of communism some 33 years later. In Hungary, reforms initiated in 1989 led to the sanctioning of a multiparty system and competitive elections. The reforms that swept through eastern Europe culminated in the collapse of communism in Poland, East Germany and other states, and also, ultimately, in the Soviet Union.

I wish to place on record in this House my condolences to the families who lost loved ones in the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and in the years following when Soviet administrators punished a number of Hungarian loyalists with execution for their involvement. These people gave up their lives in the hope of achieving better things for their country. In February this year Hungary’s ambassador to the US said:

... the sacrifice of 1956 was not in vain and Hungarians ended up achieving more than the heroes had ever dreamed of.

I salute Hungary and Hungarians. (Time expired)

See this speech in context