Március 15-i ünnepségek New Yorkban és Washingtonban, és Paul Wolfowitz amerikai hadügyminiszter-helyettes 2003. októberi avatóbeszéde a Kováts Mihály-szobornál. Részlet a Magyar Lobbi 2004. március 12-i akció köréből.

Március 14-én, délelőtt 10:30-kor a Kossuth-szobornál találkozik New York magyarsága (Riverside Avenue és W. 113th St.). Velünk ünnepel majd George Pataki kormányzó úr és Alan Hevesi, New York állam “comptrollere” is.

Idén először ünnepelhet Washington magyarsága az amerikai huszárság alapítójának, Fábriczy Kováts Mihálynak a szobránál, melynél a következő avatóbeszédet mondta Paul Wolfowitz hadügyminiszter-helyettes 2003. október 11-én:

Dedication of the Statue of Colonel Michael Kovats de Fabricy

Remarks by Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, Hungarian Embassy, Washington, DC, October 11, 2003

“It’s an honor and a privilege to be able to participate here in the dedication ceremony for a statue for a true hero, a man who gave his life for American freedom. Great sacrifices made by Colonel Kovats and the other Hussar soldiers are a demonstration that we have been partners for freedom for more than two centuries. Today Hungarian and U.S. military servicemen and women stand shoulder to shoulder in Iraq, in Afghanistan, in the Balkans and other places around the world to maintain the peace, to protect human rights, and to foster international cooperation.

I confess that I am old enough to remember very vividly 1956. I remember the tragic scenes of Hungarian freedom fighters being mowed down by Soviet tanks, and even as a young boy, the sense of helplessness we felt here as Americans in seeing freedom extinguished. I also remember quite a few Hungarian refugees who turned up in my small town in upstate New York and proceeded very rapidly to become Americans.

Hungarian genius has helped invent integrated circuits, colored television, nuclear engineering, holography, supersonic flight, the modern computer, the carburetor, the automatic gear box and, of course, most important of all: the Rubik’s Cube. Hungarians or people of Hungarian descent have won Nobel Prizes in every field in which the prize is awarded.

We now celebrate Hungary not just as a free country but also as one of the first three new members of the NATO Alliance. Some people feared that bringing Hungary and Poland and the Czech Republic into NATO would build a new wall down the center of Europe to replace the old one. But instead, it has built a bridge, and now more countries have joined, and Russia itself is in a brand new and positive relationship with the rest of Europe and with the United States. And Hungary has demonstrated through its active support and cooperation to be an important and capable member of the International Coalition united in the global fight against terrorism.

I know that, based on the values that we share — the values that Colonel Kovats gave his life for — the love of freedom and the commitment to a peaceful and stable world, we will forge even closer links in the years to come. Thank you very much and may God bless both of our countries.”

Forrás: Magyar Lobbi, 2004. március 12.