Hungarians commemorated the 167th anniversary of their revolution and failed war of independence against the Habsburg Monarchy in 1848 by holding a series of social and political events on Sunday.

A major event was the awarding of the nation's highest cultural and scientific awards, the Kossuth and Szechenyi Prizes.

President Janos Ader awarded the prizes in arts, sciences, and humanities, to thirty two people in areas ranging from veterinary science to nuclear physics and photography to opera.

Acknowledging the significance of the red letter days of celebration, Ader noted that the true key to a country was the day to day work of its people. These awards, he said, are meant to recognize the people who set the examples in constant, consistent, and enduring work.

Prime Minister Viktor Orban addressed a commemorative rally where he called for national cooperation, saying that everyone had to pull together to be successful.

A number of other political parties, left and right alike, held rallies as did the Civil Cooperation Forum, which remembered Polish-Hungarian friendship and the key role played by Poland's General Jozef Bem in Hungary's 1848 War of Independence, leading several Hungarian fighting forces. Endit

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)