State commemorations on the square before Parliament were attended by Hungary’s President János Áder, Defence Minister Csaba Hende, Interior Minister Sándor Pintér, Chief of Staff Tibor Benkő and members of the diplomatic corps.

The names of the 13 martyrs of Arad were read out loud in tribute. The dignitaries then moved on to pay their respects by the memorial for Lajos Batthyány, the prime minister of Hungary’s first independent government, nearby.

Later in the day, Áder attended a commemoration in central Hungary’s Szolnok, and said that the martyrs had passed on us “a legacy of freedom, faithfulness and courage”.

Their sacrifice, together with ideals of freedom, independence and development “have been fired into the memory of our political nation”, the president added.

Those values cannot be questioned because Hungarians “will always find a way to achieve their freedom. ... That love of freedom is one of the most beautiful and most valuable components of our being Hungarian,” Áder said in his address.

Source www.hungarymatters.hu

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