Balog, chairman of the committee, said a decision was reached at the last cabinet meeting to extend the memorial year planned for 2015 by another 14 months to February 25, 2017.

He said the events that claimed hundreds of thousands of Hungarian victims lasted more than a year, therefore the cabinet decided that the commemorative events should end on the 70th anniversary of the imprisonment of Smallholder politician Béla Kovács. February 25 is also the official memorial day for the victims of Communism.

Balog said NGOs are requesting that a memorial to the victims of the Soviet occupation be installed on Szabadság tér.

He said there is no doubt that there is a need for such a monument, but the idea is to first hold a social dialogue before making decisions on the matter.

Source: Hungary Around the Clock

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