At the Deposition
of the Protocol
to the North
Atlantic
Treaty on the
Accession
of Hungary

Independence, MO
12 Mar. 1999

Next year, Hungary will celebrate a very special anniversary: a Thanksgiving for the millennium of her statehood. Ours has been a rich but stormy history. Through all the struggles for freedom and independence, Hungarians have developed a deep sense of belonging to a larger entity, to the community of Western democracies. For a long time, it has been our aspiration to become part of this family.

The best of Hungarians were dreaming of this when fighting foreign occupation and sinister ideologies forced upon them. This inspired Hungarians when they drove the first nail into the coffin of Communism in 1956. It is my duty and a privilege for me to pay tribute here to the heroes of that desperate and now victorious struggle.

How symbolic it is that the revolution which shook the empire of oppression flamed up from demonstrations of solidarity with Poland.

In 1956, alien boots stamped out that flame in Budapest.

But sparks from it reappeared on the streets of Prague in 1968.

They reappeared again in the shipyards of Gdansk in 1981.

They reappeared ten years ago, when lawful revolutions swept through Central Europe to restore democracy there.

It is not by chance that I share this rostrum with friends from Poland and the Czech Republic.

Thomas Paine wrote that "Tyranny is not easily conquered, yet w have this consolation within us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem to lightly." For Hungarians, Czechs and Poles, liberty was obtained very dear. We know the value of freedom.

Sovereign again, Hungary is now a genuine and stable democracy. A flourishing market economy has been established. And a historic choice has been made. We, Hungarians, made this decision on our own, free from any outside interference. We applied for joining NATO, the largest network of security that history has ever known. Yet, the decision was not only about security. NATO accession is also about returning Hungary to her natural habitat. It has been our manifest destiny to rejoin to those with whom we share the same values, interests and goals.

Let me thank the governments and legislatures in the member states, all those who supported the cause of our membership. They understood that we wanted to join NATO for the same reason for which no member wants to leave it. They know that, by joining the Alliance, we want not to win but to prevent wars. They realize that NATO enlargement is not a zero-sum game, but part of a prudent strategy benefiting all nations of Europe, all members of the Atlantic Community.

George Bernard Shaw once said: "Liberty means responsibility; that is why most people dread it." We do not. Hungarians know that membership in NATO is a combination of advantages to enjoy and obligations to meet.

Hungary will continue to focus her attention on Central and Southeastern Europe. We want all its nations to be stable, democratic, prosperous and secure. In terms of development, it is the most dynamic region of the world. We want it to keep this distinction.

We want human rights to be fully respected, national identities to be freely preserved and expressed.

For us, it is a matter of vital importance that other states of the region remain committed to joining NATO. Hungary will support their aspirations in two ways. First, we shall prove that new members can indeed add to the weight of the Alliance. Second, we will continue to engage prospective members and to have a meaningful partnership with them.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In the past, Hungarians often complained of abandonment, of standing up alone. At long last, that is over. Hungary has come home, we are back in the family. Together will all of you, we have just started a new chapter of history. From this day on, we are the closest allies in our great endeavour, the quest for peace and prosperity.

As said by President Truman fifty-four years ago, "We all look forward to the day when the law rather than force will be the arbiter of international relations. We shall strive to make that day come soon. Until it does come, let us make sure that no possible aggressor is going to be tempted by any weakness on our part."

Dear Friends,

We shall show the world the strength of this commitment and the spirit of our alliance.

Thank you.