HR1466

LRB094 21690 HSS 60119 r






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HOUSE RESOLUTION


 
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    WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the  
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State of Illinois recognize the 50th Anniversary of the Freedom 
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Fighters of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution; and

 
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    WHEREAS, On October 23, 1956, hundreds of thousands of 
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Hungarians from all walks of life would join university 
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students in a peaceful call for democracy and an end to the 
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brutal and oppressive Soviet-dominated Hungarian communist 
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government; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Peaceful protests were fired upon by the Hungarian 
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Security Police, killing hundreds and triggering the bloody 
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fight for freedom and democracy and the first tear in the Iron 
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Curtain; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Thousands of Hungarians, students and workers, 
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men, women, and children, would rise up against impossible odds 
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and risk their lives to take part in their noble fight for 
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freedom and democracy; and

 
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    WHEREAS, The Hungarian Freedom Fighters, students and 
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workers, men, women, and children, who rose up against 
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impossible odds and risked their lives to take part in their 
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noble fight for freedom and democracy, were able to establish a 
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revolutionary government that released political prisoners, 
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including major church leaders, took steps to create a 
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multi-party democracy, called for the withdrawal of all Soviet 
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troops from Hungary, announced Hungary's withdrawal from the 
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Warsaw Pact, and requested United Nations assistance in 
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establishing neutrality; and

 
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    WHEREAS, The Soviet Union launched a massive military 
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counter-offensive against the revolt, sending tens of 
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thousands of additional troops from the Soviet Union, and 
 


 






HR1466
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LRB094 21690 HSS 60119 r




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launched air strikes, artillery bombardments, and coordinated 
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tank-infantry actions involving some 6,000 tanks which, 
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remarkably, the outnumbered and under-equipped Hungarian Army 
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and Hungarian Freedom Fighters resisted for several days; and

 
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    WHEREAS, Prime Minister Imre Nagy was seized by Soviet 
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security forces, despite assurances of safe passage for him to 
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leave the Yugoslav Embassy of Budapest where he sought asylum, 
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and was taken to Rumania and subsequently tried and executed; 
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and

 
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    WHEREAS, Thousands of Hungarians were tortured, tried, and 
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executed by the post-1956 Hungarian government; and

 
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    WHEREAS, More than 200,000 Hungarians fled their country in 
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the aftermath of the Soviet suppression of the Hungarian 
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uprising, and over 47,000 of these people eventually were able 
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to settle in the United States, where they have contributed 
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greatly to the intellectual strength, cultural diversity, and 
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the economic might of the country; therefore, be it

 
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    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 
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NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 
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we do hereby proclaim October 23, 2006, as Hungarian Freedom 
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Fighters Day in Illinois and encourage all citizens to express 
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thanks to those refugees who brought their talents, skills, and 
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love of freedom to help build a stronger America.