“Hungarian troops are ready to fight the Islamic State in coalition forces, and to try to put an end jointly to massacre and killing” – the Chief of Defence said on Wednesday, 28 May at a ceremony held in Pákozd to mark the Peacekeepers’ Day.
General Tibor Benkő reminded his audience that the names of those soldiers who have fallen since 1897 are inscribed on the columns of the Pákozd national memorial place commemorating the peacekeepers killed in action. He said that in his opinion, we cannot forget the tasks of foreign missions in the situation today either. He emphasized that whenever peacekeepers complete their service at some place, there is another service which must be taken up elsewhere.
According to General Benkő, living in peaceful coexistence is the only solution, and the Hungarian troops are meant to be available for creating this coexistence for Hungary and large national communities. He thanked every soldier for assuming these tasks and doing their best in carrying them out.
The Chief of Defence pointed out that it cannot be an accident that the Heroes’ Day and the Peacekeepers’ Day are close to each other, as the soldiers who died in the First and the Second World War and those who lost their lives in carrying out peacekeeping tasks are all heroes. He added that the military community is obliged to remember those heroes who sacrificed their lives for the welfare of other nations or for protecting their comrades.
Since 2003, the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers has been observed every year on 29 May, the date in 1948 when the United Nations’ first peacekeeping mission began operations in Palestine. The Act of 2001 designates the last Sunday of every year as the Memorial Day of Hungarian Heroes.