Recently in Hungary, an organization named after Hungarian-American and former Congressman Tom Lantos was inaugurated. So far so good. But according to this angry editorial from Hungary’s Barikad newspaper, there are many Hungarians who were offended by the praise heaped on the former U.S. lawmaker, a man they regarded as something of a Hungarian turncoat who was more loyal to the U.S. and Israel than to his native land.
The Barikad editorial says in small part:
The attendees were all very much in their element as the Tom Lantos Institute and foreign influence in Hungary were given a huge seal of approval. This was reflected by the fact that those who spoke only superficially mentioned Hungarians – and in fact, Hungarians that were there should have felt like this was the end of the nation, with foreigners dictating its path. The Institute receives tremendous taxpayer-funded support from a state that was formed to restore the values of tolerance and press for minority rights, which are now expanding far too much.
The events that transpired spoke volumes about the true stance of the attendees toward Hungary. At the opening ceremony, hardly any of the speakers spoke Hungarian. Even those whose mother tongue is Hungarian chose to speak in English. And even on the Institute’s home page, should a Hungarian taxpayer accidentally deign to take a look at what his money went to pay for, he would find that even its Web site is in English. All good Hungarians would rightly ask: What was the need for this Tom Lantos Institute? Why is the government spending our money on it? Who are they serving with this act?
At a press conference today, Jobbik Party MP Márton Gyöngyösi underlined Tom Lantos’ genuine character and achievements. The radical national lawmaker recalled, for example, that on a number of occasions, Tom Lantos acted as a friend to Nicolae Ceausescu so that the blood-stained dictator’s regime was able to obtain most favored nation trading status and receive the greatest possible terms on trade with the United States. It was Lantos who, with lies and false arguments, helped the United States initiate the war against Iraq. Tom Lantos’ role in this was to drag a woman before the House Foreign Relations Committee, where she recounted a story based on lies about atrocities committed by Iraqi soldiers committed in Kuwait. Later it was discovered that the woman was a Saudi diplomat’s daughter and that a public relations firm had made up this major fabrication.
And in addition, let us not forget that Tom Lantos was indeed truly loyal to “his” people: he once said that everyone who doesn’t support either Israeli or Zionist policies are anti-Semitic and anti-Israel.
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