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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, Following World War II, the Soviet Union occupied | ||||||
| 3 | Hungary and forced an anti-democratic and brutal government | ||||||
| 4 | upon the people of Hungary; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, On October 23, 1956, over 100,000 ordinary | ||||||
| 6 | citizens became "Freedom Fighters" and revolted against their | ||||||
| 7 | Soviet communist government in what started as a peaceful | ||||||
| 8 | protest but turned violent when protestors were fired upon by | ||||||
| 9 | security police, triggering a bloody fight for freedom; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, The Soviet Union launched a military | ||||||
| 11 | counter-offense to suppress the revolt, but not before | ||||||
| 12 | thousands gave their lives for freedom; more than 200,000 | ||||||
| 13 | Hungarians fled their country in the aftermath of the Soviet | ||||||
| 14 | suppression of the Hungarian Uprising, and over 47,000 of | ||||||
| 15 | these people eventually settled in the United States; and
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| 16 | WHEREAS, On October 23, 1989, the Republic of Hungary | ||||||
| 17 | declared its independence, which contributed to the collapse | ||||||
| 18 | of the Soviet Union and communism in Eastern Europe; | ||||||
| 19 | Hungarians led the first revolt against communist occupiers | ||||||
| 20 | and inspired other captive nations to defend their freedom; | ||||||
| 21 | and | ||||||
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| 1 | WHEREAS, On March 12, 1999, Hungary became a member of | ||||||
| 2 | NATO, and on May 1, 2004, Hungary become a member of the | ||||||
| 3 | European Union; as a former Warsaw Pact nation, Hungary has | ||||||
| 4 | proven itself as a reliable military ally in support against | ||||||
| 5 | the global war on terrorism and as a provider of humanitarian | ||||||
| 6 | aid in the pandemic fight against COVID-19; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, The State of Illinois is proud to be called home | ||||||
| 8 | to a large number of Hungarians, Hungarian Americans, and | ||||||
| 9 | their descendants, who have contributed greatly to the | ||||||
| 10 | economic development, multicultural diversity, and enrichment | ||||||
| 11 | of all aspects of life in the State; therefore, be it
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| 12 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 13 | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 14 | we recognize the 65th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution | ||||||
| 15 | and the sacrifices of the brave Hungarian freedom fighters and | ||||||
| 16 | the great contributions of Hungarian-Americans in Illinois, | ||||||
| 17 | and we reaffirm the friendship between the people and | ||||||
| 18 | government of Illinois and the country of Hungary; and be it | ||||||
| 19 | further | ||||||
| 20 | RESOLVED, That we declare October 23, 2022 as "Hungarian | ||||||
| 21 | Freedom Fighters Day" and declare October 2022 as "Hungarian | ||||||
| 22 | Freedom Month" in the State of Illinois; and be it further
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| 1 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 2 | presented to Stephen Szigethy.
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