István Bibó - A genuine European, A genuine Hungarian, A genuine democrat

"Those who love and cherish freedom must never forget that human liberty and human dignity are one and indivisible (...): hence any restriction of human freedom, be it arbitrary arrest, detention, the abuse of individual or state power, or any humiliation of human dignity, must be unequivocally rejected, and steps must be taken - with others or, if necessary, alone - to act against such restrictions."
MEPs belonging to FIDESZ - Hungarian Civic Union are hosting an event to unveil the portrait of István Bibó, Hungarian Minister of State in 1956. The ceremony will take place at 11:45am, on Thursday 8th February 2007 on 12th floor of ASP building, E wing in the European Parliament.

The portrait will be unveiled by Viktor Orbán, Former Prime Minister, President of FIDESZ, and József Szájer MEP.

István Bibó, who served as Minister of State during the 1956 Hungarian revolution, was also an outstanding political scientist who contributed to the evolution of democratic thought throughout Central Europe. FIDESZ, one of the first opposition movements to appear formally on the Hungarian political scene in 1988, was established in the spirit of Bibó's essays, creating a "small circle of freedom" to borrow one of his phrases, standing up for the enforcement of basic civil liberties and civil society. The unveiling of his portrait aims to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his arrest and imprisonment by the communist restoration forces of János Kádár, as well as to pay tribute to the intellectual heritage of this outstanding European democrat.

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