Polish president attends Hungarian fall of communism anniversary
PR dla Zagranicy
Peter Gentle
16.06.2014 12:40
President Komorowski is taking part in ceremonies in Budapest marking the anniversary of the execution of Imre Nagy, the martyred prime minister of Hungary’s 1956 anti-Soviet uprising
Presidents Andrej Kiska of Slovakia, Joachim Gauck of Germany, Milos Zeman of the Czech Republic, Janos Ader of Hungary and Bronislaw Komorowski of Poland walk during a ceremony to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the reburial of martyr Prime Minister of the 1956 revolution Imre Nagy and fellow-martyrs in Rakokeresztur Cemetery in Budapest, Hungary, 16 June 2014. The reburial in 1989 was one of the decisive steps towards the collapse of communism in Hungary. EPA/SZILARD KOSZTICSAK
The ceremony is being attended by the presidents of the Visegrad Group countries - Czech Republic, Poland , Slovakia and Hungary - as well as Germany and comes 25 years after the fall of communism in the eastern bloc.
Imre Nagy was arrested, tried in secret and executed after Soviet troops invaded Hungary in 1956 following an uprising calling for independence from Moscow.
His rehabilitation and reburial 25 years ago today - after being originally buried in an unmarked grave with his hands and feet tied with barbed wire - played a significant and symbolic role in ending communist rule in Hungary.
The leaders from the Visegrad countries plus Germany will then hold talks on a variety issues, including preparations for a NATO summit in September. (pg)