 12/17/14 - AHF Meets with Kathy Kavalec, Director, U.S. Department of State, Office of Russian Affairs: On December 17, AHF met with Kathy Kavalec, Director, U.S. Department of State, Office of Russian Affairs, to discuss Russia's policies and activities in Central Europe, including Hungary, and U.S. response thereto. "Our Federation believes that good bilateral relations between the United States and Hungary and a strong and united NATO are in the interest of both countries and necessary to meet the formidable challenges posed by Russia in the region," said the Federation's president Frank Koszorus, Jr. "Winning instead of alienating public opinion is critical to advance these goals," he added.
 12/08/14 - AHF submits letter to Sen. John McCain over his "neo-fascist, dictator" comments: "We agree that Hungary is an important country given the recent, alarming and unacceptable developments in Ukraine and otherwise. We fear that your critical characterization of Hungary last week was unjustified and unbalanced and your labeling its prime minister a neo-fascist dictator was just plain wrong. These gratuitous statements further confused, alienated and angered the Hungarian people. Unless appropriately and timely addressed, this, in turn, will undermine support for the security matters noted above to the detriment of American strategic goals." [read more]
 12/2/2014 - AHF sponsors Forum on on US - Hungarian Relations hosted by sister foundation in Hungary the Amerikaiak a Magyarokért Alapítvány (AMKA or Americans for Hungarians Foundation): Panel participants included André Goodfriend, the Charge d' Affaires of the US embassy; Frank Koszorus Jr. the President of American Hungarian Federation, Dr. Lomnici Zoltán the spokesperson of the Civil Összefogás Fórum (CÖF); Hejj Tibor, the President of P-M-C Consulting who has sponsored many charity projects; and Gyula (Jules) Balogh, President of the Amerikaiak a Magyarokért Alapítvány. [read more]
 11/15/2014 - AHF, member organizations, and representatives of the Hungarian embassy in Washington DC placed flowers at the grave of Holocaust Hero, colonel Ferenc Koszorús, in Columbia Gardens Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia. Koszorús, as the commander of Hungary’s first armoured division, thwarted a planned government coup dubbed the gendarmerie coup, which aimed to carry out the deportation of the Jews of Budapest on July 5 and 6 of 1944. [read more]
 11/14/14 - AHF meets with National Security Council and State Department Officials - On Friday, November 14, 2014, Frank Koszorus, Jr., President of the American Hungarian Federation, and Paul Kamenar and Imre Nemeth, members of the Federation's International Relations Committee, met with Nathaniel Dean, Director for Central and North European Affairs at the National Security Council, Thomas O. Melia, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, and Ivan Weinstein, Desk Officer for Hungary at the Department of State. [read more]
 10/22/14 - AHF submits letter to US Asst. Secretary of State Victoria Nuland: "The appearance of selective enforcement and the use of anti-corruption measuresas a “big gun” for political purposes that are unrelated to corruption, coupled with the other issues noted in this letter merely befuddle and alienate the Hungarian people and undermine U.S. goals...Corruption cannot, must not be tolerated. It needs to be eradicated wherever found. If not halted, it will undermine democracy and the free market system. We, therefore, support U.S. anti-corruption initiatives. However, in order to be effective, selective prosecution should be meticulously avoided." [read more]
 10/10/14 - AHF submits letter to President Obama: "...although we believe that vigilance is necessary to preclude backsliding when it comes to democracy, we are justifiably puzzled and deeply concerned that you lumped Hungary in with Egypt and some of the worst dictatorships of the world in assessing the state of civil society freedoms. We... respectfully call upon you to retract that part of your statement that unjustifiably places Hungary in the same category with Egypt and other such repressive countries. Doing so would help alleviate the concern, confusion and disbelief found in our community about the United States views of Hungary, a democratic ally. It would also serve to advance the goals of the United States in the region." [read more]
 9/23/2014 - AHF participates in drafting Central and East European Coalition Fall 2014 Policy Paper. The 2014 brief addresses Ukraine; NATO and Security in Central and Eastern Europe; the Visa Waiver Program and Immigration Reform; Energy Security; Democracy, Human and Minority Rights, the Rule of Law, and the Information War; US Assistance to and Promotion of Regional Democratic Governance; Trade and Economic democratic governance and the rule of law; Trade and Economic Integration; and Black Ribbon Day. [read more]
 6/20/2014 - With the conflict in Ukraine and ethnic tensions once again on the rise, AHF republishes prophetic 1996 essay from the Fletcher Forum of World Affairs: "Group Rights Defuse Tensions." "Moreover, the strong U.S. interest in a stable and peaceful Europe is contingent upon the resolution of minority disputes and the elimination of tensions that arise from such disputes. When European minority issues were ignored or improperly addressed in this century, the United States was called upon to intervene in two world wars." [read more]
 6/17/2014 - AHF Book Review: "Transylvania Today: Diversity at Risk," edited by Csaba Zoltani. Written by noted experts, describes the issues faced by minorities in Transylvania in their effort to retain their identity in an adverse environment. Minorities, according to the official census, constitute nearly one-quarter of the population of Romania. Contributors include Amb. Geza Jeszenszky, Prof. Andrew Ludanyi, Tilhamer Czika, Viktor Segesvary, and Andreas Bereznay. [read more]
 6/14/2014 - AHF Republishes June 14, 1985 Wall Street Journal article: When Romania Turned Hungarian Bibles into Toilet Paper. 20,000 bibles donated in the 1970s by the World Reformed Alliance of the Transylvanian Magyar Reformed Church with the permission of Bucharest were diverted to a mill for recycling into toilet paper. [read more]
 6/4/2014 - 94th Anniversary of the tragic Treaty of Trianon: AHF issues short statement highlighting how shortsighted "peacemakers'" mistakes led to millions of people being cut off from their motherland, caused untold suffering, assured the rise of Hitler, the expansion of Bolshevism, and set the stage for unneccesary conflict still with us today:
- President Wilson: “Bohemia will be part of Czechoslovakia.”
- Ambassador Bullitt: “But Mr. President, there are three million Germans in Bohemia.”
- President Wilson: “President Masaryk never told me that.”
Yes, it gets worse! [read more]
 5/30/2014 - AHF organizes meeting with the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the United States Congress, discusses situation of the Hungarian minority in Romania including the revocation of the Knight's Order of the Star of Romania from Bishop Laszlo Tokes. [read more]
 5/28/2014 - Bishop Laszlo Tokes confers Báthory Award for American Hungarian Federation President
Frank Koszorus, Jr. In 2010, on the recommendation of the Bolyai Committee (BKB), the Hungarian National Council of Transylvania (EMNT) had bestowed the Bathory Award upon Mr. Koszorus who has championed the rights of national minorities for over thirty years.
[read more]
 5/16/2014 - The 9th Annual Hungarian Charity Ball returned to Washington and raised funds for worthy causes... The American Hungarian Federation and the
Hungarian Scouts of Washington sponsor the annual Jótékonysági Est (Benefit Event) to support educational and charitable programs. Over the past decade, it has raised tens of thousands of dollars for worthy causes both in the United States and throughout the Hungarian communities in the Carpathian Basin. [read more]
 AHF Submits Letter to Secretary of State John Kerry expressing concern that Embassy's public (as opposed to private) statement about Hungary's history concerning the treacherous year of 1944 may have the unintended consequence of alienating Hungarians at a time when NATO needs to be unified and resolute in confronting the challenges posed by Ukraine and Russia. [read more]
 4/6/2014 - AHF issues statement regarding the 2014 Hungarian Elections: The Hungarian government invited international observers for the April 6 parliamentary elections that included an observer from the U.S. Helsinki Commission. As the Socialist Party had been behind in the polls, its leader not surprisingly was cool to the idea of impartial international observers as he feared they would legitimize the outcome of the election. Instead, the political opposition with the assistance of its foreign friends launched a smear campaign to delegitimize and politically bludgeon the government... [read more]
 3/29/2014 - AHF issues Statement in reaction to the March 10, 2014 letter of former presidents of the American Foreign Service Association (AFSA) concerning recent ambassadorial nominees: Members of the Hungarian American community believe that U.S. ambassadors to Hungary, whether career Foreign Service Officers or political appointees, should be genuinely interested in the country, the Hungarian nation and its history, accomplishments, and hopes and fears. [read more]
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| The Hungarian Millecentenarium Monument in Verecke (Veretsky / Transcarpathia) has been repeatedly vandalized. |
3/27/2014 - Paprika Politik publishes article by AHF President entitled, "Strengthen Ukraine by Strengthening Minority Rights:" As Russia completes the annexation of Crimea, creating a fait accompli probably impossible to reverse, the situation in Ukraine proper remains fraught with uncertainty.
For the Hungarian minority in Ukraine the situation is especially precarious, particularly in light of a proposed ban on minority languages currently being pushed by nationalists in the Ukrainian parliament.
[read more]
 3/19/2014 - AHF article regarding the occupation of Hungary by Hitler on March 19, 1944 and its horrific consequences, entitled "Reflections on March 19, 1944 and Its Aftermath: A Perfect Storm of Tragedy and Folly." "We are concerned that a political agenda has replaced a debate based on historical facts relating to the Hungarian Holocaust and Nazi Germany's invasion and occupation of Hungary," said Frank Koszorus, Jr., the Federation's president. "We condemn not only whitewashing but the blackening of this historical record as well. Both forms of revisionism do a great disservice to the memory of the victims of evil and those who opposed it at a treacherous time in Hungary's history. These considerations prompted us to issue our statement," he added. [read more]
 3/20/2014 - Az Amerikai Magyar Szövetség üdvözölte a holokauszt-emlékév megrendezését:  Nyilatkozatban üdvözölte a magyarországi holokauszt-emlékév megrendezését Koszorús Ferenc, az Amerikai Magyar Szövetség (AMSZ) elnöke, rámutatva, hogy az eseménysorozat hozzájárul a korabeli Magyarország jobb megértéséhez. [tovább]
 3/15/2014 - AHF commemorates Hungarian National Day and the 1848 War of Independence. The 1848 Hungarian Revolution and Freedom Fight sought to throw off the Austrian Yoke. It was quelled under the combined forces of Imperial Austria and Russia, but its impact is felt even today. This year's keynote address was delivered by Tamas Fellegi former Hungarian Minister of National Development and President of the Hungarian Initiatives Foundation. Other remarks given by Hungarian Ambassador Gyorgy Szapary. [read more]
 3/10/2014 - Ukraine: AHF Releases another Statement on the Plight of the Hungarian Minority in Transcarpathia. "Minority rights is a dimension to the complexity of Ukraine and the region that perhaps is laden with less immediate strategic significance but one that calls out for immediate attention to dispel the fear of perpetual conflict and to promote a democratic Ukraine. What is too often overlooked relates to the treatment of national minorities generally and specifically to Ukraine’s close to 200,000 ethnic Hungarians who live in western Sub-Carpathia, an area which was part of Hungary." [read more]
 3/9/2014 - UDMR (RMDSZ) Joins Coalition Government in Rumania, AHF issues statement calling for quick resolution to pressing problems...Prime Minister Victor Ponta of Rumania’s Social Democratic Party (USD) announced that the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) would be joining the governing coalition. In the agreement, USD promised to help solve the problem of minority cultural rights. The UMDR will hold the Culture and Environment ministries, a vice-president seat, and 14 state secretary positions. [read more]
 2/28/2014 - AHF Releases Statement in Connection with Recent Events in Ukraine calling attention to the plight of the Hungarian minority in Transcarpathia Ukraine. AHF urges the transitional government in Ukraine to fulfill the spirit of democracy as government for the people, by the people, and respect pluralism, the rule of law, and the rights of the Hungarian minority, including their democratically asserted right to autonomy. [read more]
Related News: Ukraine's Hungarian Minority Nervous as Crisis Rages [more]
 Congressmen Frank R.Wolf (R-VA) and James P. McGovern (D-MA), Co-Chairmen of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission of the United States Congress, echo AHF's call, and send a letter to Traian Basescu, President of Romania, in connection with Bishop Tokes and the threatened revocation of the Order of the Star of Romania. [read more]
 Amerikai képviselők tiltakoznak Tőkés László miatt: Frank Wolf és James McGovern amerikai kongresszusi képviselők, a Tom Lantos emberjogi bizottság társelnökei tiltakozó levelet küldtek Traian Basescu román elnöknek, amiért Tőkés László kitüntetését Románia visszavette. [tovább]
 01/17/2014 - AHF releases statement in connection with Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearings of US Ambassador to Hungary designate Colleen Bradley Bell. “[we] welcome the nomination of Ambassador-Designate Bell. We trust that she will take concrete steps to change the perception of a lack of evenhandedness and a double standard in the treatment of Hungary...” [read more] and watch the hearing.
Pártatlanságot kérnek az amerikai magyarok Colleen Bell nagykövettől. [tovább]
 1/15/2014 - In 2009, PBS Television presented a documentary
film on the planned open pit cyanide gold mine at Verespatak in Transylvania,
now called Rosia Montana. In 2014, the Unitarian Church of Transylvania produced a English-language video entitled "Life over Gold - a Unitarian stand for Roşia Montană. [Read more] about Rosia Montana and view both videos.
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