Independence Day Philippines - Jun 12
The Philippines officially known as the Republic of the Philippines (Filipino: Republika ng Pilipinas) is a sovereign country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam. The Sulu Sea to the southwest lies between the country and the island of Borneo, and to the south the Celebes Sea separates it from other islands of Indonesia. It is bounded on the east by the Philippine Sea. Its location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and its tropical climate make the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons but have also endowed the country with natural resources and made it one of the richest areas of biodiversity in the world. An archipelago comprising 7,107 islands, the Philippines is categorized broadly into three main geographical divisions: Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Its capital city is Manila. With an estimated population of about 98 million people, the Philippines is the 7th most populated Asian country and the 12th most populated country in the world. An additional 12.5 million Filipinos live overseas. Multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands. In prehistoric times, Negritos were some of the archipelago's earliest inhabitants. They were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples who brought with them influences from Malay, Hindu, and Islamic societies. Trade introduced Chinese cultural influences which remain to this day. The Philippines has been part of several empires: the Spanish Empire during the age of Imperialism, the United States after the Spanish-American War of 1898, and the Japanese Empire during World War II, until the official Philippine independence in 1945. The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 marked the beginning of an era of Spanishinterest and eventual colonization. In 1543, Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobosnamed the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain. Miguel López de Legazpi arrived in the Philippines in 1565 and consolidated Spanish rule in the islands, which remained a colony of Spain for more than 300 years. Manila became the Asian hub of the Manila–Acapulco galleon fleet. Christianity was widely adopted. As the 19th century gave way to the 20th, there followed in quick succession the Philippine Revolution, which spawned the shortlived First Philippine Republic; the Spanish-American War; and the Philippine–American War. In the aftermath, the United States emerged as the dominant power. Aside from the period of Japanese occupation, the United States retained sovereignty over the islands until the end of World War II when the Philippines gained independence. The United States bequeathed to the Philippines the English language and a stronger affinity for Western culture. Since independence the Philippines has had an often tumultuous experience with democracy, with popular "people power" movements overthrowing a dictatorship in one instance but also underlining the institutional weaknesses of its constitutional republic in others.
Etymology
The name Philippines is derived from that of King Philip II of Spain. Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos during his expedition in 1542 named the islands of Leyte and Samar Felipinas after the then Prince of Asturias. Eventually the name Las Islas Filipinas would be used to cover all the islands of the archipelago. Before it became commonplace, other names such as Islas del Poniente (Islands of the West) and Magellan's name for the islands San Lázaro were also used by the Spanish to refer to the islands. The official name of the Philippines has changed several times in the course of the country's history. During the Philippine Revolution, the Malolos Congress proclaimed the establishment of the República Filipina or the Philippine Republic. From the period of theSpanish-American War and the Philippine–American War until the Commonwealth period, American colonial authorities referred to the country as the Philippine Islands, a translation of the Spanish name. During the American period the name Philippines began to appear and it has since become the country's common name. Since independence the official name of the country has been the Republic of the Philippines.
History The metatarsal of Callao Man is reported to have been reliably dated by uranium-series dating to 67,000 years ago
thereby replacing the Tabon Man of Palawan, carbon-dated to around 24,000 years ago as the oldest human remains found in the archipelago. Negritos were among the archipelago's earliest inhabitants but their appearance in the Philippines has not been reliably dated. There are several opposing theories regarding the origins of ancient Filipinos. F. Landa Jocano theorizes that the ancestors of the Filipinos evolved locally. Wilhelm Solheim's Island Origin Theory postulates that the peopling of the archipelago transpired via trade networks originating in the antediluvian Sundaland area around 48000 to 5000 BCE rather than by wide-scale migration. The Austronesian Expansion Theory states that Malayo-Polynesians coming from Taiwan began migrating to the Philippines around 4000 BCE, displacing earlier arrivals. Whatever the case, by 1000 BCE the inhabitants of the archipelago had developed into four kinds of social groups: hunter-gathering tribes, warrior societies, petty plutocracies, and maritime-centered harbor principalities. Trade between the maritime-oriented peoples and other Asian countries during the subsequent period brought influences from Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam. During this time there was no unifying political state encompassing the entire Philippine Archipelago. Instead, the islands were divided among competing thalassocracies ruled by various datus, rajahs, or sultans. These thalassocracies were composed of autonomous barangays which were independent to or allied with larger nations. Among them were the kingdoms of Maynila, Namayan, and Tondo, the confederation of Madyaas, the state of Ma-i, the rajahnates of Butuan and Cebu, and the sultanates of Maguindanao and Sulu. Some of these societies were part of the Malayan empires of Srivijaya,Majapahit, and Brunei. Islam was brought to the Philippines by traders and proselytizers from Malaysia and Indonesia. By the 15th century, Islam was established in the Sulu Archipelago and by 1565 had reached Mindanao, the Visayas, and Luzon. In 1521, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan arrived in the Philippines and claimed the islands for Spain. Colonization began when Spanish explorer Miguel López de Legazpi arrived from Mexico in 1565 and formed the first European settlements in Cebu. In 1571, after dealing with the local royal families in the wake of the Tondo Conspiracy and defeating the Chinese pirate warlord Limahong, the Spanish established Manila as the capital of the Spanish East Indies. Spanish rule contributed significantly to bringing political unity to the archipelago. From 1565 to 1821, the Philippines was governed as a territory of the Viceroyalty of New Spain and then was administered directly from Madrid after the Mexican War of Independence. The Manila galleons linking Manila to Acapulco traveled once or twice a year between the 16th and 19th centuries. Trade introduced foods such as corn, tomatoes, potatoes, chili peppers, and pineapples from the Americas. Roman Catholic missionaries converted most of the lowland inhabitants to Christianity and founded schools, a university, and hospitals. While a Spanish decree introduced free public schooling in 1863, efforts in mass public education mainly came to fruition during the American period. During its rule, the Spanish fought off various indigenous revolts and several external colonial challenges from Chinese pirates, the Dutch, and the Portuguese. In an extension of the fighting of the Seven Years' War, British forces under the command of Brigadier General William Draper and Rear-Admiral Samuel Cornish briefly occupied Manila. They found local allies like Diego and Gabriela Silang who took the opportunity to lead a revolt, but Spanish rule was eventually restored following the1763 Treaty of Paris. In the 19th century, Philippine ports were opened to world trade and shifts were occurring within Philippine society. Many Spaniards born in the Philippines (criollos) and those of mixed ancestry (mestizos) became wealthy. The influx of Spanish and Latino settlers secularized churches and opened up government positions traditionally held by Spaniards born in the Iberian Peninsula (peninsulares). The ideals of revolution also began to spread through the islands. Criollo dissatisfaction resulted in the revolt in Cavite El Viejo in 1872 that was a precursor to the Philippine Revolution. Revolutionary sentiments were stoked in 1872 after three priests—Mariano Gómez, José Burgos, andJacinto Zamora (collectively known as Gomburza)—were accused of sedition by colonial authorities and executed. This would inspire a propaganda movement in Spain, organized by Marcelo H. del Pilar, José Rizal, and Mariano Ponce, lobbying for political reforms in the Philippines. Rizal was eventually executed on December 30, 1896, on charges of rebellion. As attempts at reform were meeting with resistance, Andrés Bonifacio in 1892 established the secret society called theKatipunan, a society along the lines of the freemasons, which sought independence from Spain through armed revolt. Bonifacio and the Katipunan started the Philippine Revolution in 1896. A faction of the Katipunan, the Magdalo of Cavite province, eventually came to challenge Bonifacio's position as the leader of the revolution and Emilio Aguinaldo took over. In 1898, the Spanish-American War began in Cuba and reached the Philippines. Aguinaldo declared Philippine independence from Spain in Kawit, Cavite on June 12, 1898 and the First Philippine Republic was established the following year. Meanwhile, the islands were ceded by Spain to the United States for US$20 million in the 1898 Treaty of Paris. As it became increasingly clear the United States would not recognize the First Philippine Republic, the Philippine–American War broke out. It ended with American control over the islands which were then administered as an insular area. In 1935, the Philippines was granted Commonwealth status. Plans for independence over the next decade were interrupted by World War II when the Japanese Empire invaded and established a puppet government. Many atrocities and war crimes were committed during the war such as the Bataan Death March and the Manila massacre that culminated during the Battle of Manila. Allied troops defeated the Japanese in 1945. By the end of the war it is estimated over a million Filipinos had died. On July 4, 1946, the Philippines attained its independence. Immediately after World War II, the Philippines faced a number of challenges. The country had to be rebuilt from the ravages of war. It also had to come to terms with Japanese collaborators. Meanwhile, disgruntled remnants of the Hukbalahap communist rebel army that had previously fought against and resisted the Japanese continued to roam the rural regions. This threat to the government was dealt with by Secretary of National Defense and later President Ramon Magsaysay, but sporadic cases of communist insurgency continued to flare up long afterward. In 1965, Ferdinand Marcos was elected president. Nearing the end of his second term and constitutionally barred from seeking a third, he declared martial law on September 21, 1972. By using political divisions, the tension of the Cold War, and the specter of communist rebellion and Islamic insurgency as justifications, he governed by decree. On August 21, 1983, Marcos' chief rival opposition leader Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino, Jr. ignored warnings and returned from exile in the United States. He was assassinated as he was taken off the plane at the Manila International Airport (now called the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in his memory). With political pressure building, Marcos eventually called for snap presidential elections in 1986. Corazon Aquino, Benigno's widow, was persuaded to become the presidential candidate and standard bearer of the opposition. The elections were widely considered rigged when Marcos was proclaimed the winner. This led to the People Power Revolution, instigated when two long-time Marcos allies—Armed Forces of the Philippines Vice Chief-of-Staff Fidel V. Ramos and Secretary of National Defense Juan Ponce Enrile—resigned and barricaded themselves in Camp Aguinaldo and Camp Crame. Exhorted by the Cardinal Archbishop of Manila Jaime Sin, people gathered in support of the rebel leaders and protested on Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA). In the face of mass protests and military defections, Marcos and his allies fled to Hawaii and into exile. Corazon Aquino was recognized as president. The return of democracy and government reforms after the events of 1986 were hampered by national debt, government corruption, coup attempts, a persistent communist insurgency, and Islamic separatists. The economy improved during the administration of Fidel V. Ramos, who was elected president in 1992. However, the economic improvements were negated with the onset of the East Asian financial crisis in 1997. In 2001, amid charges of corruption and a stalled impeachment process, Ramos' successor Joseph Estradawas ousted from the presidency by the 2001 EDSA Revolution and replaced by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Her administration that lasted 9 years was tied with graft and corruption and numerous political scandals. As a result of the May 2010 elections, Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III was elected president.
Russia Day Russia - Jun 12
Russia Day (Russian: День России, Den' Rossii) is the national holiday of the Russian Federation, celebrated on June 12. It has been celebrated every year since 1992. The First Congress of People's Deputies of the Russian Federation adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic on June 12, 1990.
History
The idea of the declaration was born in the Democratic Russia movement, in which proponents of evolutionary market reform and strong statehood based on Russia's national interests started opposing the Communist monopoly on power. In addition, by the late 1980s, society had begun to doubt the Politburo's ability to carry out meaningful socio-economic reforms. The creation of the post of the President of the Russian Federation and the adoption of the new Russian Constitution to reflect the new political reality, along with the national flag, anthem and emblem of the Russian Federation, were major landmarks in the consolidation of Russian statehood. The country's new name- the Russian Federation (Russia)- was adopted on December 25, 1991. The day when the declaration was adopted- June 12 - was proclaimed as national holiday by Supreme Soviet of Russia in 1992, and again proclaimed Russia's national holiday by the Russian President's decree of June 2, 1994. Under the presidential decree of June 16, 1998, it was called the Day of Russia. In 2002, the new Labor Code gave official seal to this title. The Russians' attitude towards this holiday is ambivalent. Many see adoption of Declaration of state sovereignty as a negative historic event which accelerated dissolution of the Soviet Union.
Camoes Day Portugal - J u n 1 0
Luís Vaz de Camões sometimes rendered in English as Camoens (1524 – 10 June 1580) is considered Portugal's and the Portuguese language's greatest poet. His mastery of verse has been compared to that of Shakespeare, Vondel, Homer, Virgil and Dante. He wrote a considerable amount of lyrical poetry and drama but is best remembered for his epic work Os Lusíadas (The Lusiads). His recollection of poetry The Parnasum of Luís de Camõeswas lost in his lifetime. The influence of his masterpiece "Os Lusíadas" in Portuguese is so profound that it is called the "language of Camões".
Life Many details concerning the life of Camões remain un-
known, but he is thought to have been born around 1524. Luís Vaz de Camões was the only child of Simão Vaz de Camões and wife Ana de Sá de Macedo. His birthplace is unknown. Lisbon, Coimbra or Alenquer are frequently presented as his birthplace, although the latter is based on a disputable interpretation of one of his poems. Constância is also considered a possibility as his place of birth: a statue can be found in the town. Camões belongs to a family originating from the northern Portuguese region of Chaves near Galicia. At an early age, his father Simão Vaz left his family to discover personal riches in India, only to die in Goa in the following years. His mother later re-married. Camões lived a semi-privileged life and was educated by Dominicans and Jesuits. For a period, due to his familial relations he attended the University of Coimbra, although records do not show him registered (he participated in courses in the Humanities). His uncle, Bento de Camões, is credited with this education, owing to his position as Prior at the Monastery of Santa Cruz and Chancellor at the University of Coimbra. He frequently had access to exclusive literature, including classical Greek, Roman and Latin works, read Latin, Italian and wrote in Spanish. Camões, as his love of poetry can attest, was a romantic and idealist. It was rumored that he fell in love with Catherine of Ataíde, lady-in-waiting to the Queen, and also the Princess Maria, sister of John III of Portugal. It is also likely that an indiscreet allusion to the king in his play El-Rei Seleuco, as well as these other incidents may have played a part in his exile from Lisbon in 1548. He traveled to the Ribatejo where he stayed in the company of friends who sheltered and fed him. He stayed in the province for about six months. He enlisted in the overseas militia, and traveled to Ceuta in the fall of 1549. During a battle with the Moors, he lost the sight in his right eye. He eventually returned to Lisbon in 1551, a changed man, living a bohemian lifestyle. In 1552, during the religious festival of Corpus Christi, in the Largo do Rossio, he injured Gonçalo Borges, a member of the Royal Stables. Camões was imprisoned. His mother pleaded for his release, visiting royal ministers and the Borges family for a pardon. Released, Camões was ordered to pay 4,000 réis and serve three-years in the militia in the Orient. He departed in 1553 for Goa on board the São Bento, commanded by Fernão Alves Cabral. The ship arrived six months later. In Goa, Camões was imprisoned for debt. He found Goa "a stepmother to all honest men" but he studied local customs and mastered the local geography and history. On his first expedition, he joined a battle along the Malabar Coast. The battle was followed by skirmishes along the trading routes between Egypt and India. The fleet eventually returned to Goa by November 1554. During his time ashore, he continued his writing publicly, as well as writing correspondence for the uneducated men of the fleet. At the end of his obligatory service, he was given the position of chief warrant officer in Macau. He was charged with managing the properties of missing and deceased soldiers in the Orient. During this time he worked on his epic poem Os Lusíadas ("The Lusiads") in a grotto. He was later accused of misappropriations and traveled to Goa to respond to the accusations of the tribunal. During his return journey, near the Mekong River along the Cambodian coast, he was shipwrecked, saving his manuscript but losing his Chinese lover. His shipwreck survival in the Mekong Delta was enhanced by the legendary detail that he succeeded in swimming ashore while holding aloft the manuscript of his still-unfinished epic. In 1570 Camões finally made it back to Lisbon, where two years later he published Os Lusíadas. In recompense for his poem or perhaps for services in the Far East, he was granted a small royal pension by the young and ill-fated Sebastian of Portugal (ruled 1557–1578). In 1578 he heard of the appalling defeat of the Battle of Ksar El Kebir, where King Sebastian was killed and the Portuguese army destroyed. The Castilian troops were approaching Lisbon when Camões wrote to the Captain General of Lamego: "All will see that so dear to me was my country that I was content to die not only in it but with it". Camões died in Lisbon in 1580, at the age of 56. The day of his death, 10 June, is Portugal's national day. He is buried near Vasco da Gama in the Jerónimos Monastery in the Belém district of Lisbon.
Portugal Day Portugal - Jun 10
Portugal Day, or sometimes called Camões Day, is celebrated by Portuguese communities the world over to commemorate the unity of the Portuguese who have settled in all parts of the Earth.
History Macau was the first European colony in Asia, having been
occupied by Portuguese settlers who came to that part of the world in the 16th century. Macau has played a significant role in Portuguese history, a history which includes the arrival of the renowned Portuguese poet Luís de Camões in 1556. It is said that he wrote his epic poem, “Os Lucidas”, in Camões garden in Macau, and the poem included strong themes of Portuguese pride and history. Camões was an explorer and wrote the poem during his travels. He had gone to great lengths to save his poem, including an attempt to keep the writing above water after being shipwrecked. He is celebrated as a national hero, and his poem was treated as one of the best of Portuguese literature. June 10 has been celebrated as Portugal’s national day since independence from Spain in 1640. This date—the day Camões died—was chosen because official birth records didn’t exist for the Portuguese poet. In 1944, a change came about with reference to the day as The Day of the Portuguese race, using Camões as a symbol of the Portuguese race.
TRADITIONS, CUSTOMS AND ACTIVITIES
Celebrations of the Portuguese culture and people aren’t limited to Portugal alone. With Portuguese folk scattered around the globe, different customs have appeared. In Newark, New Jersey in the United States, for example, the Portugal Day Festival draws in thousands of people, requiring months of planning in advance. Festivities in Macau are still vivid despite the area being handed over to China by Portugal in 1999. Celebrations in Brazil, Canada, and other parts of the world remind people of the Portuguese people and their culture.
King Kamehameha Day, Hawaii U.S. - Jun 11
Kamehameha Day on June 11 is a public holiday of the state of Hawaii in the United States. It honors Kamehameha the Great, the monarch who first established the unified Kingdom of Hawaiʻi — comprising the Hawaiian Islands of Niʻihau, Kauaʻi, Oʻahu, Molokaʻi,Lānaʻi, Kahoʻolawe, Maui and Hawaiʻi. While he was king, Hawaii was a center of the fur and sandalwood trade. Pineapples were brought to Hawaii from Spain in 1813 and coffee was first planted in 1818, a year before he died. In 1883 a statue of King Kamehameha I was dedicated in Honolulu by King David Kalākaua (this was duplicate, because the original statue was lost at sea). There is another duplicate of this statue in Emancipation Hall at the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, D.C.
Establishment The holiday was first established by royal decree of the ruling great grandson
Kamehameha V on 1871. The first observance of the holiday happened the following year. Late 19th century celebrations of Kamehameha Day featured carnivals and fairs, foot races, horse races and velocipede races. Kamehameha Day was one of the first holidays proclaimed by the Governor of Hawaiʻi and the Hawaiʻi State Legislature when Hawaiʻi achieved statehood in 1959. Today, Kamehameha Day is treated with elaborate events harkening back to ancient Hawaiʻi, respecting the cultural traditions that Kamehameha defended as his society was slowly shifting towards European trends. The King Kamehameha Hula Competition attracts hula groups from all over the world to the Neil S. Blaisdell Center for the two day event. Prizes are awarded on the second night.
Floral parade A floral parade is held annually at various locations
throughout the state of Hawaii. On the island of Oahu, the parade runs from ʻIolani Palace in downtown Honolulu past Honolulu Harbor and the Prince Kūhiō Federal Building through Kakaʻako, Ala Moana and Waikīkī, ending at Kapiʻolani Park. June 11 is also the anniversary of the dedication of Kapiʻolani Park. The floral parade features local marching bands — including the Royal Hawaiian Band (the oldest municipal band in the United States) — and artistically designed floats using native flowers and plants. Many local companies enter floats for their employees. A favorite floral parade feature is the traditional royal paʻu riders. They represent a royal court led by a queen on horseback, followed by princesses representing the eight major islands of Hawaiʻi and Molokini. Each princess is attended by paʻu ladies in waiting. Paʻuwomen are dressed in colorful and elegant 19th century riding gowns accented with lei and other floral arrangements. After the parade, the state celebrates a Hoʻolauleʻa, literally Celebration, or block party with food and music. Cultural exhibitions are also scattered throughout Kapiʻolani Park — arts and crafts, games, sports and other events planned by the Bishop Museum, the premier Hawaiian cultural institution. On the Island of Hawaii, there are two floral parades held. One between the towns of Hawi and Kapaʻau and the other in the town of Hilo. There is also a lei draping ceremony in Kapaau at the statue of King Kamehameha there.
Draping ceremony
The most important ritual dates back to 1901 after the Territory of Hawaiʻi was established. It is the evening draping ceremony in which the Kamehameha Statue in front of Aliʻiolani Hale and ʻIolani Palace on King Street in downtown Honolulu is draped in long strands oflei. The same is done at the Kamehameha Statue on the former monarch's home island, the Big Island of Hawaiʻi. Outside of the state, a similar draping ceremony is held at the United States Capitol where the Kamehameha Statue there is also draped in lei in the company of federal officials.
Celebration The celebration includes a traditional Pa‘u Parade and a Ho‘olaule‘a. The celebration is organized by the Kohala
Hawaiian Civic Club.
Dear Pakistani brothers and sisters: The Day of Russia is the main national holiday of our country, the state with centuries-old historical and cultural traditions. Celebrated annually it symbolizes the unity and fraternal friendship of many people building together their future within one Federation. The history of this holiday goes back to the year of 1990 when the Supreme Council of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic adopted the Declaration of State Sovereignty of Russia. After the break-up of the USSR in 1991 our country finally embarked on the path of becoming a multiethnic democratic state with a market economy and launched fundamental reforms in the political and social spheres. In the last two decades – a moment by standards of history – we achieved significant progress moving toward our goals. We got stronger as a country, as one nation. In the world community Russia is being perceived as a dynamically developing democratic state which commands authority in the international arena. A permanent member of the UN Security Council, the Russian Federation is respected for its consistency in supporting the principles of democratization of international relations, for its reliability as a partner in addressing the global challenges and threats humankind is faced with – be it the fight against terrorism or environmental issues. Since the birth of the independent Russia our main achievement has been our strengthening of the economy and ensuring steady increase in citizens’ quality of life. The deficit of food and consumer products typical for the late 1980s was liquidated. Nowadays there is practically no unemployment. A vast middle class of around 30% of the population emerged which is rapidly turning into a locomotive of the national economy. These are people who stand firmly on their feet, provide for themselves and give jobs to fellow citizens. Today the level of consumption and variety of consumed goods of 80% of Russians are
three times higher than those in the USSR. A high level of education is maintained in Russia. 57% of our citizens aged 25-35 have higher education. Besides Russia such a high rate is achieved in three countries only: Japan, South Korea and Canada. At that, our education is of highest quality. Our universities (Moscow State University, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology, Bauman Moscow State Technical University, etc.) and their graduates, specialists and scientists are known and in demand worldwide. The solid educational and scientific potential allows Russia to look ahead with confidence. Due to the balanced economic policy of the President and the Government we managed to pull through global financial crises of 1998 and 2008 with minimum losses. Russian people practically did not feel any economic turbulences in 2008. Moreover, unlike many developed countries, we kept high growth rates of the GDP, raised pensions and carried out welfare programs at the height of the crisis. Russia will continue to pursue an active foreign policy based on the principles of respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of other states as well as non-interference in the internal affairs of its partners. One of the priority areas for application of Russia’s diplomatic efforts will remain Asia where the epicenter of global political processes has been shifting in recent years. As for South Asia its major task will be further enhancement of mutually beneficial cooperation and partnership with the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. It was under Vladimir Putin that our relations with Pakistan acquired their own, truly independent value. Russia attaches great significance to its relations with the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Your country occupies an important place among Russia’s foreign policy priorities which is determined by its geostrategic position in the South and Southwest Asia region directly adjacent to the borders of the CIS as well as by its high authority in
Flag Day U.S. - Jun 14
In the United States Flag Day is celebrated on June 14. It commemorates the adoption of the flag of the United States, which happened that day by resolution of the Second Continental Congress in 1777. The United States Army also celebrates the Army Birthday on this date; Congress adopted "the American continental army" after reaching a consensus position in the Committee of the Whole on June 14, 1775. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson issued a proclamation that officially established June 14 as Flag Day; in August 1949, National Flag Day was established by an Act of Congress. Flag Day is not an official federal holiday, though on June 14, 1937, Pennsylvania became the first (and only) U.S. state to celebrate Flag Day as a state holiday, beginning in the town of Rennerdale. Title 36 of the United States Code, Subtitle I, Part A, CHAPTER 1, § 110 is the official statute on Flag Day; however, it is at the President's discretion to officially proclaim the observance. One of the longest-running Flag Day parades is held annually in Quincy, Massachusetts, which began in 1952, celebrating its 59th year in 2010. The 59th Annual Appleton Wisconsin 2009 Flag Day Parade featured the U.S. Navy. The largest Flag Day parade is held annually in Troy, New York, which bases its parade on the Quincy parade and typically draws 50,000 spectators. Perhaps the oldest continuing Flag Day parade is at Fairfield, Washington. Beginning in 1909 or 1910, Fairfield has held a parade every year since, with the possible exception of 1918, and celebrated the "Centennial" parade in 2010, along with some other commemorative events.
History Several people and/or organizations played instrumental roles
in the establishment of a national Flag Day celebration. They are identified here in chronological order.
1861, George Morris:
The earliest reference to the suggestion of a "Flag Day" is cited in Kansas: a Cyclopedia of State History, published by Standard Publishing Company of Chicago in 1912. It credits George Morris of Hartford, Connecticut: To George Morris of Hartford, Conn., is popularly given the credit of suggesting "Flag Day," the occasion being in honor of the adoption of the American flag on June 14, 1777. The city of Hartford observed the day in 1861, carrying out a program of a patriotic order, praying for the success of the Federal arms and the preservation of the Union. The observance apparently did not become a tradition.
1885, Bernard J. Cigrand:
Working as a grade school teacher in Waubeka, Wisconsin, in 1885, Bernard J. Cigrand held the first recognized formal observance of Flag Day at the Stony Hill School. The school has been restored, and a bust of Cigrand also honors him at the National Flag Day Americanism Center in Waubeka. From the late 1880s on, Cigrand spoke around the country promoting patriotism, respect for the flag, and the need for the annual observance of a flag day on June 14, the day in 1777 that theContinental Congress adopted the Stars and Stripes. He moved to Chicago to attend dental school and, in June 1886, first publicly proposed an annual observance of the birth of the United States flag in an article titled "The Fourteenth of June," published in the Chicago Argus newspaper. In June 1888, Cigrand advocated establishing the holiday in a speech before the "Sons of America," a Chicago group. The organization founded a magazine, American Standard, in order to promote reverence for American emblems. Cigrand was appointed editor-in-chief and wrote articles in the magazine as well as in other magazines and newspapers to promote the holiday. On the third Saturday in June 1894, a public school children’s celebration of Flag Day took place in Chicago at Douglas, Garfield, Humboldt, Lincoln, and Washington Parks. More than 300,000 children participated, and the celebration was repeated the next year. Cigrand became president of the American Flag Day Association and later of the National Flag Day Society, which allowed him to promote his cause with organizational backing. Cigrand once noted he had given 2,188 speeches on patriotism and the flag. Cigrand lived in Batavia, Illinois, from 1913–1932. Cigrand generally is credited with being the "Father of Flag Day," with the Chicago Tribune noting that he "almost singlehandedly" established the holiday.
1888, William T. Kerr:
William T. Kerr, a resident of Collier Township, Pennsylvania, for a number of years, founded the American Flag Day Association of Western Pennsylvania in 1888, and became that organization's national chairman one year later, serving as such for fifty years. He attended President Harry S. Truman's 1949 signing of the Act of Congress that formally established the observance.
1889, George Bolch:
In 1889, the principal of a free kindergarten, George Bolch, celebrated the Revolution and celebrated Flag Day, as well.
1893, Elizabeth Duane Gillespie:
In 1893, Elizabeth Duane Gillespie, a descendant of Benjamin Franklin and the president of the Colonial Dames of Pennsylvania, attempted to have a resolution passed requiring the American flag to be displayed on all Philadelphia's public buildings. This is why some credit Philadelphia as Flag Day's original home. In 1937, Pennsylvania became the first state to make Flag Day a legal holiday.
1907, BPOE:
American fraternal order and social club the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks has celebrated the holiday since the early days of the organization and allegiance to the flag is a requirement of every member. In 1907, the BPOE Grand Lodge designated by resolution June 14 as Flag Day. The Grand Lodge of the Order adopted mandatory observance of the occasion by every Lodge in 1911, and that requirement continues. The Elks prompted President Woodrow Wilson to recognize the Order's observance of Flag Day for its patriotic expression.
1908, Theodore Roosevelt:
Oral tradition passed on through multiple generations holds that on June 14, Theodore Roosevelt was dining outside Philadelphia, when he noticed a man wiping his nose with what he thought was the American Flag. In outrage, Roosevelt picked up a small wooden rod and began to whip the man for "defacing the symbol of America." After about five or six strong whacks, he noticed that the man was not wiping his nose with a flag, but with a blue handkerchief with white stars. Upon realization of this, he apologized to the man, but hit him once more for making him "riled up with national pride."
1913, City of Paterson, New Jersey:
During the 1913 Paterson silk strike, IWW leader “Big” Bill Haywood asserted that someday all of the world's flags would be red, “the color of the working man's blood.” In response, the city's leaders (who opposed the strike) declared March 17 to be “Flag Day,” and saw to it that each of the city's textile mills flew an American flag. This attempt by Paterson's leaders to portray the strikers as un-Americanbackfired when the strikers marched through the city with American flags of their own, along with a banner that stated: WE WEAVE THE FLAG WE LIVE UNDER THE FLAG WE DIE UNDER THE FLAG BUT DAM'D IF WE'LL STARVE UNDER THE FLAG.
of Flag Day Observance The week of June 14 is designated as "National Flag Week." During National Flag Week, the president will issue a
proclamation urging U.S. citizens to fly the American flag for the duration of that week. The flag should also be displayed on all government buildings. Some organizations hold parades and events in celebration of America's national flag and everything it represents. Other organizations and tribal groups hold counter-celebrations and protests. The National Flag Day Foundation holds an annual observance for Flag Day on the second Sunday in June. The program includes a ceremonial raising of the flag, recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance, singing of the national anthem, a parade and more. The Betsy Ross House has long been the site of Philadelphia's observance of Flag Day.
Liberation Day - Jun 14 Falkland Islands
The Military Administration of the Falklands, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (Spanish: Gobernación Militar de las Islas Malvinas, Georgias del Sur y Sandwich del Sur) was the short-lived, Argentine-controlled government of a long disputed group of islands in the South Atlantic which had been governed by the United Kingdom since the 1833 re-establishment of British rule until 2 April 1982 when they were invaded and occupied by the Military Junta of Argentina. The invasion and subsequent occupation signalled the start of the Falklands War, which resulted in the islands coming back under British control on 14 June 1982.
Background Several people and/or organizations played instrumental
roles in the establishment of a national Flag Day celebration. They are identified here in chronological order. The Falkland Islands (Spanish: Islas Malvinas) had been under British administration since January 1833, when the United Kingdom re-established sovereignty over the islands which, at that time, housed an Argentine settlement. Argentina has claimed the Falklands to be part of their territory ever since. The UK first claimed South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands in 1843, and incorporated them as Falkland Islands Dependencies in 1908. The Compañía Argentina de Pesca had an operation on South Georgia in the early 20th century, and Argentina had claimed sovereignty over South Georgia since 1927 and the South Sandwich Islands since 1938. In November 1976, Argentina landed and occupied the uninhabited islands of Southern Thule which had been in British possession since the 18th century.
Establishment In the early hours of 2 April 1982, in the wake of violent anti-government riots inBuenos Aires, the military junta, which
ruled Argentina, launched an invasion of the Falkland Islands. Faced with overwhelming Argentine force, Sir Rex Hunt (British Governor of the Islands) surrendered to Admiral Carlos Busser (the Argentine amphibious force commander) at 9.15am. The next day, Argentina sent troops to capture and occupy South Georgia and the uninhabited South Sandwich Islands. Historically, Argentina had claimed the islands were part of the then federal territory of Tierra del Fuego and South Atlantic islands. However, on 3 April 1982, the junta issued a decree which separated the islands from the jurisdiction of Tierra del Fuego and named Brigadier General Mario Menéndez as the 'Military Governor of the Malvinas, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands'.
74 days
On the first day of the occupation, Governor Hunt and officials from the Foreign Office were forcibly evicted from the island by the Argentine forces and sent to Montevideo, Uruguay. Argentine troops took over control of the Falkland Islands Broadcasting Studio when Patrick Watts was live on air. The Argentines used the radio station to play tapes with instructions for the islanders and military music including the Argentine National Anthem. Argentina made Spanish the official language of the Islands and changed Port Stanley's name to Puerto Argentino. Traffic was commanded to drive on the right by painting arrows on the road indicating the direction of traffic and changing the location of street andtraffic signs. Argentinian Captain Barry Melbourne Hussey, who was chosen for a position in the administration due to his knowledge and experience of English, asserted safety as a major concern, during discussions with the Islanders: "Which would you prefer, that our eighteen-year-old conscripts, with their big lorries, should try to drive on the left, or that you, with your little vehicles, change to the right?". However, outside Stanley, most roads were single track anyway and some islanders refused to observe the new rule and continued to drive on the left. Other acts of civil disobedience included Reg Silvey (lighthouse keeper and ham radio enthusiast) broadcasting clandestine radio messages throughout the occupation. The Argentine military police arrived on the islands with detailed files on many islanders. One of their first actions was to arrest and deport noted critics of links to Argentina including David Colville, as well as Bill Luxton and his family. Such deportations proved internationally embarrassing as Bill Luxton gave numerous interviews on his deportation and subsequently detainees faced internal exile at Fox Bay. Major Patricio Dowling, an Argentine of Irish origin, became the chief of police. He frequently over-stepped his authority, ignoring instructions to treat the islanders with respect, and quickly became known throughout the islands for his tendency to resort to violence. Dowling imposed a regime of arbitrary house searches, arrests and questioning. His actions came to the attention of Comodoro Carlos Bloomer-Reeve who recommended to Brigadier-General Menéndez that he be removed and he was subsequently sent back to the mainland in disgrace. Comodoro Carlos Bloomer-Reeve, chief of the Secretariat of the new government, in conjunction with Major Barry Hussey were instrumental in protecting the Falkland Islanders and avoiding conflict with the Argentine military. BloomerReeve had previously lived on the islands between 1975 and 1976, when he ran the LADE operation in Stanley and had great affection for the islands. Despite their political differences, the humanity and moral courage of both men earned them the enduring respect and affection of many islanders. No wholesale confiscation of private property occurred during the occupation (all goods obtained from the Islanders were paid for), but had the Islanders refused to sell, the goods in question would have been taken anyway, as is normal in military situations. However, Argentine officers did expropriate civilian property at Goose Green following the detention of the civilian population, although they severely punished any conscripts that did the same. During the 74 day occupation, 114 inhabitants of Goose Green, considered to be potential troublemakers, were imprisoned and 14 residents of Stanley were sent to Fox Bay East and placed under house arrest. The Argentine military evacuated 52 schoolchildren from Stanley and turned the playground of the school into a compound for drilling troops. The Argentine peso replaced the Falkland Islands pound and stamps were over-franked with an Islas Malvinas postcode. There was no widespread abuse of the population; indeed after the war it was found that even the Islanders' personal food supplies and stocks of alcohol were untouched, and Brigadier-General Menéndez, the Argentine governor of the Islands, had made it clear from the start that he would not engage in any combat in Stanley itself but in the last day of battle, Private Santiago Carrizo of the 3rd Regiment described how a platoon commander ordered them to take up positions in the houses and "if a Kelper resists, shoot him", but the entire company did nothing of the kind.
Fall
On 22 April, the British task force arrived in Falklands waters, three days later British troops recaptured South Georgia. Following over a month of fierce naval and air battles, the British landed on 21 May, and a land campaign followed until Governor Mario Menéndez surrendered to Major General Jeremy Moore on 14 June in Stanley. Six days later, on 20 June, British forces landed on the South Sandwich Islands and Southern Thule where 10 unarmed Argentines handed over their station. 649 Argentines and 255 British died during the war.
Dissolution
The Argentine Administration officially continued to exist until 15 May 1985 when it was dissolved by President Raúl Alfonsín. Since then, Argentina has claimed the islands are part of Tierra del Fuego (then an Argentine National Territory) which became a fully-fledged province of Argentina in 1990.
World Blood Donor Day Worldwide - Jun 14
World Blood Donor Day is day dedicated to "thanking and celebrating voluntary non-remunerated blood donors". It occurs on June 14, the birthday of Karl Landsteiner, the creator of the ABO blood group system, for which he won the Nobel Prize. The first day was held in 2005. One of the main goals of the World Blood Donor Day is to ensure the availability of 'safe blood' for transfusion.
Day of National Salvation Azerbaijan - Jun 15
Azerbaijan is a country near the intersection of Asia and Europe. This country has its borders on the verge of Russia in the north, Armenia in the west, Iran to the South, and the Caspian Sea eastwards. The majority of the people are Shiite Muslims and ethnic Azeri. The country follows secularism as a policy, and its love for peace is demonstrated by the membership in various organizations such as GUAM, Organization for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and the United Nations. It is also a part of the NATO Partnership for Peace program. One of the most important days in the calendar of this country is National Salvation Day celebrated every year on June 15.
Bloomsday is a commemoration and celebration of the life of Irish writerJames Joyce during which the events of his novel Ulysses (which is set on 16 June 1904) are relived. It is observed annually on 16 June in Dublin and elsewhere. Joyce chose the date as it was the date of his first outing with his wife-to-be, Nora Barnacle; they walked to the Dublin suburb of Ringsend. The name derives from Leopold Bloom, the protagonist of Ulysses. The English portmanteau word Bloomsday is usually used in Irish as well, though some purist publications, including the Irish Wikipedia, call it Lá Bloom .
First Bloomsday Celebration
Bloomsday (a term Joyce himself did not employ) was invented in 1954, on the 50th anniversary of the events in the novel, when John Ryan (artist, critic, publican and founder of Envoy magazine) and the novelist Flann O'Brien organised what was to be a daylong pilgrimage along the Ulysses route. They were joined by Patrick Kavanagh, Anthony Cronin, Tom Joyce (a dentist who, as Joyce's cousin, represented the family interest) and AJ Leventhal (Registrar of Trinity College, Dublin). Ryan had engaged two horse drawn cabs, of the old-fashioned kind, which in Ulysses Mr. Bloom and his friends drive to poor Paddy Dignam's funeral. The party were assigned roles from the novel. They planned to travel round the city through the day, visiting in turn the scenes of the novel, ending at night in what had once been the brothel quarter of the city, the area which Joyce had called Nighttown. The pilgrimage was abandoned halfway through, when the weary Lestrygonians succumbed to inebriation and rancour at the Bailey pub in the city centre, which Ryan then owned, and at which, in 1967, he installed the door to No. 7 Eccles Street (Leopold Bloom’s front door), having rescued it from demolition . A Bloomsday record of 1954, informally filmed by John Ryan, follows this pilgrimage.
Bloomsday activities Dublin:
The day involves a range of cultural activities including Ulysses readings and dramatisations,pub crawls and other events, much of it hosted by the James Joyce Centre in North Great George's Street. Enthusiasts often dress in Edwardian costume to celebrate Bloomsday, and retrace Bloom's route around Dublin via landmarks such as Davy Byrne's pub. Hard-core devotees have even been known to hold marathon readings of the entire novel, some lasting up to 36 hours. A five-month-long festival (ReJoyce Dublin 2004) took place in Dublin between 1 April and 31 August 2004. On the Sunday in 2004 before the 100th "anniversary" of the fictional events described in the book, 10,000 people in Dublin were treated to a free, open-air, full Irish breakfast on O'Connell Street consisting of sausages, rashers, toast,beans, and black and white puddings. "Every year hundreds of Dubliners dress as characters from the book ... as if to assert their willingness to become one with the text. It is quite impossible to imagine any other masterpiece of modernism having quite such an effect on the life of a city." On Bloomsday 1982, the centenary year of Joyce's birth, Irish state broadcaster, RTÉ, transmitted a continuous 30hour dramatic performance of the entire text of Ulysses on radio.
Hungary:
Bloomsday has also been celebrated since 1994 in the Hungarian town of Szombathely, the fictional birthplace of Leopold Bloom's father, Virág Rudolf, an emigrant Hungarian Jew. The event is usually centered around the Iseum, the remnants of an Isis temple fromRoman times, and the Blum-mansion, commemorated to Joyce since 1997, at 40–41 Fő street, which used to be the property of an actual Jewish family called Blum. Hungarian author László Najmányi in his 2007 novel, The Mystery of the Blum-mansion (A Blum-ház rejtélye) describes the results of his research on the connection between Joyce and the Blum family.
United States:
The Rosenbach Museum & Library in Philadelphia is the home of the handwritten manuscript of Ulysses and celebrates Bloomsday with a street festival including readings, Irish music, and traditional Irish cuisine provided by local Irish-themed pubs. New York City has several events on Bloomsday including formal readings at Symphony Space and informal readings and music at the downtown Ulysses' Folk House pub. The Syracuse James Joyce Club holds an annual Bloomsday celebration at Johnston's BallyBay Pub in Syracuse, New York, at which large portions of the book are either read aloud, or presented as dramatizations by costumed performers. The club awards scholarships and other prizes to students who have written essays on Joyce or fiction pertaining to his work. The city is home to Syracuse University, whose press has published or reprinted several volumes of Joyce studies.
Italy:
There have been many Bloomsday events in Trieste, where the first part ofUlysses was written. The Joyce Museum Trieste, opened on 16 June 2004, collects works by and about James Joyce, including secondary sources, with a special emphasis on his period in Trieste. Since 2005 Bloomsday has been celebrated every year in Genoa, with a reading of Ulysses in Italian by volunteers (students, actors, teachers, scholars), starting at 0900 and finishing in the early hours of 17 June; the readings take place in 18 different places in the old town centre, one for each chapter of the novel, and these places are selected for their resemblance to the original settings. Thus for example chapter 1 is read in a medieval tower, chapter 2 in a classroom of the Faculty of Languages, chapter 3 in a bookshop on the waterfront, chapter 9 in the University Library, and chapter 12 ("Cyclops") in an old pub. The Genoa Bloomsday is organized by the Faculty of Languages and the International Genoa Poetry Festival.
Australia:
In Sydney, Australia, Bloomsday is hosted by the John Hume Institute for Global Irish Studies UNSW in association with the National Irish Association Sydney and the Consulate General of Ireland, Sydney.
Global:
On Bloomsday 2011, @11ysses was the stage for an experimental day-long tweading of Ulysses. Starting at 0800 (Dublin time) on Thursday 16 June 2011, the aim was to explore what would happen if Ulysses was recast 140 characters at a time. It was hoped that the event would become the first of a series.
Literary references
In 2004 Vintage Publishers issued Yes I said yes I will yes: A Celebration of James Joyce, Ulysses, and 100 Years of Bloomsday. It is one of the few monographs that details the increasing popularity of Bloomsday. The book's title comes from the novel's famous last lines. In 1956, Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath were married by special licence of the Archbishop of Canterbury at St George the Martyr Church, Holborn, on 16 June, in honour of Bloomsday. Seamus Sweeney's short story "Bloomsday 3004" is a description of a future in which Bloomsday continues to be celebrated, however its origins are completely forgotten and it is now a quasi-religious folk ritual. Pat Conroy's 2009 novel South of Broad has numerous references to Bloomsday. Leopold Bloom King is the narrator. The book's first chapter describes the events of 16 June 1969 in Leo's story. In the novel by Enrique Vila-Matas Dublinesca (2010), part of the action takes place in Dublin for the Bloomsday. The book's main protagonist, Riba, a retired Spanish editor, moves to this city with several writer friends to officiate a "funeral" for the Gutenberg era.
cultural references Popular Jefferson Airplane's 1967 album After Bathing at Baxter's contains the track, "Rejoyce", inspired by Joyce's Ulysses.
In Mel Brooks' 1968 film The Producers, Gene Wilder's character is called Leo Bloom, an homage to Joyce's character. In the musical2005 version, in the evening scene at the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, Leo asks, "When will it be Bloom's day?". However, in the earlier scene in which Bloom first meets Max Bialystock, the office wall calendar shows that the current day is 16 June, indicating that it is, in fact, Bloomsday. Punk band Minutemen have a song on their 1984 Double Nickels on the Dime album entitled "16 June". Richard Linklater references Ulysses in two of his films. Once in 1991's Slacker, where a character reads an excerpt from Ulysses after convincing his friends to dump a tent and a typewriter in a river as a response to a prior lover's infidelity. And again in 1995's Before Sunrise, where the events take place on 16 June. In 2009 an episode of the cartoon The Simpsons, "In the Name of the Grandfather", featured the family's trip to Dublin and Lisa'sreference to Bloomsday. U2's 2009 song "Breathe" refers to events taking place on a fictitious 16 June.
International Day of the African Child International - Jun 16
The International Day of the African Child has been celebrated on June 16every year since 1991, when it was first initiated by the Organisation of African Unity. It honors those who participated in the Soweto Uprising in 1976 on that day. It also raises awareness of the continuing need for improvement of the education provided to African children. In Soweto, South Africa, on June 16, 1976, about ten thousand black school children marched in a column more than half a mile long, protesting the poor quality of their education and demanding their right to be taught in their own language. Hundreds of young students were shot, the most famous of which being Hector Peterson (see image). More than a hundred people were killed in the protests of the following two weeks, and more than a thousand were injured.
National Flag Day Denmark - Jun 15
The national flag of Denmark or Dannebrog is red with a white Scandinavian cross that extends to the edges of the flag; the vertical part of the cross is shifted to the hoist side. On the Danish flag, the cross design, which represents Christianity, was subsequently adopted by the other Nordic countries; Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands, as well as the Scottish archipelagos of Shetland and Orkney. During the Danish-Norwegian personal union, Dannebrog ("Danish cloth") was also the flag of Norway and continued to be, with slight modifications, until Norway adopted its current flag in 1821. Dannebrog is the oldest state flag in the world still in use by an independent nation.
Origin
The legend states the origin of the flag to the Battle of Lyndanisse, also known as the Battle of Valdemar (Danish: "Volmerslaget"), near Lyndanisse (Tallinn) in Estonia, on June 15, 1219. The battle was going badly, and defeat seemed imminent. But then, right when the Danes were about to give up, the flag fell from heaven. Grasping the flag before it could ever touch the ground, the king took it in his hand, and proudly waved it in front of his discouraged troops, giving them hope, and leading them to victory. No historical record supports this legend. The first record of the legend dates from more than 300 years after the campaign, and the first record connects the legend to a much smaller battle, though still in Estonia; the battle of Fellin (Viljandi) in 1208. Though no historical support exists for the flag story in the Fellin battle either, it is not difficult to understand how a small and unknown place is replaced with the much grander battle of Reval (Tallinn) from the Estonia campaign of King Valdemar II. This story originates from two written sources from the early 16th century. The first is found in Christiern Pedersen's "Danske Krønike", which is a sequel to Saxo’s Gesta Danorum, written 1520 – 23. It is not mentioned in connection to the campaign of King Valdemar II in Estonia, but in connection with a campaign in Russia. He also mentions that this flag, falling from the sky during the Russian campaign of King Valdemar II, is the very same flag that King Eric of Pomerania took with him when he left the country in 1440 after being deposed as King. The second source is the writing of the Franciscan monk Petrus Olai (Peder Olsen) of Roskilde, from 1527. This record describes a battle in 1208 near a place called "Felin" during the Estonia campaign of King Valdemar II. The Danes were all but defeated when a lamb-skin banner depicting a white cross falls from the sky and miraculously leads to a Danish victory. In another record by Petrus Olai called "Danmarks Tolv Herligheder" (Twelve Splendours of Denmark), in splendour number nine, the same story is re-told almost to the word; however, a paragraph has been inserted correcting the year to 1219. Whether or not these records describe a truly old oral story in existence at that time, or a 16th century invented story, is not currently determined. Some historians believe that the story by Petrus Olai refers to a source from the first half of the 15th century, making this the oldest reference to the falling flag. It is believed that the name of the capital of Estonia, Tallinn, came into existence after the battle. It is derived from "Taani linn", meaning "Danish town" in Estonian.
Other theories of the origin of the flag Caspar Paludan-Müller:
The Danish historian Caspar Paludan-Müller in 1873 in his book "Sagnet om den himmelfaldne Danebrogsfane" put forth the theory that it is a banner sent by the Popeto the Danish King to use in his crusades in the Baltic countries. Other kings and lords certainly received such banners. One would imagine, though, that if this story were true, some kind of record ought to exist of the event, and presumably Danish historians would not have failed to mention it in some way. Being granted a banner by the Pope would have been a great Dannebrog falling from the sky during the Battle of Lynhonour, but despite the many letters of the popes relating to danisse, June 15, 1219. Painted by Christian August Lorentzen the crusades, none of them in 1809. Original located at Statens Museum for Kunst, Denmentions granting a banner to a mark King of Denmark. On the other hand, the letter in question might simply have been lost.
Johan Støckel:
A similar theory was suggested by Danish explorer, adventurer and Captain Johan Støckel in the early 20th century. He suggested that it was not a papal banner to the King but a papal banner to the Churchly legate in the North, more specifically to archbishop Andreas Sunesøn, which he – without the knowledge of the King – brought with him on the King's crusade in the Baltic countries, in an effort to make the army take on a Christian symbol (over the king's symbol) and thereby strengthen the power of the church. It is unlikely that the very fair and loyal archbishop would do such a thing behind the king's back. Moreover, it is unlikely that the pope would send such a banner, given the fact that they already had one, namely the banner of the Knights Hospitaller (Danish: "Johanitterne").
Adolf Ditlev Jørgensen:
A theory brought forth by the Danish historian Adolf Ditlev Jørgensen in 1875 in his book "Danebroges Oprindelse" is that the Danish flag is the banner of the Knights Hospitaller. He notes that the order came to Denmark in the latter half of the 12th century and during the next centuries spread to major cities, like Odense, Viborg, Horsens, Ribe and their headquarters in Slagelse, so by the time of theBaltic crusade, the symbol was already a known symbol in Denmark. Furthermore he claims that Bishop Theoderich, already co-initiator of the Livonian Brothers of the Sword in Livonia, had the idea of starting a similar order in Estonia; and that he was the original instigator of the inquiry from Bishop Albert of Buxhoeveden to KingValdemar II in 1218, that set the whole Danish participation in the Baltic crusades in motion. In the contemporary writing of the priest Henry of Livonia from Riga it is said that Bishop Theoderich was killed during the 1219 battle, when the enemy stormed his tent, thinking it was the King's tent. Adolf Ditlev Jørgensen explains that it was Bishop Theoderich who carried the flag, planted outside his tent; thus as an already well-known symbol of the Knights Hospitaller in Livonia, the enemy thought this was the King's symbol and mistakenly stormed Bishop Theoderich tent. He claims that the origin of the legend of the falling flag comes from this confusion in the battle.
L. P. Fabricius:
History National Salvation Day is celebrated to commemorate both
the end of a civil war that went on within the country and the return of democracy to the people. The military coup was conducted by Surat Huseynov’s military on June 4 in Ganja and demanded resignation of Parliament Speaker Isa Gambar and Prime Minister Panah Huseyn. This led Azerbaijan to anarchy. These rebels then seized power in Ganja and moved towards Baku. To stop this insurgence and to battle against these anarchists, Heydar Aliyev was invited to Baku. He accepted the invitation, and once he arrived, he was elected unanimously as speaker and head of state. He held talks with the revolting group of the army when he reached Baku. The talks went on smoothly, and he reported the turn of events and the demands of the rebellion in the parliament. The members of the rebellion agreed to the demands, and hence the threat of the civil war that hung upon the country was lifted. To mark this day of lifting the specter of war, every year on June 15, National Salvation Day is celebrated. It is on this day when Heydar Aliyev was elected as the chairman of the parliament and subsequently as the president. This holiday was made official by an act of parliament in 1997.
TRADITIONS, CUSTOMS AND ACTIVITIES
The defense wing and the veterans of the military take part in the ceremonial parade that takes place every year. The president presides over this parade accepting the salute from the various wings or parts of his defense force. Like any other important day, this is also a public holiday with the majority of commercial establishments closing. The president also addresses the nation on this day emphasizing the need for national unity and security. These celebrations are also extended to the television, which broadcasts live the speech of the president to the civilians. There are also celebrations in the form of a fireworks display at night.
St. Anthony's Day Portugal - Jun 13
Anthony of Padua or Anthony of Lisbon, O.F.M., (born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese Catholic priest and friar of the Franciscan Order. Though he died in Padua, Italy, he was born to a wealthy family in Lisbon, Portugal, which is where he was raised. Noted by his contemporaries for his forceful preaching and expert knowledge of Scripture, he was declared a saint almost immediately after his death and proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 16 January 1946.
Early life Fernando Martins de Bulhões was born in Lisbon to Vicente Martins
de Bulhões and Teresa Pais Taveira. His father was the brother of Pedro Martins de Bulhões, the ancestor of the Bulhão or Bulhões family. His was a very rich family of the nobility who wanted him to become educated, and they arranged for him to be instructed at the local cathedral school. Against the wishes of his family, however, he entered the community of Canons Regular at the Abbey of St. Vincent on the outskirts of Lisbon. The Canons were famous for their dedication to scholarly pursuits, and sent the youth to their major center of studies, the Abbey of the Holy Cross in Coimbra. There the young Fernando studied theology and Latin.
Joining the Franciscans After his ordination to the priesthood, Fernando was named guest
master and placed in charge of hospitality for the abbey. It was in this capacity, in 1219, that he came into contact with five Franciscan friars who were on their way to Morocco to preach the Gospelto the Muslims there. Fernando was strongly attracted to the simple, evangelical lifestyle of the friars, whose order had been founded only eleven years prior. In February of the following year, news arrived that the five Franciscans had been martyred in Morocco, the first to be killed in their new order. Seeing their bodies as they were processed back toAssisi, Fernando meditated on the heroism of these men; inspired by their example, and longing for the same gift of martyrdom, he obtained permission from church authorities to leave the Augustinian Canons to join the new Franciscan Order. Upon his admission to the life of the friars, he joined the small hermitage in Olivais, adopting the name Anthony (from the name of the chapel located there, dedicated to Saint Anthony the Great), by which he was to be known. The new Brother Anthony then set out for Morocco, in fulfillment of his new vocation. Illness, however, stopped him on his journey. At this point, he decided to head to Italy, the center of his new order. On the voyage there, his ship was driven by a storm onto the coast of Sicily and he landed at Messina. From Sicily he made his way toTuscany where he was assigned to a convent of the order, but he met with difficulty on account of his sickly appearance. He was finally assigned, out of pure compassion, to the rural hospice of San Paolo near Forlì, Romagna, a choice made after considering his poor health. There he appears to have lived as a hermit and was put to work in the kitchen, while being allowed to spend much time in private prayer and study.
St. Anthony in Art
As the number of Franciscan saints increased the iconography struggled to distinguish Anthony from the others. Because of a legend that he had once preached to the fish, these were sometimes used as his attribute (example). He is also often seen with a lily stalk (see above). Other conventions referred to St. Anthony's visionary fervor. Thus, one attribute in use for some time was a flaming heart (example). In 1511, Titian painted three scenes of Miracles from the life of Saint Anthony: The Miracle of the Jealous Husband, which depicts the murder of a young woman by her husband; A Child Testifying to Its Mother's Innocence; and The Saint Healing the Young Man with a Broken Limb. Another key pattern has him meditating on an open book in which the Christ Child himself appears, as in the El Greco below. Over time the child came to be shown considerably larger than the book, and some images even do without the book entirely.
Chaco Peace Paraguay - J u n 1 2
The Chaco War (1932–1935) was fought between Bolivia and Paraguay over control of the northern part of the Gran Chaco region (known as Chaco Boreal) of South America, which was incorrectly thought to be rich in oil. It is also referred to as La Guerra de la Sed (Spanish for "War of Thirst") in literary circles for being fought in the semi-arid Chaco. The war was the bloodiest military conflict fought in South America during the 20th century. The war pitted two of South America's poorest countries, both having previously lost territories to neighbors in wars during the 19th century. During the war both countries faced difficulties in obtaining arms and other supplies since their landlocked situation made their foreign trade and arms purchases dependent on the willingness of neighboring countries to let them pass by. In particular Bolivia faced external trade problems coupled with poor internal communications. While Bolivia had income from lucrative mining and a better equipped and larger army than Paraguay, a series of factors turned the tide in favour of Paraguay which came by the end of the war to control most of the disputed zone, and was finally also granted two-thirds of the disputed territories in the peace treaties.
the Islamic world. Russia and Pakistan are neighbors in the region with common challenges and problems affecting our countries’ national security interests. We must address these problems together. The role of Pakistan in the international arena has considerably increased due to its active participation in the international counterterrorist coalition and the contribution which your country can make to the Afghan settlement. After the election of Pakistan as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2012-2013 opportunities for our cooperation in the universal international organizations have substantially widened. It is extremely important that the need for mutually beneficial partnership is recognized at the highest level. A regular exchange of views on key issues of regional and bilateral cooperation has been established between our leaders. The official visit of President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari to Russia in May 2011 can be rightfully called as a milestone in the history of Russian-Pakistani relations. During the negotiations the two sides discussed in detail the status and prospects of bilateral cooperation as well as pressing regional and international issues. The heads of states endorsed the priority areas of partnership: struggle against international terrorism and drug-related crimes, implementation of regional, energy and infrastructure projects, strengthening trade, economic and business ties. It was agreed to coordinate our positions on the Afghan settlement. Relevant work is being carried out. The official visit to Russia of Minister of Foreign Affairs of Pakistan Hina Rabbani Khar in February 2012 gave a serious impetus to the Russian-Pakistani relations: the agreements reached during the last year’s summit were thoroughly looked into, necessary actions of concerned national ministries and departments were specified to ensure their consistent implementation. Apart from bilateral visits leaders of our countries regularly interacted on the sidelines of international events held in multi-
Blooms Day International - Jun 16
lateral formats. In September 2011 Asif Ali Zardari met Russian President Dmitry Medvedev at the summit of heads of states of the “Dushanbe quartet” in Dushanbe (Russia-Pakistan-Afghanistan-Tajikistan). In November 2011 Prime Minister of Pakistan Yousaf Raza Gilani met Chairman of the Government of Russia Vladimir Putin at the meeting of the Council of heads of governments of member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in Saint Petersburg. At present a possibility of Russian President’s visit to Pakistan is being negotiated through diplomatic channels. We are satisfied with the active interaction between Russia and Pakistan in international organizations. We have close or identical positions on main problems of the world politics, including the formation of a multipolar world order with the UN’s leading role being strengthened, the primacy of international law in interstate relations, crisis management and resolution of disputes on the basis of search for a balance of interests. Russia attaches special importance to cooperation with Pakistan in the framework of the SCO. We are grateful to the Pakistani partners for their active participation – especially at the highest level – in events of this prestigious organization which is rapidly emerging as an important element of the regional security architecture, useful mechanism for the implementation of transregional economic, energy and infrastructure projects. Russia consistently supports the intention of Pakistan which now possesses an observer status to join the SCO as a full-fledged member. There is constructive Russian-Pakistani interaction between various ministries and departments, at an expert level. Last year after a five-year pause consultations on Afghanistan, regional and bilateral issues resumed. Special Representative of the President of Russia on Afghanistan Zamir Kabulov conducts them from the Russian side. In December 2011 a mechanism of bilateral consultations on UNSC issues was
The Danish church-historian L. P. Fabricius proposed yet another theory, explained in his study of 1934, titled "Sagnet om Dannebrog og de ældste Forbindelser med Estland". He ascribes the origin to the 1208 Battle of Fellin, not the Battle of Lyndanisse in 1219, based on the earliest source available about the story. He says in this theory that it might have been Archbishop Andreas Sunesøn's personal ecclesiastical banner or perhaps even the flag of Archbishop Absalon, based on his tireless efforts to expand Christianity to the Baltic countries. Under his initiative and supervision several smaller crusades had already been conducted in Estonia. The banner would then already be known in Estonia. He repeats the story about the flag being planted in front of Bishop Theodorik's tent, which the enemy mistakenly attacks believing it to be the tent of the King. All these theories centre on two battles in Estonia, Fellin (1208) or Lyndanisse (1219), and thus try to explain the origin in relation to the tale brought forth over 300 years after the event.
Fabricius and Helga Bruhn:
A much different theory is briefly discussed by Fabricius and elaborated more by Helga Bruhn in her book "Dannebrog" from 1949. She claims that it is neither the battle nor the banner that is central to the tale, but rather the cross in the sky. Similar tales of appearances in the sky at critical moments, particularly of crosses, can be found all over Europe. Bruhn mentions a battle (also mentioned by Fabricius) taking place on September 10, 1217 between Christian knights and Moorwarriors on the Iberian Peninsula near the castle Alcazar, where it is said that a golden cross on white appeared in the sky, to bring victory to the Christians. Likewise an almost identical Swedish tale from the 18th century about a yellow cross on blue appearing in 1157 during a Swedish battle in Finland. Probably a later invention to counter the legendary origins of the Danish flags, but nevertheless of the same nature. The English flag, the Saint George's Cross is also claimed to have appeared in the sky during a critical battle, in this case in Jerusalem during the crusades. The similarities to the legends is obvious. In Spain, the colours of the Pope appears in the sky, in Finland the Swedish colours. In Estonia it is the Danish colours, and in Jerusalem the English colours. Basically, these are all variations of the same legend. Since King Valdemar II was married to the Portuguese princess, Berengaria, it is not unthinkable that the origin of the story, if not the flag, was the Spanish tale or a similar tale, which again might have been inspired by an even older legend.
Earliest recorded use of the flag:
Danish literature of the 13th and 14th centuries remains quiet about the national flag. Whether the flag has its origins in a divine sign, a banner of a military order, an ecclesiastical banner, or perhaps something entirely different, Danish literature is no help before the early 15th century. However, several coins, seals and images exist, both foreign and domestic, from the 13th to 15th centuries and even earlier, showing flags similar to Dannebrog. In the 19th and early 20th century, these images were used by many Danish historians, with a good flair of nationalism, trying to date the origins of the flag to 1219. However, if one examines the few existing foreign sources about Denmark from the 13th to 15th centuries, it is apparent that, at least from foreign point of view; the national symbol of Denmark was not a red-and-white banner but the royal coat of arms (three blue lions on a golden shield.) This coat of arms remains in use to this day. An obvious place to look for documentation is in the Estonian city of Tallinn, the site of the legendary battle. In Tallinn, a coat-of-arms resembling the flag is found on several buildings and can be traced back to the middle of the 15th century where it appears in the coat-of-arms of the "Die Grosse Gilde", a sort of merchant consortium which greatly influenced the city's development. The symbol later became the coat-of-arms of the city. Efforts to trace it from Estonia back to Denmark have, however, been in vain. The national Coat of Arms of Estonia, three blue lions on a golden shield, is almost identical to the Coat of Arms of Denmark, and its origin can be traced directly back to King Valdemar II and Danish rule in Estonia 1219-1346.
Laws and flag variations
Denmark does not have a specified flag law, but various regulations and rules spread out over many documents, from King Christian IV's time till today, can be found.
Superstitions:
A part of the Danish culture, states that Dannebrog is not allowed to touch the ground because it came from heaven. Another part states that Dannebrog is not allowed to be hoist at night, because it is said to salute the Devil.
National flag:
The size and shape of the coufhordie flag ("Koffardiflaget") for merchant ships is given in the regulation of June 11, 1748, which says: A red flag with a white cross with no split end. The white cross must be 1/7 of the flags height. The two first fields must be square in form and the two outer fields must be 6/4 lengths of those. The proportions are thus: 3:1:3 vertically and 3:1:4.5 horizontally. This definition are the absolute proportions for the Danish national flag to this day, for both the civil version of the flag ("Stutflaget"), as well as the merchant flag ("Handelsflaget"). Both flags are identical. The Danish flag from the front page A somewhat curious regulation came in 1758 concerning Danish ships sailing in theMediterranean. These had to carry the King's of Christiern Pedersen’s version of cypher logo in the center of the flag, to distinguish them from Mal- Saxo’s Gesta Danorum, 1514. tese ships, due to the similarity of the flag of the Order of St. John (also known as the Knights Hospitaller). To the best of knowledge, this regulation has never been revoked, however it is probably no longer done. According to the regulation of June 11, 1748 the colour was simply red, which is common known today as "Dannebrog rød" ("Dannebrog red"). The only available red fabric dye in 1748 was made of madder root, which can be processed to produce a brilliant red dye (used historically for British soldiers' jackets). The private company, Dansk Standard, regulation number 359 of 2005, defines the red colour of the flag as Pantone 186c. No official nuance definition of "Dannebrog rød" exists. During the next about 150 years nobody paid much attention to actually abide fully to the proportions of the flag given in the 1748 regulation, not even the government. As late as 1892 it was stated in a series of regulations that the correct lengths of the two last fields in the flag were 6/4. Some interested in the matter made inquires into the issue and concluded that the 6/4 length would make the flag look blunt. Any new flag would also quickly become unlawful, due to wear and tear. They also noted that the flag currently used had lengths, of the last two fields, anywhere between 7/4 to 13/6. So in May 1893 a new regulation to all chiefs of police, stated that the police should not intervene, if the two last fields in the flag were longer than 6/4 as long as these did not exceed 7/4, and provided that this was the only rule violated. This regulation is still in effect today and thus the legal proportions of the National flag is today anywhere between 3:1:3 width / 3:1:4.5 length and 3:1:3 width / 3:1:5.25 length. That some confusion still exists in this matter can be seen from the regulation of May 4, 1927, which once again states that Danish merchant ships have to fly flags according to the regulation of 1748.
Splitflag and Orlogs flag:
The Splitflag and Orlogsflag have similar shapes but different sizes and hues. Legally, they are two different flags. The Splitflag is a Danish flag ending in a swallow-tail, it isDannebrog red, and is used on land. The Orlogsflag is an elongated Splitflag with a deeper red colour and is only used on sea. The Orlogsflag with no markings, may only be used by the Royal Danish Navy. There are though a few exceptions to this. A few institutions have been allowed to fly the cleanOrlogsflag. Same flag with markings has been approved for a few dozen companies and institutions over the years. Furthermore, the Orlogsflag is only described as such if it has no additional markings. Any swallow-tail flag, no matter the color, is called a Splitflag provided it bears additional markings. The first regulation regarding the Splitflag dates from March 27, 1630, in which King Christian IV orders that Norwegian Defensionskibe(armed merchants ships) may only use the Splitflag if they are in Danish war service. In 1685 an order, distributed to a number of cities in Slesvig, states that all ships must carry the Danish flag, and in 1690 all merchant ships are forbidden to use the Splitflag, with the exception of ships sailing in the East Indies, West Indies and at the coast of Africa. In 1741 it is confirmed that the regulation of 1690 is still very much in effect; that merchant ships may not use the Splitflag. At the same time the Danish East India Company is allowed to fly the Splitflag when past the equator. It is obvious that some confusion must have existed regarding the Splitflag. In 1696 the Admiralty presented the King with a proposal for a standard regulating both size and shape of the Splitflag. In the same year a royal resolution defines the proportions of the Splitflag, which in this resolution is called Kongeflaget (the King's flag), as follows: The cross must be 1/7 of the flags height. The two first fields must be square in form with the sides three times the cross width. The two outer fields are rectangular and 1½ the length of the square fields. The tails are the length of the flag.
Royal Standard:
The current version of the royal standard was introduced on 16 November 1972 when theQueen adopted a new version of her personal coat of arms. The royal standard is the flag of Denmark with a swallow-tail and charged with the monarch’s coat of arms set in a white square. The centre square is 32 parts in a flag with the ratio 56:107.
launched at the level of directors of relevant departments of foreign ministries. Negotiations take place within the framework of the Russian-Pakistani Consultative Group on Strategic Stability. The seventh meeting of the said group was held in Moscow in January 2012. There is also a Working Group on counter-terrorism. Its next (fifth) meeting should take place this year in Islamabad. A Joint Working Group on Energy started to function, its first meeting was held in Moscow in August 2011. We have high hopes for the Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) on Trade and Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation which should enhance bilateral business ties and bring them onto a qualitatively new level. We hope the IGC will be able to meet in Islamabad for a second time in the near future. It should be admitted that against the backdrop of our political contacts dynamically developing the economic component of our cooperation is lagging behind. We cannot be satisfied with the existing bilateral trade turnover of about USD 500 million, with the low level of direct business ties, insufficient knowledge of our business communities about the possibilities of each other’s markets and, virtually, actual absence of cooperation in the investment field. Such a situation does not represent the potential. It is encouraging that in official and business circles of our countries there is a growing understanding of the necessity to improve things and ensure accelerated development of trade and economic ties which ought to be taken to completely new qualitative and quantative levels. There is a substantial potential for cooperation in energy, oil and gas, metallurgy sectors. The regional CASA-1000 project of creating a system to transfer electricity from Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan to Afghanistan and Pakistan can become mutually beneficial. Russia is ready not only to join this project but also to act as a co-investor bearing a considerable part of expenses (up to USD 500 million). Besides,
Russia is ready to participate in national power projects – such as reconstruction of combined heat and power plants “Multan2” and “Guddu” constructed in Pakistan with the assistance of Soviet specialists, construction of new hydroelectric power stations and CHPPs of small and medium production capacity. Our companies could participate in the exploration and development of offshore oil and gas fields in Pakistan, building of underground gas storage facilities, training of specialists for the Pakistani oil and gas sector which was once created with the help of the Soviet Union. Being considered are issues of possible Russian participation in the construction of regional gas pipelines Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India and Iran-Pakistan by the JSC “Gazprom” – the world-famous Russian corporation with vast experience in building such facilities and the reputation of a reliable contractor and investor. Cooperation in the field of metallurgy is an important sphere of our partnership. We are interested in securing Russian participation in the modernization and expansion of the Pakistan Steel Mills in Karachi built in the 1980s with financial and technical support of the USSR. We are discussing with Pakistani partners technical modalities of the Russian company JSC “VO “Tyazhpromexport” participation in the reconstruction of the enterprise to provide an increase in its annual production capacity from 1.1 to 3 million tons of steel. Russia highly values its partnership with Pakistan. We intend to further develop multi-faceted cooperation with your wonderful country in which I have the honor to work as Ambassador of Russia. Undoubtedly, strengthening ties of friendship and long-term partnership between Russia and Pakistan not only meets the interests of our peoples but also serves as a significant factor of maintaining regional stability and security.
Hungarians mark the Day of National Unity
HUNGARY Commander of Arrabona Regiment is New Chief of Staff at NATO HQ Sarajevo (Online 04 Jun) At a ceremony held on May 24 Col. Tibor Rózsa, the Chief of the CIMIC Directorate of the HDF Joint Force Comm a n d handed over the responsiof bilities chief of staff NATO of H e a d q u a r - (photo: Photo: WO Zoltán Inoka) ters Sarajevo (NHQ Sa) to his successor to post, the Col. (Eng.) F e r e n c Kovács, the commander of the HDF 1 2 t h Arrabona Surface-toAir Missile (SAM) Regiof ment Győr. Brig.-Gen. Gary E. Huffthe man, commander of NHQ Sa (photo: Photo: WO Zoltán Inoka) his and deputy, Col. Dr. John Andreas Col. Rózsa for his work done Olsen also attended the trans- over the last six months by fer of authority ceremony, which handing him a certificate of took place in the presence of merit, and praised the Hungarthe soldiers serving at the HQ ian military contribution to the work of the NHQ Sa. and several invited guests. Brig.-Gen. Huffman thanked In his speech, Col. Rózsa
thanked his former colleagues for the help and support he had received from them while filling the position, and wished the incoming commander Győr from every success, determination and soldier’s luck. Col. Kovács delivered a in speech he which thanked the outgoing Chief of Staff for his assistance with the transfer of authority period, and wished the personnel returning home a good journey. He said hoped he that the staff of NHQ Sa would support his work same the way it did in the case of his outgoing predecessor in the position. There are currently four Hungarian soldiers – three field officers and one NCO – serving at the NATO HQ Sarajevo.
GDP data in line with prior estimates (Online 08 Jun) The Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) has published earlier today GDP data in line with preliminary figures in its detailed release. In Q1 2012 the Hungarian economy – due primarily to negative external market developments – contracted by 0.7 percent. On the production side every major sector – albeit slightly – but declined. In contrast with prior periods, the industrial sector which mainly produces for foreign markets has also declined slightly, and agriculture could achieve no expansion ei-
ther after the success of last year. It has to be noted though that the gross added value created by the national economic sector of information and communication increased by 3 percent, however the construction sector shows no signs of recovery. On the consumption side tendencies have been similar: net exports could contribute to growth, whereas other sectors typically registered near-stagnation minimal decline. It has been obvious that Hungary could not stay immune to negative trends which have
been prevailing on external markets. It is a significant factor with regard to the future however that large scale production at the Mercedes plant in the next couple of quarters will have a positive influence on growth trends via industrial data. Good news from the labour market is also expected to improve prospects and the household sector which has been gaining independence from the burden of exchange rate risks imposed by foreign currency denominated loans can also provide some pleasant surprises via consumption.
Agreement between China and Hungary in employment issues (Online 07 Jun) Wang Xiaochu, Deputy Minister at the Human Resources and Social Insurance Ministry of the People’s Republic of China, has paid a visit to the Ministry of National Economy earlier today, where he met with S á n d o r Czomba, Minister of State for Employment.
At the meeting, after an interministerial exchange of experi-
ences with regard to employment and vocational training issues, the ministers signed a joint statement which defined further fields of cooperation. In the spirit of opening to the East in the near future several other fields can provide mutually advantageous opportunities for cooperation.
Response to the Freedom House Report (Online 07 Jun) Yet another Freedom House report has been released that is based on a number of incorrect arguments. It is proof of the fact that the Washington-based organisation measures democracies in Central- and Eastern-Europe with double standards. The report reveals that the organisation shows not the slightest sign of empathy or understanding towards the region, and specifically Hungary, that left communism behind twenty years ago but is still in need of a number of changes and reforms on account of the deficiencies of the inherited constitutional system. Reforms have been launched in a number of areas in Hungary and changes have begun; the elementary demand of Hungarian society for change was amply testified to by the results of the 2010 democratic elections. A strong government and a two-third parliamentary majority came into being as a result of these democratic elections and not in consequence of the construction of some „superpower”. Thanks to this majority, Hungary today has one of Europe’s most stable and most predictable political leaderships. We wish to remind Freedom House that Hungary was the only country in Central-Europe that was unable to create a new fundamental law since the change of regime; the rest of the former socialist countries managed this feat in the nineties (mostly at the beginning of the nineties), Poland being the last in 1997. Our country had a Stalinist-type, transitional constitution dating from 1949. We likewise must make mention of the fact that the report contains a number of arguments that reveal that the authors are far from being thoroughly familiar with Hungarian internal political events and the statutory environment. FH claims, for instance, that the Constitution was passed without extensive consultation; by contrast, the truth is that the passage of the new fundamental law was preceded by a series of national consultations and extensive parliamentary preparations.
FH claims incorrectly that rightwing paramilitary organisations have gained in significance; by contrast, the truth is that the Government has curbed and prohibited their existence. FH claims incorrectly that there is some kind of decline in the electoral process. By contrast, the truth is that the new election law remedied a constitutional omission known to all parties concerned for a number of years by re-drawing the country’s constituencies in accordance with the earlier recommendations of the Constitutional Court. The election system has changed, indeed; instead of the current 2 rounds, there will only be a single round in the future. The essence of the single-round system is that the mandate goes to the candidate who obtains the most votes in the given constituency. This is not at all unusual in the European electoral systems; furthermore, most electoral systems outside Europe are singleround. However, the result of the elections as at any time is determined by the electorate at the end of the day, whether the elections are single-round or are held in two rounds. It is also unacceptable that the organisation identifies the franchise granted to Hungarians beyond the borders as the reason for the decline, while there are similar arrangements in a number of other western democracies, and the franchise is a civic right that is inseparable from citizenship. By granting the franchise to Hungarians beyond the borders, Hungary finally eliminates a discriminatory situation that has existed for too long as almost all EU Member States allow their citizens living beyond their borders to cast their votes in parliamentary elections. As regards the remarks concerning the freedom of the media, which we are by now only too familiar with, we wish to repeatedly draw attention merely to the facts. The freedom of the press, speech and opinion is guaranteed by the Hungarian Constitution as well as by Hungary’s media constitution and media law. Neither the Hungarian Government, nor any other political or civil organ-
isation has the right or the scope to interfere with the dayto-day activities of the electronic or conventional media and editorial boards. The printed and electronic press is supervised in Hungary by autonomous professional organisations based on an agreement entered into with the authorities. As regards the supervision of television channels and radio stations, similar to the European practice, these are monitored by an autonomous state administration agency that is independent of the Government, the Media Council of the National Media and Infocommunications Authority, within the boundaries of the Constitution and the legal rules on media administration. All decisions of the Media Council may be appealed against before the independent Hungarian courts. In the context of the evaluation of Hungary’s anti-corruption measures, we wish to draw the attention of FH to the fact that there is an anti-corruption programme in place and, in actual fact, the Government has done much more than merely create a programme. See the Government’s anti-corruption measures. The administration of justice is independent in Hungary; furthermore, thanks to the judicial reform, courts will be able to operate much more effectively and will, in consequence, be able to restore the faith of Hungarian citizens in the administration of justice. Not a single judge has been removed from office before the end of their mandate; judges have only been released due to the completion of the retirement age, as is customary in the case of all other Hungarian citizens. We agree that the operation of local governments is jeopardised by financial difficulties. It is regrettable, however, that the reasons for these financial difficulties have been omitted from the report; namely, the accumulation of dramatic debt rates during the previous governments, the bad allocation of responsibilities, the ongoing withdrawal of funds from the system and the lack of reforms.
International Border Police Conference (Online 05 Jun) We concenon trated sharing experience to maintain high level of border protection in the future too – underlined Mr. Sándor Pintér, Interior Minister in his opening speech of the 20th International Border Police Conference. The first International Border Police Conference was organized in 1993 at the initiative of the Hungarian Border Guard – Mr. said Sándor Pintér. We can look back on a successful period of 20 years as the conferences provided an opportunity for the negotiations of the border police leaders and contributed to the strategic cooperation between the organizations. – emphasized the Interior Minister. The first International Police Border Conference afforded a unique opportunity for the former socialist countries at the border of the European Union and for the Member States of the Soviet Union to meet – highlighted Mr. Sándor Pintér and added: the main goal of the previous conferences was
to discuss border security and relating issues. “Exchange of experiences helped to fight against illegal migration, to combat cross-border terrorism activities and to tackle drug trafficking” – stated the Interior Minister. The European Union wishes to promote border security in the countries which lie to the east, south-east and south of it and the conference contributed significantly to this activity – said Mr Sándor Pintér. International Border Police Conference is only one initia-
tive of the Hungarian B o r d e r Guard. “We have been involved in the border security development process of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Maced o n i a , Montenegro and Serbia for many years, in a context of cooperation we are part of the international administration in Kosovo” – informed Mr Sándor Pintér and a d d e d : based on the experience of a Hungarian expert group which has been working in Central Asia since 2007, model of integrated border security drawn up by Hungary became a government programme in Kyrgyzstan. Border security guards from 42 countries attended the two-day long conference in Budapest. Interior Minister and József Hatala, Commissioner of the Hungarian National Police awarded those who significantly contributed to the success of the conferences over the last twenty years.
H u n g a r y C e n t r a l B a n k Vo t e D e l a y W i l l H e l p I M F Ta l k s , Va r g a (Online 07 Jun) Hungary’s delay of a vote on amendments to a disputed central bank law will help resolve differences blocking talks with the International Monetary Fund, said Mihaly Varga, the country’s chief negotiator. Financing is guaranteed this year and by 2013 Hungary would like to have a “a safety net” from the IMF, Varga, the minister in charge of relations with international financial institutions, said in an interview during a World Economic Forum meeting in Istanbul today. Hungary may consider selling international bonds while negotiating the loan, he said. Prime Minister Viktor Orban asked for IMF financing in November as the forint fell to a record low against the euro and the country’s credit grade was cut to junk. Varga, the premier’s former chief of staff who took his current job on June 1, requested delaying a June 4 vote in parliament on the central bank law after the European Central Bank said proposed changes still fail to safeguard monetary-policy independence. The delay “give the chance for further negotiations if it’s needed,” Varga said. “We are ready to sit down at the negotiating table immediately as soon as” the IMF and the European Union “decide when and under what conditions they want to begin the talks.”
The forint rose 1.2 percent to 298.8 against the euro as of 4:06 p.m. in Budapest today, advancing for a third day. It has weakened 4.2 percent in the past month, the world’s thirdworst performance behind the Malawian kwacha and the Syrian pound. ‘Categorically Refute’ Economists including Tim Ash of Royal Bank of Scotland and Peter Attard Montalto of Nomura have said Hungary may be emulating a tactic used by Turkey, which discussed a possible IMF loan for more than a year and a half until the government announced in March 2010 that it no longer needed a backstop. Hungary is delaying the talks by “dragging” its feet on changing a disputed central bank law, Citigroup Inc. said on May 17 after meeting the Washington-based lender’s officials in Budapest. “I would like to categorically refute” assumptions by some market participants that the government isn’t really seeking an agreement, Varga said. “Hungary isn’t preparing for a negotiation that isn’t going to lead to an agreement. We would like a good agreement that’s beneficial for the country and reassures the IMF and the EU that Hungary is a reliable partner.” ‘Technical’ Issues The vote on the central bank law amendments will probably
take place before parliament goes into summer recess on July 15, Antal Rogan, head of the ruling Fidesz party’s group of lawmakers, said June 4. Varga said he met Hungarian central Bank President Andras Simor yesterday and is planning to meet Simor’s deputy, Ferenc Karvalits, in “the coming days” about Hungary’s negotiating position. Remaining issues about the central bank law are “technical” and will be resolved in talks between the central bank, Hungary’s government, the ECB, the IMF and the European Commission, Varga said. With about 35 billion euros ($44 billion) of central bank foreign exchange reserves “financing of the country is secured,” Varga said. “This year is guaranteed and by next year we would like to get to the point where Hungary has this safety net in place.” While Hungary always needs to be weighing its financing options, selling Eurobonds “would not be realistic at the moment,” Varga said. “The market is also waiting for the start of the negotiations.” Once Hungary has started talks on the international bailout it will become “possible to consider” an international bond sale, should market sentiment regarding turmoil in the euro region improve, he said.
R e s p o n s e t o Tr a n s p a r e n c y I n t e r n a t i o n a l ’s R e p o r t (Online 06 Jun) Hungarian governments in the last twenty years combined have not done as much for preventing and reducing corruption and for achieving accountability as the government currently in office has in the past two years. We acknowledge with regret that this fact has been omitted from the organisation’s report, and we are therefore unable to embrace or agree with most of its findings. It would have been far more justifiable to express concern about the state of corruption in Hungary during the period between 2002 and 2010 when a series of high-profile corruption cases involving the effective assistance and participation of senior government officials and local political leaders brought shame to the country. Since its establishment, the Government has implemented the most intensive series of anti-corruption measures of the past twenty years because organised corruption left unpunished in the last few years and those who turned a blind eye to such malpractices played a major role in the development of the country’s current dire economic and financial situation and the general depreciation of morals and trust. If there is any country in the world that is most painfully aware of this, it must be Hungary as generations of Hungarians will pay the price for the irresponsible practices of previous governments, the country’s high debt rate and the shortage of public funds squandered and stolen during previous periods. The Government is committed to enhancing faith in the State, and guarantees with all means at its disposal the responsible
management of the nation’s assets and public funds and the uncovering of cases involving corruption, and makes every effort to bring the guilty to justice. Since the change of regime, Hungary has for the first time a governmental anti-corruption programme the implementation of which has begun. Since its entry into office, the Government has improved the conditions necessary for the fight against corruption in the fields of law, public administration and the economy. The Government has made the law on public procurements substantially more stringent, thereby putting an end to the untenable practice during the socialist governments, in the wake of which billions were stolen due to the shortcomings and loopholes of the public procurement system. The Government is committed to increasing the faith of citizens in the State and guarantees with all means at its disposal that the nation’s assets and public funds are managed in a responsible fashion, for the advancement of the people, that cases of corruption are fully uncovered and that those who are responsible for cases of corruption are brought to justice. To this end, the Government has implemented a number of measures in the past almost two years. For instance, Parliament passed a law on the protection of national assets, and Parliament is currently debating the draft of the new Penal Code which will take further steps towards creating rules that are capable of protecting and upholding fairness and transparency in public life. It is also thanks to the Government currently in office that a
government-level anti-corruption strategy and an action plan have been adopted for the first time since the change of regime. Hungarian society expressed an elementary demand for these (firm action against corruption, prevention, transparency of utilisation of public funds) during the socialist governance between 2002 and 2010 when the public was shocked practically daily by news of the involvement of socialist and liberal state and municipality leaders in cases of corruption. Thanks to the new public prolaw, Hungary, curement uniquely in the European Union, has barred off-shore businesses with an unclear proprietary background from public procurement proceedings. Consequently, the incomes produced in Hungary cannot be channelled to foreign tax havens in an uncontrolled manner. For instance, according to the new rules, only businesses that fully reveal their proprietary structure may be awarded public procurements. The novel measures introduced in the new public procurement legislation are, in a number of instances, parallel with the goals of the EU directives in the making. Consequently, a progressive law has been created that is fully EU-compatible and is exemplary also by international standards. Hungary has, as a result, opened a new chapter in the fight against corruption. At the same time, everyone is aware that this is an eternal fight that must be pursued persistently, for instance, also through the creation of the new party funding legislation.
Parliament adopts amendments to the Media Act (Online 06 Jun) According to amendments adopted by Parliament on 4 June, the identity of editorial boards’ sources will receive protection, the remits of the Media and Infocommunications Commissioner and the Media Authority will be more precisely defined, programme quotas will change and more programmes will be made accessible to those with hearing impairment. Last December Hungary’s Constitutional Court struck down certain sections of media regulation. In response, the Government requested a detailed interpretation of the provisions in the Fundamental Law related to freedom of the press. The Constitutional Court considered the task of answering the questions put to it to be the responsibility of the legislature, and so on 10 May the Government presented a bill to Parliament proposing amendments to certain legislation on media services and press products. The bill was further amended and supplemented in the course of the parliamentary debate. The amended legislation strengthens protection for journalists’ sources. Journalists or editorial boards will not be required to identify sources. Disclosure of the identity of a source will only be justified in the course of criminal proceedings, if the public interest is better served by such disclosure than its non-disclosure, when the information is necessary for investigation of a serious offense and the information cannot be obtained in any other way. As was previously the case, the media authority shall not be empowered to demand the identity of sources from anybody, and this shall continue
to be the sole preserve of the courts. With regard to regulation of content in the printed press and on the internet, the media authority shall not have the power to investigate alleged infringements of human rights, human dignity, privacy and the rights of those making public statements; this is because protection of these rights is already adequately provided for in the Civil and Criminal Codes. In relation to the press, however, there will continue to be sanctions against hate speech, infringement of constitutional order, and the contrivance of situations in which people are depicted in humiliating or degrading circumstances. Provisions related to the protection of minors will also remain. In these cases, the Authority may investigate in tandem with its parallel regulatory organisations. Following a submission to the Constitutional Court by the Commissioner for Fundamental Rights, the remit of the President of the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH) has also been affected. The President may not have authority in connection with the Media Council, if he or she is not elected head of the Council. The President of the NMHH may not continue in office if Parliament has not elected him or her as head of the Media Council within 30 days of his or her appointment as president. The powers of the Media Commissioner have also been amended. The Commissioner will continue to have powers equivalent to that of an authority, but they will only remain in relation to electronic infocom-
munications services. The Commissioner shall have no remit in the area of media services and press products. In these cases, if the Commissioner receives a complaint, he or she may only initiate discussions with professional organisations and issue a report at the end of the investigation. This report may only be sent to interested parties, as making it public would limit press freedom. The Commissioner will continue to be able to initiate proceedings if a substantial number of viewers, listeners or readers are concerned, but he or she may also recommend personal meetings between complainants, professional organisations and the media content service provider. This process will not constitute a limit on press freedom. The Commissioner may not investigate the activities of a media content service provider. According to the amendments, the quota related to works of Hungarian origin shall only apply if the programme in question is received within the borders of Hungary. The number of programmes accessible to those with hearing impairment will increase, for example, sports broadcasts and weather reports will have subtitles or sign language interpretation. Parliament took a final vote on the bill on 24 May, but subsequently the President of the Republic, János Áder, sent it back due to a procedural error. He did not find it unconstitutional in any way, however. The legislation was voted on again and adopted on 4 June. Some of the provisions will come into force on the day of the publication, while others will do so 15 and 16 days after this.
(Online 05 On Jun) M o n d a y morning the Day of National Unity (also known as the Day of National Cohesion) was commemorated in Kossuth tér in front of the Hungarian Parliament with a ceremonial raisof ing Hungary’s national flag, a c c o m p a - photo: Ernő Horváth nied by a guard of honour and the playing of the national anthem. President of the Republic János Áder, Prime MinisViktor ter Orbán and Speaker of Parliament László Kövér attended the c e r e m o n y, as did members of the Government, s e v e r a l members of photo: Ernő Horváth Parliament, members of diplothe matic corps and two hundred children Hunfrom and gary neighbouring countries. D e p u t y Prime MinisZsolt ter Semjén officially opened prothe gramme of for events the young at the House of Hungarians. He said that János Áder (photo: Ernő Horváth) there are two conditions for continuity of the Hungarian nat i o n : unification through citizenship and the reinforcement of Hung a r y ’ s cultural herHe itage. that noted ‘The point of comthe memoration is not to mourn for the past or to ack n o w l e d g e photo: Károly Árvai genuine hisminorities), all our neighbours torical facts which have not and all European peoples that been distorted, but to serve the the foundation for our common continuity of the Hungarian na- future and success can only be tion.’ openness to cooperation and Mr. Semjén expressed gratitude mutual respect shown to each to Hungarians outside Hungary other. who have preserved their Hun- The President affirmed his supgarian identity in often difficult port for all those who were circumstances. He also men- forced to leave Hungary betioned that fifteen thousand cause of their ancestry, religion schoolchildren have been able or political convictions, either to visit areas beyond the bor- after 4 June 1920, under the ders populated by Hungarians dictatorships of National Socialas part of the Without Borders! ism or Communism, in 1956 or programme, thus strengthening subsequently. the links between Hungarians in His message to the national mithe Carpathian basin. norities within Hungary is that In a written announcement, Hungary depends on them, and President of the Republic János respects their efforts to preserve Áder stated that the Treaty of their traditions, languages and Trianon was unjust in every re- cultures, because this is also spect and created a humiliating seen as strengthening their situation for all peoples: the vic- Hungarian identity and patriottors as well as the vanquished. ism. He also wrote that the feeling of Parliament declared 4 June the solidarity will not be nourished Day of National Unity in 2010. by anything other than the ac- The country is remembering this ceptance of responsibility for year for the second time the day one another. of the signing of the Trianon He continued by declaring that peace dictate as the Day of Nathe Day of National Unity sends tional Unity and the fact that a message to all Hungarians (in- every member and community cluding the members of national of the Hungarian nation sub-
jected to the jurisdiction of multiple states forms part of the single, unified Hungarian nation. On 4 June the 1920 Peace Treaty Trianon of closing World War I was s i g n e d , which desigthe nated new borders of Hungary, Austria and Romania on account of the disintegration of the Austro–Hungarian Empire and the newly establ i s h e d Czechoslovakia and the Kingdom of S e r b s , Croats and Slovenes. With designation of the new borders, Hungary lost than more two thirds of its territory and the number of its inhabitants decreased from 21 million to less than 8 million. It is in consequence of this pact that to this day millions of Hungarians live directly beyond the country’s borders, in Romania, Ukraine, Serbia, Slovakia, Austria, Slovenia and Croatia. Hungary therefore re4 garded June 1920 as a day of national mourning for a long time, while the during communist regime it was simply forbidden to remember it at all. Hungarian society has had the opportunity to experience and truly appreciate the value of national unity with Hungarians beyond the borders, to acquaint themselves with the true details of history and to foster relations with Hungarians living beyond the borders since the political transition of 1989/ 90. Based on society’s overwhelming support, Hungary’s new Fundamental Law, too, confirms Hungary’s commitment to our national unity with Hungarians beyond the borders. With a view to unity and cohesion, the Hungarian State not only takes responsibility for Hungarians beyond the borders but also promotes the survival of their communities, the enforcement of their individual and collective rights, the establishment of communal municipalities and their advancement in their native land, the Constitution proclaims. The Orbán government has made possible the acquisition of dual citizenship as of January 2011, which some 250,000 individuals have applied for to date, and launched the website www.nemzetiregiszter.hu for Hungarians around the world.
Hungarian aid has reached its desination (Online 06 Jun) The relief offered by the government of Hungary to help the Syrian refugees has arrived in Turkey. The trailer truck transporting the aid package put together from the supplies of the Hungarian Defence Forces (inc l u d i n g 5,000 blankets and +700 sheets) arrived in Adana in the afternoon of June 3. Lt.Col. Zoltán Sallai, Hungarian def e n c e , military and air attaché in A n k a r a handed over the relief package to R a h m i Bozkurt, the director for the Mediterranean region of the Turkish Red Crescent aid agency. In the or-
ganization of the National Directorate General for Disaster Man-
on June 5.
agement, Ministry of the Interior (NDGDM) and with financial support from the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, co-financed by the EU Committee, the government of Hungary offered the aid to the Turkish authorities so that they can help the Syrian refugees. R a h m i Bozkurt said thanks for the Hungarian aid, and informed those present that after a transfer the aid would be delivered immediately so it would reach the r e f u g e e camp accommodating some 5 , 7 0 0 refugees the following day,
FIFA president thanks the Prime Minister (Online 05 Jun) Joseph Blatter, President of the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA), has written a letter to Viktor Orbán thanking the Hungarian prime minister for contributing to the success of the organisation’s congress in Budapest in May. In the letter, which appears on the Prime Minister’s website, the Swiss sports diplomat offers Mr. Orbán his special thanks for a ‘thought-provoking speech’ which the Prime Minister gave at the opening of the federation’s 62nd Congress. Mr. Blatter made special mention of the fact that he was particularly impressed by Mr. Orbán’s statement that ‘fair play is a strength, not a weakness’. The FIFA president also wished the Prime Minister success, par-
ticularly in his efforts to develop the game in Hungary. He added that the Hungarian national team is now higher in the world rankings than it has been in decades, and therefore its future looks bright. He expressed his hope that the national side will once again compete at the highest level. In his speech at the Budapest Congress Centre, the Prime Minister said that there is a strong link between sport and politics, and that they can do
much to help each other – but in certain c i r c u m stances politics can harm sport. Referring to the possibility of a boycott by some countries of the European Championship being jointly organised by Poland and Ukraine this summer, he said that the spirit of football must not be harmed. ‘Sport is made to unify people, not to divide them. Football teaches us everything. We are trying to build a country where fair play is a strength, not a weakness in Hungary, like in football,’ said Mr. Orbán. Budapest played host to the FIFA Congress on 24-25 May. This was the third time it had performed this role, having done so in 1909 and 1930.
W o r k i n g To g e t h e r f o r a Clean Environment (Online 03 Károly KonThis Jun) trát, Parliay e a r ' s mentary Te S z e d d ! State Secre("YouPickIt!") tary of the was drive Ministry of once again the Interior successful helped local effecand volunteers in tive, with parP á p a ; ticipants Deputy State collecting Secretary for several thouthe Economy sand tons of and Informarubbish. tion Technolthe Within ogy László framework of Tóth, State the Working Secretary for Together for Economic Cleaner a Regulation of Hungary the Ministry m o v e m e n t , Sándor Fazekas (photo: Adrián Szabó) of National volunteers Economy from all over Kristóf Szatthe country and máry, put on their Estonian Amto gloves bassador make the enPriit Pallum vironment also took part more beautiin the drive. and ful Hungary's cleaner. relargest Hungary's fuse colleclargest rubdrive tion bish collecwas organtion initiative ised jointly by took place in the Ministry 700 settleof Rural Dements and at velopment 1500 over and the Minsites. Experiistry of the Inhas ence and terior, shown that in this year, the places where Levente Ríz, Zoltán Illés (photo: Balázs Glódi) event's fundthe TeSzedd! ing, the provolunteers curement of collected and bags rubbish last gloves, and year, there the expenses less was of the profesthis waste resional year. moval and drive The depositing of was organthe rubbish ised jointly collected by by the Minvolunthe istry of Rural was teers Developtaken on by the ment, the National Ministry of Waste Manthe Interior, agement the National Agency. The Waste ManWater Direcagement torates disAgency and tributed 100 the National Zsolt V. Németh (photo: Gábor Bodó) thousand stressed that "With the introducCivil Police Association. A pripairs of rubber gloves and the mary sponsor of the event was tion of the deposit on bottles, the same number of bags among the Media Service Support and Government aims to make sure volunteers with the help of the Management Fund that it will not be worth throwing National Civil Police AssociaAsset (MTVA). This year too, individ- bottles away. The landfill contri- tion. The refuse collected in the ual volunteers, businesses, butions encourage less waste to TeSzedd! bags will be removed local governments, schools and end up in landfills and for recy- by local refuse collection public non-governmental organisation cling to come to the forefront in- services. applied to participate in the stead." The movement began last year TeSzedd! drive. This year too, Several politicians also took part with the hope of creating a trathe goal of the drive was to get in the work. The drive was dition to be repeated each year, rid of unmanaged, derelict piles launched in Karcag by Minister and became Hungary's most of waste. The chief patron of this for Rural Development Sándor successful civil initiative. year's TeSzedd! 2012 national Fazekas. The Ministry's Parliarubbish collection drive was mentary State SecreMinister for Rural Development tary, Gyula Budai, Sándor Fazekas, while the pro- also donned gloved fessional director was Zoltán on June 2 and took Illés, State Secretary for Envi- part in the country's largest rubbish colronmental Affairs. Some 110 thousand people reg- lection drive in the istered in advance for the drive, capital's 17th District. and according to estimate State Secretary for around the same number of vol- Rural Development unteers joined them at the col- Zsolt V. Németh lection points. There are no helped local volunexact figures as yet as to how teers collect forty many tons of rubbish the partic- bags of rubbish from ipants removed from the envi- the edge of the forest ronment, but according to near the town of preliminary estimates at least 3 Ivánc. State Secrethousand tons of waste was col- tary for Agricultural lected thanks to the sustained Economy György Czerván worked toefforts of the volunteers. "The new bill on waste, which is gether with locals to the area before parliament at the mo- clean ment, has set as its goals an in- around the fishing crease in the level of selectivity lake in Tápiószentand the ratio of recycling", said márton. Zoltán Illés at one of the Minister of Defence TeSzedd! drive's sites in Bu- Csaba Hende took dapest. The State Secretary for part in the nationwide collection György Czerván (photo: Gábor Environmental Affairs of the rubbish Ministry of Rural Development drive at Szombathely. Fényes)
Closer cooperation between the Hungarian and the Bavarian Ministers of Interior German col(Online 05 leagues at Jun) We had the Munich strategically Beer Festiand operaval– informed tionally effithe Hungarc i e n t , ian Interior forward-lookMinister. ing negotiaToday’s netion in a gotiation confriendly attributed to mosphere – the deepenemphasized ing of the Mr. Sándor outstanding Pintér Hunrelation begarian Ministween the ter of Interior Bavarian and after his Hungarian meeting with Ministries of Joachim Interior – Herrmann, said Joachim Bavarian InJoachim Herrmann, Sándor Pintér (Photo: Ernő Horváth) Herrmann. terior MinisThe Bavarian ter. State Police The minisappreciates ters disthe cooperacussed the tion with the common acHungarian tivities they State Police developed which is concommon stant since strategies 1989. and agreed Most of the on the fight German popagainst illeulation are gal migration concerned and issues that the rerelated to the moval of Schengen Schengen border. borders can Hungary and lead to an inBavaria have crease in long standcrime – to ing experithis end inence in Joachim Herrmann, Sándor Pintér (Photo: Ernő Horváth) tensive cooppolice – coThe Parties agreed upon simwith Middle-East operation, in training and educa- ple, operative issues too: Bavar- eration tion of standby police and in ian police officers will serve at European countries will be of carrying out common activities – the Balaton Lake and Hungarian high importance in the future too highlighted the Hungarian Inte- police officers will support their – underlined the Bavarian Interior Minister. rior Minister.
Interior Minister of Hungary negotiates in Finland (Online 04 Jun) Dr Sándor Pintér, Interior Minister of Hungary conducted negotiations with Päivi Räsänen, Interior Minister of Finland and Krista Kiuru, Minister of Housing and Communications in Helsinki. Interior Ministers exchanged views on the planned new penalty system for cases of hit and run crimes, on the law enforcement administration reforms
and overviewed the agenda of the following Justice and Home Affairs Council. Dr. Sándor Pintér reviewed the equipment of the Finnish police officers. Hungarian Interior Minister presented for Ms Kiuru the Ócsa Social House-Building Project and visited an energy efficient house. Dr. Sándor Pintér provided a description of the rationalization of rules of settlement
planning and construction requirements (OTÉK – National Settlement Planning and Construction Requirements). The ministers discussed the methods to be used for cooperating with local self governments too. The bilateral negotiations were held in a friendly atmosphere.
The Hungarian government condemns an insult aimed at József Schweitzer (Online 06 Jun) The Hungarian government utterly condemns the insult recently directed at former Chief Rabbi József Schweitzer, who is one of the most highly respected Hungarian intellectuals.
The Office of the Government’s Spokesman said in a statement that the Government will take action against all expressions of extremism, racism and anti-Semitism, and will do everything in its
power to combat words and actions which are incompatible with European norms. The Government wishes to make it absolutely clear that the country will protect all of its citizens from such attacks.
Tr a d i t i o n a n d i n n o v a t i o n – a r m a ment cooperation with India (Online 06 Jun) The Hun5th gary-India Joint Defence Comm i t t e e Meeting which is the highest level forum focusing at elaborating and reviewing the def e n c e cooperation p r o grammes between Hungary and India - (photo: M.D.) was finalized by the signing of the Minutes of the Plenary Session. The Co-Chairmen anonym o u s l y stated that the current JDC meeting was the most successful among the last years’ meetings. By the inviof tation G á b o r M á r k i , (photo: M.D.) D e p u t y State Secretary for Defence E c o n o m y, MOD Hungary an Ind i a n delegation led by Shri Shekhar Agarwal, Secretary (Defence Production), Minof istry Defence, Governof ment India took part in the Hun- (photo: M.D.) 5th gary-India Joint Defence Committee Meeting. H. E. Gaury Shankar Gupta, the Ambassador of the Republic of India joined the official delegation in Budapest and participated in all the major events of the JDC programme. As an organic part of the JDC programme a Civilian Defence Industry Day was organised by the Ministry for National Economy on 23rd May. During the Industry Day the Indian Delegation had the opportunity to meet representatives of the Hungarian defence industry already having relations in the Indian market. On the other hand the Industry Day was a good debut
for Hungarian companies to display products which could be noteworthy for potential Indian costumers from the defence and security sector. In the framework of the Industry Day the delegation visited to the ElTech Centre. The Plenary Session of the 5th JDC was held on 24th May in the Stefánia Palace. During the meeting the Ministry for National Economy was represented by Balázs Hidvéghi, State Secretary for External Economic Relations and International Affairs. In the course of the Plenary Session the CoChairmen made a short review of decisions and proposals
which had been made tabled or during the JDC last Meeting in New Delhi. In the meting Cothe Chairmen determined directhe and tions fields for cooperation are which mutually beneficial for both countries’ armed in forces order to develop capab i l i t i e s adequate to the meet challenges of the global and regional security environments. exThe ploited areas of cooperaare: tion training and R&T aspects of NBC defence; upgrade and modernisation of Soviet/Russian origin armament and armaments systems; upof grade some segments of battle systems of the Indian A r m e d Forces; military medical cooperation; cooperation in the field of training and education. At the end of the Plenary Session the Co-Chairmen agreed that cooperation in the field of armaments; research and technology and defence industry can only be achieved by real partnership which can be eventuated feasible results in a timely manner. In the course of the JDC programme the Indian delegation met Lieutenant General Zoltán Orosz Ph.D., Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff. Moreover the delegation had office calls with György Matolcsy Ph.D., Minister for National Economy, Lajos Fodor, Administrative State Secretary, MOD and János Hóvári Ph.D., Deputy State Secretary for Global Affairs, Ministry for Foreign Affairs.
Talks continue on amendments to the Act on the National Bank of Hungary (Online 05 Jun) Mihály Varga, Minister without portfolio in charge of negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the EU, who swore his oath of office on Monday in Parliament, has asked the Fidesz parliamentary group to consider postponing the final vote on amendments to the Act on the National Bank of Hungary (MNB). According to the original timetable, Monday would have seen the final vote on the Act, following amendments requested by the international organisations. Mr. Varga said that the request for postponement was because the current amendments had not put an end to all discussion on the issue, and so time must
be allowed for clarification talks. Fidesz parliamentary group leader Antal Rogán said on Monday that he is sure Parliament will pass the amended Act before the middle of July, and in the meantime the Government will have the opportunity to discuss any possible further amendments with the IMF. Mr. Rogán said that five-way talks on the Act are being conducted between the Government, the MNB, the European Central Bank, the IMF and the European Commission. All points of community law have been agreed, with two exceptions: the oath to be sworn by the Governor of the MNB and his salary. The Commission does not see these as obsta-
cles to further progress, however, and the most that may happen is that the parties would turn to the European Court for a ruling; but this, he said, would be a routine procedure. He also said, however, that reaching an agreement in talks between five parties is far more difficult than between two parties, as the international organisations do not always agree with each other. On Monday Parliament voted on the amendment to the Fundamental Law which eliminates the possibility of the MNB being merged with the Hungarian Financial Supervisory Authority. This amendment was also requested by the European Commission.
Feel the Pulse of Kosovo – Reporting from Kosovo (Online 04 Jun) They are the eye and ear of comthe mander of K F O R , b e i n g tasked with supplying the leaders the of peacekeeping mission in Kosovo with various important pieces of information. For this reason, their slogan is (photo: Tünde Rácz) “Feel the of pulse Kosovo”. The Hungarian Liaio n s Monitoring T e a m (LMT) serving with the sixth rotation of the HDF KFOR contingent is based in Podujevo. The task of the LMT is keep to contact with the leaders of the sett l e m e n t s , (photo: Tünde Rácz) the representatives of companies the and headmasof ters schools in the area of responsibility (AOR). During the liaising work they gather information that may be fed into the C O M K FOR’s decision-making process. “The LMT is the COMKFOR’s eye (photo: Tünde Rácz) and ear in pality. the AOR, so it receives its de- “We think we’ve managed to tailed tasking orders from the develop very good relationships commander of the NATO-led with the local people, and we’re peacekeeping mission”, Capt. lucky to have their trust”, the Attila Ivánfalvi told us. The offi- captain says, adding that the cer assigned to the Hungarian people of Kosovo definitely like LMT adds that the team is the Hungarian soldiers, permade up of six soldiers who are haps in part owing to the fact helped by two English-Alban- that many citizens of the counian-Serbian interpreters in their try had worked or studied earwork. Their office room is lo- lier in Hungary. cated in the office building of One way of maintaining contact the leader of Podujevo munici-
is to supply the primary schools functioning in the area of responsibility with various publications staand tionery. Recently they distributed the “For You Magazine”, KFOR’s journal for civilians as well as pens and notebooks among the schoolchildand ren headmasters. “This way we are trying to popularize K F O R among the children of Kosovo”, Zsolt WO Vasvári, the operations (S3) officer of the Hungarian LMT tells us. He also reveals being that published in the area of responsibility, the maga z i n e reaches out to a lot of young people and luckily, it has a wide readership. This is no accident, as it focuses topics on are which popular with t o d a y ’s in youth Kosovo. Among others, it inc l u d e s articles on fashion and sport, and the children can find a full-figure poster of the current local teen star – a singer – inside the journal. Besides, the Hungarian soldiers can use the school visits to get an update on the problems in the life of the educational institutions and the development projects that the headmasters would like to see implemented in their own schools during the next period”, WO Vasvári told us.
This is how the Castle will look! (Online 05 Jun) Plans have been presented of the Várbazár (Castle Bazaar) – a key element in the cityscape of the Buda C a s t l e area. According to the schedthe ule, project will combe pleted by 2014, and as a result Budapest will be even more spectacular than it is at present. the After renovation Várthe – bazár which has been in a of state decay for past the thirty years – will be the venue for an exhibition space, galart a leries, workshop open to the a public, lecture thea atre, restaurant, c o f f e e house and shops offering Hungara n i products. comThe plex could be a new jewel in the capital’s crown. The Governdement to cided launch the renovation project last October. deciThe sion on the long-term development was announced in November, and in December the project was assigned priority status. The project, fully funded by the EU, is worth a total of HUF 8.5 billion. It is scheduled to begin in autumn 2012 and be completed in 2014. The work will be coordinated by Government Commissioner Ferenc Zumbok. Following a public procurement procedure, the Castle Bazaar restoration and related public transport projects will be carried by Középülettervező out (KÖZTI) Zrt. The lead designer will be Ferenc Potzner, who has worked on reconstruction of monuments for two decades. Already upon the launch of Hungary’s new development the New programme, Széchenyi Plan in 2011, the Government pledged to regard the refurbishment of one of the treasures of the Buda Castle, the Castle Bazaar left to decay for decades, as one of the most important national programmes. According to the contemplated schedule, the plans and designs for the reconstruc-
tion works will be completed by the autumn, and the tenders for the works will be invited as well. The Castle Bazaar built between 1875 and 1883 originally served as a trade facility; its arcades were once full of shops. Its promenade was a favourite of Queen Sissi, wife of the Austrian Emperor. The state of the Castle Bazaar has continuously deteriorated since the nineteeneighties, which eventually led to the complete closure of the building complex. Regrettably, the monument of unparalleled beauty designed by Miklós Ybl, a world heritage site, has since 1996 been one of the world’s most endangered monuments. Since March last year, Ferenc Zumbok, a ministerial and more recently a government commissioner has coordinated the preparations for the project. The Government adopted a decision on the commencement of the project last October, published its decision on the longterm development in November and finally declared the project a top national economy priority in December. The Government wishes to re-
furbish and re-open to public the the Castle Bazaar and the royal gardens of the Buda Castle public in ownership. The Government is planto ning commence the project worth HUF 8.5 billion, implemented in its entirety EU from funding, in autumn 2012 and to complete it by March 2014. Some of the preparatory alworks ready began a year ago; crumthe bling, dang e r o u s pieces are being continreuously moved from the project the site, Water Carstairs rier their and vicinity. The project involves highly complex tasks; in addition to refurthe bishment of a listed site, the Government is also required to regulate traffic in the neighbourhood, to plan the navigation of small vessels on the Danube and to identify a develo p m e n t s t r a t e g y. are There ongoing consultations regarding the contemplated project concepts with the professional organisations, authorities and civil organisations concerned. According to plans, in addition to the restoration of the original beauty of the promenade once favoured by Queen Sissi, the whole of the site would accommodate a wide variety of services. The royal gardens situated on the garden terrace of the Castle Bazaar may become the pride and one of the greatest attractions of Budapest. According to plans, there will be a Baroque garden, a neo-Baroque garden, a neoRenaissance garden, an English landscaped garden, and a symbolic church and secular garden. The Castle Bazaar to be rebuilt shortly may become a genuine cultural site and a sophisticated entertainment district as underground cultural event halls, fine art studios, sculptor workshops, exhibition rooms, an outdoor stage, an underground parking facility, restaurants and sophisticated music venues will be created.
Brothers in armaments (Online 05 Jun) The 4th Bilateral HungarianItalian Nat i o n a l Armaments Directors’ Meeting was held in Budapest between 23rd and 24th May 2012. Lieutenant General Claudio Debertolis, Defence Secretary of Ministry of Defence (photo: M.D.) of Italy and his delegation arrived in Hungary for the invitation of Mr G á b o r M á r k i , D e p u t y State Secretary for Defence Economy of Ministry of Defence of Hungary. The main aim of the conference was to strengthen the active bilateral re- (photo: M.D.) lations established in 2010 between the National Armaments Directors of the two nations and furthermore to discuss the actual topics of armament and defence ind u s t r y cooperation. In the honour of the Italian deleg a t i o n (photo: M.D.) C s a b a Hende, Minister of Defence of Hungary held a ceremonial meeting, on which Maria Assunta Accili, ambassador of Italy in Budapest and Archbishop Alberto Bottari de Castello, Apostolic Nuncio to Hungary also took part. The first day was held in the Non-Commission Officer Academy. The Parties gained further knowledge about the past and the present of the Academy on the Training Field Csobánka. Dynamic and static demonstra-
tions have been presented regarding the C-IED and demolition capabilities of the Hungarian Defence Forces. The Szentendre base of the Academy gave home to the official meeting. Gábor Márki in his welcoming speech emphasized that mutual trust and understanding, biand multilateral cooperation, and also Smart Defence are important to reach the desired success. In his answer General Debertolis highlighted that the
excellent Italian-Hungarian relagive tions good basis to the fruitful cooperation. He indicated he that would catch all opportunities in order reach to common achievements. Significant result of the meeting is that in accordance with the HADIK Plan Hungary will ora ganise Defence Industry Conference with participation of the decisive defence industry players of the two nations in the second half this year. In the end of the meeting the Parties agreed to meet every year so as to discuss the most relevant bilateral issues and to deepen the cooperation as well. On the second day General Debertolis was invited for an office call by Lajos Fodor, Administrative State Secretary of Ministry of Defence, and by Balázs Hidvéghi, State Secretary for External Economic Relations and International Affairs of the Ministry of National Economy. The visit ended on the Pápa Air Base where the participants have been informed about the capabilities of the NATO Airlift Management Agency, the Heavy Airlift Wing and the NATO Strategic Airlift Capability as well.
More than 4 thousand new jobs to be created at SMEs (Online 05 Jun) In February the Ministry for National Economy invited tenders from micro-, small and medium sized enterprises aimed at creating new jobs. Similarly to previous years, interest was quite keen in the support programme. In order to gain access to the amount of 10bn HUF provided by the National Employment Fund, 750 competitions which requested subsidies of altogether 10.3bn HUF have been received by employment centers where they could be mailed to.
After a strict screening procedure of form and substance, 584 enterprises were awarded non-refundable grants totaling 7.3bn HUF in order to create 4010 new jobs. The subsidy will also help preserve 6234 jobs, as applicants have promised to maintain current payroll numbers for at least two more years. Grants are primarily aimed at helping fund the purchasing of new machinery, equipment and technical apparatus as well as the building of new facilities. The success of the competi-
tion has proven that via relevant planning and apt tender invitation resources can really get to where they are most needed: to such domestic SMEs which have fought hard for funding without which no new jobs could have been created. Among applicants those from disadvantaged regions had been favoured and as a result, the 87.4 percent of the money which was awarded is received by four disadvantaged regions of the country.