Hungarian television has requested a taped statement from the President
for broadcast prior to the U.S. visit of Prime Minister Grosz. We
understand this taping may occur on Thursday, July 14. At Tab A is a
suggested text for this statement, as supplied by our Embassy in
Budapest and amended in the NSC. The
original incoming cable from Embassy is at Tab B.2
Tab A
Paper Prepared in the National Security Council3
PRESIDENT’S STATEMENT FOR HUNGARIAN TELEVISION
Thank you for this opportunity to address the Hungarian people at the
start of the trip of Prime Minister Karoly Grosz (pronounce: GROSS) to the United
States. I am pleased not only with Mr. Grosz’s visit, but with his
willingness to meet with many different Americans and explore a
number of regions of the United States, from San Francisco and Los
Angeles in the west, to Chicago in the midwest, to New York and New
England, a well as to our national capital. It is my belief that
through personal contacts and shared experiences such as these we
can overcome prejudices and stereotypes, and provide the foundation
to make further progress in our bilateral relationship to the mutual
benefit of our peoples.
Of course, you know that American-Hungarian relations go far back and
predate the current improvement in relations. Americans have
benefitted richly from the contributions of Hungarian immigrants
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to American life.
Hungarians have demonstrated their enormous talent and genius in
America, from George Szell and Eugene Ormandy in music, to Nobel
prizewinners Albert Szent-Gyorgyi and Jerome Wigner in biology and
physics.
More recently, I was moved while watching the final return of Bela
Bartok to Budapest and am proud and honored that America was able to
provide a sanctuary for him during the second world war.
In the film industry, which I know well, the legendary Hungarian
director, George Cukor, found himself facing so many Hungarian
aspirants for his productions that he felt compelled to put a sign
on his office reading, “It’s not enough to be Hungarian, you have to
have talent, too.” And certainly many talented Hungarians found
their way into this industry. One of the best known, Tony Curtis, is
also actively involved in promoting contacts between our
peoples.
In the economic area, we are following with interest the bold reforms
calling for the exercise of greater responsibility by individual
managers, broader scope for private enterprise, and growing
competitiveness among companies.
We welcome encouragement of international joint ventures and the
recently announced opportunities for direct foreign investment in
Hungarian firms. Clearly, there is recognition on both sides of the
mutual benefits of economic cooperation. We are confident that
determined movement toward a market-oriented economy will result in
greater opportunities for Hungarians, and allow Hungary to take its
rightful place in the modern, high-technology world which we are
entering.
Hungarian leaders have noted that economic reform cannot move forward
without political reform. We strongly share this view. We welcome
the increasingly open discussions on democratization, pluralism, and
a greater role for Parliament and the press. We look forward to the
full implementation of these
important reforms in Hungary because we know that respect for human
rights and democratic processes is the key to peace and prosperity,
both within individual countries and in the international
community.
In recent years, our bilateral relations have been steadily improving
in many areas: from the return of the Crown of St. Stephen ten years
ago to the recent surge in academic and cultural exchanges. We are
prepared to work diligently to expand such contacts further.
There was—just in the first half of this year—a 30 percent increase
in visas issued to Hungarians to visit the U.S. This clearly
demonstrates the expansion in professional and tourist traffic
between our two countries. We hope many more of you will come to see
the United States firsthand. We welcome the easing of Hungarian
travel restrictions, which will almost certainly result in many more
Americans visiting Hungary in the coming years.
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Prime Minister Grosz is visiting during a time of promise. I am
convinced that there are excellent prospects for improving East-West
relations in a wide range of important areas. Hungary has played and
can continue to play a valued role in this larger East-West
relationship. We look forward to continuing ever richer contacts
with the Hungarian people and send our best wishes for your
success.
Thank you and God bless you.
