Bush marks 50th anniversary of Hungarian uprising

Budapest, June 22: US President George W Bush marks the 50th anniversary of Hungary's 1956 uprising against Soviet rule today with a speech advocating the importance of democracy in an area long dominated by Russia.

Bush's 15th trip to Europe ends in the Hungarian capital, where the president will spend the day meeting Hungarian politicians.

He concludes with a wreath-laying ceremony at Kossuth Square then a democracy speech at Gellert Hill, which overlooks the river Danube and from which Soviet artillery bombarded city targets with mortars during the uprising.

On Oct. 23, 1956, thousands of Hungarians rose up against the Stalinist government and its Soviet supporters. The first Soviet tanks rolled in by October 24, but it was the massive offensive on November 4 which led to the uprising being crushed by the end of the year.

Aides said Bush was the primary author of the short speech he would deliver and cautioned that his remarks in no way were intended as a signal to Russia, which Washington believes is backsliding on democracy, but rather a simple remembrance of a historic time.

''This is not a policy speech, it's kind of a tone poem about the 1956 revolution,'' said White House spokesman Tony Snow.

''This is not a newsy speech.'' Bush is to visit St Petersburg in a month to attend a Group of Eight summit that Russian President Vladimir Putin is hosting.

While Bush has stated his concerns about Russia's democracy repeatedly, he has been working closely with Putin in trying to contain the nuclear ambitions of both North Korea and Iran.

Snow said Bush's remarks on the difficulty of building a democracy could be seen as relevant to the Middle East, where Washington hopes a stable, democratic Iraq will serve as an example for the entire region.

''There is some resonance with the Middle East,'' he said.

Bush's only other stop on his trip was in Vienna, where he participated in a U S-European Union summit dominated by Iran, North Korea, global trade and European concerns about the U S military prison at Guantanamo Bay.

He returns to Washington later on Thursday.

Reuters