 8/8/2016-With the active participation of AHF, the Central and East European Coalition issued a statement reaffirming the need for strong U.S. leadership in Europe. "The security of the United States lies in the peaceful expansion of democracy, not in the appeasement of aggressor states making imperial claims." [read more]
5/1/2016- AHF participates in drafting Central and East European Coalition Spring 2014 Policy Paper. The 2016 brief addresses Ukraine; NATO and Security in Central and Eastern Europe; the Visa Waiver Program and Immigration Reform; Energy Security; Democracy, Human and Minority Rights, the Rule of Law, and the Information War; US Assistance to and Promotion of Regional Democratic Governance; Trade and Economic Integration; Trade and Economic Integration; Energy; and Black Ribbon Day. [read more]
9/15/2014 - AHF participates in drafting Central and East European Coalition Fall 2014 Policy Paper. The 2014 brief addresses Ukraine; NATO and Security in Central and Eastern Europe; teh Visa Waiver Program and Immigration Reform; Energy Security; Democracy, Human and Minority Rights, the Rule of Law, and the Information War; US Assistance to and Promotion of Regional Democratic Governance; Trade and Economic democratic governance and the rule of law; Trade and Economic Integration; and Black Ribbon Day. [read more]
11/25/2013 - FALL 2013: AHF participates in drafting Central and East European Coalition (CEEC) Fall 2013 Policy Paper. It includes language on minority rights: "...support the equitable and prompt restitution of properties – including private, communal, and church properties – that had been illegally confiscated by governments of CEE, from ethnic minorities and the populations at large." [read more]
 5/29/2012 - AHF participates in drafting CEEC Policy Brief on minority rights and NATO expansion and issues multiple action alerts including: Supporting S. 2177, the NATO Enhancement Act, introduced by Sen. Richard Lugar to encourage
further enlargement of NATO and to deepen U.S. strategic partnerships with NATO allies. [read more]
 8/3/2011 -- The American Hungarian Federation and the Central and East European Coalition participate in a reception and Capitol Hill Policy Seminar entitled, "20 years: Three Perspectives on the Evolution of U.S. Strategic Engagement with Central and Eastern Europe." The purpose of the forum was to discuss Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and American foreign policy toward that region. The forum brought together two panels consisting of leading authorities on issues of concern to the United States and CEE. Moderated by AHF President Frank Koszorus, Jr. [read more]
  4/13/2011 - American Hungarian Federation Participates in Central and East European Coalition Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill... CEEC issues 2011 Policy Brief: The Advocacy Day involved meetings with key staffers in both the Senate and House of Representatives in the U.S. Congress where issues such as democracy development and human and minority rights; Russian influence; and visa waivers were dicussed. [read more]
 01/24/11 - CEEC and AHF Submit Letter to Secretary Clinton expressing deep concern over "brutal post-election crackdown by Lukashenka's (Lukashenko) regime on peaceful demonstrators, democratic activists, journalists and civil society" in Belarus. Frank Koszorus, Jr., AHF President and representative to the CEEC, added, "One can see the ignorance, bias, political opportunism, absurdity or ill-will of those who compare democratic Hungary to the repressive regime of Lukashenka's Belarus, as we have sadly noted these past few weeks."
[read more]
 9/23/2010 - AHF helps plan CEEC Advocacy Day in US Congress, drafts human / minority rights Policy Brief... The Central and East European Coalition (CEEC) held its Fall Advocacy Day - an all-day event during which the members visited scores of Congressional offices, including the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), to discuss key policy issues relating to Central and Eastern Europe such as human and minority rights concerns relative to Hungarians in the region, U.S. assistance, Russia's influence, NATO and energy security, and visa matters. [read more]
 7/5/2010 - AHF participates in Capitol Hill policy seminar on energy security, "Coercion in the European Energy Sector: Implications for the United States." The seminar was held on June 24, 2010 and sponsored by the Central and East European Coalition (CEEC) in cooperation with the Congressional Caucus on Central and Eastern Europe.
[read more]
 4/25/2009 - The American Hungarian Federation
Participates in White House Meeting... On April 24, 2009, the Central and East European Coalition (CEEC) met with Jeffrey M. Hovenier, Director for Central and Eastern Europe, National Security Council, and Katherine M. Helgerson, Director for Southeast European Affairs, National Security Council. [read more]
 7/25/2008 - American Hungarian Federation Participates in CEEC Meeting with Senator Schumer: Discusses Russia "Hegemony" statement... The American Hungarian Federation and other members of the Central East European Coalition (CEEC) met with Senator Charles Schumer (D–NY) this week. The purpose of the meeting was to seek clarification of statements contained in Senator Schumer’s June 3rd Wall Street Journal article that were susceptible to the interpretation that he condoned Russian designs on Central and Eastern Europe. [read more]
6/19/2008 - American Hungarian Federation Helps Plan and Participates in Successful CEEC Congressional Policy Discussion on Central and Eastern Europe... the Central and Eastern European Coalition (CEEC) sponsored a foreign policy roundtable discussion and reception on Capitol Hill. The purpose of the discussion was to analyze issues of interest to the members of the CEEC, including U.S. relations with Russia, enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and energy policies impacting the region. [read more]
 3/5/2008 - American Hungarian Federation Participates in Meetings With Senator Obama’s and Senator Clinton’s Foreign Policy Advisors...The Central and East European Coalition (CEEC), comprised of 19 national  organizations representing more than 22 million Americans, including the American Hungarian Federation (AHF), discussed a number of policy issues with presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton’s advisor, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Also present at the meeting was Mark Brzezinski and Lee Feinstein, Senator Clinton’s campaign National Security Director a Senior Fellow, U.S. Foreign Policy, and Deputy Director of Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. Thereafter, on Friday, February 29 the CEEC met with Anthony Lake, Ph.D., senior foreign policy advisor to Senator Barack Obama. [read more]
[< Back to all AHF news]
 3/3/2008 - American Hungarian Federation Raises Issue of Vojvodina Hungarians With Senator Senator Clinton’s Foreign Policy Advisor, Ron Asmus...[3/4/2008 - CEEC Press Release] On March 3 representatives of the 19 member organizations of the Central and East European Coalition (CEEC) spoke via conference call with Dr. Ron Asmus, foreign policy adviser to Senator Hillary Clinton's campaign. The discussion, which was a follow-up to a meeting with Secretary Madeline Albright and Senator Clinton's Campaign National Security Director, Lee Feinstein held last week in Washington, DC, touched upon numerous issues of concern to the member organizations of the CEEC. [read more]
 3/29/2006
- The American Hungarian Federation helps organize congressional
reception with the Central East European Coalition (CEEC). The
CEEC is a coalition of 18 national ethnic groups. The CEEC was a major
player in the first round of NATO's enlargement and promotes democratic
development in the region. The CEEC operates by strict consensus because
of the great diversity of members.
 The
reception's main focus was concerns over political developments in Belarus,
the former Soviet Republic, and Russia`s support for the policies of President
Alexander Lukashenko. The opposition says President Lukashenko, who has
led Belarus for more than a decade, has become increasingly authoritarian,
suppressing free speech and jailing democratic dissenters.
 With
elections in Belarus the main topic of concern, CEEC member Iryna Vidanava
delivered a speech urging democratic reform. She wrote, "This election
and the events after it are a victory for the Belarusian people. It is
a victory of freedom of spirit, of a strong desire for democracy and freedom.
The regime has suffered a defeat because the people overcame fear to express
and defend their opinions in the face of overwhelming state propaganda,
intimidation and repression. The regime is afraid of our people: it destroyed
a tent city with 500 kids in the dark of night, sent thousands of armed
troops to beat peaceful demonstrators, and put more than 2,000 people
in prison. Lukashenka has not appeared in public since, and his inauguration
has been postponed. The authorities do not disclose the number or names
of those arrested." [download
her speech]
[< Back to all AHF news]
 3/16/2006
- The American Hungarian Federation participates in protest
over anti-democratic developments in Belarus. In a show of solidarity
with fellow CEEC members, demonstrators gathered in front of the Belarusian
Embassy in Washington, DC on March 16 to protest against the authoritarian
regime of Alexander Lukashenko, and to offer support for the people of
that country. A week earlier, Belarusian opposition leader Vincuk Viacorka,
was arrested. Later that evening, a candlelight vigil was held by students
and supporters at Georgetown University.
[< Back to all AHF news]
5/11/2005 - AHF reacts to President Bush's
call for democratic reform in Belarus and urges the President to make
a symbolic gesture by participating in 1956 commemorations in Hungary:
The Washington Times
Letters to the editor
<http://www.washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20050510-084731-7448r.htm>
President Bush's acknowledgment on May 7 in Riga that the "captivity
of millions in Central and Eastern Europe will be remembered as one of
the greatest wrongs of history" was a bold and historically accurate
statement ("Bush urges elections in Belarus," Page 1, Sunday).
Mr. Bush, who did not mince words in Riga, should make another highly
symbolic gesture to underscore his message that the freedom of small nations
should not be expendable. He could do this by participating in the 50th-anniversary
commemoration of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, to be held in Budapest
next year. The Hungarian Revolution was the first major challenge to Soviet
imperialism in Central Europe after World War II.
While the world watched, a small nation desperately sought to regain
its freedom and succeeded in threatening the badly shaken Soviet leadership,
unmasking the true nature of Soviet-imposed communism, turning former
apologists of Stalinism worldwide and contributing to the collapse 34
years later of the Soviet system and Russian domination of Central and
Eastern Europe.
That collapse completed the liberation of all of Europe -- a liberation
postponed by the division of the continent 60 years ago. Celebrating the
Hungarian Revolution would commemorate the triumph of freedom and democracy
over totalitarianism and constitute a fitting capstone to the Moscow celebrations
this month.
Mr. Bush's participation would be greeted with great enthusiasm by Central
and Eastern Europeans who were deprived of freedom for decades as a result
of "one of the greatest wrongs of history" and would strengthen
America's ties with its new allies.
FRANK KOSZORUS JR.
President,
American Hungarian Federation
of Metropolitan Washington, D.C.
[< Back to all AHF news] |
About the CEEC
The Central and East European Coalition (CEEC) is comprised of 18 national organizations, including the American Hungarian Federation (AHF), whose members trace their heritage to Central and Eastern Europe. The CEEC raises issues of common concern to its diverse membersip, such as NATO's enlargement, energy security and visa waiver.
CEEC member organizations:
American Hungarian Federation
American Latvian Association
Armenian Assembly of America
Belarusan-American Association
Bulgarian Institute for Research and Analysis
Congress of Romanian Americans
Washington Chapter, Czechoslovak
National Council of America
Estonian American National Council
Georgian Association in the USA
Hungarian American Coalition
Joint Baltic American National Committee
Lithuanian American Council
Lithuanian American Community
National Federation of American Hungarians
Polish American Congress
Slovak League of America
Ukrainian Congress Committee of America
Ukrainian National Association
1612 K Street, NW, Suite 1200, Washington, D.C. 20006
| ceecoalition@gmail.com |
Related Articles
 8/26/2011 - Insights on the Balkan Wars and NATO enlargement from Dr. Michael Haltzel, who from 1994 - 20005 was Democratic Staff Director of the Subcommittee on European Affairs of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and foreign policy aide to U.S. Vice President (then Senator) Joseph R. Biden. Dr. Haltzel spoke at a recent CEEC forum moderated by AHF President Frank Koszorus, Jr. [read more]
8/5/2011 -- AHF submits statement to Congressional Committee on Foreign Affairs, Subcommittee on Europe and Eurasia. The statement focuses on three issues: (1) minority rights as the prerequisite to democracy in the multi-national states of Romania and Slovakia; (2) the intolerance of and discrimination against the Hungarian minorities living there; and (3) the need for balanced and informed judgments relating to Hungary. AHF also called on Slovakia to rehabilitate Janos Esterhazy.
[read more]
Additional AHF Articles
 You will need the free Adobe Reader to open the following files. Click the image to download.
Articles and Essays by AHF Members
- "NATO Enlargement" by Frank Koszorus Jr. March 29, 2004
Remarks on the Occasion of the Enlargement of NATO, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C. [download]
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- "Nato Enlargement And Minority Rights: Prerequisites To Security" by Frank Koszorus, Jr., April 2003
A memorandum that was submitted to Robert A. Bradtke, Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs, and Heather A. Conley, Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs during a roundtable discussion on "NATO Enlargement and the Current State of the Trans-Atlantic Alliance." This submission follows several other intiatives, including submissions to Lord Roberston, Secretary General of NATO. [download]
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- “Nato Enlargement: Promoting Western Values, Strengthening The Alliance” by Frank Koszorus, Jr., April 29, 2003
A Statement Before The United States Senate Committee On Foreign Relations.
[download]
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- "U.S. Senate Unanimously Ratifies Nato Treaty; Senators Raise Rights Of Minorities: Federation Supports Efforts Aimed At Encouraging Romania And Slovakia To Respect Rights Of Hungarian Minorities And Restore Communal Properties" - Press Release by Zoltan Bagdy, May 9, 2003 [download]
Congressional Resolutions and Records
- H.RES 191 - A RESOLUTION urging the "prompt and fair restitution of church properties by Romania and Slovakia - TOM LANTOS / TOM TANCREDO (April 6th 2005) in the House of Representatives [download]
- A RESOLUTION REGARDING THE ISSUE OF TRANSYLVANIAN HUNGARIANS -- HON. DONALD E. `BUZ' LUKENS (Extension of Remarks - February 26, 1990) in the House of Representatives [download]
- VIOLENCE IN TRANSYLVANIA -- HON. DON RITTER (Extension of Remarks - March 22, 1990) in the House of Representatives [download]
- Transylvanian Monitor #14: Property Restitution.
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