The state of Hungary is retaking possession of the Táncsics Prison from the US government after six decades. OSA says the House would assume its proper place and function in Hungarian history if it were devoted to one of the basic values of democratic states and a fundamental demand of the 1848 revolution: the freedom of speech and the rights and liberties closely related to it. OSA is proposing a public space that will serve as a museum, a memorial site, a venue for cultural and artistic events, an educational center and a forum for debating current issues related to the theory and practice of free speech and its relatives.
Rév said the OSA had made a twelve-point outline of areas such an institution should touch on. Among them were freedom of thought, freedom of religion, the history of the freedom of speech, the history of censorship and propaganda, and samizdat as an element in the struggle against censorship and state propaganda. Also included were hate speech, authorship rights, the order of information and online speech.
It is hoped the "freedom of speech house" can be established solely with the donations by private individuals. We have not contacted the state, "first we want to talk with the public about the matter," Rév said.
The freedom of speech house would aim to educate high school and university students in an interactive manner, said Iván Székely, a specialist in information in society and one of the founders of the data protection office.
The United States agreed to return the Táncsics Prison to Hungary on the 50th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution, though the transfer will not take place until the middle of next year. In exchange for the former prison, Hungary will give the US two buildings on Szabadság tér, where the American embassy is located.
Source: Múlt-kor
