OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 20, 27 January 1995


ROMANIAN-HUNGARIAN DISPUTE CONTINUES. The Party of Social Democracy in
Romania, the main ruling party, has said the Romanian government never
proposed to ban the Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania. In a
declaration broadcast by Radio Bucharest on 26 January, the PSDR
rejected the claim by six Hungarian parliamentary parties (see OMRI
Daily Digest, 24 January 1994) that Romanian democracy was endangered,
saying that ethnic minority rights are more respected in Romania than in
Hungary. The PSDR added that the democratization process in Romania is
threatened only by the HDFR's policies of promoting "personal, local
government, and territorial autonomy" based on ethnic criteria. In
another development, Nicolae Taran, vice president of the Party of Civic
Alliance, told Radio Bucharest that the HDFR's demands for autonomy make
it impossible for his party to continue collaborating with it. Both the
PCA and the HDFR are members of the opposition Democratic Convention of
Romania. Taran said the DCR must immediately take a clear position
opposing that of the HDFR, unless it wants to be perceived by the
electorate as an organization pursuing anti-national interests. -
Michael Shafir, OMRI, Inc.

[As of 12:00 CET]

Compiled by Jan Cleave

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27 January 1995
Volume 2, Issue 20

REGIONAL NEWS
-------------

**EUROPEAN DELGATION HEADS TO CHECHNYA**
  The Hungarian head of an Organization on Security and
  Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE, delegation on its way to
  Chechnya is insisting he can't act as a mediator in the
  conflict there.  Istvan Gyarmati, Hungary's ambassador to the
  OSCE, says the delegation had important talks with Russian
  officials in Moscow ahead of its fact finding mission to
  Chechnya.  The OSCE says it wants to help Russia hold free
  elections in Chechnya.  The delegation will begin its mission
  today in Mozdok, the North Ossetian town where Russia has its
  miltary command.  Tomorrow it'll move to the capital of
  neighboring Ingushetia and then go on Sunday to the heart of
  the Chechen conflict, the Chechen capital Grozny.  Russia
  stepped up its bombardment of Grozny's suburbs yesterday,
  sending its residents fleeing in a steady stream of cars along
  a southern road which the Russians have left open.  But
  Russian troops fired at some of the cars.  Chechen fighters
  are vowing not to give up, threatening to bring their struggle
  to Moscow.

BUSINESS NEWS
-------------

**BUDAPEST CHECKS OUT ON HUNGARHOTELS DEAL**
  Separate reports from Hungarian Radio and the daily newspaper
  Nepszabadsag say the government has firmly declared the
  HungarHotels deal dead.  And a Swiss firm has reportedly
  withdrawn its $240 million offer for a 51 percent stake
  in the chain.  But another report says the offer was rejected
  by Hungary's State Property Agency because it was submitted to
  the Justice Ministry by mistake.  Now, the agency says the
  tender is invalid.  It plans to issue a report on the future
  of HungarHotels by mid-March.  The chain may or may not be
  privatized.  Earlier this month, the government received
  strong criticism from the investment community when it changed
  the terms of a deal with American General Hospitality.  AGH
  was going to buy 51 percent of the chain for $57.5 million.

**BUDAPEST EXCHANGE TO OFFER FUTURES MARKET**
  The Budapest Stock Exchange has announced plans to offer
  trading in treasury bills and futures in the next few months.
  The move has sparked criticism from Hungary's existing futures
  market -- the Budapest Commodities Exchange, or BCE.  The head
  of the commodities exchange, Szergej Keresztesi, says any
  competition in futures trading would hurt both markets.  But
  stock exchange officials say they have no intention of
  competing with the BCE. Budapest is the only country in
  Central Europe with a futures exchange.

ABOUT CET ON-LINE
-----------------

**CET On-Line - copyright 1995 Word Up! Inc. All rights reserved.
  This publication may be freely forwarded, archived, or
  otherwise distributed in electronic format only so long as
  this notice, and all other information contained in this
  publication is included.  For-profit distribution of this
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OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 19, Part II, 26 January 1995


HUNGARIAN AND SLOVAK PREMIERS READY TO SIGN BASIC TREATY. Gyula Horn and
his Slovak counterpart, Vladimir Meciar, told a press conference in
Budapest on 25 January that they expected to sign the basic treaty
between their two countries by 21 March. They noted that the treaty
would include clauses on the inviolability of existing borders, the
renunciation of territorial claims, and a statement of general
principles on minority rights, MTI reports. The two leaders said they
would also sign the European Council's convention on the protection of
minorities in Strasbourg on 1 February. In addition, Meciar agreed to
increase the water flow into the Danube to counter ecological
destruction caused by the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros hydroelectric project. -
Edith Oltay


CROATIA AND BOSNIA CALL FOR US MEDIATION. AFP reports on 26 January that
the Zagreb and Sarajevo governments have asked Washington to set up a
three-way meeting to discuss problems in implementing the Croatian-
Muslim federation. Elsewhere, Reuters and Croatian media announce that
the newly repaired Adria pipeline connecting the Croatian coast with
Central Europe is slated to start pumping oil again. Hungary and the
Czech Republic are expected to be the big beneficiaries of the
reopening, which is the result of last month's Croatian-Serbian economic
agreement. Croatia will profit mainly from transit fees. Hina reports
that Milorad Pupovac has announced that a new ethnic Serbian party in
Croatia, the Independent Serbian Party (SSS), will be founded on 29
January. Pupovac is a professor and a prominent figure among those Serbs
living in areas under Croatian government control. The SSS is the latest
in a series of his efforts to establish strong Serbian representation in
what most Serbs regard as a repressive atmosphere. - Patrick Moore


ROMANIAN POLITICIAN EXACERBATES CONFLICT WITH HUNGARIANS . . . In a
press release broadcast by Radio Bucharest on 25 January, Gheorghe
Funar, leader of the extreme nationalist Party of Romanian National
Unity, reiterated his party's intention to outlaw the Hungarian
Democratic Federation of Romania. He said the PRNU has asked the
government to seize "illegally obtained weapons" from members of the
Hungarian ethnic minority; to punish those Romanian citizens who display
Hungarian flags or sing the Hungarian national anthem on Romanian
territory; to test the knowledge of the Romanian language and
constitution among ethnic Hungarian state employees; and to sack or
retire all members of the HDFR who work in the armed forces, the
Interior Ministry, the Justice Ministry, and the Romanian Intelligence
Service. - Michael Shafir

. . . AND ANGERS COALITION PARTNER. The Party of Social Democracy in
Romania, the PRNU's coalition partner, said Funar's statement was
"mistaken and dressed in extremist nuances," Radio Bucharest reported on
26 January. President Ion Iliescu was quoted by the same radio station
as saying the PRNU's leader's statement contradicts government policy as
well as the recent collaboration agreement signed by the PRNU, the PSDU,
and two extreme nationalist parties. The agreement, he noted, excludes
any form of "exclusivism and chauvinism." Meanwhile, in an interview
with AFP on 25 January, Hungarian Prime Minister Gyula Horn called on
Bucharest to drop proposals to ban the HDFR. Horn said that Romanian
Justice Minister Iosif Gavril Chiuzbaian's call for a ban "is contrary
to all that has been said during our meetings, and the wording of such
intentions does not help the improvement of ties." - Michael Shafir and
Edith Oltay

[As of 1200 CET]

Compiled by Victor Gomez and Jan Cleave

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OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 21, 30 January 1995

HUNGARIAN FINANCE MINISTER RESIGNS. Laszlo Bekesi announced his decision
to resign at a meeting of the Hungarian Socialist Party's parliamentary
group on 28 January in Siofok, MTI and Western news agencies report.
Bekesi cited differences of opinion between himself and Prime Minister
Gyula Horn over the pace of economic reforms and privatization. Earlier
this month, Horn stopped a transaction to privatize a Hungarian hotel
chain and dismissed the official in charge of privatization. Bekesi
strongly disapproved and correctly predicted that Horn's intervention
with the privatization process would send negative signals to foreign
investors. Bekesi also rejected Horn's latest proposal to appoint a
privatization minister and thereby take responsibility for privatization
out of the domain of the finance ministry. The privatization minister is
to report directly to the prime minister. -- Edith Oltay, OMRI, Inc.

ROMANIAN CABINET ON HUNGARIAN ISSUE. In a statement released on 27
January, Romania's government expressed "deep concern over recent
actions" taken by the Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania, the
main political organization of the country's Hungarian minority. The
communique accused the HDFR of seeking "ethnic autonomy," which it
described as being alien to the spirit of the Romanian Constitution and
the laws on local administration. The government, the statement added,
was not prepared to make any concessions on the issue. Also on 27
January, Viorel Hrebenciuc, Secretary General of the Romanian
government, returned from Budapest, where he had apparently tried to
mend the bilateral ties affected by recent polemics over the future of
the Hungarian minority in Romania. A meeting with Hungarian Premier
Gyula Horn was canceled at short notice. In a separate development,
Bishop Laszlo Toekes said at a press conference in Budapest that the
anti-Magyar drive staged by nationalist and communist forces in Romania
could "jeopardize the democratic process" in that country. He further
said that accusations that he had collaborated with the communist secret
police were a "calumny" and an attempt to crush the democratic
opposition in Romania. -- Dan Ionescu, OMRI, Inc.

[As of 1200 CET]

Compiled by Steve Kettle

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date=1/29/95
type=correspondent report
number=2-173140
title=Hungary Resignation (l)
byline=Stefan Bos
dateline=Budapest
content=

voiced at:

Intro:  Hungarian Finance Minister Laszlo Bekesi has resigned in
a dispute over the future of privatization with the Prime
Minister Gyula Horn.  As Stefan Bos reports from Budapest, Mr.
Bekesi announced his resignation over the weekend at a meeting of
the governing Hungarian Socialist Party.

Text:  Hungarian Finance Minister Laszlo Bekesi, the architect of
economic reforms, said differences over who controls the
privatization program was the main reason behind his resignation.

Mr. Bekesi referred to a proposal of socialist (former communist)
Prime Minister Gyula Horn, who wants to create a separate
privatization ministry under his own control.  So far,
privatization was under the jurisdiction of Mr. Bekesi.

Earlier this month, a director of privatization was forced to
resign after Mr. Horn, at the last minute, blocked the sale of
Hungary's last state-owned hotel chain to an American management
company.  Mr. Horn argued the already agreed price of about 58
million dollars was too low.

But Mr. Horn told reporters recently that he is concerned with
more than just revenues from privatization. He says he also wants
to pay attention to unemployment as a result of privatization and
how it affects the prices of public utilities.  His policy seems
to echo the concerns of trade unions and other organizations that
fear the sale of state assets.

But reformists within Mr. Horn's socialist party and within his
coalition party -- the liberal free democrats -- say this policy
endangers  not  only the privatization process, but also
Hungary's image in the west.

Neb/sb/fa-t/bg

29-Jan-95 9:14 am est (1414 utc)
nnnn

source: Voice of America

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