OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 160, 19 August 1996

SLOVAK PRIME MINISTER ON RELATIONS WITH HUNGARY. Speaking on Slovak
Radio on 16 August, Vladimir Meciar commented on the declaration
issued at last month's ethnic Hungarian summit in Budapest that
called for autonomy for ethnic Hungarians in neighboring countries.
Meciar said the declaration is a continuance of the "permanent
effort, apparent in Slovakia since 1918, to renew greater Hungary
under various pretexts." He continued: "We understand these
autonomy [efforts] as the first step. . . . We have the right to
request that the Hungarian government publicly distance itself from
the signing of the document as an act that conflicts with
international law." The Slovak prime minister added, however, that
such a distancing is not a condition for a meeting with his
Hungarian counterpart, Gyula Horn. Meciar said his recently
canceled meeting with Horn had been postponed after "mutual
agreement." -- Sharon Fisher

SLOVAK POLITICAL ROUNDUP. Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar attended
the inauguration of the second of Slovakia's eight new
administrative regions in Nitra on 18 August, Slovak media
reported. Meciar stressed the importance of the new administrative
plan, the main goal of which is "decentralization and bringing the
state administration closer to the citizen." The Hungarian minority
accounts for more than 30% of the population in the Nitra region,
and the publicly elected mayors of three Hungarian-dominated
districts refused to attend the ceremony. Ethnic Hungarian
politicians have criticized the new system, as have opposition
representatives, who claim it strengthens the position of Meciar's
Movement for a Democratic Slovakia. -- Sharon Fisher

CARTER AWARDED PRIZE IN HUNGARY. Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter
on 17 August received Hungary's Order of Merit for contributing to
the development of bilateral ties and for returning St. Stephen's
crown in 1978, international media reported. The crown, a Hungarian
national symbol, was confiscated by the Nazis during World War II
and later captured by Americans. It remained in the United States
until Carter returned it to Hungary. Hungarian President Arpad
Goncz noted that the crown's return "fundamentally changed
bilateral relations and triggered the process of deep change [in
Hungary]." Last week, Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, helped build
10 new houses for the socially disadvantaged in the northern
Hungarian town of Vac under the auspices of U.S.-based Habitat for
Humanity. Carter and his wife were given the key to the city of
Budapest by Mayor Gabor Demszky, and Carter announced Habitat for
Humanity's plans to build houses in Budapest for Roma. -- Sharon
Fisher

HUNGARIAN OPINION POLL RESULTS. A poll carried out by Szonda Ipsos
showed that trust in the Hungarian government was up slightly in
July over the previous month, reaching 51.7%, Hungarian media
reported on 17 August. Among the individual ministers, respondents
had the most trust in Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs (69%),
followed by Defense Minister Gyorgy Keleti (61%). Prime Minister
Gyula Horn had the trust of only 49% of respondents, putting him in
ninth place. The most popular politician was President Arpad Goncz,
with the trust of 75% of respondents in July. Kovacs was next with
65%, followed by Budapest Mayor Gabor Demszky with 62%. -- Sharon
Fisher

U.S. WELCOMES ROMANIAN-HUNGARIAN BASIC TREATY. The U.S. State
Department on 15 August welcomed the successful negotiation of a
bilateral basic treaty between Romania and Hungary, RFE/RL reported
the following day. The statement described the agreement as a
"significant breakthrough" that demonstrates the two countries'
commitment to European integration. Meanwhile, politicians in
Hungary and Romania continued to react to the event. Hungarian
Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs on 16 August told representatives of
parliamentary parties that Budapest had "made no concessions" to
the Romanian side. A spokesman for Romanian President Ion Iliescu
on 17 August described as "an act of gross disinformation" a
statement released by Gheorghe Funar, the leader of the
chauvinistic Party of Romanian National Unity, warning of dangers
posed by the treaty. The extreme-nationalist Greater Romania Party
called for the postponement of the treaty's signing until after the
November presidential and parliamentary elections. -- Dan Ionescu

[As of 12:00 CET]

Compiled by Tim Rostan