OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 208, Part II, 25 October 1995

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On Friday, 27 October, OMRI will publish a Russian Election Survey --
the first in its series of special reports on important developments.
Distributed as a supplement to the OMRI Daily Digest, the Russian
Election Survey will appear twice a week and contain the latest news
about developments in the election campaign in Russia. Future
supplements will also focus on important events in Eastern European
countries.
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SLOVAK CABINET APPROVES DRAFT LANGUAGE LAW. The government on 24 October
passed a controversial bill on the country's official language. Approved
in June but since modified, the bill deals with the use of the Slovak
language in state offices, schools, courts, the army, the media, and at
cultural events. It also requires that all goods sold have instructions
in Slovak. (Another bill approved the same day on the audiovisual
industry requires that Czech and other foreign films be subtitled or
dubbed in Slovak.) Culture Ministry spokeswoman Marta Podhradska pointed
out that, if passed by the parliament, the new language law would
override a 1990 version allowing for the use of minority languages in
some official contexts. Ethnic Hungarian deputies on 24 October issued a
strong statements rejecting the bill. Meanwhile, Arpad Duka-Zolyomi of
Coexistence told CTK that although Hungarian deputies want to support
the ratification of the Slovak-Hungarian treaty, they will not do so if
the parliament passes the language bill and modifications to the treaty.
-- Sharon Fisher

UPDATE ON HUNGARIAN-ROMANIAN RELATIONS. Prime Minister Gyula Horn,
meeting with Hungarian Democratic Alliance of Romania head Bela Marko on
24 October, said the Hungarian government will support the alliance in,
among other things, its efforts to secure autonomy for the Hungarian
minority in Romania, Magyar Hirlap reported the next day. The two men
said that Budapest-Bucharest relations are somewhat ambivalent because,
while intergovernmental relations are improving, anti-minority practices
in Romania appear to be on the rise. Referring to Romania's
controversial legislation on education and the law forbidding the
hoisting of foreign flags, Marko said Romanian President Ion Iliescu's
proposal for a historic reconciliation "contrasts with reality". The
proposal will be discussed by Hungarian and Romanian foreign affairs
officials in a few weeks. -- Zsofia Szilagyi

ROMANIAN STUDENTS ARE OPTIMISTIC BUT CONTINUE PROTESTS. Cristian Urse,
leader of the Bucharest University Students League, on 24 October told
Radio Bucharest that he was "optimistic" about the outcome of
negotiations with the authorities on the students' demands. But he added
that the protests will continue in order to make sure that the
government honors its commitments. Government's secretary-general Viorel
Hrebenciuc told representatives of the striking students that the
authorities would meet their demands. The main bone of contention
remains students' proposals for amendments to the recently adopted
education law. In a veiled reference to the Hungarian Democratic
Federation of Romania, Senate chairman Oliviu Gherman suggested that
changing the text of the education law might lead to a "Pandora's box of
revisions." He proposed that the students' claims be addressed in a
separate piece of legislation. -- Dan Ionescu

[As of 12:00 CET]

Compiled by Jan Cleave