RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE  15 November 1999

ETHNIC HUNGARIAN PARTY RE-ELECTS CHAIRMAN IN SLOVAKIA. Bela
Bugar was re-elected chairman of the Hungarian Coalition
Party at a party congress on 14 November, TASR reported. The
party is a member of the governing coalition in Slovakia.
Deputy Prime Minister Pal Csaky, who had initially run for
the post, eventually dropped out of the race. VG

SUMMIT OF ETHNIC HUNGARIANS REACHES COMPROMISE. A summit of
ethnic Hungarian groups in Budapest on 12 November approved a
document recommending that Hungarian law codify the status of
ethnic Hungarians living outside the country. The document
also states that the Hungarian government firmly supports
efforts by the Hungarian minority in the Serbian province of
Vojvodina to obtain autonomy. It stops short of demanding
that ethnic Hungarians who are citizens of other countries be
granted voting rights in Hungary. But Foreign Minister Janos
Martonyi said Hungarian citizens living abroad "should be
given voting rights, as that is not an ethnic or geographical
matter." Ethnic Hungarian leaders from Romania, Slovakia, and
Vojvodina supported the document. MSZ

SERBIAN OPPOSITION PARTIES CLAIM TO BE UNITED AGAINST
MILOSEVIC... Serbian opposition politicians pledged on 14
November to unite their efforts to force Yugoslav President
Slobodan Milosevic from power, Reuters reported. More than 50
leading opposition activists signed a declaration after a
three-day meeting in the Hungarian town of Szentendre that
states their main tasks are to form an alliance, oust the
current government, and hold free elections. The document
also called on the international community to immediately
lift sanctions against Serbia. The talks were organized by
Yugoslav Prince Aleksandar Karadjordjevic, who also announced
that he is willing to become king of Yugoslavia under a
constitutional monarchy. Alliance for Change leader Zoran
Djindjic attended the talks, as did the leader of the Serbian
Orthodox Church, Bishop Artemije. Serbian Renewal Movement
leader Vuk Draskovic did not attend, claiming he feared for
his safety. PB

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