RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE  6 September 1999

OSCE COMMISSIONER LAUDS SLOVAK MINORITY LANGUAGE LAW. At the
end of his two-day visit to Slovakia, OSCE Commissioner on
National Minorities Max van der Stoel told journalists that
the new Slovak law on the use of minority languages in
contacts with the authorities is "a considerable step
forward" and is likely to improve relations between ethnic
minorities and the Slovak majority, SITA reported. Van der
Stoel heard complaints about the law's shortcomings from
Hungarian Coalition Party leader Bela Bugar, while Movement
for a Democratic Slovakia Chairman Vladimir Meciar criticized
the legislation, saying the law gives minorities wider rights
than elsewhere and encourages Hungarian "irredentism." Van
der Stoel also discussed the situation of the Roma minority
with Prime Minister Dzurinda and Pal Csaky, deputy premier in
charge of minority affairs. MS

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