OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 115, 13 June 1996

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SLOVAK PRESIDENT ON FIRST OFFICIAL VISIT TO HUNGARY. Slovak President
Michal Kovac in Budapest on 12 June reassured Hungary that Slovakia will
respect the rights of its Hungarian minority and said he would urge
Slovak legislators to pass a law on the use of minority languages,
Hungarian dailies and international media reported. The Slovak
government introduced a controversial language law late last year that
allowed only Slovak to be used in public places. The government promised
to pass a law on the protection of minority languages but has so far
failed to put the bill before parliament, provoking strong criticism
from Kovac. On this first official visit, Kovac also supported an out-
of-court settlement in the Gabcikovo dam dispute and called on
Hungarians and Slovaks to work for reconciliation between their
countries. -- Zsofia Szilagyi

HUNGARIAN PREMIER SAYS VISEGRAD FOUR SHOULD JOIN EU SIMULTANEOUSLY. "It
is in Hungary's interest that the Visegrad countries become members of
the EU simultaneously and in the first round of enlargement," Gyula Horn
told visiting Slovak President Michal Kovac on 12 June, MTI reported.
Meanwhile, President Arpad Goncz assured Kovac that it is not in
Hungary's interest to keep Slovakia out of any European organization.
The present Hungarian government has repeatedly stressed that it
supports its neighbors' accession to Western organizations, while the
previous Antall-Boross government abstained from the Council of Europe
vote on Slovakia's and Romania's membership in 1993. Budapest also
attempted to block Slovakia's accession to the CSCE in 1992. -- Zsofia
Szilagyi

[As of 1200 CET]

Compiled by Susan Caskie


OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 116, 14 June 1996

ZYUGANOV QUESTIONS OPINION POLL REPORTS. "We are confidently heading
toward the election and, in fact, have already won," Communist candidate
Gennadii Zyuganov told ITAR-TASS on 13 June. Zyuganov rejected recent
opinion polls showing Yeltsin in the lead, saying that two-thirds of the
country support the program of his bloc. If victorious, he said that he
would form a government of national trust based on consultations with
major business and political groups, NTV reported. He said that he
considers the presidency a "heavy burden" and that if he was not
committed to public service "with my connections, I could become a very
rich man in Russia." He invited Yeltsin to a televised debate on 14
June. The main candidates did not show up for debates planned on 13
June, however, and ORT canceled them. Zyuganov refused to participate in
Yeltsin's absence. Meanwhile, the Hungarian newspaper Magyar Hirlap
confirmed the authenticity of Zyuganov's recent interview praising
Stalin, noting that historian Miklos Kun had recorded it on 31 May, the
BBC reported, citing MTI (see OMRI Daily Digest, 11 June 1996). -- Robert
Orttung

HUNGARIAN, SLOVAK PRESIDENTS STRESS NEED FOR RECONCILIATION. Hungarian
President Arpad Goncz said the opportunity and historical necessity of
reconciliation between Slovakia and Hungary have been brought to the
fore by the signing of the basic treaty, the visit by Slovak President
Michal Kovac, and the acceleration of European integration, Hungarian
dailies reported on 14 June. There was no public mention of Slovakia's
intensifying domestic conflicts or the Meciar-led government's attitude
toward Hungary. Commenting on Hungarian minority rights in Slovakia,
Kovac said he had received a pledge from the Slovak government that a
bill on minority languages would be drafted. The Bratislava-based
Hungarian Civic Party on 13 June welcomed Kovac's visit to Hungary and
expressed hope that it is a step toward historic reconciliation. The
party noted, however, that the visit shows that there are two faces to
Slovak politicians, since the ruling coalition is not interested in good
relations with Hungary. -- Zsofia Szilagyi and Sharon Fisher

INTERNET ADOPTION SCANDAL IN HUNGARY. Hungarian Welfare Ministry
officials have criticized a Hungarian-U.S. company, East-West Concepts,
over an advertisement for Romani children for adoption, AFP reported on
13 June. The Welfare Ministry asserts that the Internet ads are illegal
and violate the children's rights because they include the children's
personal data and photographs, which may have been illegally released to
the company by directors of state children's care homes. The ministry
has launched an investigation. The president of East-West Concepts,
Janos Samu, countered that the children's rights are protected because
prospective parents are not given a child's address until Hungarian
authorities agree to the adoption. -- Alaina Lemon

DEFENSE MINISTER URGES NATO TO ADMIT ROMANIA. Gheorghe Tinca on 13 June
urged NATO not to leave Romania out of the countries admitted to the
organization, Reuters reported. He said such a decision would jeopardize
Romania's political, military, and economic reforms and threaten
regional stability. He added that the move would lead to tension over
"extremist" claims made by members of the Hungarian minority in
Transylvania. Tinca also said the country would have to pursue entirely
different strategies if it were left uncertain about its chances. --
Michael Shafir

[As of 1200 CET]

Compiled by Susan Caskie
Compiled by Victor Gomez