OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 161, 20 August 1996

HUNGARIAN UPDATE. Hungary's political and cultural leaders on 19 August
attended celebrations commemorating the 1,100th anniversary of
Hungarians' arrival in the Carpathian basin, international media
reported. In a public address, Prime Minister Gyula Horn paid special
attention to the importance of settling relations with Hungary's
neighbors. Meanwhile, the World Federation of Hungarians on 18 August
announced its opposition to the Hungarian-Romanian basic treaty--
particularly since collective rights for ethnic Hungarians are not
guaranteed--and asked Hungary to reconsider its stance, the BBC reported
two days later. Following a meeting in Budapest on 19 August with
representatives of the Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania,
Miklos Duray of the Bratislava-based Coexistence movement said Hungarian
minority representatives will ask for more discussions with Horn, TASR
reported. -- Sharon Fisher

ROMANIAN NATIONALISTS STEP UP ATTACKS ON TREATY WITH HUNGARY. Gheorghe
Funar, leader of the chauvinistic Party of Romanian National Unity, on
19 August continued to attack the recent agreement on a Romanian-
Hungarian basic treaty. In a statement broadcast by Radio Bucharest,
Funar rejected accusations by President Ion Iliescu's spokesman that he
was "grossly misinforming" the public about the meaning of key clauses
in the treaty. Funar also claimed that the negotiation of the treaty
lacked transparency. He said the draft has remained unknown to the
government, political parties, parliamentary commissions, and the media.
Funar challenged Iliescu to take part in a public debate on national TV.
-- Dan Ionescu

[As of 12:00 CET]

Compiled by Tim Rostan