OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 230, 28 November 1995

SLOVAK ROUNDUP. Foreign Minister Juraj Schenk on 27 November told
journalists that "the political will" does exist in Slovakia to ratify
the bilateral treaty with Hungary. Slovak parliamentary committees will
begin discussion of the treaty on 28 November, and it is likely that it
will be placed on the agenda of the December parliamentary session. In a
press conference on 27 December, the opposition Democratic Party (DS)
described the coalition's actions during the recent joint session of
Slovak and European parliamentary deputies as "shocking and shameful."
DS Deputy Chairman Frantisek Sebej noted that immediately after the
European deputies left, the ruling Movement for a Democratic Slovakia
(HZDS) began discussions about a law on the protection of the republic.
HZDS Deputy Chairwoman Olga Keltosova noted the possibility of reducing
funds for the opposition Democratic Union. -- Sharon Fisher

HUNGARIAN, SLOVAK CONSTITUTIONAL COMMITTEES FAIL TO REACH AGREEMENT.
Meeting in Budapest on 27 November, the Hungarian and Slovak
parliamentary Constitutional Committees were unable to agree over
Slovakia's recent controversial language law, Magyar Hirlap reported the
next day. Jan Cuper, head of the Slovak delegation, told journalists
that the language law meets European norms and is neither
unconstitutional nor aimed at preventing ethnic minorities from using
their own languages. He added that he saw no opportunity for the two
foreign ministers to appeal to any international or European
organization to examine the legality of the law, since that would
constitute an interference into the internal affairs of a sovereign
country. Peter Hack, chairman of the Hungarian committee, said the law
violates several provisions of the Slovak constitution, including the
one guaranteeing the rights of national minorities. -- Zsofia Szilagyi

[As of 12:00 CET]

Compiled by Jan Cleave


Elnezest az esetleges kisbetukert, de az eredeti szoveg csupa
nagybetuvel volt irva, amit at kellett cserelnem.

Buchwald Amy

*****************************************************************

date=11/27/95
type=correspondent report
number=2-189149
title=Hungary / U-S Troops (s only)
byline=Wayne Corey
dateline=Vienna
content=
voiced at:

Intro:  A Hungarian air force base in Southwestern Hungary is
expected to be the staging area for many of the American troops
who will participate in NATO's peace-enforcement mission in
Bosnia-Herzegovina. V-o-A's Central European correspondent, Wayne
Corey, reports.

Text:  American military experts have been looking at several
different sites in Southern Hungary for the U-S military staging
area.

The Hungarian news agency (M-T-I) says an air base and the nearby
small town of Kaposvar in Southwestern Hungary will probably be
the staging area if the parliament in Budapest agrees.

Hundreds of American soldiers will use barracks  no  longer
needed by the Hungarian military. Thousands of other American
troops could be sheltered in temporary housing facilities.

Defense minister Gyorgy Keleti says it is in Hungary's interest
to help NATO forces and to have peace along Hungary's southern
borders.

Residents of Kaposvar expect financial dividends from the
Americans' presence. The larger town of Pecs, about an hour's
drive away, should also benefit because it has more restaurants
and other entertainment to offer the U-S troops.

Foreign troops have been based or deployed in Southern Hungary
before. Turkish troops were there during the Ottoman Empire, and
Soviet soldiers were there during the cold war. (Signed)

neb/wc/mh/bg

27-Nov-95 11:59 am est (1659 utc)
nnnn

source: Voice of America