OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 22, 31 January 1996

SLOVAK FOREIGN MINISTER ON COUNCIL OF EUROPE. Juraj Schenk on 30 January
told reporters that the CE should not apply double standards when
judging the situation of ethnic minorities in a new or established
member country. Discussing parliamentary chairman Ivan Gasparovic's
recent proposal that the CE Parliamentary Assembly compile a "White
Book" on standard ethnic rights, Schenk noted that all CE members could
then be monitored by the same objective criteria. Schenk expressed
support for Russia's recent admission to the CE, noting that non-
acceptance of the country would have meant support for anti-democratic
forces. Meanwhile, Arpad Duka-Zolyomi of the ethnic Hungarian
Coexistence movement said the CE was "naive" to think it will force
Russia to implement democratic changes by this move, TASR reported. --
Sharon Fisher

SLOVAK-HUNGARIAN TREATY TO BE RATIFIED IN MARCH? Slovak parliamentary
chairman Gasparovic on 30 January announced that ratification of the
Slovak-Hungarian treaty will be postponed until March, after the
parliamentary Foreign Affairs Committee has drawn up an interpretation
clause on CE Recommendation No. 1201, which deals with autonomy for
minorities. Although Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar has promised that
the treaty will be ratified in March, some Slovak officials would prefer
to wait until CE experts provide an official interpretation of the
recommendation, Slovak media reported. -- Sharon Fisher

UPDATE ON "OILGATE" SCANDAL. The Hungarian parliamentary commission
probing the "oilgate" affair has turned to Premier Gyula Horn and the
secret services for further information, Hungarian dailies reported on
31 January. Commission chairman Ervin Demeter said the cabinet's earlier
investigation did not provide sufficient information. The government
last fall investigated whether some high-ranking Socialists had been
involved in suspicious deals related to Russian-Hungarian oil shipments
and repayment of the Russian state debt. The cabinet concluded that no
violation of law had been committed but suggested that Andras Dunai, son
of the current industry minister, and Otto Hujber, chairman of the
Socialist Party's entrepreneurial section, might have been involved. The
parliamentary commission investigating "Oilgate," composed of four
opposition and four coalition party members, was set up at the
initiative of the opposition. -- Zsofia Szilagyi

ELECTION COMMISSION SET UP IN BOSNIA. A commission responsible for
overseeing Bosnian elections under OSCE auspices was named on 30 January
in Sarajevo, international and local media reported. The seven-member
panel is composed of representatives from the United States, Canada,
Britain, Germany, and the three Bosnian factions. Under the Dayton peace
accords, elections must take place before September. Meanwhile, the
current, past, and future OSCE Chairmen-in-Office--Foreign Ministers
Flavio Cotti (Switzerland), Lazlo Kovacs (Hungary), and Niels Helveg
Petersen (Denmark)--met in Sarajevo on 30 January with Bosnian President
Alija Izetbegovic, vice president of the Moslem-Croatian Federation Ejup
Ganic, and vice president of the self-declared Republika Srpska Nikola
Koljevic. Cotti said the meeting was "extremely positive," but Koljevic
stressed that the issues of refugees, control over the media, and
Serbian control over Sarajevo may prove obstacles to holding elections
by September. -- Michael Mihalka

[As of 12:00 CET]

Compiled by Jan Cleave