OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 186,  25 September 1996

SLOVAKIA RESPONDS TO HUNGARIAN CRITICISM OVER FOREIGN ANTHEM BAN. The
Slovak Foreign Ministry on 24 September responded to Hungarian criticism
of the recently passed Law on State Symbols, Slovak media reported.
Among other things, the new legislation allows foreign national anthems
to be played in Slovakia only when a foreign delegation is present.
Slovakia's Hungarians have complained that the law is aimed at
preventing them from singing or playing the Hungarian anthem on
Hungarian national holidays. The Foreign Ministry said it "has taken
notice of the reactions in Hungary" to the law. It added that the law
affects only Slovakia's internal affairs and has "no bearing on Slovak-
Hungarian relations and the implementation of the Slovak-Hungarian
Treaty as well as the position of the Hungarian minority in Slovakia."
-- Jiri Pehe

HUNGARIAN INDUSTRY MINISTRY TO BE RESTRUCTURED. Newly appointed Industry
and Trade Minister Tamas Suchman has announced a plan to reduce the
ministry's staff from 640 to 540 employees, Hungarian dailies reported
on 25 September. Scheduled for implementation before the end of the
year, the plan will also merge some trade representation offices abroad
with embassies. Those offices in Moscow, Brussels, Washington, and Tokyo
are to be granted a special status, and a new office will be set up in
Budapest to coordinate trade relations with CEFTA countries. -- Zsofia
Szilagyi

PARLIAMENTARY PARTIES SUBMIT MODIFICATIONS TO DRAFT HUNGARIAN
CONSTITUTION. The six parliamentary parties represented on the committee
responsible for a new constitutional draft have submitted their
recommendations on modifying that document, Magyar Hirlap reported on 25
September. After the parliament failed to agree on a concept for a new
constitution in June, a final vote was postponed until the fall (see
OMRI Daily Digest, 1 July 1996). The two coalition parties--the
Socialists and the Free Democrats--have jointly submitted three
recommendations. Among those proposed by the opposition Christian
Democrats is one requiring a referendum on certain clauses it deems
crucial. The parliament has yet to decide whether to allow the
Democratic People's Party--which was recently formed by the liberal wing
of the Hungarian Democratic Forum, the former governing party--to be
represented on the committee. -- Zsofia Szilagyi

[As of 12:00 CET]

Compiled by Jan Cleave