RFE/RL NEWSLINE 
Vol. 1, No. 143, 21 October 1997

OSCE REJECTS SLOVAK CHARGES. The Organization on Security and
Cooperation in Europe released a statement on 20 October dismissing
charges by Slovak Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar that the body has
adopted biased policies. OSCE High Commissioner on National
Minorities Max van der Stoel said his organization has paid equal
attention to the Slovak minority in Hungary and the Hungarian
minority in Slovakia and has not "written off" the former, as Meciar
has charged.

HUNGARIAN OPPOSITION LEADER WITHDRAWS RESIGNATION. Ivan
Szabo has withdrawn his resignation as chairman and parliamentary
faction leader of the Democratic People's Party (see "RFE/RL
Newsline," 16 October 1997), Hungarian media reported on 20
October. He said that if his vision of the party's future is endorsed at
the November national convention, he will not give up his posts.
Addressing a meeting of the party's parliamentary faction, Szabo said
his party cannot adjust its program to meet the expectations of either
the government or the opposition; rather, he said, it should develop
an independent profile.

HUNGARIAN PREMIER IN BUCHAREST. Meeting with his Romanian
counterpart, Victor Ciorbea, on 20 October, Gyula Horn praised the
developing partnership between Budapest and Bucharest. Horn
stressed Hungary's readiness to share with Romania its experience on
integration in Euro-Atlantic structure. The two premiers also
discussed widening economic collaboration and Hungarian
investments in Romania. Later the same day, Horn told a crowd in
the Transylvanian town of Sfantu Gheorghe (Sepiszentgyorgy) that
both countries must act against the "evils of extreme nationalism"
that have marred the history of bilateral relations. He added that it is
the duty of governments to respect minority rights, which he
pledged his government will do, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported.

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