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OMRI Daily Digest - 30 March 1995 (mind) |
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CET - 31 March 1995 (mind) |
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+ - | OMRI Daily Digest - 30 March 1995 (mind) |
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OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 64, 30 March 1995
ESTONIAN PRESIDENT WAITS FOR RUSSIAN APOLOGY. Lennart Meri, in an
interview with Die Welt on 29 March, said he would not attend the
celebrations in Moscow marking the 50th anniversary of the end of World
War II before Russia "properly apologized" for its occupation and
annexation of the Baltic States, BNS reported. Die Welt noted that
President Boris Yeltsin has apologized to the people of Poland, the
Czech Republic, and Hungary for the actions of the Red Army. But the
newspaper commented that "Moscow has not distanced itself by so much as
a single word from the Soviet policy of violence against the Baltic
States." The presidents of the Baltic States received invitations to the
ceremonies in Moscow but decided, as a sign of Baltic solidarity, that
either all three or none would attend the Moscow celebrations. --
Saulius Girnius, OMRI, Inc.
SLOVAK PREMIER ON CABINET'S FIRST 100 DAYS. Vladimir Meciar on 29 March
evaluated the first 100 days of his government as "successful," Slovak
media reported. He said his cabinet's accomplishments include the
preparation of two budgets (one of which was provisional), the passage
of the "clean hands" program to fight corruption, the creation of a
construction ministry, and the signing of the Slovak-Hungarian treaty.
Meciar said coupon privat-ization will start in June, and property worth
55 billion koruny will be sold. He criticized opposition parties for not
cooperating with his government, saying that only his coalition partners
are willing to work together in the interest of Slovak citizens. --
Sharon Fisher, OMRI, Inc.
CONTROVERSY OVER SLOVAK-HUNGARIAN TREATY CONTINUES. Representatives of
the Slovak National Party, a member of the ruling coalition, have said
the party will not
support the ratification of the Slovak-Hungarian treaty. But Meciar said
on 29 March he believes the parliament will support it anyway, Slovenska
Republika reported. Jan Luptak, chairman of Meciar's other coalition
partner, the Association of Slovak Workers, told the newspaper that he
viewed the government's progress on the treaty positively but added that
the inclusion of the Council of Europe Recommendation 1201 is
"unacceptable" to his party. Hungarian Christian Democratic Movement
Deputy Chairman Pal Farkas said it is necessary to start implementing
the agreement and stressed that the government should finally start
discussions with representatives of minorities. Another ethnic Hungarian
party in Slovakia, the Coexistence movement, has called for
constitutional changes to give minorities the right to self-government.
At a press conference on 28 March, the party said that cultural and
educational autonomy cannot exist without territorial autonomy. --
Sharon Fisher, OMRI, Inc.
HUNGARIAN, SLOVAK COMMENTS ON NATO. Hungarian Defense Minister Gyorgy
Keleti has said that within the next three years, Hungary will complete
the reforms necessary to prepare its armed forces for full integration
into NATO. He told Reuters on 28 March that Hungary will meet all the
military and technical requirements for NATO membership. He also said
that Hungary will make its military and civilian air traffic control
systems NATO-compatible within the same time frame, allowing the country
to take part in joint air defense operations with NATO. Meanwhile,
Slovak Foreign Minister Juraj Schenk, in an interview with The
Washington Times on 28 March, stressed his country's position that the
Visegrad countries should enter NATO as a bloc and not individually, as
advocated by the Czechs. He said "the partial, individual approach can
end in undesirable results." He also commented that NATO should reach an
understanding with Russia on eastward expansion "so that Russia doesn't
feel in danger." -- Michael Mihalka, OMRI, Inc.
HUNGARY, AUSTRIA DISCUSS SCHENGEN AGREEMENTS. Hungarian Internal Affairs
Minister Gabor Kuncze and his Austrian counterpart, Franz Loeschnak, met
at the Austrian-Hungarian border on 29 March to discuss the impact of
the so-called Schengen agreements. Under those accords, seven member
countries of the European Union recently abolished border controls at
their joint borders, causing huge traffic jams at border crossings
between EU and non-EU states in particular. Austria is planning to sign
the Schengen agreements next month and implement them fully within two
years. Hungarian media report an unnamed Hungarian official as saying
that Hungary would find Austria's implementation of the agreements
"discriminatory" toward Hungarians. He warned that Hungary's tourist
trade could be threatened if tourists had to wait for hours at border
crossings to enter or leave Hungary. Poland recently protested attempts
to separate EU and non-EU traffic at its border with Germany, saying it
would not allow Poles to be treated like "second class citizens." --
Jiri Pehe, OMRI, Inc.
[As of 1200 CET]
Compiled by Jan Cleave
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A tovabbterjesztest a New York-i szekhelyu Magyar Emberi Jogok
Alapitvany tamogatja.
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Reposting is supported by Hungarian Human Rights Foundation News
and Information Service.
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+ - | CET - 31 March 1995 (mind) |
VÁLASZ |
Feladó: (cikkei)
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Friday, 31 March 1995
Volume 2, Issue 65
REGIONAL NEWS
-------------
**HUNGARY READY WITH ECONOMIC PLAN**
Hungary's government says it's going to submit its austerity
program to parliament next week. The package, which consists
of amendments to existing laws, would cut social expenditures
and lay off 15 percent or 19,000 of the country's public
servants this year. It would also require university students
to pay an $18 a month tuition fee, introduce some fees for
medical care and means testing for maternity benefits and
child care allowances now given to all families regardless of
need. Much of the Hungarian public doesn't like the austerity
program and is making itself heard.
**HUNGARIAN PRIVATIZATION OFFICIAL RETURNS TO PRIVATE LIFE**
The deputy head of Hungary's privatization body the State
Property Agency, or SPA, has quit. Erno Racz announced
yesterday that he's leaving because he thinks the government's
privatization target is impossible to achieve. Hungary's
privatization bill calls for privatization revenues of just
over a $1 billion this year. The privatization legislation is
expected to be passed by parliament next month or in early
May. Privatization Minister Tamas Suchman says he's accepted
Racz's resignation.
**HUNGARIAN OFFICERS CHARGED WITH BRIBERY**
A Hungarian military court has convicted 36 high-ranking
officers on charges of bribery, fraud or assisting in fraud.
The officers stole diesel fuel from the military and then sold
it to wholesalers and retailers. This been described as
Hungary's biggest corruption case involving the military. The
court sentenced several of the defendants to prison terms. The
three chief defendants got jail terms ranging from 16 months
to a year and a half.
**CITIZENS HIT HARD BY HUNGARIAN ECONOMIC PLANS**
For the second time in a little over a week, Hungarians have
protested economic austerity measures proposed by their
government. About 300 parents, teachers and health care
employees gathered in Budapest at the Finance Ministry
yesterday, then marched to the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.
Among the government's proposals: some fees for medical care
and means testing for maternity benefits and child care
allowances now given to all families regardless of need. But
last week's protest centered around another part of the
austerity plan: an $18 a month tuition fee for university
students. There were demonstrations across the country
involving an estimated 20,000 students. Yesterday's protesters
shared some of the students' concerns and are also worried
about overall cuts in state funding for education. Erzsebet
Galantai, a mother of two from Budapest, would be hit by both
the limitations on child care benefits and the tuition fee.
"I am in a desperate state of mind. I have a 20-year-old
daughter who's going to go to college and a 9-year-old
child who is in primary school. I won't be entitled to child
care allowances. I am frightened."
Yesterday's demonstration was initiated by the Teachers
Democratic Union with Liga, an umbrella organization of labor
groups. Parents and members of health care employee unions
attended the protest in support of the the teachers. Marta
Kovacs was among the demonstrating teachers. She works at a
boarding school in Budapest's eighth district, teaching both
handicapped and non-handicapped children. Kovacs is afraid
the government will close her school as part of the austerity
program. In fact, she says government inspectors have
launched a series of investigations of boarding schools for
the handicapped.
"The reason I came to the demonstation is I'm working at a
boarding school in which several investigations are going on.
Investigations of legality, budget and the way we educate our
children and of the educational programs we offer."
But the government's investigations may be premature. Most of
its austerity program still has to be approved by parliament.
**OSCE FACES DAUNTING CHALLENGES IN RUSSIA*
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or
OSCE, says it may be able to open a permanent office in
Chechnya as soon as mid-April. That announcement came
yesterday during the first day of a meeting of the OSCE's
senior council in Prague. Just back from an exploratory trip
to Chechnya, the representative of the OSCE Chairman,
Hungary's Istvan Gyamarti, describes human rights violations
there as "intolerable." But he says both sides appear willing
to seek a political solution. According to Gyamarti, the OSCE
and Russia have agreed on the mission's tasks. They include
facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid, investigating
human rights violations, helping carry out free elections and
promoting a comprehensive cease-fire. But Gyamarti says these
plans could be jeopardized because OSCE member states aren't
willing to come up with the necessary resources -- like money,
personnel and in some cases political support. Gyamarti says
that's unacceptable.
"It is the conviction of the chairman that this situation should
be changes and political intentions must be underpinned by
appropriate resources in all cases."
The growing gap between its mandate and its means has also hurt
the OSCE's attempts at a peacekeeping mission in the former
Soviet enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. They're still in the
prepatory phase, way behind OSCE goals. --Andy Heil
BUSINESS NEWS
-------------
**BUDAPEST STOCK MARKET LOOKS TO THE FUTURES**
The Budapest Stock Exchange will begin trading in futures
today. Four different futures markets will be launched,
contracts on the main stock index, in US dollars, German
marks and three-month discount treasury bills. Brokers expect
trading volumes in stock market futures to be slow at first.
Futures are already traded on the Budapest Commodity Exchange,
which used to be the region's only futures market. It trades
in commodity futures, dollars and marks.
**BUDAPEST SHARES DOWN IN LIGHT TRADING**
Foreign investors are staying on the sidelines of the Budapest
Stock Exchange. Shares lost 2.04 points yesterday, closing at
1,226.66. Analysts say foreign investors aren't interested in
any of the region's markets right now. Compensation coupons
dominated yesterday's trading in Budapest, on speculation of
increased small-time privatizations. The coupons were awarded
to ordinary citizens in exchange for property seized under
communism. They're now used mainly for smaller state
sell-offs.
BUSINESS FEATURE
----------------
**HEARD THROUGH THE GRAPEVINE: HUNGARY'S GOT SOME FINE WINE**
By Lucy Hooker
Anyone knows that Hungary can produce drinkable wine. But they
only recently woke up to the country's potential. Small
Hungarian producers are making a name for themselves on the
market with higher quality wines. The wine which used to flow
from Hungary's large scale cooperatives was palatable, but
nothing more exciting than that. Now Hungarian wine producers
are doing so well that Budapest's conoisseurs turn out in the
hundreds for wine-tasting events. Attila Talos runs the
Budapest wine society. He says new Hungarian wines can
compete internationally.
"There's a fairly short number of private growers who are,
let's say, quality growers and their wines can be compared to
the better wines of the international market and these
producers have been found by merchants and traders or in the
case of some of them. They managed to sell to their wines to
market themselves to create the name of the chateau or
winery."
The Hungarian producers who are making their mark are the ones
who have realized that small is beautiful, like Mihaly Figula
who makes white wine near Balatonfured on the shores of the
lake. He says the reason the state companies produced only
mediocre wines was that good and bad grapes were combined
indiscriminately. He is more careful with the wine which has
his own label on it.
"Maybe the quality is better because these grapes are from my
vineyards and I decide how to cultivate these vineyards, when
to harvest. I deal exclusively with vineyards where the grape
is grown under our own methods."
Like Figula, Tibor Bathori decided to branch out with his own
private company. He bought an old wine cellar in Etyek
outside Budapest. Over the last five years he's, with the
help of a loan from the World Bank, built up a winery which
now produces 300,000 bottles a year. Bathori already exports
his Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc to the US, Britain, Japan
and also supplies many of Budapest's top restaurants. Bathori
hopes his exports will help improve the reputation of
Hungarian wine. He says that is one of the reasons he started
his winery.
"I think in Hungary today, we have minimum 20 vineyards
Villanyi, Eger, Etyek, Sopron, Tokaj. We can make a new
Hungarian wine profile, tradition, and I hope in the next 10
years we will be selling Hungarian in England, in the USA, in
Scandinavia, in the world."
While before now Hungarian wines were always to be found amongst
the bargain wines on the bottom shelf at the supermarket,
their image is beginning to improve. In the next few years
they'll be creeping up to shelf three and four as the best of
them compete with wines from South Africa, Australia and
California. So it's not a bad idea to stock up on them now
before prices begin to creep up as well.
ABOUT CET ON-LINE
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A tovabbterjesztest a New York-i szekhelyu Magyar Emberi Jogok
Alapitvany tamogatja.
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[*][*][*] [*][*][*] [*][*] [*][*]
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Reposting is supported by Hungarian Human Rights Foundation News
and Information Service.
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