RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
________________________________________________________
RFE/RL NEWSLINE  30 July 1999

HUNGARIAN PREMIER LAUDS U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE RESOLUTION
ON VOJVODINA... Viktor Orban said on 29 July before
departing for the Sarajevo summit on Balkan
reconstruction that it is "a major success" for
Hungarian diplomacy to have the future status of
Vojvodina on the summit's agenda. Orban was responding
to a 28 July U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee
resolution saying that President Bill Clinton should
"express deep concern" over reports about threats
against and intimidation of ethnic Hungarians in the
province. The same resolution called on the secretary of
state to "regularly monitor" the situation of ethnic
Hungarians in Vojvodina and said negotiations on
Kosova's future status must also establish "satisfactory
guarantees" for the rights of ethnic minorities in
Vojvodina, "including consultations with elected leaders
[from the province] about their proposals for self-
administration," Hungarian media reported. MS

 ...WHILE U.S. AMBASSADOR TO HUNGARY SAYS RESOLUTION IS
NOT ON THAT PROVINCE. In an interview with Hungarian
Radio on 29 July, Peter Tufo explained that the Senate
committee's resolution did not deal with Vojvodina but
with the democratization of Yugoslavia as a whole. He
said the paragraph on the province was introduced to
emphasize recognition of the "interest of the Vojvodina
people in [a possible measure] of autonomy." But he said
that the resolution does not deal with Hungarian
proposals for "three-pronged" autonomy for the region's
ethnic Hungarians. He also said that "one must wait and
see" what issues will be raised in Sarajevo "and in what
context." MS

BALKAN SUMMIT OPENS IN SARAJEVO. Heads of state or
government from 39 countries and representatives of 17
international organizations meet in the Bosnian capital
on 30 July to discuss Balkan reconstruction. The
previous day, a smaller group of leaders from Slovenia,
Hungary, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Turkey,
Albania, and Montenegro heard an appeal by Finnish
President Martti Ahtisaari to put an end to old hatreds
and work together for a better future. Ahtisaari, whose
country holds the rotating EU chair, warned that "the
ability of countries within the region to cooperate and
establish good neighborly relations...will be an
important criterion for evaluating their prospects of
full integration with the EU," the "Financial Times"
reported. He added that "the EU and NATO will not look
favorably at anyone dashing headlong towards Brussels
without even a backward glance" at their neighbors. The
daily noted that this is a criticism of Slovenia. In
separate remarks, EU aid coordinator Bodo Hombach
stressed the need to formulate and implement practical
programs. PM

HUNGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER IN ROMANIA. Janos Martonyi,
who is on a three-day visit to Romania, told his
counterpart, Andrei Plesu, that during the Kosova
crisis, Romania behaved like a "real NATO member" and
thus considerably enhanced its chances of integration
into Euro-Atlantic structures. The two ministers said
the crisis has had a "positive effect" on Romanian-
Hungarian relations. Martonyi also met with Defense
Minister Victor Babiuc, whom he informed that Budapest
wants to open a consulate in Miercurea Ciuc. Babiuc said
that in his opinion the two consulates in Cluj and
Constanta adequately cover Hungary's consular needs but
that the request will be examined as a "good-will
gesture." MS

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
               Copyright (c) 1999 RFE/RL, Inc.
                     All rights reserved.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx