OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 36, 20 February 1996

HUNGARIAN ECONOMISTS FEAR THE SLOWDOWN OF REFORMS. Hungarian economists
say they fear that Finance Minister Lajos Bokros's sudden resignation on
18 February means economic reforms will slow down and a less radical
alternative economic policy will be pursued. Coalition politicians said
the move was unjustified, as the country is about to sign vital
agreements on an IMF loan and on membership in the OECD. Prime Minister
Gyula Horn said he accepted the resignation in order to "end
uncertainty" in the cabinet, which, he added, was caused by Bokros's
repeated threats to step down during his one year in office. Horn also
said he would confirm in a letter to both the IMF and OECD that the
cabinet will continue with stabilization, Nepszabadsag reported. Opinion
polls conducted following Bokros's resignation show that most people are
relieved that the radical austerity program will be eased somewhat. --
Zsofia Szilagyi

HUNGARIAN PUBLIC FOUNDATION TO HANDLE RETURNED JEWISH PROPERTY.
Representatives of the Hungarian Jewish community met with Secretary-
General of the World Jewish Congress Israel Singer on 18 February to
resolve differences over the restitution of Jewish community property,
international and Hungarian media reported. Return of the property is
currently being negotiated by Hungary's Jewish communities and the
government, but a dispute emerged over which property would be overseen
by a foundation set up for that purpose and who would control that
foundation. The meeting voted overwhelmingly to set a public foundation
to handle returned assets that cannot be used by Jewish communities that
no longer exist. -- Zsofia Szilagyi

[As of 1200 CET]

Compiled by Jan Cleave


OMRI SPECIAL REPORT: PURSUING BALKAN PEACE
Vol. 1, No. 7, 20 February 1996

EASTERN SLAVONIAN UPDATE. The refugee question is central to a
settlement in eastern Slavonia, too. That region is part of Croatia
rather than of Bosnia and is not included in the Dayton accords. But the
timing of the current peace plan for it and the fact that Tudjman and
Milosevic signed it at Dayton have linked the two issues. The UN in
Belgrade announced on 15 February that General Joseph Schoups will
become the commander of the UN mission UNTAES on 1 March. The mission's
administrator, retired U.S. General Jacques Klein, unveiled his plan for
troop deployment the previous day with Milosevic in attendance. UNTAES
will open its headquarters at Vukovar's Hotel Dunav before the
deployment starts. The mission's spokeswoman said that Milosevic gave
the UN "full and complete support." Klein pointed out that the aim is to
set up joint Serbian and Croatian police forces, which will be trained
in a third country and sent to the region before demilitarization
begins. She stressed that the mission will differ from previous UN ones
in the former Yugoslavia because the UN will have full power in the
region. Klein estimated that the forces will be fully operational in
May. The biggest problem that UNTEAS faces is to ensure the safe return
of refugees to the region and to guarantee their protection afterwards.
As for the Croats, the head of the Croatian provisional government for
Eastern Slavonia and Osijek, Ivica Brkic, has guaranteed all refugees a
safe return to their homes. He mentioned Croats, Hungarians, and Serbs
explicitly, Beta reported on 16 February. -- Fabian Schmidt

Jan Urban and Yvonne Badal are OMRI special correspondents in Sarajevo

Compiled by Patrick Moore