OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 46, 5 March 1996

ESTONIA, FLANDERS SIGN COOPERATION AGREEMENT. Flanders Prime Minister
Luc van den Brande and Estonian Foreign Minister Siim Kallas on 4 March
signed an agreement on cooperation in transport, trade, tourism,
science, and culture, BNS reported. Flanders has signed similar
agreements with Hungary and Poland. In meetings with Prime Minister Tiit
Vahi, President Lennart Meri, and Agriculture Minister Ilmar Mandmets,
van den Brande noted the problems smaller languages and cultures face in
the process of European integration, but expressed support for Estonia's
entry into the European Union. -- Saulius Girnius

SLOVAK JUSTICE MINISTRY PREPARES DRAFT LAW ON PROTECTION OF REPUBLIC.
Slovak National Party (SNS) deputy chairwoman Anna Malikova expressed
satisfaction with the Justice Ministry's proposed amendment to the
criminal code, Narodna obroda reported on 5 March. Malikova, noting that
the amendment was inspired by her party's law on the protection of the
republic which was drafted last April, said the SNS will submit the
legislation to the parliament this month. Although the ministry's draft
has not yet been publicized, the SNS version would inflict punishment on
participants in activities aimed against Slovakia, including activities
which are only "a potential threat." Other crimes would include "the
spreading of false news on Slovak territory or abroad which endangers
the security of the republic or damages its interests." The bill is
reportedly aimed mainly against representatives of the Hungarian
minority and journalists. -- Sharon Fisher

HUNGARY'S MDF SPLITS. The Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF), the
country's major opposition party and senior coalition partner in the
former government, split into two on 4 March, Hungarian and
international media reported. The split followed the MDF national
convention, which was called to decide on the future direction of the
party, and the election of a new party presidium (see OMRI Daily Digest,
4 March 1996). The election of Sandor Lezsak as president led to the
more liberal members of MDF to dissociate themselves from the party. The
group, led by former executive president and parliamentary caucus leader
Ivan Szabo, includes former senior members of MDF, among them Geza
Jeszenszky, Gyorgy Szabad and Imre Konya. After reconciliation talks
with Lezsak failed, Szabo announced the formation of the Hungarian
Democratic People's Party. Szabo and his adherents will form a new
caucus in parliament once their party is registered later this week. --
Zsofia Szilagyi

COURT ACQUITS HUNGARIAN NEO-NAZIS. A municipal court in Budapest found
the leaders of two extreme right-wing organizations innocent of
violating the law which bans incitement to hatred and use of prohibited
symbols, Hungarian media reported on 5 March. In the first ever neo-Nazi
trial in Hungary, which began last November, chief defendants Albert
Szabo, 41, and Istvan Gyorkos, 55, were acquitted under freedom of
speech provisions. The two men have used prohibited swastika-like
symbols and circulated neo-Nazi propaganda material. They were arrested
after a march in Budapest on 23 October 1995. The president of the
Hungarian Jewish Communities, Peter Feldmajer, said that the court
decision "only focuses attention on the shortcomings of Hungarian
legislation in this regard". The state prosecutor said an appeal will be
launched and the case will go to the Supreme Court. -- Zsofia Szilagyi

[As of 12:00 CET]

Compiled by Jan Cleave


OMRI SPECIAL REPORT: PURSUING BALKAN PEACE
Vol. 1, No. 9, 5 March 1996

SERBIAN MINISTER SAYS REFUGEES SHOULD GO HOME. Serbia, for its part, is
anxious to put a somewhat different legacy of the conflict behind it. On
24 February Branislav Ivkovic, Serbia's minister for municipal planning,
suggested in Subotica that it is the aim of Serbian and rump Yugoslav
authorities to see to it that as may refugees as possible go home.
According to a TV Serbia report on 24 February, the minister expressly
stated that he expected the international community to provide
guarantees for the safe return of the refugees. The minister did,
however, add that for those who decide to stay in Serbia, the government
has developed a program whereby all municipalities in the republic have
been requested to provide information about housing availability,
abandoned dwellings, and uninhabited areas. The minister criticized
local authorities in Subotica for allegedly refusing to comply with his
requests. There has been concern on the part of ethnic Hungarians and
other minorities in Vojvodina that the Belgrade authorities may settle
large numbers of Serbian refugees in that province to further reduce the
importance of Hungarians, Ruthenians, Croats, Slovaks and other non-
Serbs there. -- Stan Markotich

Jan Urban, OMRI's special correspondent in Sarajevo

Compiled by Patrick Moore