OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 48, 7 March 1996

NATO HOPEFULS TO MEET IN PRAGUE. The foreign ministers of 12 Central and
East European countries will meet with U.S. Secretary of State Warren
Christopher in Prague on 19 March to discuss European security, Czech
and international media reported. The meeting was announced by Czech
Foreign Minister Josef Zieleniec after he returned from Moscow, where he
and his Russian counterpart, Yevgenii Primakov, discussed Russian
objections to the enlargement of NATO. Following the Prague meeting,
Christopher is due to travel to Moscow. Along with Christopher and
himself, Zieleniec said the foreign ministers of Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Romania, Bulgaria,
Macedonia, and Albania have been invited to the Prague talks. -- Steve
Kettle

U.S. STRESSES ROMANI DISCRIMINATION IN CZECH REPUBLIC AND HUNGARY...The
U.S. Department of State, in its 1995 human rights reports issued on
March 6, singled out prejudice against Roma as the main area of concern.
In the Czech Republic, the report recognized that courts proceeded "with
more vigor" than before as the government publicly condemned racially
motivated attacks. It said, however, that Roma are still vulnerable to
serious racial prejudice and attacks which the authorities have not been
able to suppress, and that the law on citizenship has left 10--24,000
people, mostly Roma, without citizenship. The report also said that,
while Hungary has been pursuing parliamentary democracy, discrimination
against Roma still exists. Some in Eastern Europe argue that the West
should also look to its own treatment of minorities, which undermines
the efficacy of the issued reports. -- Alaina Lemon

..ALSO CRITICIZES SLOVAK HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD. The State Department
report  on Slovakia said the  government's actions in 1995 gave rise for
concern, Reuters reported. While recognizing Slovakia's overall respect
for human rights in 1995, the report noted that "disturbing trends away
from democratic principles emerged," including "politically motivated
dismissals of public officials, intimidation of opponents of government
policy, police misuse of authority, and interference with the electronic
media." It pointed to suspected involvement of the Slovak Information
Service in the kidnapping of the president's son, the use of police to
spy on leading opposition politicians, and the harassment by police of a
senior clergyman. The report also expressed concern about the lack of
protection for Roma against discrimination, the situation of the
Hungarian minority, and some isolated cases of anti-Semitism. -- Sharon
Fisher

[As of 12:00 CET]

Compiled by Steve Kettle


Wednesday, 06 March 1996 Volume 1, Issue 301

REGIONAL NEWS
-------------

> -----------------------------------------------------------------
POLAND BACKS LITHUANIA IN BID FOR NATO & EU MEMBERSHIP
> -----------------------------------------------------------------
Polish President Alexander Kwasniewski said on Tuesday that
Warsaw would support one-time historical ally Lithuania in its
bid to join NATO and the European Union. Both countries are
eager for NATO and EU membership but some analysts say Poland,
the Czech Republic and Hungary, have a better chance than
Lithuania and the other Baltic states of gaining entry to both
organisations. "Poland will support Lithuania in all of its
efforts to move toward the European Union, NATO and CEFTA (the
Central and Eastern European Union Trade Association),"
Kwasniewski told journalists after he and Lithuanian President
Algirdas Brazauskas signed a declaration on strengthening
cooperation.  The Polish president is on a two-day visit to
Lithuania.  Poland and Lithuania once had an empire that
stretched from the Baltic to the Black Sea but attacks from
surrounding Great Powers gradually destroyed their union and
wiped both countries from the face of the map in the late 18th
century.  Relations of the modern nation states have been
strained and the two were even at war in 1920. After the break
up of the Communist bloc some Lithuanian nationalists still
regard Poland with suspicion.  But Kwasniewski, visiting a
memorial to Polish inter-war leader Jozef Pilsudki, said there
should be no conflicts or arguments between Poles and
Lithuanians.  Around seven percent of Lithuania's 3.7 million
population is Polish and Vilnius was until 1939 part of Poland.
Everyone resident in Lithuania was given immediate citizenship
when the Baltic state quit the former Soviet Union in 1991.

BUSINESS NEWS
-------------

> -----------------------------------------------
ROMANIA WINS FIRST INTERNATIONAL CREDIT RATING
> -----------------------------------------------
Romania on Tuesday moved a step closer to acceptance in the world
financial community, winning its first credit rating and opening
the way for an expected $800 million dollar borrowing programme.
 The Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) in Tokyo has allocated a
preliminary double B plus (BB +) to ex-communist Romania, just
under its BBB rating for neighbouring Hungary.  Romania's
National Bank governor expectes further ratings from other
leading agencies shortly, whereupon he will launch a programme
of loan and bond raisings on international markets, something
previously closed to Romania.  Romania has been all but excluded
from capital markets for 15 years since communist dictator
Nicolae Ceausescu paid off its entire $10 billion dollars in
debt in a dispute with the IMF.  The country emerged from
communism in 1989 debt free, but impoverished.  Since then it
has relied on around $5.0 billion dollars in lending from the
International Monetary Fund, World Bank and European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) while reforming and
preparing for a sovereign borrowing programme.

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-----------------

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Thursday, 07 March 1996 Volume 1, Issue 302

REGIONAL NEWS
-------------

> ------------------------------------------------
U.S. CRITICAL OF SLOVAK 1995 HUMAN RIGHTS RECORD
> ------------------------------------------------
The United States criticised Slovakia for human rights
shortcomings, citing police behaviour, treatment of minorities
and interference in the media, in its annual human rights report
made available on Wednesday.  While recognising Slovakia's
overall respect for human rights last year, the State Department
report notes that there are disturbing trends emerging away from
democratic principles.  The report also mentions the suspected
involvement of the Slovak secret service in last year's
kidnapping of the president's son. The U.S. report notes that
police are spying  on leading opposition politicians and, in one
insatnce harassing a senior clergyman who had been critical of
the ruling coalition.  While recognising the government's
overall respect for freedom of speech and lack of censorship in
the print media, the report is critical of the state controlled
electronic media, especially television, for its one-sided
reporting in favour of the government.  The report mentions that
the U.S.-funded Radio Free Europe has been granted only a
one-year licence extension instead of three years in Slovakia
after being accused antii-Slovak" bias.  The report is also
critical of official attitudes towards Slovakia's minorities,
singling out the lack of protection for gypsies against
discrimination, and concern for the country's 10 percent
Hungarian minority, plus isolated cases of anti-semitism.


> -----------------------------------------------
CZECHS TO HOST EUROPEAN SECURITY TALKS IN MARCH
> -----------------------------------------------
The Czech Republic will host 12 foreign ministers from Eastern
Europe and the United States later this month to discuss the
future of European security, according to Foreign Minister Josef
Zieleniec.  The meeting, an initiative of the United States,
will come amid a three-day visit by U.S. Secretary of State
Warren Christopher between the 19th and 21st of March   The
Foreign ministers of Albania, Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia,
Lithuania, Hungary, Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, and
Slovakia are expected to participate in the multilateral
discussions.  Christopher's visit will probably come just ahead
of a his trip to Moscow. Most of the former Warsaw pact
countries have indicated their intention to join the NATO
security alliance, despite objections from Moscow.


> ------------------------------------------------
NEW HUNGARIAN PARTY HOLDS FIRST MEETING BUDAPEST
> ------------------------------------------------
Hungary's new opposition party the Hungarian Democratic People's
Party (MDNP), a breakaway from the main opposition party the
Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF) held its inaugural meeting on
Wednesday. The breakaway party was formed following the election
at the MDF's national congress at the weekend of a nationalist
chairman Sandor Lezsak, who defeated centre-right candidate,
former finance minister Ivan Szabo.  MDNP spokesman Gyorgy Rasko
said 17 out of the MDF's 36 members of parliament have joined
the new grouping while another five are undecided.  The party is
expected to elect Szabo as leader.



BUSINESS NEWS
-------------

> ----------------------------------------------
HUNGARY TO SET UP SERIOUS FRAUD OFFICE BY JUNE
> ----------------------------------------------
Hungary is to set up a Serious Fraud Office to police illegal
economic activity in the countrys burgeoning grey economy,
estimated to represent 30 percent of GDP. Prime Minister Horn
announced a six-point package which intends to simplify the
ownership rights of state financial institutions by transferring
ownership to the privatisation ministry.  A court dealing
exclusively with company crime and fraud will be created and
court proceedings speeded up trials, Horn added.  Horn also said
that the country will gradually enforce tougher controls on its
non-EU frontiers in an effort to stem illegal cross-border
traffic.


> --------------------------------------------------
HUNGARY AMENDS LAW ON BANKING SECRECY TO JOIN OECD
> --------------------------------------------------
Hungary took a major step towards joining the Organisation for
Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) when its parliament
approved an amendment to the banking law on bank secrecy on
Tuesday night.  The amendment, passed with a vast majority,
brings regulations into line with the requirements of the OECD
by obliging banks to give tax, customs and social security
authorities access to banking secrets if requested, the official
MTI news agency said.  The OECD, the rich nations' 26-member
club, set the amendment as a condition of membership for
Hungary. Such legislation is a general requirement for
membership designed to ensure illegal money movements and tax
evasion are minimised. 
Hungary hopes to be invited into the
OECD this month.  The last major condition for Hungary's OECD
membership is agreement on a standby loan facility with the
International Monetary Fund (IMF). Analysts believe the IMF is
likely to approve the loan when its board of directors meets on
March 15.

ABOUT CET ON-LINE
-----------------

* CET On-Line is Copyright (c) 1996 Central Europe Media Ltd.,
all rights reserved.  Not-for-profit redistribution of CET
On-Line in electronic format is allowed only if our copyright
notice, and all other copyright and by-line information
contained in this publication is included. For-profit
distribution of this publication or the information contained
herein is strictly prohibited without the express written
permission of Central Europe Media Ltd. These conditions are
subject to change without notice.

Some portions of the news provided by special agreement with
Reuters.  For information on Reuters news and information
products, contact your local Reuters office.

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SUBSCRIBE in the body of a message to
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