RFE/RL NEWSLINE
Vol. 1, No. 49, 10 June 1997

CZECH FOREIGN MINISTER IN HUNGARY. Josef Zieleniec and his Hungarian
counterpart, Laszlo Kovacs, agreed on 9 June in Budapest to coordinate
policies if they are invited to join NATO next month, Hungarian media
reported. President Arpad Goencz told Zieleniec that Hungarians and Czechs
"are partners, not rivals" in their bid for EU and NATO membership. The
current successful regional cooperation between Hungary, the Czech Republic,
and Poland is helping build stability in Central Europe, he added. During his
one-day visit, Zieleniec was also received by Prime Minister Gyula Horn,
Defense Minister Gyoergy Keleti, and Parliamentary Speaker Zoltan Gal.

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               Copyright (c) 1997 RFE/RL, Inc.
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE
Vol. 1, No. 50, 11 June1997

HUNGARY HOSTS INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON ORGANIZED CRIME. High-ranking
police
officers from Europe, the U.S., South Africa, Israel, Interpol, and Europol
attended a three-day conference in Budapest from 8 to 10 June, Hungarian media
reported. Delegates focused on the spread of organized crime from the former
Soviet Union through Europe. "Hungary has become a European crossroads for
organized crime, and the international police response to combat the upsurge
has been inadequate," according to Laszlo Tonhauser, head of the Hungarian
police's organized crime unit. Hungarian Interior Minister Gabor Kuncze noted
that an "East-West movement from the CIS has caused many problems." The
Russian delegation canceled its participation in the conference at short
notice.

ROMANIAN JEWISH FEDERATION PROTESTS WJOR STATEMENT. Nicolae Cajal, the
chairman of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Romania (FCER), has
criticized a statement by Naphtali Lavy, the deputy chairman of the World
Jewish Restitution Organization (WJOR). Lavy said recently that the
organization is opposed to admitting Poland, the Czech Republic, and Romania
to NATO because those countries are deliberately protracting the restitution
of Jewish property. In an interview with Reuters on 10 June, Lavy said the
WJOR would not seek to block the entry to NATO of the three countries but
would promote that of Hungary, "which has complied with all the restitution
promises." Cajal said the FCER was "surprised" by Lavy's statement, because
the WJOR deputy chairman had visited Romania in April and reached "excellent
agreements" with the authorities, which have since taken steps for their
implementation. He said the FCER has not been consulted and that it deplores
the statement's "blackmailing-like" tone, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported.

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               Copyright (c) 1997 RFE/RL, Inc.
                     All rights reserved.
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