RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol 2, No. 196, 9 October 1998

HUNGARIAN COALITION REPRESENTATIVES SNUB SECURITY
COMMITTEE. All ruling party members of the parliament's
National Security Committee failed to attend a meeting
convened by the committee's Socialist chairman, Gyorgy
Keleti, Hungarian media reported on 8 October. Keleti
convened the meeting to discuss Prime Minister Viktor
Orban's letter refusing to appear before the committee
so that he could be questioned about the alleged illegal
collection of data on leaders of Orban's Federation of
Young Democrats--Hungarian Civic Party. Keleti described
Orban's letter as an attack against parliamentary
democracy, saying the prime minister and the governing
coalition consider the function of the committee "a
comedy." MSZ

SECRET SERVICE HEADS SACKED IN HUNGARY. Secret Services
Minister Laszlo Kover on 7 October told National
Security Office director Tibor Vidus, Intelligence
Office head Jozsef Szasz, and Technical Service head
Ferenc Hevesi-Toth that he has launched proceedings for
their dismissal, the daily "Nepszabadsag" reported.
Kover did not explain the move, although the law
stipulates that the dismissal of executives must be
explained. The dismissals of the three service heads
constitute the biggest change of secret services'
personnel in Hungary since the fall of the communist
regime. MSZ

OSCE WELCOMES DECISION ON HUNGARIAN-GERMAN UNIVERSITY.
The OSCE said on 8 October that it welcomes the Romanian
government's decision to create a German- and Hungarian-
language university, an RFE/RL correspondent in Vienna
reported. Max van der Stoel, the OSCE's special
commissioner for national minorities, said it was an
examplary "effort to find a compromise solution for a
difficult problem." The decision was criticized by many
Romanian officials. The some 2 million ethnic Hungarians
in Romania have been calling for the establishment of
such a university for many years. PB

ROMANIA, HUNGARY TO FORM JOINT MILITARY FORCE. The
Romanian government submitted legislation to the
parliament on 8 October that calls for the formation of
a 1,000-member military unit with Hungary, AP reported.
The proposed force would be equally manned by Romanians
and Hungarians and would take part in peacekeeping
missions. The legislation says the force could be used
by NATO and the EU. PB

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