OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 45, 5 March 1997

HUNGARIAN PRESIDENT IN LITHUANIA. Arpad Goncz, accompanied by about 30
businessmen, began an official three-day visit to Lithuania on 4 March
with talks with President Algirdas Brazauskas, Radio Lithuania reported.
Interior Minister Vidmantas Ziemelis and Hungarian Interior Ministry
Political Secretary Gabor Vilagos signed an agreement on combating
terrorism, drug trafficking, and organized crime. Goncz assured Seimas
Chairman Vytautas Landsbergis of Hungary's support for Lithuania's
efforts to join NATO and the EU and said that a free trade treaty
between the two countries will be signed within two months. The
businessmen are holding talks with Lithuanian manufacturing and trading
firms. -- Saulius Girnius

SLOVAK REACTIONS TO HUNGARIAN ARGUMENTS IN THE HAGUE. Peter Tomka, head
of Slovakia's delegation in that country's dispute with Hungary at the
International Court of Justice in The Hague, on 4 March criticized the
Hungarian arguments, TASR reported. At the close of the second day
during which Hungary presented its case, Tomka said the Hungarian
delegation seems to be trying to convince the court "on the basis of
forecasts and probabilities," while "the decision must be based on legal
norms and proven facts." Julius Binder, the director of the firm that
built the Gabcikovo dam, told Slovak Radio that the Hungarian statements
made before the International Court of Justice constituted
"demagoguery." He accused Laszlo Valki, one of the Hungarian
representatives in the case, of "irredentism," saying he wants to annul
the post-war Paris treaty that delineated the Slovak-Hungarian border.
-- Sharon Fisher

HUNGARIAN PARLIAMENT ACTS ON HOLOCAUST VICTIM COMPENSATION. Parliament
on 4 March acted to implement the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty's call for
compensation for Holocaust victims and authorized the government to
deposit 4 billion forints ($46.5 million) worth of compensation coupons
at nominal value, Hungarian media reported. The coupons, convertible to
life annuity, will be managed by a public foundation that was recently
established to compensate the Jewish community. Life annuity will be
available for Jews who are over 60 years old, are Hungarian citizens and
are permanent residents of Hungary. Three opposition parties -- the
Christian Democrats, the Young Democrats and the Democratic Forum --
abstained from voting. Forum politicians contended that the bill does
not exclude former members of the state security office AVH and those
members of the law enforcement agencies who helped crush the 1956
revolution. -- Zsofia Szilagyi

[As of 12:00 CET]

Compiled by Sava Tatic