RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 2, No. 122, 26 June 1998

ORBAN SUBMITS CABINET LIST. Prime Minister-designate Viktor
Orban, chairman of the Federation of Young Democrats-
Hungarian Civic Party (FIDESZ-MPP) on 25 June submitted the
list of his FIDESZ-Independent Smallholders'-Democratic

Forum cabinet to Janos Ader, the new chairman of the
parliament. The Smallholders' hold four portfolios in the
17-ministry cabinet, among which are agriculture and
provincial development (Jozsef Torgyan) and defense (Janos
Szabo). Janos Martonyi of FIDESZ is the new Foreign
Minister. Other FIDESZ key appointments include Sandor
Pinter as Interior Minister and Laszlo Kover as minister
without portfolio responsible for civil security services.
Democratic Forum member David Ibolya is justice minister.
The appointees need to be screened by the National Security
Office. Ader said the Prime Minister may be sworn in on 6
July and the cabinet on 8 July. MSZ

TENSION IN ROMANIAN-HUNGARIAN RELATIONS. The Defense
Ministry on 25 June said it was "puzzled" by a commentary on
Hungarian state radio which said that military maneuvers
underway in the Harghita and Covasna counties, the bulk of
whose population is Hungarian ethnic, is aimed at
"intimidating the local population." The ministry denied
that Hungarian journalists were not allowed to observe the
maneuvers. The Vasile cabinet on 25 June went ahead with its
earlier decision to establish a commission evaluating the
possibility of setting up a Hungarian-language state
university. The leadership of the Hungarian Democratic
Federation of Romania said it is satisfied with the decision
and is no longer contemplating leaving the ruling coalition.
The government also decided to return to ethnic minority
organizations 17 buildings that had been confiscated by the
communists, eight of which will be returned to the Hungarian
minority. MS

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RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 2, No. 121, 25 June 1998

HUNGARY'S YOUNG DEMOCRATS, SMALLHOLDERS SIGN COALITION PACT.
Prime Minister-designate Viktor Orban, chairman of the
Federation of Young Democrats-Hungarian Civic Party (FIDESZ-
MPP) and Independent Smallholders' Party chairman Jozsef
Torgyan signed a coalition agreement on 24 June. Orban said
the pact removes the last obstacle to the formation of a new
government. Torgyan described the agreement as of
"historical importance," making possible a "genuine change
of regime." In other news, Laszlo Urban on 23 June
unexpectedly declined to accept the finance portfolio in the
new government, reportedly because of opposing views that he
and Orban hold on the future of Hungary's Posta Bank. Orban
announced the same day that Zsigmond Jarai, president of the
Stock Exchange Council, had been offered the post and had
accepted the nomination. MSZ

BULGARIA WANTS INFORMATION ON MINORITY CONSCRIPTS IN KOSOVA.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Radko Vlaikov on 24 June said
Bulgaria has requested official information from the
Yugoslav authorities on conscripts from minority groups
being dispatched to Kosova, BTA reported. Vlaikov said that
if the information about an "imbalance" in selecting and
including Bulgarian minority members in the contingents
dispatched to Kosova turns out to be true, Sofia "will not
pass over the matter in silence." Earlier this month, top
Montenegrin officials and representatives of Vojvodina's
Hungarian minority demanded that conscripts from Montenegro
and Vojvodina, respectively, be stationed only outside
Kosova. In other news, on 24 June visiting Uzbek President
Islam Karimov and his Bulgarian counterpart Petar Stoyanov
signed a treaty on friendly relations and cooperation
between their countries, BTA reported. Stoyanov said Sofia
will support Uzbekistan's application for membership in the
Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization. MS

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                     All rights reserved.
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