RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 2, No. 116, 18 June 1998

HUNGARY'S SMALLHOLDERS NOMINATE MINISTERS. The parliamentary
group and leadership of the Independent Smallholders' Party
(FKGP) on 17 June nominated the party's four candidates for
ministerial posts in the new coalition government. Party
chairman Jozsef Torgyan is the candidate for the post of
minister of agriculture and provincial development, Janos
Szabo for defense minister, and Pal Pepo for environment
minister. The FKGP also nominated Imre Boros as minister
without portfolio responsible for coordinating the
distribution of EU funds in Hungary. MSZ

HUNGARY WANTS VOJVODINA CONSCRIPTS OUT OF KOSOVA...
Hungarian Foreign Ministry spokesman Gabor Horvath told
journalists on 17 June that ethnic Hungarian soldiers from
Vojvodina should not be ordered to Kosova and that those
already there should be withdrawn. Horvath noted that ethnic
Hungarian leaders in Vojvodina have said that more than 300
ethnic Hungarians are already on duty in the province. "This
practice unavoidably results in tensions between
Yugoslavia's minorities," he said, adding that Hungarian
diplomats have raised the issue with Belgrade and also with
EU and U.S. officials. Horvath noted that many Vojvodina
Hungarians fear that the conflict in Kosova could lead to a
fresh exodus of refugees from Vojvodina, as happened during
the 1991-1995 Croatian and Bosnian wars. MSZ/PM

TWO MORE ROMANIAN POLITICIANS ADMIT SECURITATE LINKS. Prime
Minister Radu Vasile has asked Minister of Health Francisc
Baranyi to resign and Baranyi's Hungarian Democratic
Federation of Romania (UDMR) to nominate someone to replace
him, RFE/RL's Bucharest bureau reported on 17 June . The
demand came after Baranyi admitted to having been recruited
as an informer of the former secret police 40 years ago. He
said he was forced to do so "at gun point" and never
provided any information to the Securitate. The same day,
National Peasant Party Christian Democratic (PNTCD) deputy
chairman Vasile Lupu admitted that he agreed to provide
information on "people who threaten national security" but
said he signed no pledge and never provided any information.
The admissions come as the Senate is approaching the end of
its debates on a law that would allow access to the files of
the former Securitate. MS

COUNCIL OF EUROPE CONCERNED ABOUT RACISM IN BULGARIA,
SLOVAKIA. In a report issued on 17 June, a Council of Europe
commission said it is concerned about racism in Bulgaria,
Slovakia, and several other European countries. The European
Commission Against Racism and Intolerance said that Bulgaria
"lacks structures and policies to deal with racism and
intolerance" and that the treatment of Roma in Bulgaria is
particularly worrying. The report says Roma face
discrimination in Slovakia as well, particularly in jobs,
housing, health care, and education. It adds that Slovakia's
ethnic Hungarians face discrimination, particularly in
restrictions imposed on the use of their mother tongue. MS
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