OMRI DAILY DIGEST Part II
Vol. 1, No. 14, Part II, 19 January 1995


50TH ANNIVERSARY OF GHETTO LIBERATION IN HUNGARY. Survivors and
dignitaries braved freezing temperatures to commemorate the Red Army
liberation 50 years ago of Budapest's ghetto, Western news agencies
report. Hundreds filled the Garden of Heroes behind the main synagogue,
from where many Budapest Jews were transported to death camps. The
ghetto was set up in late 1944 following the German occupation of
Hungary in March of that year. More than 600,000 Hungarian Jews perished
in Nazi camps, while some 50,000 survived in the ghetto. -- Edith Oltay,
OMRI, Inc.

BORBA SAYS IT'S GAINING SUPPORT. Borba on 19 January notes that the list
of national and international voices offering their material and moral
support to the independent newspaper has grown to include the
Independent Syndicate of Metalworkers of Serbia. Leaders of the ethnic
Hungarian community in Vojvodina have also registered their backing,
recognizing Borba as "a symbol of objective, independent, and free"
reporting. Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic's regime on 26 December
attempted to silence Borba by backing the launching of a state-
sanctioned version of the newspaper under the directorship of
Milosevic's ally Dragutin Brcin. -- Stan Markotich, OMRI, Inc.

[As of 1200 CET]

Compiled by Jan Cleave

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A tovabbterjesztest a New York-i szekhelyu Magyar Emberi Jogok
Alapitvany tamogatja.

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Reposting is supported by Hungarian Human Rights Foundation News
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date=1/19/95
type=correspondent report
number=2-172618
title=Eastern Europe Reconstruction (l-only)
byline=Chris Simkins
dateline=New York
content=
voiced at:

Intro:   Some leading American business executives are meeting in
New York this week to look at ways of increasing private
investment in power plants, highways, hospitals, and other
infrastructure projects throughout the world.  V-o-A's
correspondent Chris Simkins in New York tells us how one
financial organization represented at the conference is playing a
key role in helping rebuild the economies of Eastern European
nations.

Text:  The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development  was
formed four years ago to assist 25 Eastern European countries and
former Soviet republics to develop market-oriented economies.

The London-based bank has done that by providing 12-billion
dollars in loans to mostly U-S companies for 47 projects to
rebuild the infrastructure of countries from the Czech Republic
to Tajikistan.

Ronald Freeman, vice president of the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development, told the conference the lack of
infrastructure investment over the last 50 years has create many
opportunities for U-S firms in Eastern Europe.

                     /// Freeman act ///

         We do everything on a co-financing basis so that others
         also put their money in these projects and see how
         interesting the opportunities are to invest. We have
         invested in the major rail line in the Czech Republic
         with the Czech rail company. We have invested in
         upgrading telephone systems. We have invested in the
         privatisation of these systems so they operate according
         to private market business principles. We have improved
         water systems. One of the interesting things we have
         done is that we have even made the highways private.  We
         provided money to help build a private motorway in
         Hungary, connecting Hungary to Western Europe, "M-one,"
         "M-15," which is a toll road. So it is  not  financed by
         taxpayers. It is  not  in the state budget. It pays its
         own way. We are doing this throughout the region.

                         /// End act ///

Despite the many investment opportunities, Mr. Freeman
acknowledges a reluctance among U-S businesses to invest in
Eastern Europe because of what is regarded as political
instability in the region.  He says the bank for European
reconstruction has worked hard in helping investors overcoming
the political risk associated with launching projects in Eastern
Europe.

                       /// Freeman act ///

         We explicitly assume the political risk. That is the
         risk of war, the risk of appropriations and the risk of
         violence. We understand these countries, we think we
         know them well, we understand their goals, their
         desires. So we assume that risk to a very significant
         degree so that people (investors) can focus on the
         project. We will focus on the politics.

                        /// End act ///

Mr. Freeman says the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development has already helped improve the economies of several
countries in Eastern Europe. He points to a private sector
project involving energy savings programs in Poland. Mr. Freeman
says by using private money, the Polish government has generated
large savings resulting in lower inflation. He says that has
allowed the government to re-invest the savings in other more
important local projects.

The conference on worldwide infrastructure partnership was
sponsored by Forbes Magazine, a U-S business journal.

                        /// Rest opt ///

Christopher Forbes, vice chairman of the magazine, says
reductions in governmental spending and the trend towards
privatisation have created major opportunities for innovative
investment projects in Eastern Europe and around the world.
(Signed)

neb/cs/lsf/pt

19-Jan-95 3:36 pm est (2036 utc)
nnnn

source: Voice of America

*****************************************************************
A tovabbterjesztest a New York-i szekhelyu Magyar Emberi Jogok
Alapitvany tamogatja.

           [*]   [*]  [*]   [*]  [*][*]    [*][*][*]
           [*]   [*]  [*]   [*]  [*]  [*]  [*]
           [*][*][*]  [*][*][*]  [*][*]    [*][*] 
           [*]   [*]  [*]   [*]  [*]  [*]  [*]    
           [*]   [*]  [*]   [*]  [*]   [*] [*]

Reposting is supported by Hungarian Human Rights Foundation News
and Information Service.
*****************************************************************