OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 27, 7 February 1996

HUNGARIAN PARLIAMENT DIVIDED OVER SCREENING LAW. Hungarian deputies on 6
February began to debate an amendment to the screening law, Hungarian
dailies reported. The law, which was passed under the previous
administration in 1994 and subsequently declared unconstitutional by the
Constitutional Court, forbids those who worked for the communist-era
III/III department of the secret service from holding public office.
Coalition and opposition deputies are at odds over who should be
screened. The cabinet's draft law provides for screening only those who
have taken an oath in the parliament, while the opposition wants to
include judges, prosecutors, and senior officers in the armed forces and
police. Ferenc Koszeg of the Alliance of Free Democrats, the junior
coalition party, argued that the law should allow all reports, not just
those maintained by the III/III department, to be made public, including
those on Hungarian emigres and enlisted soldiers. -- Zsofia Szilagyi

APPEALS FOR MORE AID. Regional leaders attending the World Economic
Forum in Davos, Switzerland, have appealed for more aid, international
agencies reported. Bosnian Prime Minister Hsan Muratovic estimated
Bosnian war damage at $45 billion, while the Croatian delegation said
their country needed $17 billion. Rump Yugoslav Prime Minister Radoje
Kontic estimated his country lost more than $200 billion directly and
indirectly through the war. Hungarian President Arpad Goncz asked that
some of money be earmarked for aiding Hungarian infrastructure.
Meanwhile, The World Bank reported that almost 90% of the Bosnian
population depends on international aid. -- Michael Mihalka

[As of 12:00 CET]

Compiled by Jan Cleave