OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 4, 7 January 1997

HUNGARIAN NEO-NAZIS COMMEMORATE FASCIST LEADER'S BIRTHDAY. About 100
neo-Nazis gathered at the grave of Ferenc Szalasi on 6 January to mark
the 100th birthday of the Hitler ally, Hungarian and international media
reported. With Nazi assistance, Szalasi became Hungary's fascist leader
in October 1944. During his short leadership, he ordered thousands of
Jews, left-wingers, and deserters killed. Szalasi was executed as a war
criminal in 1946. The Federation of Hungarian Resistance Fighters and
Anti-Fascists protested the neo-Nazis' move in a statement released
through the state news agency MTI. -- Zsofia Szilagyi

HUNGARY, ISRAEL SIGN TECHNICAL COOPERATION PACT. Visiting Hungarian
Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs and his Israeli counterpart David Levy on
6 January signed a technical cooperation agreement involving
agricultural and other joint projects, Hungarian dailies reported.
Israel has offered $160,000 over three years to establish in Hungary a
pilot farm equipped with high-tech agricultural technology. During the
first day of his three-day official visit to Israel, Kovacs also met
with a group of Israeli bankers and with Palestinian leader Yasser
Arafat. Kovacs is still scheduled to hold talks with President Ezer
Weizman, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Finance Minister Dan
Meridor. According to Israeli government figures, some 100 Israeli
businesses have invested around $750 million in Hungary, most notably in
the areas of telecommunications, computer software, and pharmaceutical
products. Trade between the two countries totaled about $100 million in
1996. -- Zsofia Szilagyi

[As of 1200 CET]

Compiled by Susan Caskie