F I N A L    I S S U E
OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 62, Part II, 28 March 1997

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SLOVAKIA CONCLUDES FIRST ROUND OF DEFENSE ON DAM DISPUTE. Slovakia on 27
March completed its presentation on the Gabcikovo dam controversy to the
International Court of Justice in The Hague, TASR reported. Slovakia's
arguments in its dispute with Hungary focused mainly on international
law, legal succession, and international responsibility. Over the four
days of its defense, the Slovak team called forward a number of Western
experts. Peter Tomka, who heads Slovakia's delegation, expressed his
conviction that his team's arguments were persuasive and understandable
from the standpoint of the environment and of international law. The
Hague judges will visit Gabcikovo and Nagymaros on 1-4 April to conduct
on-sight inspections. The second round of the court proceedings will
continue with Hungary's presentation on 10-11 April and Slovakia's on
14-15 April. The court is expected to issue a verdict in October. --
Sharon Fisher

STRONG REACTIONS OVER HUNGARY'S DEPUTY SPEAKER'S REMARK. Agnes Nagy
Maczo is under fire from fellow deputies and the Jewish community for an
anti-Semitic remark made in parliament, Hungarian media reported on 28
March. In a recent speech, Maczo referred to communist-era dictator
Matyas Rakosi as "that Hungarian-hating Mano Roth," stressing his Jewish
origins. Maczo not only made a remark widely viewed as condemnable but
was also factually wrong because Rakosi's original name was Rosenfeld,
not Roth. Several bodies, including the Federation of Hungarian Jewish
Communities; the parliamentary Committee on Human Rights, Minorities,
and Religion; and the junior coalition party, Alliance of Free
Democrats, protested the remark and want to see Maczo removed from her
post. Maczo is also vice president of the opposition Smallholders Party,
whose chairman, Jozsef Torgyan, said the party supports her. Torgyan
described the attacks against Maczo as a "fascist initiative aimed at
intimidating democratic parliamentary forces and destroying multi-party
parliamentary democracy." -- Zsofia Szilagyi

SUPPORT FOR EU INTEGRATION DROPS AMONG HUNGARY'S FARMERS. According to
a
recent poll by the Kiskunsag agricultural association, the proportion of
agricultural workers and producers who approve of the country's
membership in the European Union fell from 40% in 1996 to only 12% this
year, Magyar Hirlap reported on 28 March. Of the 1,000 people polled,
about 68% thought that the country's agricultural sector will probably
weaken as a consequence of EU membership; this figure was 34% a year
ago. The survey also revealed that 98% of agricultural producers have no
idea how the government is preparing for membership in the EU, while 30%
had not even heard of the integration process. -- Zsofia Szilagyi

[As of 12:00 CET]

Compiled by Valentina Huber