OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 157, 14 August 1996

SLOVAK CABINET APPROVES NEW DISTRICT CHIEFS. The government on 13
August agreed on the heads of Slovakia's eight new regions and all
but one of its 79 new districts, Narodna obroda reported. The
cabinet also approved changes to the district boundaries. The new
state officials were selected by a special Interior Ministry
commission. CTK reported that only one of the regional and district
heads is not an ethnic Slovak, despite the fact that ethnic
Hungarians have a majority in a number of the districts. Nine of
the officials were reportedly members of the election team of Prime
Minister Vladimir Meciar's party. Meanwhile, government spokeswoman
Ludmila Bulakova, responding to a Sme report on 13 August, denied
that Meciar spent his recent vacation in Russia. "The prime
minister spent this year's summer vacation on Slovak territory,"
she said, adding that the report was "absurd speculation." --
Sharon Fisher

REACTION IN HUNGARY TO CANCELED HORN-MECIAR MEETING. Gyorgy Giczy,
president of the opposition Christian Democratic Party, has said
that the Slovak government's unexpected cancellation of a meeting
between Hungarian Prime Minister Gyula Horn and Slovak Prime
Minister Vladimir Meciar is a "slap in the face" to Hungary,
Hungarian dailies reported on 14 August. In an open letter to Horn,
Giczy said that if Horn seeks another meeting with Meciar or if the
government takes "irrevocable steps" in the negotiations over the
basic treaty with Romania, the Christian Democrats will call for a
special parliamentary session. The opposition Smallholders' Party
released a statement calling the canceled prime ministerial meeting
another "affront" to Hungary. Meciar and Horn are expected to meet
in Slovakia on 13-14 September during a summit meeting of premiers
from the CEFTA member states. -- Ben Slay

[As of 12:00 CET]

Compiled by Jan Cleave