OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 100, 23 May 1996
SLOVAK PARLIAMENT APPROVES FOUNDATION LAW. The parliament on 22 May
approved the law on foundations despite the Third Sector Association's
ongoing campaign against it, Slovak media reported. Of 154 proposed
amendments to the draft law, only 13 were accepted. Members of the
ruling Movement for a Democratic Slovakia said the law was needed to
stop "foreign subversion," pointing in particular to Hungarian-born U.S.
financier, George Soros, who publicly criticized Slovak Prime Minister
Vladimir Meciar last year. The law states that foundations must register
with the Interior Ministry and have start-up capital of 10,000 crowns
($323), increasing to 100,000 crowns after half a year. Critics fear the
law will put an end to many small foundations and threaten the
development of a civil society. While the president has the right to
veto the law, the parliament can simply pass it again. -- Sharon Fisher
HUNGARIAN DEFENSE MINISTER OFFERS RESIGNATION. Gyorgy Keleti on 22 May
has offered to resign following a dispute over the Hungarian armed
forces' decision to send eight MiG-29 aircraft to Poland for military
exercises without either his or the parliament's approval. Despite the
opposition's sharp criticism of Keleti, Prime Minister Gyula Horn said
he would not accept the resignation, Hungarian and Reuters reported.
"The defense minister is doing a good job and is a valuable member of
the government," Horn stressed. Keleti said an investigative commission
headed by Defense Ministry political state secretary Istvan Fodor has
been established to determine who authorized the flights. All five
opposition parties have insisted on Keleti's resignation, noting that he
is politically responsible for the consequences of decisions made by his
subordinates. * Sharon Fisher
ROMANIAN ELECTION UPDATE. Representatives of several opposition parties,
meeting on 22 May with President Ion Iliescu, demanded that general and
presidential elections be held separately, local media reported. The
ballots are scheduled to take place in the fall. The proposal was first
advanced by the Liberal Party '93 and is now also backed by the National
Peasant Party-Christian Democratic, the National Liberal Party-
Democratic Convention, the Hungarian Democratic Federation of Romania,
and the Party of Romanian National Unity, which is coalition party of
the Party of Social Democracy of Romania (PDSR). Observers believe the
proposal stems from the fear that Iliescu's popularity will boost the
PDSR's performance at the polls. But the government's position is that
the elections should be held at the same time to avoid doubling expenses
and to enable the new government to concentrate on economic
restructuring. -- Michael Shafir
[As of 12:00 CET]
Compiled by Jan Cleave