RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 2, No. 160, 20 August 1998

SLOVAKIA DENIES CUTTING HUNGARIAN-LANGUAGE TV PROGRAM. In a
statement to MTI on 19 August, Slovakia's new ambassador to
Hungary, Arpad Tarnoczy. said Slovak Television will not
reduce the air time allotted to its Hungarian-language
program but will "give a chance to other minorities to
appear on the same program" (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 19
August 1998). Tarnoczy said he would "personally object" to
any move to cancel the program. Meanwhile, a partial
resolution to the dispute over the transfer of the ownership
of TV Markiza has been reached. The station's new owner has
agreed to let director-general Pavol Rusko remain in his
post and to abstain from interfering pending a final
resolution of the dispute in court. MS

HUNGARIAN FOREIGN MINISTER ON 'ADVOCACY OF NATIONAL
INTEREST.' Janos Martonyi, in an interview with "Magyar
Nemzet" on 19 August, said Hungary's Euro-Atlantic
aspirations are "not impeded by a firmer advocacy of
national interest." He noted that by giving stronger
emphasis to that interest, the cabinet headed by Viktor
Orban is "not acting in an unusual way, we simply have a
clear vision and [openly] declare it." Martonyi said that
the cabinet "considers regional cooperation extremely
important" and that Orban's recent visit to Romania
"underlined that improving links with Romania is a top
foreign policy priority." He said he will meet with "nearly
all" his Central and East European counterparts to discuss
regional cooperation. MS

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