From hungary-report-owner Mon Aug 14 13:19:53 1995 Received: from localhost (daemon@localhost) (fnord) by nando.yak.net (8.6.5/8.6.5) id NAA09803; Mon, 14 Aug 1995 13:19:53 -0700 Received: from localhost (daemon@localhost) (fnord) by nando.yak.net (8.6.5/8.6.5) id NAA09792; Mon, 14 Aug 1995 13:19:30 -0700 Received: from bruner@ind.eunet.hu () via =-=-=-=-=-= for hungary-report@hungary.yak.net (9790) Received: from ind.eunet.hu (root@ind.eunet.hu [192.84.225.42]) (fnord) by nando (8.6.5/8.6.5) with SMTP id NAA09774 for ; Mon, 14 Aug 1995 13:17:40 -0700 Received: from [192.84.226.92] (bruner.dial.eunet.hu) by ind.eunet.hu with SMTP id AA05545 (5.67a8/SZTAKI-4.01 for ); Mon, 14 Aug 1995 22:10:49 +0200 X-Sender: pop029@ind.eunet.hu Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" Date: Mon, 14 Aug 1995 22:10:50 +0100 To: hungary-report@hungary.yak.net From: bruner@ind.eunet.hu (Rick Bruner) Subject: Hungary Report 2.20 X-Charset: US X-Char-Esc: 0 Sender: owner-hungary-report@hungary.yak.net Precedence: bulk Reply-To: hungary-report@hungary.yak.net ======================== The Hungary Report Direct from Budapest, every week No. 1.20, August 14, 1995 ======================== The Hungary Report is supported in part by: MTI-Econews, a daily English-language financial news service. For online (fee-based) subscription information, contact (not automated -- write a nice note). ======== CONTENTS BREIFS No bombings near Hungary, Gov't says; Transport with Croatian transport normalized after halt Stones rock the house in pouring rain; less profit than hoped Gov't toasts July economic results Tourist figures bring mostly sunny news for economy Ikarus is bankrupt, says new president 22 Sri Lankan survivers head home Prime Minster Horn agrees to monthly TV press conferences Budapest air is better than ever Hungary still beating out Czech Rep on investments Sewage system stinking awful New map shows Budapest highlights NUMBERS CRUNCHED Overall hotel occuapancy for June Four and five-star hotel occupancy Minimum living income for family of four PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT HELP: Missing Person in Budapest FEATURE STORY Spaced out defense minister ====== BRIEFS Copyright (c) 1995, Rick E. Bruner ------------ GENERAL NEWS No bombings near Hungary, Gov't says; Transport with Croatian transport normalized after halt Hungarian officials disputed a UN report that Bosnian Serb jets had bombed the Croatian city of Virovitica, which is 15 kilometers from Hungary's southern border, a week ago on Monday. After a UN official in Zagreb claimed Virovitica to be among five cities bombed that weekend by Serbs in retaliation for Croatian seizures in the Krajina, Hungarian Border Guard officials said the UN was mistaken, Reuters reported. "There was an air raid alarm at about 9 am (0700 GMT) in Virovitica, but there were no Serb aircraft anywhere nearby and there certainly weren't any bombings," Border Guard spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Jozsef Komuves told Reuters. Neither Reuters nor the other media consulted for the Hungary Report followed up on the incident later in the week. Also, some 5,000 tons of wheat in 250 train cars stalled at the Croatian border earlier last week were permitted to continue on for the Adriatic port of Rijeka by Thursday at midnight. The Croatian Railways gave the stoppage orders to MAV (Hungarian State Railways) on Wednesday, due to a "traffic overload" in Croatia. Rail service resumed after a previously scheduled meeting among the Hungarian, Croatian and Slovenian rail authorities, where the three worked out issues of technical coordination, according to Econews. Rijeka serves as land-locked Hungary's main sea port. Stones rock the house in pouring rain; less profit than hoped Few concert-goes seemed bothered by heavy rains at last Tuesday's outdoor Nepstadion show, where the legendary Rolling Stones dripped with professionalism, getting soaked on-stage themselves while playing more than 2 hours of classics and recent hits. Nearing the end of more than a year on a world-wide Voodoo Lounge tour, the Stones put on perhaps the most extravagant rock show in Hungarian history, with a massive, space-age stage equipped with dozens of flame throwers, hundreds of lights and a fireworks finale, an enormous video screen with a half dozen cameramen, and the performers themselves going all out. (Mick garbled a few attempts at Hungarian, "Koszi szepen" -- thanks a lot -- being about the only thing intelligible.) The crowd certainly got its money's worth, despite the relatively high price of tickets, starting at HUF 4,000 ($32). Organizers aren't sure they got theirs, though. While earlier press reports claimed more than 60,000 advanced ticket sales, the cash total came in at around HUF 220 million (US$ 1.7m), or enough for about 50-55,000 tickets sold. The Austro-Hungarian organizing company said net profits amounted to around HUF 120 million, about half what they hoped, 97.5% of which must be paid to the band, according to the contract. -------------------- BUSINESS & ECONOMICS Gov't toasts July economic results The Finance Ministry last week declared that the economic austerity measures launched in March to urgently redress Hungary's debt crisis are beginning to show significant results. Growth in the budget deficit slowed dramatically in July. The budget deficit by the end of last month reached HUF 194.7 billion (US$ 1.5 bn), only HUF 3 billion up from the month before, the slowest monthly budget deficit growth in years. (By the end of this first quarter, the deficit had already reached HUF 146 billion.) The figure is still well above the supplementary budget's projected year-end deficit of HUF 156 billion, but government economic officials are confident they can keep close to their 1995 deficit target of 3-4% of GDP through additional revenues. The improved situation last month owes primarily to higher than expected VAT and customs duty revenues, plus recent government social spending cuts. Finance Ministry deputy state secretary Csaba Laszlo told the press last Monday the government expects significant revenue from privatization later this year, at least half of the originally targeted HUF 150 billion for 1995. Any shortfall could be made up on the domestic money market, another Finance Ministry official said. Later in the week, Privatization Minister Tamas Suchman declared it was still perfectly feasible to get the whole HUF 150 billion projected privatization revenue by the year's end, with tens of billions of forints worth of shares in the Hungarian Oil and Gas Company (MOL Rt.), the Hungarian Electric Works (MVM Rt.) and a further state in the Hungarian Telecommunications Company (Matav) due for sale imminently. Speaking to Hungarian Television, Suchman said the only thing threatening this goal was Finance Ministry bureaucracy. Tourist figures bring mostly sunny news for economy More than 17 million visitors arrived in Hungary in the first six months of this year, an eight percent increase on the same period last year, according to the Central Statistics Office. Tourist spending in first five months, meanwhile totaled US$ 506.9 million, 22% up on the same period last year, the National Bank of Hungary announced. The tourism deficit -- the difference between Hungarian vacation spending abroad versus foreign tourist income -- dropped dramatically in May, from US$ 114.5 million at the end of April to US$ 40.8 million a month later, Econews reports. The government's March economic austerity plan had, no doubt, a restrictive effect on families' summer vacation plans. Balaton tourism income, nevertheless, saw a 12% decline over the first six months compared to the same period last year. Ikarus is bankrupt, says new president The newly appointed president of the Ikarus bus company, once the world's largest, is in "hidden bankruptcy," with its debts exceeding the value of the company and costs higher than revenues. The new president, Adam Angyal, announced layoffs of 500 and said the Budapest plant will suspend operation, while the one in Szekesfehervar continues alone, pending any large new orders, Econews reports. The government owns 60% of Ikarus, while its privatization plans have dragged on for years. ----------- SHORT TAKES THE 22 SURVIVING SRI LANKANS of last month's person smuggling disaster [See Hungary Report 1.17], where 18 of their countrymen were found dead of suffocation in a Bulgarian truck near Gyor, were sent back home on Tuesday. Some had spent more than two years fleeing their native country to "The West," on routes crossing Russia, Bulgaria and Romania before meeting disaster less than 20 kilometers from Austria. PRIME MINISTER HORN AGREED TO HOLD MONTHLY TV PRESS CONFERENCES starting in October. The idea was first put forward by the National Alliance of Hungarian Journalists (MUOSZ) last year. The Hungarian State Television (MTV) says it still has to think about the proposal. BUDAPEST AIR IS CLEANER THAN EVER, according to Ministry of Environment officials, who say levels in most types of pollutants have been steadily declining for years, Budapest Sun reports. Decline in heavy industry rather than decisive action is the biggest contributor to the positive change. HUNGARY IS STILL A FAVORITE FOR INVESTORS, the economic daily Vilaggazdasag reports. Some $416 million of working foreign capital entered Hungary through this May, compared to $402.5 million through June for the Czech Republic. The UN European Economic Committee reports that between 1990 and July 1, 1994, $8.3 billion of working capital came to Hungary, $2.7 billion to Poland, $2.5 billion to the Czech Republic, and $0.5 billion to Slovakia, according to Reuters. HUNGARY'S SEWAGE SYSTEM need at least HUF 660 billion (US$ 5.3 bn) invested to bring it up to European Union standards, according to Econews. Only 42.3% of the country's population is connected to the sewage system, with most of the have-nots located in smaller countryside towns and villages. ---------------- NUMBERS CRUNCHED * Overall hotel occupancy rate in June, nearly the same as last year (Central Statistical Office): 48% * June occupancy rate at four and five-star hotels (CSO): 70% * Minimum net monthly expenses for a family of four (the Subsistence-level Foundation, Lethataron Alapitvany): HUF 73,981 (US$ 592) ------------- EXCHANGE RATE August 10, 1995 (National Bank of Hungary) US dollar - 127.21 (buying), 129.63 (selling) Deutschemark - 90.32 (buying), 92.10 (selling) -------------- WACKY AS USUAL New Budapest map highlights popular destinations Eager to contribute to Hungary's image as a tourist haven, the Capital Sewage Works of Budapest recently published an invaluable map for visitors on the go, demarcating each of the capital's proud network of 221 public toilets. About a quarter of the 200,000 daily users of the system during summer months are foreigners, the Budapest Business Journal reports quoting an official from the company's Public Rest Room Department, so the new guides are handily printed in English, German, French and Russian, as well as Hungarian. =========================== PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT *** PLEASE HELP: MISSING PERSON IN BUDAPEST *** A Hungary Report reader wrote me last week with a serious call for help in locating a friend who disappeared in Budapest recently. What follows is Simon Birrell's message, with contact information below: An Englishman Chris Stangroom, about six foot high, 29 years old and with A COMPLETELY BALD HEAD went missing from his hotel room in Budapest somewhere around 26th July. He was on holiday in Budapest and had been talking about going to Romania or Croatia for a few days, but it has been discovered recently that all his personal belongings are still in his hotel room. Interpol has been informed, but maybe somebody in the Internet or Fidonet community can help us with clues. You may have met Chris, he speaks only English (and a bit of German) but is very friendly. He looks distinctive because he is young but completely bald (it is possible that he has very short hair by now). If you met him, or even think you saw him in the streets please send us a message; we need to know WHEN he disappeared. Please send e-mail to one of these addresses: rvirtual@ran.es simon@cursci.co.uk I don't receive any Hungarian newsgroups so please send responses directly as e-mail, don't just REPLY to a posting. If you receive this message, please show it to everyone you can and re-post it to other forums or groups that people living in Budapest might read. His family and friends are extremely worried. Thank you for your help. Simon Birrell rvirtual@ran.es ============= FEATURE STORY Defense Minister spaced out? By Rick E. Bruner Copyright (c) 1995 Defense Minister Gyorgy Keleti is a lot more concerned about the security threat of a widening Balkan War at Hungary's southern border than he is about an invasion of little green men from outer-space. But then, he doesn't entirely discount the latter, either. Yes, this small Central European nation's highest military official is an out-of-the-closet, long-time UFO enthusiast. Before being appointed to the cabinet of the new Socialist-led government after last year's election, Keleti rarely missed any of the country's frequent extra-terrestrial conferences, and he wrote regularly for the popular UFO Magazine, as their official Defense Ministry correspondent. "I believe that in this huge universe, where we live on a tiny, little planet, there could be other planets where there are some technically or intellectually developed beings," Keleti told the Hungary Report, only too happy to speak about the subject, while the ministry's press chief rolled his eyes and tapped his watch. "And if they are more developed than us, they might be interested in what's around them.... And if so, they may appear [on Earth]," he said. By Hungarian standards, Keleti is no wacko. The populace seems anything but alarmed by the thought that their military chief might launch a war of the worlds or stage a government coup allied with Martians (as opposed to yester-year's Soviets). Rather, Keleti, with a reputation for being a straight-forward and reliable politician, consistently tops public opinion polls for popularity among the government's cabinet members, several notches above Prime Minister Gyula Horn, for example. While some west European tabloids have made light of the fact that the man leading Hungary's efforts to join NATO by day is spotting flying saucers by night, Hungarian newspapers have never found the point newsworthy. Somehow, the famous Hungarian wit fails to register any irony in the situation. "So he believes in UFOs. What's the big deal?" said Andras Varga, a student at Budapest Technical University. "People are entitled to an opinion. We should worry more about our prime minister's drinking." Not that UFO-spotting is aberrant behavior in Hungary, either. UFO Magazine, Keleti's old freelance employer back when he was Defense Ministry press officer, ranks among Hungary's biggest circulation monthly magazines. The country is, after all, small and flat with lots of places to land, inhabited by a people of mysterious origins and a particularly bizarre language -- who knows, maybe Martians feel a natural affinity for the place. UFO Magazine's editor, Sandor Pusztay, explains, "Hungarians are more open to these ideas. We have so many other troubles, people turn to things kinds of things to take their minds off their day-to-day cares." Indeed, with crisis-ridden neighbors like ex-Yugoslavia and the former Soviet Union, unemployment at 11%, a fast-growing Ukrainian mafia and a set of tough new economic austerity measures, Mars might seem like a pretty good alternative to some Hungarians right now, immigration issues notwithstanding. And then there are, of course, some things that are plain difficult to explain away. The night of January 18, 1991, for instance. Shortly after 11 pm, thousands of Hungarians claim to have seen a 150-foot-long, silent, brightly lit object hovering around the country, searching perhaps for the ultimate goulash recipe. "This phenomenon has simply never been explained," Keleti said, eyebrows raised. He personally wasn't watching the sky that night, but he later wrote up a report for the magazine quoting several military sources who had been, including pilots, air-traffic controllers and meteorologists. "I didn't have any reason to doubt my military colleagues' words. Why would they have lied? ... They weren't all drunk," he said. Then, as now, Keleti has benefited in his hobby from inside information within the military organization. "At that time as a working military officer, certain channels were open to me that weren't open to other people," he said of his magazine report of the mysterious incident. The Hungarian government is not, however, engaged in any conspiracy to conceal other-worldly information from the public, hiding captured space vessels in underground bunkers and the like, he assured the Globe. In the end, it's simply a personal interest that doesn't arise often in the day-to-day matters of a defense minister in one of the world's more politically unstable regions. "It doesn't mean that I want to prepare the army against a UFO intervention," he said. "I'm not mentally ill, or whatever." Something not all politicians could say so convincingly. =================== NO PARLIAMENT WATCH Tibor Vidos is on vacation for a couple weeks. His column will re-apper in early September. =========== FINAL BLURB The Hungary Report is free to readers. To subscribe, send an email message to the following Internet address: hungary-report-request@hungary.yak.net containing (in the body of the message, not in the headers) the single word subscribe Conversely, to stop receiving Hungary Report, simply send to the same address (in the body of the message) the single word unsubscribe Please note: all mailing lists suffer from frequent "error" addresses. If we have problems with sending to your address more than one week in a row, we will remove you from the list. If you haven't received the report for more than one week, feel free to enquire directly to Rick Bruner (but please wait for at least a week, as we're also just famously late in getting the thing out sometimes :) * * * Back issues of The Hungary Report are available on the World-Wide Web http://www.yak.net/hungary-report/ and via FTP host: ftp.yak.net directory: /pub/hungary-report/ login name: "ftp" password: your email address * * * The entire contents of The Hungary Report is copyrighted by the authors. Permission is granted for not-for-profit, electronic redistribution and storage of the material. If readers redistribute any part of The Hungary Report by itself, PLEASE RESPECT AUTHORS' BY-LINES and copyright notices. Reprinting and resale of the material is strictly prohibited without explicit prior consent by the authors. Please contact the authors directy by email to enquire about resale rights. * * * For information on becoming a corporate sponsor of The Hungary Report, contact Rick E. Bruner by email. Feedback is welcome. Rick E. Bruner John Nadler Tibor Vidos or * * * For its briefs, The Hungary Report regularly consults the news sources listed below -- for information about subsriptions, contact them by email: The Budapest Business Journal <100263.213@compuserve.com> (and tell them what dwads they are for making us pay for issues at the newsstand); Budapest Sun <100275.456@compuserve.com>; Budapest Week and Hungary Around the Clock (same email address) <100324.141@compuserve.com>, and Central Europe Today (free online) . ================ END TRANSMISSION