From hungary-report-owner Mon Mar 11 09:54:13 1996 Received: from localhost (daemon@localhost) (fnord) by nando.yak.net (8.6.5/8.6.5) id JAA02656; Mon, 11 Mar 1996 09:54:13 -0800 Received: from localhost (daemon@localhost) (fnord) by nando.yak.net (8.6.5/8.6.5) id JAA02645; Mon, 11 Mar 1996 09:53:56 -0800 Received: from jbrown@isys.hu () via =-=-=-=-=-= for hungary-report@hungary.yak.net (2643) Received: from kingzog.isys.hu (KingZog.iSYS.hu [194.24.160.4]) (fnord) by nando (8.6.5/8.6.5) with ESMTP id JAA02630 for ; Mon, 11 Mar 1996 09:52:48 -0800 Received: from [194.24.161.32] (dialup-1-032.dial.isys.hu [194.24.161.32]) by kingzog.isys.hu (8.7.Beta.11/8.7.Beta.11) with SMTP id SAA05968 for ; Mon, 11 Mar 1996 18:52:24 +0100 (MET) Date: Mon, 11 Mar 1996 18:52:24 +0100 (MET) X-Sender: jbrown@mail.isys.hu Message-Id: Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable To: hungary-report@hungary.yak.net From: jbrown@isys.hu (Jennifer Brown) Subject: The Hungary Report 1.41 Sender: owner-hungary-report@hungary.yak.net Precedence: bulk Reply-To: hungary-report@hungary.yak.net =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D The Hungary Report Direct from Budapest, every week Also available on the World Wide Web (http://www.isys.hu/hrep/) No. 1.41, March 11, 1996 =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D SPONSORED BY: iSYS Kft., providing full Internet solutions for companies and individuals in Hungary. For further information, send e-mail to , view our World Wide Web home page (http://www.isys.hu) or call (+36-1) 266-6090. ALSO BY: Hungary Around the Clock, the most comprehensive daily English-language news service on your desk by 9 am each morning. For a trial subscription, contact Kingfish Communications. Call (+36-1) 351-2440. Fax: (+36-1) 268-1462. Internet: Kingfish@dial.isys.hu =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D CONTENTS BRIEFS Democratic Forum splits Electricity privatization wraps up with latest tender Finance Ministry's real estate transaction investigated EU task force formed Neo-Nazi's acquittal results in protests National Teacher's Union threatens strikes 35 Hungarian policeman leave for Bosnia USAID plans to cut out early Brown & Root fires local catering company Germans accuse Hungarian secret service of withholding info Hungarians get Grammy awards NUMBERS CRUNCHED Hungarian alcoholics Salary raises for educators Public transportation revenues USAID spending since 1991 Condom consumption FEATURE STORY Super neni has over 18 mouths to feed PARLIAMENT WATCH The fog lifts on center-right politics The Hungary Report is also supported in part by: MTI-Econews, a daily English-language financial news service. For online (fee-based) subscription information, contact the Internet address: . (It's not automated -- write a nice note.) =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D BRIEFS By Jennifer C. Brown Copyright (c) 1996 ------------- GENERAL NEWS Democratic Forum splits Some 17 moderate MPs left the former ruling opposition party Democratic Forum (MDF) last week to form a new party, the Hungarian Democratic People's Party (MDNP). The group is headed by former parliamentary faction leader Ivan Szabo, who was defeated by Sandor Lezsak in the MDF presidential election last weekend. According to Magyar Hirlap, the members of the new party include former foreign minister Geza Jeszenszky, former speaker of parliament Gyorgy Szabad, former privatization minister Tamas Szabo, former deputy parliamentary group leader Imre Konya, and Tamas Katona, the mayor of Budapest's first district. The MDNP plans to elect a temporary ruling body and will hold an inaugural congress within two or three weeks. The differences between the MDF and MDNP appear to be more personal than ideological, reports the Budapest Sun. It quoted political analyst Laszlo Gy. Toth as saying that the breakaway party will have a difficult time distinguishing itself from the MDF because of similar rhetoric and political ideology. Both parties have said they would cooperate with Fidesz and the Christian Democratic Party, reports the Budapest Sun. Both parties will hold talks this week on various items including personnel issues and parliamentary work. --------------------- BUSINESS & ECONOMICS Electricity privatization winds up with latest tender A new tender to sell the Tiszai Eromu power plant will be announced in April following an unsuccessful attempt to privatize the plant last year. The company has a debt of HUF 3 billion debt and is considered to be unprofitable. Last year's tender garnered only three bids but this year, 11 companies, including German firm Steag, the British company PowerGen and the US investor AES and British National Power are among the interested bidders. The Tiszaujvaros-based company also owns Borsodi Energetikai Kft., which runs another coal-fueled plant and a coal mine. Despite debts, the company's leaders are planning to invest HUF 20 billion in modernization, according to Napi Gazdasag. ----------- SHORT TAKES PRIME MINISTER GYULA HORN HAS ORDERED AN INVESTIGATION into the sale of a building on Szechenyi rakpart. Apparently, former Finance Minister Lajos Bokros told the Ministry of Finance to purchased the building for HUF 850 million from Budapest Bank for the State Development Institute. The institute shut its doors 10 days after the deal was closed on Feb. 29. PRIME MINISTER GYULA HORN HAS RECENTLY FORMED A SPECIAL European Union task force. The 20-member panel will work out a schedule for Hungary's integration into the EU and other western organizations. Hungary applied for EU membership in April 1994 but until now, there has been a lack of long-term planning, reports the Budapest Sun. NEO-NAZI ALBERT SZABO AND FIVE OTHER DEFENDANTS WERE LET OFF on charges of incitement and the use of fascist symbols, writes Magyar Hirlap. Szabo told Hungarian TV that no Jews were shot and thrown into the Danube by Hungarian Nazis in the winter of 1944. The High Court ruled that Szabo was not inciting hatred toward Jews with that statement. The Hungarian Zionist Federation and the Federation of Hungarian Jewish Faith Communities organized a demonstration this weekend to protest the acquittal and to mourn those killed in the suicide bombing in Israel. THE NATIONAL TEACHER'S UNION THREATENED TO PROTEST PLANS by the local governments in Debrecen and Szeged to lay off teachers. The union said it would call off the strikes if no lay-offs occur this year. The local government in Szeged agreed to assess the situation of each school individually before making any cuts, reports the Budapest Sun. HUNGARY WILL CONTRIBUTE 35 POLICEMEN TO THE UNITED NATION'S police contingent in Bosnia this week, reports the Budapest Sun. The mission will cost Hungary US$30 million from the state budget. THE U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOP IS PHASING OUT ITS projects in Hungary and is expected to end its mission here by decade's end. The speed of progress made by Hungary was sited as the reason for leaving the country earlier than expected. AID is expected to spend US$ 15 million to US$ 20 million a year over the next three to five years. The organization plans to shift its focus from macro-economic advisory projects to local governments and non-governmental organizations. BROWN AND ROOT SERVICES CORP., PROVIDER OF GOODS AND SERVICES to the IFOR mission in the Kaposvar area has canceled its contract with local catering company Somogyi Korona Rt. Brown and Root said the Hungarian employees were stealing food from the mess hall's kitchen, the Budapest Week writes. One local newspaper, however, reports that Hungarians think the company just used the thefts as a convenient excuse to can the company. HUNGARIAN AUTHORITIES WERE ACCUSED BY GERMAN PROSECUTOR Detlev Mehlis of hindering attempts to gather information on international terrorists Johannes Weinrich and Carlos the Jackal, according to the Budapest Week. Carlos the Jackal stayed in Hungary occasionally with the consent of the Hungarian government during the 1970's and 1980's. Hungarian authorities say they have cooperated with the German authorities but are unwilling to say what data the secret service has in its possession. TWO HUNGARIANS FAIRED WELL AT THE GRAMMY'S LAST WEEK. Belgian band Deep Forest, which featured popular folk singer Marta Sebestyen on its latest recording, won a Grammy in the world music category at the 38th annual Awards Gala last week in Los Angeles, reports the Budapest Week. Hungarian pianist and conductor Gyorgy Solti, a 22-time Grammy winner, received a lifetime achievement award . ------------------ NUMBERS CRUNCHED * Percentage of Hungarians who are alcoholics (The Statistical Yearbook of the World Health Organization): 10% * Average salary raise of education employees last year (The Budapest Week): 6% * Anticipated revenues of the Budapest Transportation Company this year (BKV): Ft 12.9 billion. * The U.S. Agency for International Development spending in Hungary since 1991 (The Budapest Week): $220 million * Condom consumption in Hungary (Lifestyles Condoms): less than 1 times the population -------------- EXCHANGE RATE March 1, 1996 (National Bank of Hungary) US dollar - 145.9 (buying), 147.3 (selling) Deutschemark - 98.3 (buying), 99.3 (selling) ------------ WACKY AS USUAL Slipping through the cracks Hungary is witnessing its slickest criminal ever. Last week, an unidentified man managed to break into the National Security Authority building in downtown Budapest, the country's most heavily protected buildings. He knifed one security guard and got away even after the other security guards closed the building. According Nepszava, the man was captured but managed to somehow escape. No witnesses were able to identify him besides the wounded security guard. =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D FEATURE STORY Eighteen kids, just one mom Anna Nemes's wallet is crammed with photos, snapshots of the 30 children she has raised over the last 25 years. Amazingly, 18 of those, age 8 to 24, are still under her roof. They live in six dormitory-style rooms in her narrow, two story house in Budapest's District XXII. She is 49, and already, her hair is white. Getting the family ready for the day is a systematic process. "I get up at 5: 30 to make breakfast. Every morning I need six liters of milk and four kilos of bread. Then I wake some of the children at six, the others 15 minutes later so that each of them can go to the bathroom in rotation." Early this morning, the air inside is stale. As a stream of children walk in procession to the toilet, they rub the sleep from their eyes and quietly steal one by one into a makeshift dining room in the corridor. A buzz starts rising as thick slices of bread fill up iron plates. Soon, they are all speaking at the same time. "Hurry up, children!" Nemes says, clapping her hands. The younger ones need a hand to reach their clothes on top of the wardrobe. The girls ask for their hair to be done. Some of the older boys try to skip school and need a push. By 7:30, everyone is sent away and Nemes begins the first of four daily loads of laundry. Anna Nemes' foster children are either orphans or poor, or both, from the countryside here in Hungary or Transylvania. Most of them have lived through violence and pain in their early childhood, and it shows in their behavior. "They quite often show aggression," Nemes says. "But in a way, I like them to quarrel. It's a good sign. If they were as good as gold, they would be playing an unsuitable role." To release their tensions, the children can easily form two soccer teams in the garden. "It's also real fun to play blind man's bluff all together," says little Jozsi. They also sing together every evening in the cozy living-room, led by "kedves anuyka" ("dear mommy"). Although few are like Nemes, 2,000 individuals or couples open their doors as foster parents in Hungary. Due to the lack of funds, the state is looking to close many of the 110 existing institutions. the equation is simple: a child in an institution costs the state Ft 247, 000 a year. A foster child costs up to Ft 69,000. Among the nearly 23,000 abandoned children recorded by the Ministry of Welfare, 43 percent were already entrusted to families. And according to Julia Blumenfeld, president of the Hungarian branch of the federation of Educational Communities (FICI) linked to UNESCO, the state tends to rely more and more on foster parents. "Although the number of orphans is regularly decreasing, a growing number of children are neglected by their parents for economic reasons," she says. "Facing this situation, the Welfare Ministry is more likely to appeal to foster parents than make funds available to open new centers." Nemes was 23 and already married in 1969 when she took in her first foster child. She was teaching Hungarian literature in Tatabanya, an industrial town in western Hungary. A 13-year old girl at the school had nowhere to live, and her aggressive behaviour made it difficult to find a suitable home. The young teacher wanted to help. Nemes cared for the child for three years, but heartbreak followed when the teenage girl and Nemes' husband ran off together, leaving Nemes and her two children behind. But the experience did not sour Nemes on taking in wayward children. For years, she usually kept four to six under her care. And since 1989, she has been the official guardian of some 20 children. "Thank God, my own children never expressed jealousy towards them," she says. Like too many foster parents, Nemes feels she can't refuse to welcome another child, expecially when the newcomer is the brother or sister of a child already under her roof. Lajos Krizsovensky is the vice-president of the Child Protection Institute (GYIVI) for Pest County and oversees Nemes's file. Although he has a high opinion of her, he thinks such a family is too large. The ideal foster family would have only three or five children, he says. In fact, a family cannot legally take in more than five foster children at a time. But Nemes has not been challenged. "We close our eyes and don't bother her. After all, she chose her way of life," says Krizsovensky. Nemes, like any other foster parent in Pest county, receives a monthly salary of Ft 18,000. With additional per child benefits from the state, her monthly income amounts to Ft 120,000. But his, she says, is barely enough to feed the children. She is glad they regularly get meat at their school's dining hall. The evening dinner immutably consists of bread with margarine. "Every year, at the beginning of school terms, we go through tough times," she says. "I have to pay more than three times a month's salary for books and supplies. For example, a box of colored pencils doesn't last more than two days. The children hand them around, play with them and soon, there's nothing left." Despite such trying circumstances, specialists believe entrusting children to foster families is better than leaving them in orphanages. Such institutions, according to Blumenfeld, are not bad. "The Communists used to treat the orphans very well. Institutions are of human size, with no more than 80 children. Some of the houses even have beautiful furniture that the average Hungarian could never afford", she says. But still, she adds, nothing compares to the care of a family, "as modest as it could be." Moreover, studies show foster children fare better than children raised in institutions. Nemes is pround to say every child she has raised so far has received a secondary school diploma. Among them are an engineer, several teachers and an opera singer. But not all foster parents make their children study and play music every afternoon as Nemes does. "I fear that more and more families foster children only for the money," says Blumenfeld. "It often concerns poor workers or unemployed people with a low level of education. Some foster children have heard their parents talking about them in terms of a 'source of income.'" According to psychologists Judit Cseres, this "Cinderella phenomenon" proves the family selection has failings. "To become a teacher of mathematics, one has to shows diplomas. it should be the same for foster parents. They need more training in order to become more 'professional,'" she says. Anna Nemes simply wants to spend the rest of her life raising children. Despite the daily struggle, she keeps smiling. She only worries about what would happen to the children if she died. "I wish an official of the Child protection Institute would be able to answer this question." Until then, she goes to mass every day and prays. Strict legislation makes adoption difficult for foreigners "Adoption in Hungary? For that, there must be orphans!" says J=F9lia Blumenfeld, president of the Hungarian branch of the Federation of Educative Communities (FICI). Like most of the Western European countries, Hungary has far more potential adoptive parents than orphans. Although more and more children are neglected by their parents, less than 1000 are "real" orphans likely to be adopted. And only 60 to 100 underprivileged children are adopted every year in Hungary. The Hungarian legislation doesn't help, says Blumenfeld: "Candidates for adoption must go to their regional Child Protection Institute (GYIVI). After they have filled in an application form, a commitee board starts investigating. According to the law, a couple can't adopt a child without the written authorization of the natural parents. Thus the commitee has to make sure the child's parents are either dead or that they accept to renounce him. They also check whether the parents-to-be are seriously motivated or not. It usually takes 3 or 4 years to brief the case." Sometimes one or both natural parents are known to be still alive but unreachable. The case is then brought into court and the whole process lasts longer. After a few years, the couple is eventually introduced to a child. But as a large number of abandoned children are Gypsies, parents often change their mind. They aren't keen to adopt a disabled child either. And as soon as the candidates for adoption refuse a child, everything has to start from scratch. The situation is ever more difficult for foreigners willing to adopt a Hungarian child . "It's almost impossible," states Blumenfeld. "A couple from abroad can only be introduced to a child who has been previously refused by two or three Hungarian candidates. And, of course, there is every chance the child has some serious physical or psychological problems. That's why foreigners prefer turn towards Russia where the lack of legislation favours adoption of local orphans." * * * Emmanuelle Richard is a freelance journalist based in Budapest who works for French Radio and contributes to The European. =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Parliament Watch The fog lifts on opposition politics By Tibor Vidos Copyright (c) 1996 Seven instead of six parties will be represented in Parliament following the split of the Hungarian Democratic Forum (MDF) last weekend. 15 MDF parliamentarians led by Ivan Szabo left the party and formed the Hungarian Democratic People's Party (MDNP) after the election of Sandor Lezsak as President of the MDF. This is the third time a parliamentary party has splintered since the first democratic election in 1990, though it is the first time an opposition party has broken up. During the previous parliamentary cycle the Smallholders party fragmented into a bigger parliamentary group. That party stayed in government but it had no control over the roots of the party and a smaller faction led by Jozsef Torgyan the current Smallholder Leader. The Hungarian Truth and Life Party led by Istvan Csurka broke away from the then governing MDF after a prolonged series of embarrassing extreme right wing statements made by him. The current conflict is significantly different from the previous two not only because the MDF is in opposition this time but also because the division happened along clearly definable ideological lines and because it may result in significant changes in the overall political map of the country. Ivan Szabo and his group represent a moderate Western European right wing tradition while the majority of the MDF leaders, who stayed with Lezsak, could be considered as further to the right not alien to populist and nationalist ideas. A scandal at the Convention illustrates this neatly. Former Speaker of the House Gyorgy Szabad was driven from the speakers' stand by wooing and shouting anti-Semitic statements. The motion to apologize for Mr. Szabad was rejected by the convention with Mr. Lezsak abstaining. The exact wording of the anti-Semitic remarks have, unfortunately, not been reported by anyone to the press. What are the consequences of this party split other than the redistribution of committee memberships and other offices at Parliament? Of greatest interest is of course how this latest development will affect the 1998 elections. If properly organized, the alliance or even the merger of Fidesz-Hungarian Civic Party and MDNP could win a significant portion of the moderate conservative vote, pushing MDF closer to the Smallholders and thus splitting the extreme right and populist protest vote. The center-right alliance could also push the Free Democrats further to the left, making it more difficult for the liberal party to prove its characteristic difference from its coalition partner, the Hungarian Socialist Party. The major "if" in these speculation is the ability of Fidesz and MDNP to organize a functioning party machinery and grass root organization. Without these both parties run the risk of not reaching the 5 percent threshold in 1998 and consequently dropping out of Parliament. A party organization that could successfully manage and organize an election campaign on the other hand could lead to the establishment of a conservative pole in Hungarian politics that could serve as a viable alternative to the current government. It could only have the eventual chance of being elected to office only from 2002. But the fog is lifting. * * * Tibor Vidos is a lobbyist and political consultant in charge of the Budapest office of GJW Government Relations. or A version of this article appeared in the Budapest Business Journal. =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D Ooops! U.S. companies have purchased a total of 34 companies worth a total of US$ 14.3 bilion, not US$ 143 billion. =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D 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 inquire directly to Steven Carlson (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.isys.hu/hrep/ and via FTP ftp://ftp.isys.hu/pub/hrep/ * * * The entire contents of The Hungary Report are 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 directly by email to inquire about resale rights. * * * For information on becoming a corporate sponsor of The Hungary Report, contact Steve Carlson by email. Feedback is welcome. Rick E. Bruner, Creator &/or Steven Carlson, Publisher Jennifer C. Brown, Editor Tibor Vidos, Parliament Watch Attila Beno, Magyar Net Watch * * * For its briefs, The Hungary Report regularly consults the news sources listed below -- for information about subscriptions, contact them by email: The Budapest Business Journal <100263.213@compuserve.com> & Budapest Sun <100275.456@compuserve.com> Budapest Week <100324.141@compuserve.com> Central Europe Today (free online) , as well as most Hungarian-language media (e-mail addresses to come). =3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D=3D END TRANSMISSION