RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 2, No. 165, 27 August 1998

CENTRAL EUROPEAN CURRENCIES FEEL STRAIN OF RUSSIAN
FINANCIAL CRISIS. The National Bank of Hungary on 26
August intervened on the foreign exchange market to
reduce forint devaluation, saying they are unjustified
by domestic economic developments. The Polish zloty and
the Czech and Slovak crowns also lost ground against the
U.S. dollar and the German mark. In Romania, the stock
exchange fell 11 percent, to its lowest level since
opening in 1996, AP reported. MS

...AS MECIAR EXPLAINS INVITATIONS TO ELECTION OBSERVERS.
Speaking on Slovak radio on 26 August, Meciar said that
he did not invite election observers from the U.S.,
Britain, the Czech Republic and Hungary because those
countries are "unfriendly" to Slovakia, RFE/RL's
Bratislava bureau reported. He added that he did not
want those observers to "abuse their presence" in order
to criticize the elections, In other news, speaking
after a meeting with visiting Slovak Construction and
Public Works Minister Jan Mraz, Turkish State Minister
Yucel Seckiner said in Ankara on 26 August that Turkey
and Slovakia are working on an agreement for the joint
production of a tank at a Slovak arms factory, Turkish
media reported. MS

SPYING SCANDAL CONTINUES IN HUNGARY. "Magyar Hirlap" on
27 August reports that the illegal gathering of
information on Federation of Young Democrats-Hungarian
Civic Party leaders under the previous government was
carried out by a private company with secret service
connections (see "RFE/RL Newsline," 26 August 1998). The
daily's report was confirmed by police and secret
service sources, but it is still unknown who ordered the
company to gather the information. The government on 26
August authorized Interior Minister Sandor Pinter,
political state secretary at the Prime Minister's
Office, Ervin Demeter, and senior adviser Bela Gyuricza
to open an investigation into the case. MS

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RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE Vol. 2, No. 166, 28 August 1998

RUSSIAN CRISIS HITS HUNGARIAN MARKETS. The ongoing
financial crisis in Russia took a heavy toll on the
Budapest Stock Exchange on 27 August, causing a halt in
the trading of most issues, Hungarian media reported.
The BUX index experienced the second-largest fall in its
history, plunging 14.3 percent. The national currency
has also weakened to 227.07 forints to $1 from 226 the
previous day. Finance Minister Zsigmond Jarai said the
country's economy is growing and has reserves totaling
$9 billion. There is no need to devalue the forint, but
the National Bank may intervene again to protect the
national currency, he concluded. MSZ

HUNGARY'S POSTABANK INVOLVED IN SPYING SCANDAL?
Postabank may have ordered the private company Pinpoint
to collect information on the business interests of
Federation of Young Democrats-Hungarian Civic Party
leaders, "Nepszava" reported on 28 August, quoting
administration officials. Postabank officials refused to
comment on the allegation. Former Prime Minister Gyula
Horn told Hungarian media that neither the previous
government nor his Socialist Party ordered the illegal
collection of data. "Vilaggazdasag" reported it is
possible that individuals who had high-level contacts
with the previous administration, rather than the
administration itself, ordered the surveillance. MSZ

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               Copyright (c) 1998 RFE/RL, Inc.
                     All rights reserved.
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