OMRI DAILY DIGEST
No. 60, 26 March 1997

HUNGARIAN SECRET SERVICES MINISTER DENIES RESPONSIBILITY IN LATEST
SCANDAL. Istvan Nikolits has denied any responsibility in the scandal
over the illegal collection of data, Hungarian media reported on 26
March. He said it was only last November that he received an "anonymous
tip" that his office had spied on several deputies from 1994-95. He said
he launched an investigation and then fired two staff members who had
investigated alleged links between deputies and criminal circles. The
two agents are currently working abroad--one as a diplomat in Washington
and the other under "deep cover." Nikolitis said he was "astonished"
that the two agents had worked in Hungary, since they had been assigned
for abroad. Magyar Nemzet reports the Hungarian secret service was
working to uncover the Slovak, Ukrainian, and Romanian underworld in
Hungary when the names of five Socialist deputies came to light. --
Zsofia Szilagyi

MOLDOVAN DEPUTY PREMIER WARNS AGAINST "BULGARIZATION." If Moldova fails
to undertake necessary economic reforms over the next few months, the
country may follow Bulgaria's path, Deputy Premier Ion Gutu told a round
table on structural reforms organized by the World Bank's Moldova
office. Gutu said the government was aware that the current crisis can
be overcome only through deepening reforms and cooperation with
international organizations, Infotag reported on 25 March. World Bank
expert Hafez Ghanem said either the country can allow reforms to slow
down and find itself in a situation like that of Bulgaria's or it can
pursue the Hungarian and Polish models. He said reforms were urgent in
the energy, agriculture, and services sectors. "Today's statistics in
Moldova resemble those of Bulgaria one year ago," Ghanem said. --
Michael Shafir

[As of 12:00 CET]

Compiled by Jan Cleave