1988. január (1-16. szám) / HU_BFL_XIV_47_2
Ól 24/D J-ittle RusscII Street, LONDON, W-C.L • Tel. D-Í-4J-0 2< 2« • G. Krassé 1/1988 (E) 1st January, 1988 Balance of the Last Year In 1987 Hungary witnessed such a political and economic crisis similar to which has never been experienced in the last 30 years. After several decades' mendacity the power was bound to acknowledge the economic breakdown and the burdens are cast onto the workers. The state debt approaches S 20 billions. The prices of consumer goods have several times been raised during the year, bút the price increases at the end of December were unprecedented. They affected almost all sorts of products and somé prices were more than doubled, e.g. the prices of baby furniture were increased, according to the official announcement, by 244 % on average. Several factories are to be closed and hundred thousands of workers will jóin the ranks of the unemployed. From today, January 1st 1988, a personal income tax and a value-added tax have been introduced. The popularity of János Kádár is a thing of the pást - his resignation is demanded from all sides. Károly Crósz, the former first secretary of the Budapest party organization became prime minister in the summer. János Berecz advanced even higher in the party leadership. It is well known that they are both neo-stalinist hard-liners, bút now they speak in a manner a la Corbachov. They try to build up closer relations with General Jaruzelski and to synchronize their political steps and economic measures. On December 2nd - on the last day of Jaruzelski's visít in Budapest - Kádár and Jaruzelski signed an agreement "on a comprehensive programme on the development of relations between the two countries up to the year 2000". All groups of the society speak out fór changes. The opposition issued a radical reform program, the populist writers held a conference in Lakihegy and established their own organization, the "Democratic Fórum". Well-known scientists, artists and writers sent an Open Letter to the members of the Parliament, asking them nőt to accept the inconsiderate plans of the government which would plunge the country intő misery and economic chaos. Signs of decomposition can alsó be seen in the party apparátus: an essay ("Reform and Democracy"), harshly criticizing the party's policy, has been widely discussed in party meetings. The author of the essay is a professor at the University of Law. Environmentalists keep organizing new actions again and again in spite of the official bannings. Those worrying over the ever worsening fate of the Hungárián minority in Transylvania demand that the party and the government do something fór the Hungarians in Roumania. At the end of November university students and the democratic opposition organized an international seminar on the European effects of Gorbachov's reforms and the prospects of an all-European joint democratic movement. The authorities tried to bút fi na 11 y couldn't prevent the seminar from being held. Half of the two hundred participants came from abroad. A special session of the seminar dealt with conscientious objection, they alsó sent a letter to János Kádár demanding the release of Zsolt Keszthelyi from prison. The acknowledgement of the right of conscientious objection has become one of the main demands of the democratic opposition in Hungary as well. Olga Diószegi,a university student in Szeged, travelled to Poland in September and joined the hunger strike held in Bydgoszcz on behalf of imprisoned conscientious objectors.
