1988. január (1-16. szám) / HU_BFL_XIV_47_2

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24/D little Russcll Street, LÓN DON, W.C.L -Ttl.Ol-t&O H ze ■ G. Krcssé 10/1988 (E) 20th January, 1988

Press Conference in a Priváté Fiat in Budapest

Up until noon yesterday 34-6 signatures have appeared on the text of a declaration in which Hungárián intellectuals pledge their genuine solid- arity to the Románián nation which is struggling against CeaugescuJS régimé They express their conviction that national minority problems can only be solved by the success of the májőrity in a true democracy based on national sovereignty. The text of the declaration and the üst of names of those who have signed it so far was announced yesterday in a press conference which lasted fór two hours, beginning at 12 noon and held in the Budapest fiat of the histórián Lajos Für. The histórián Miklós Vásárhelyi - who was Imre Nagy's press secretary in 1956 and was later accused with him - pre- sided over the meeting and Sándor Csodri the poet, the writer Miklós Mészöly, the publicist Pál Bodor, the philosopher Gy. Csaba Kiss and the literary histórián Gábor Tolnai represented the signatories of the solidarity declaration and answered reporters questions. A number of western journalists - English, American, Germán - came to the press conference bút the well known Hungárián dailies and periodicals were nőt represented, only editors of the papers of socio-political clubs, the central university paper and independent samizdat periodicals - i.e. Beszélő* ("The Talker") and Határ/idóVnapló ("Calendar") - were present.

In his opening speech Miklós vásárhelyi said that he wished that the solidarity declaration's message publishea in Hungárián, Románián and English would be known throughout the whole world. "In the fight fór a Central Europe of truly democratic states the common enemy of the Hungárián and Románián nations is dictatorship. The situation of the minorities who live here can alsó only be set to rights by such political change which creates democratic conditions in all spheres of political, economic and social life'*, said Miklós Vásárhelyi. Pál Bodor and Miklós Mészöly stressed that the declaration does nőt set out to serve the interests of the Hungárián minority in Transylvania in a narrow sense bút protests fór the democratisation of all Románián political life, hoping at the same time that democratic changes would improve the situation of the Hungárián minority. Sándor Csoóri emphasised that it is in the nationalist interest of the present Románián leadership to drive the Hungárián minority out of Transylvania because without intellectuals collective Hungárián consciousness would become atrophied. The Hungárián govemment nőt only have a political bút a morál responsibility to do something fór the Trans- ylvanian Hungarians. After this Csoóri recalled the earlier foreign espousal of and declarations of solidarity fór the 1956 Hungárián revolution. Attila Degány. speaking fór the club movement in Hungary, talked about how the removal of the Transylvanian Hungarians would nőt bring about a true solution and how the Hungárián government - by increasing the dissemination of information abroad - should strive fór a more humáné life fór Románián Hungarians on their native soil.

Foreign journalists asked many questions during the press conference. Nick Thorpe. a BBC repoter was interested in the developments concerning the deportation of the Transylvanian refugees staying in Hungary. Pál Bodor confirmed that there had been deportations at the beginning of January. La.ios Für said that as far as he knew 160 Románián refugees were to be deported from Hungary bút that these decisions had been revoked since then, No official announcement about this has been published. Attila Ara-Kovács a philosopher who came from Transylvania to settle in Hungary added that he knew of twelve people who had taken the deportation order seriously and had gone back to Románia before the decisions were revoked. While answering

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