Hungarian American Coalition News, 1997 (6. évfolyam, 1-2. szám)
1997 / 1. szám
COALITION PROJECT UPDATES White House Internships Árpád Duka Zólyomi and József Halzl Report on Recent Visit to the U.S. Zoltán Hargitai of Cleveland, Ohio, a student at Cleveland State University, has begun a three month long White House Internship. He is assisting the Office of Public Liaison. Applications are now accepted for the 1997 Fall and Spring White House Internship sessions. Candidates should be college sophomores or older, active participants in the Hungarian community, and have an interest in public service. Due to the special grant made by Ameritech to underwrite this program, the Coalition provides a monthly stipend for living expenses to the candidates selected for either White House internship session. If you are interested, please call Kláry Hefty-Serraino at the Washington office at (202) 296-9505 or send a fax to (202) 775-5175. Applications are due by July 1,1997 for the Fall Session, and November 15, 1997 for the Spring Session at the White House, so we should receive any application before those dates. The Coalition’s sponsorship of White House Interns is made possible by a generous grant from Ameritech, for which we are extremely grateful. Following their November visit to the U.S., Dr. Árpád Duka Zólyomi, Hungarian M.P. in the Slovak Parliament, and Dr. József Halzl, President of the Rákóczi Society, gave numerous interviews to Hungarian and Slovak radio and newspapers about their experiences in the U.S. They expressed their appreciation to those who cosponsored their visit: the Hungarian American Coalition and the National Committee of Hungarians from Slovakia, as well as János and Stefi Geréhy, and John and Edit Lauer of Cleveland, Ohio. In addition, they sent their thanks to the various generous organizations and individuals who hosted them in New York City, Washington, DC, Cleveland, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New Brunswick, NJ. In their presentation to the Rákóczi Society at its February meeting in Budapest, Drs. Duka Zólyomi and Halzl listed the following as concrete results of their U.S. tour: 1. In getting acquainted with members of the Hungarian American community, they made new friends for Hungarians in Slovakia and called attention to the difficult challenges they face. 2. Because they became convinced of the necessity of providing well-documented information on developments which affect Hungarians in Slovakia, a system has now been established for the ongoing distribution of such information to U.S. policymakers by the Hungarian American Coalition. 3. Project priorities were discussed by the two visitors in various U.S. cities, with the first fundraising focused on providing Hungarian books for nearly 3,000 Hungarian children in Slovakia who will enroll as first-graders in the fall. 4. Plans are being made to seek major funding for the much needed support of Hungarian schools in Slovakia. 5. Hungarian Americans are actively encouraged to develop or invest in businesses in Southern Slovakia. Coalition Continues Lead Role in Central and East European Coalition The Central and East European Coalition (“CEEC”), which comprises 18 national grassroots organizations representing 22 million Americans of Central and East Europan descent continues to vigorously support engagement and leadership by the U.S. in Euro-Atlantic matters. The Hungarian American Coalition (“Coalition”) has become a pivotal member of the CEEC. Among the issues of concern to CEEC is the enlargement of NATO. In this regard, the Coalition testified on behalf of CEEC before the Committee on International Relations of the U.S. House of Representatives on the NATO Facilitation Act of 1996. The Coalition’s statement, which endorsed the expansion of the alliance, was characterized as “one of the most thoughtful statements the committee has received.” The bill was signed into law by President Clinton as part of the Foreign Operations bill on September 30, 1996. CEEC continued to build strong ties to the Congress. On September 19, 1996, it sponsored a Capitol Hill reception during which Senators Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), and Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Congressmen Benjamin Gilman (R-NY) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) were honored. The Coalition presented CEEC’s plaque to Cong. Gilman. In addition to the Congress, CEEC has had good access to the Administration. It has met with President Clinton, Sandy R. Berger, then Deputy Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs; Strobe Talbott, Deputy Secretary of State; Don Fowler, Chairman of the Democratic National Committee; Haley Barbour, Chairman of the Republican National Committee, and others. During these meetings CEEC raised a number of issues, including NATO enlargement, the need to increase foreign assistance to Central and Eastern Europe, the desirability of slowing down the “graduation” of countries of the region from democracy strengthening programs, and the urgency to involve CEEC members, including the Coalition, in U.S. assistance projects. Frank Koszorús, Jr. is the Coalition’s CEEC representative. Winter 1997 • Hungarian American Coalition News «3
