Fraternity-Testvériség, 1988 (66. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)

1988-10-01 / 4. szám

Page 16

TESTVÉRISÉG

DIRECTOR FROM MICHIGAN & CANADA (1 to be elected):

John Toth and Samuel Vespremi were nominated. John Toth was declared elected as Director from Michigan & Canada by the Temporary Chairman. Samuel Vespremi was declared elected as Alternate Director by the Temporary Chairman.

DIRECTOR MIDWEST-CALIFORNIA (1 to be elected):

Margaret Saltzer and Joseph Kovács were nominated.

Joseph Kovács was declared elected as Director from

Midwest-California by the Temporary Chairman.

Julius Simon was declared elected as Alternate Director.

The installation of the newly elected National Officers and Directors took place. Honorary Executive Vice President László Eszenyi read the solemn oath of office and spoke to the newly elected.

The XXXIII Convention was closed by the benediction of President Dr. Imre Bertalan and the singing of the national anthem. The Convention adjourned at 2:20 p.m.

ROMANIA RAZES VILLAGES (continued from Page 2)

In more recent years, ethnic Hungarians have been forbidden to baptize their children with names that have no Romanian equivalent. They also have been ordered to use Romanian place names in a region where each town and village traditionally has names in three languages. With the destruction of their traditional villages and their resettlement, Romania's ethnic minorities' ties to the past will be terminated, critics say.

In response, Mr. Ceausescu has talked about his intention to improve and modernize conditions in the countryside. He has accused Hungary of "actions of a chauvinistic, nationalistic, anti-Romanian, antisocialist nature." He also has said that Hungary wants to regain territories that once belonged to it, something Budapest categorically denies.

On the other hand, said a Hungarian diplomat, referring to the possibility of a continuing influx of refugees, "we can't afford to receive 2 million people in a country of 10.7 million, with a lot of problems of our own."

Moscow has long been neutral in the tiff between

its two allies. But in a recent Kremlin speech, Soviet President Gorbachev criticized his guest, Mr. Ceausescu.

The Kremlin's irritation seems to spring from a realization that Romania, under Mr. Ceausescu's Stalinist leadership, is increasingly becoming an economic basket case, and that its ethnic problems may spill over to other Eastern European countries, perhaps even including Moldavia, an ethnically Romanian Soviet republic.

Despite the repression of the country's minorities, no underground protest or opposition movement has arisen in Romania. Experts attribute that to Mr. Ceausescu's iron rule and his ability to install what is reputed to be Eastern Europe's most efficient security police system.

With a couple of exceptions, that security apparatus has been able to keep Romanians from protesting increasingly harsh living conditions in the country, where food is short, blackouts are common, and packs of Kent cigarettes are commonly used in lieu of money to acquire things that are in short supply.

Delegates at work