MINELRES: Romania: Divers Bulletin no. 20 (103) / June 7, 2004

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Divers Bulletin no. 20 (103) / June 7, 2004
News

UDMR PLANS TO GET GOOD RESULTS AT LOCAL ELECTIONS

60 YEARS COMMEMORATION SINCE DEPORTING CLUJ JEWS TO DEATH CAMPS

135,000 YOUNG HUNGARIANS ARE GRANTED SCHOLARSHIPS FROM HUNGARY

ROMANIAN, MOLDOVAN PRESIDENTS EXPRESS INTEREST IN DEVELOPING BILATERAL
RELATIONS


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News

UDMR PLANS TO GET GOOD RESULTS AT LOCAL ELECTIONS

BUCHAREST � The Democrat Union of the Hungarians from Romania (UDMR)
hopes at the local elections on June 6 to get similar results as four
years ago. �We have chances to obtain better results than in 2000 when
145 UDMR candidates were elected for mayor positions, while for the
local boards the Union got average 6% of the total seats�, said UDMR
leader Bela Marko in a press conference. Marko deems as positive the
fact that the number of young candidates in the Union�s election lists
doubled compared to the last elections. Some of UDMR�s objectives also
include the defeat of Gheorghe Funar in running for town hall of
Cluj-Napoca city and regaining the mayor position of Tirgu Mures. �The
Hungarians from Tirgu Mures represent about 46-47% of town population
and there are chances to gain the elections for the mayor position right
in the first poll�, said Marko Bela.
Author: DIVERS
summary


60 YEARS COMMEMORATION SINCE DEPORTING CLUJ JEWS TO DEATH CAMPS

CLUJ-NAPOCA � The Federation of Jewish Community from Cluj-Napoca on May
30 commemorated 60 years since deporting 18,000 Jews to concentration
camps or to be exterminated, during World War II. The Federation�s
president, Gavrila Goldner, said that the festivity is meant to remember
and to honor the memory of Holocaust�s victims. "We are thinking of the
over 18,000 Jews sent to camps on May �June 1944, of whom over 4,000
were children. As for us who survived, we were endowed with days to
live. It is a gift from God and a miracle that we still exist ", said
Goldner. Approx. 90% of Jews deported from Cluj died in death camps.
Goldner reproached the current local administration of Cluj-Napoca the
fact of allowing the street named after marshal Ion Antonescu to exist,
as well as the issuance of "Obiectiv legionar" magazine.
Author: DIVERS
summary


135,000 YOUNG HUNGARIANS ARE GRANTED SCHOLARSHIPS FROM HUNGARY

CLUJ-NAPOCA � About 130,000 pupils and 4,600 Hungarian students living
in Romania submitted requests to benefit of scholarships granted by the
Hungarian state through the Law on status of cross-border Hungarians.
President of UDMR-established Iskola Foundation (Foundation for School),
Kelemen Hunor, stated on May 31�s press conference in Cluj, that so far
5,221 requests on scholarships were approved and the procedures are to
end in July. According to Kelemen, the scholarship amounts to 22,400
forint per year for high school students and to 2,800 forint for faculty
students. He believes the low amount granted by the Hungarian state
prevented all about 10,000 Hungarian students in Romania from applying
for, yet it is said starting next year the quantum of the budget will
increase.
The amount offered by the Hungarian state out of Hungary�s national
budget is of three billions of forint.
Author: DIVERS
summary


ROMANIAN, MOLDOVAN PRESIDENTS EXPRESS INTEREST IN DEVELOPING BILATERAL
RELATIONS

MAMAIA - Meeting recently in Black Sea resort of Mamaia, Romanian
President Iliescu and his Moldovan counterpart Vladimir Voronin decided
on 27 May to take steps to improve their currently tense bilateral
relations, RFE/RL reported. Romanian presidential spokeswoman Cretu said
Iliescu told Voronin he does not understand the current "anti-Romanian
campaign" in Moldova. Voronin replied that there is no such campaign,
but that there are certain "provocations," that should be ignored by
authorities in the two countries, adding that an active dialogue is
necessary between those authorities. However, he expressed concern over
references Iliescu has made in the past few years to "two Romanian
states." Cretu said Iliescu still holds that point of view, but that the
two presidents decided to reactivate a joint Romanian-Moldovan
commission to analyze all "sensitive" issues.
In related news, President Iliescu said on 2 June that he does "not
exactly comprehend" the purpose of the new Stability and Security Pact
for Moldova (SSPM) initiative, launched by his Moldovan counterpart
Vladimir Voronin the previous day. Iliescu said Romania will consult
with the other proposed signatories -- Russia, the United States, the
European Union, and Ukraine-- but added that all the envisaged
participants are members of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) , which is already involved in plans to
bring about a settlement of the Transdniester conflict. Iliescu also
said that Voronin did not consult any of those whom he proposed for
participation in the SSPM before announcing the initiative.
Author: DIVERS
summary


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