February 22, 1997

Gheorghe Funar was ousted as President of the ultra-nationalistic Rumanian National Unity Party by a 14:3 majority of its Standing Committee, later confirmed by a vote of 40:12 of the party’s Central Executive Committee. Funar accused Vice President Ion Gavra of forming a conspiracy. The Acting President now is Valeriu Tabara. [Magyar Nemzet (Budapest), Feb. 24, 1997]

February 20, 1997

Pursuant to Rumanian Foreign Minister Adrian Severin's Budapest visit in December 1996, the Hungarian government decided to reopen its Consulate in Cluj/Kolozsvár and offered Szeged — or any other city the Rumanian government may prefer — as the site for its Consulate. [Magyar Nemzet (Budapest), Feb. 21, 1997]

February 15, 1997

In addition to the Hungarian cities of Szeged, Debrecen and Gyula, Békéscsaba has also entered the race to house the proposed Rumanian Consulate, arguing that 80 percent of the Rumanian minority in Hungary lives in that city. [Magyar Hírlap (Budapest), Feb. 15, 1997]

February 14, 1997

Bishop László Tôkés, Honorary President of the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Rumania submitted a 25-point proposal to the DAHR leadership regarding the Hungarian community's aspirations and expectations vis-à-vis the newly elected democratic government. In his February 23 statement, DAHR President Béla Markó said that he learned about the Bishop's initiative only from press reports. [Népszabadság (Budapest), Feb. 24, 1997]

February 13, 1997

By a vote of 80:50, the Rumanian Parliament adopted an amendment to the 1991 Law on Foreign Investments, now allowing foreigners to buy the land on which their properties rest. [Magyar Nemzet (Budapest), Feb. 13, 1997]

February 9, 1997

Adrian Paunescu, one-time court poet of Nicolae Ceausescu and Socialist Workers Party candidate for president, announced his resignation from all party positions and his complete