HKB 020/13
UNCLASSIFIED
Aurgery/HR
Relakan jili
Y
24
036764 MDLIAN 6877
#ECEIVED a te
15 MAY 1990
UNCLASSIFIED
FM BUDAPEST
TO PRIORITY FCO
TELNO 286
OF 26125OZ APRIL 90
INFO PRIORITY PRETORIA
Miss Plasten
NKD
traditional
Yet more evidence of animosities giving way to pragmation
HUNGARY: RELATIONS WITH SOUTH AFRICA
SUMMARY
A Noble
EED. 27/4.
Q1. SOUTH AFRICA AND HUNGARY OPEN PERMANENT REPRESENTATIONS. FIRST HICCUP ALREADY ON THE SPORTING FRONT.
DETAIL
2. MFA DEPUTY MINISTER BENYI (WHO REPRESENTED HUNGARY AT THE NAMIBIA INDEPENDENCE CELEBRATIONS) HAS ANNOUNCED THAT SOUTH AFRICA HAS OPENED A PERMANENT INTEREST REPRESENTATION OFFICE IN BUDAPEST, AND THAT HUNGARY WILL OPEN A SIMILAR OFFICE IN PRETORIA WITHIN A MONTH (THE DELAY, HE SAID, WAS BECAUSE OF THE DIFFICULTY IN FINDING THE EXTRA PDS 300,000 FROM THE MFA BUDGET).
3. BENYI STRESSED THAT THIS INDICATED NO CHANGE IN HUNGARY'S CONDEMNATION OF APARTHEID BUT REFLECTED TWO CONSIDERATIONS: (A) RECOGNITION THAT A PHYSICAL PRESENCE WAS NECESSARY IN ORDER TO ENGAGE IN DIALOGUE WITH THE SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT, WITHOUT WHICH INFLUENCE COULD NOT BE EXERTED:
(B) THE 20,000 HUNGARIANS ALREADY LIVING IN SOUTH AFRICA.
HE WENT ON TO SAY THAT MORE THAN 29,000 HUNGARIANS HAVE REQUESTED EMPLOYMENT AND RESIDENCE PERMITS, BUT THAT SO FAR ONLY TEN FAMILIES
HAD RECEIVED THEM.
4. HUNGARY HAS ALREADY LEARNED THE COMPLEXITIES OF DEALING WITH SOUTH AFRICA. THE IOC PRESIDENT HAS BEEN QUICK TO CRITICIZE A PRIVATE VISIT BY A HUNGARIAN 5 A SIDE FOOTBALL TEAM AFTER A HASTILY CONVENED SPECIAL SESSION, THE HUNGARIAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE HAS SAID THAT ITS ANTI-SPORTING CONTACTS POLICY REMAINS UNCHANGED, AND HAS CALLED UPON ALL HUNGARIAN SPORTS ASSOCIATIONS NOT TO MAINTAIN ANY SORT OF RELATIONS WITH SPORTS ORGANISATIONS IN SOUTH AFRICA AND ON THE HUNGARIAN FOOTBALL FEDERATION TO DISCIPLINE ITS ERRANT MEMBERS.
BIRCH
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