Hungary on the up

The condition of students and the people generally in Hungary has shown a marked improvement over the last two years, according to a report of the research and information commission presented to a commission session of the Eleventh International Student Conference.

Developments have included a general amnesty for those participating in the 1956 Revolution, including many students; improvements in the system oi law enforcement; a lessening of ideological pressure upon the intellectuals; the possibility of exercising limited criticism; the facilitation of travel to and from Hungary; the abolition of social discrimination in the universities; and a rise in the standard of living.

"Nevertheless," states the report, "dictatorship still prevails in the country and the situation remains on the whole unsatisfactory! Marxist-Leninist doctrine dominates teaching in all fields and the ideological offensive has been extended to almost every sphere of student life."

Methods used are now more modern, says the report. Indoctrination is carried out by persuasion rather than terror or repression.

Students do not have the right to express their opinions freely and without fear of repercussion, nor the right of free association and of a free student Press. The only student organisation allowed, apart from the Young Communist League, is the National Committee of Hungarian Students' Organisations (NCHSOi, which is not representative of students.

Speaking on the report, the delegate from the United Federation of Hungarian Students (UFHS), an organisation of Hungarian students studying abroad, said that the UFHS interpretation of the situation coincided with that of the research and information commission on all main points and that his organisation was in full agreement also with the RIC conclusions. He called on the ISC to support the programme of UFHS providing for bilateral exchange of students, scholarships to western universities, lecture tours and other forms of aid to Hungarian students.

The commission passed unanimously a resolution which urged the Hungarian Government to allow greater freedom of association and expression to students and expressing the conference's support for the programme of UFHS.