31.   However, Hungarian Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs said he would press on for rights for the Hungarian minority.

32.   Hungary and Slovakia have a history of ethnic tension presently centered around the sizable Hungarian minority in Slovakia.

33.   In the Transylvanian city of Cluj, ultranationalist mayor Gheorghe Funar won outright after campaigning on fears of Hungarian expansionism in an area with a sizeable Hungarian minority.

34.   Indeed, the ambassador planned to raise objections to other recent moves, including politicizing the television media and adopting language laws with the potential of hindering Hungarian minorities.

35.   In the Transylvanian city of Cluj, incumbent ultranationalist mayor Gheorghe Funar won outright after campaigning on fears of Hungarian irrendentism in an area with a sizeable Hungarian minority.

36.   Mayor Gheorghe Funar is known for his dislike of the Hungarian minority and often seeks to restrict its rights.

37.   More than a dozen ethnic minorities are represented in Romanian parliament and members of the ethnic Hungarian minority hold key government positions.

38.   Nationalists in both countries can play on latent fears of Hungarian domination to whip up enmity against the Hungarian minorities, and to curb minority rights.

39.   Romania and Hungary have a long history of strained relations over the Hungarian minority that lives in the northwestern region of Transylvania.

40.   Romania has a large Hungarian minority and recently signed a friendship treaty with Budapest.