51.   The friendship treaty gives the Hungarian minority the right to education in its mother tongue and affirms the existing border between the two countries.

52.   The head of the Democratic Union of Hungarians, Bela Marko, addressed the crowd, urging Romanian leaders to discuss reconciliation with the Hungarian minority.

53.   The Hungarian minority, backed by the Budapest government, wants mother-tongue education extended to university level.

54.   The Hungarian minority party said Thursday it would postpone a decision on whether to leave the Romanian government and the ruling coalition, a party spokeswoman said.

55.   The new law also worried the government in neighboring Hungary, which keeps an eagle-eyed watch on the treatment of Hungarian minorities outside its borders.

56.   The move heightened tensions with the sizable Hungarian minority.

57.   The party alleges that the treaties neglect the interests of Hungarian minorities in those countries.

58.   The Romanian government fears that this masks a desire by the Hungarian minority to have control in Transylvania, where the Hungarians predominate in some areas.

59.   The situation is compounded by worries the Hungarian minority could seek autonomy.

60.   The top cvandidate of the party of the Hungarian minority, Bela Bugar, sharply criticized on Wednesday the measures inside Slovak state televison.