RADIO FREE EUROPE/RADIO LIBERTY, PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC
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RFE/RL NEWSLINE  3 January 2000

HUNGARY MOVES HOLY CROWN TO PARLIAMENT. More than 15,000
people on 1 January lined up for hours to see the 1,000-year-
old crown of Hungary's first king, Saint Stephen, following
its transfer from the National Museum to the parliament
building. Prime Minister Viktor Orban told a festive
parliamentary session that "the Holy Crown created the
opportunity for Hungary to join Europe 1,000 years ago and as
such is better seen as a living symbol of the state and
national unity than as a museum relic." The opposition
Alliance of Free Democrats, Socialist Party Chairman Laszlo
Kovacs, and former Prime Minister Gyula Horn boycotted the
session, saying they oppose the decision to transfer the
crown. MSZ

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