Mailer: Elm [revision: 66.25]
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.slovak-l
Date:         Sat, 7 Nov 1992 13:35:52 PST
From:         Joe Pannon <pannon@BCSFSE.BOEING.COM>
Subject:      Re: Slovakia's Hydro-energy Potentials
              "UBVM.cc.buffalo.edu!MARTONAK@ITSSISSA.BITNET" at Nov 7,
              92 3:11 pm

Roman Martonak writes:

> On Vah there's already a plenty of electric power plants. They were built
> in the fifties. And the reasons for which the decision on building the
> Gabcikovo - Nagymaros project was undertaken, were not only those related to
> energetics, but also other having to do with prevention of floods. Gabcikovo
> is not intended to be just a power plant.

Thanks for the info on Vah.  As to the purpose of the Gabcikovo project,
I was aware that power generation wasn't the only reason for building
it.  However, my point was that those other reasons could have been met
by far more ecologically and politically satisfactory means than what
either the original Gabcikovo-Nagymaros, or the Variant C plans called
for.  The money saved by such alternatives would probably have been
enough to create the same power generation capacity on one of Slovakia's
many mountain rivers, even if it's not the Vah.

> >I can appreciate the concern most Slovaks seem to have about the
> >economic consequences of abandoning a virtually completed expensive project,
> >but remember:  Hungarians faced the same choice when they decided to abandon
> >their part of the mutual project.
>
> Not at all. Hungarians, from the very beginning, were building very slowly,
 and
> the amount of money they spent is far less than what was spent on the Slovak
> side. Actually, one of the reasons, for which they cancelled their part of the
> common project, is that they have never had enough money to complete it.

Compared to the pace of Slovakian construction, that may have been true.
My guess is that besides lack of funds, the Hungarian communist regime
in those years was increasingly opening up and liberalizing and as a
result, it started to listen to citics of the project.  The slowness of
the construction may have resulted from that dilemma.  But I know that
despite of the slow pace, they still spent horrendous amount of money on
the unfinished Nagymaros dam.

> >After all, they, too, sank billions
> >into it before cancellation, and more will be spent on restoration of
> >preexisting conditions.
>
> Excuse me a question: do you really believe in that ? I simply cannot
 understand
> where such an idea might ever come from. Who, do you think, will pay for the
> "restoration of preexisting conditions" ?

Believe what?  That they DID spend the billions, or that they will have to
spend still more to restore the preexisting conditions (as much as it is
feasible, of course)?  Who else would pay for the restoration than the
Hungarian taxpayers?  I guess, I don't understand what you don't
understand.

By the way, my understanding is that the type of diversion of Danube
Variant C called for was not in the original treaty between CSFR and
Hungary and is hardly justified by Hungary's unilateral cancelation of
the treaty.  Had Slovakia stopped construction on her side when Hungary
asked for it initially, the money CSFR sunk into the project would have
been much smaller than it's now, after Slovakia went full speed ahead
with Variant C.  Then they could have worked out some kind of mutually
satisfactory alternate plan how to change the original peoject and complete
it, as well as settling the financial aspects of it.

As it is now, Slovakia does not stand on very firm grounds when charging
Hungary with treaty violation knowing full well that the treaty was
signed by two dictatorships which did not permit prior public debate on the
issue.

> I have no idea what the Hungarian national emblem is like.

To give you rough idea within the limitations of this medium, here it is:


                                    _\_
                                      \
                                  * ******* *
                                *    *****    *
                              *       * *       *
                             *        ***        *
                            [*][*] /\ [ ] /\ [*][*]
                           ([*][*][*] [ ] [*][*][*])
                           -------------------------
                           !MMMMMMMMMMM!     -     !
                           !MMMMMMMMMMM!   _| |_   !
                           !           !  I_   _I  !
                           !MMMMMMMMMMM!  __| |__  !
                           !MMMMMMMMMMM! I__   __I !
                           !           !    | |    !
                           !MMMMMMMMMMM!    | |    !
                           !MMMMMMMMMMM!   |\/\/|  !
                           !           ! ^       ^ !
                           !MMMMMMMMMMM!^         ^!
                            !MMMMMMMMMM!          !
                              !        !        !
                                   !   !   !
                                       !

The stripes on the left side of the shield are white and red.

Regards,
Joe Pannon
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU