US concerned about power concentration in Hungary, says Melia - paper

Budapest, January 26 (MTI) - The United States is concerned about power being concentrated in a few hands in Hungary, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Thomas Melia told national daily Nepszabadsag on Saturday.

Melia, who heads the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor in the State Department, brought up the judiciary and media supervision as areas where he said such concentration could be perceived.

He said that the US would observe as a friend how this power is used.

The deputy assistant state secretary arrived in Hungary for three days to meet government officials and NGO representatives. On Thursday he held talks with State Secretary of Foreign Affairs Zsolt Nemeth.

Melia said he had come to Hungary to obtain information about the political situation and the latest developments, and express US concern about certain issues, just as outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did over the past few years, while in office, for instance in connection with the drafting process of Hungary s basic law.