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Carolina (English) No 103
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STUDENTS' E-MAIL NEWS FROM CZECH REPUBLIC
School of Social Sciences of Charles University
Smetanovo nabr. 6
110 01 Prague 1
Czech Republic
E-mail address: carolina@n.fsv.cuni.cz
Fax: (+422) 24810987
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C A R O L I N A No 103, Friday, January 28, 1994.
NEWS OF THE WEEK (January 19 to 26)
Rectors Appointed by Vaclav Havel
On January 25, Vaclav Havel appointed 15 university rectors
and three rectors to the military universities. The papers enable
the rectors to preside over the universities from February 1 to
January 31, 1997.
Havel noted the absence of a proper university concept or
a new university law, which together with a lack of money causes
the resignations of talented scholars and teachers from the
universities.
Agreement of Ministers Brought Out Differences
Objections have emerged to a proposed settlement of disputed
parts of the Czech-Slovak border. As reported in the previous
Carolina, ministers of interior of the Czech and Slovak
republics, Jan Ruml and Jozef Tuchyna, agreed to recommend to
their goverments solutions to three of four controversial sectors
of the Czecho-Slovak border.
One of the solutions was to annex the U Sabotu quarter from
the village of Javornik to Slovakia. Ruml and Tuchyna said they
want to fill the demands of village citizens expressed in
a petition.
But the proposal has provoked a strong reaction in Javornik.
"This is the first slap in the face," said village Mayor
Martin Kruzica January 20 in Cesky denik. "A Slovak who received
Czech citzenship and whose opinions weren't in line with those of
the other side was attacked." A window shot out a sling and
a destroyed railway waiting room followed.
Kruzica said the petition which the ministers cited was
signed by just 46 out of 126 residents of U Sabotu. And, at the
same time, another petition appeared in Javornik signed by 300
people who had exactly opposite demands. This is the reason why
the village representatives want to announce a referendum for all
860 village citizens.
The Javornik region was supposed to be compensation from the
Czech side to Slovakia for territory gained when regulation of
the Morava River changed the border during the Czechoslovak
communist regime.
A Little Czech Oil Crisis
A failure in the oil supplies from Russia to Czech Republic
occured last week.
Supplies were interrupted on January 21. The Czech refineries
were taking the oil from reserves of the Slovak plant
"Transpetrol". Importing supplies from other foreign sources or
using state reserves were also considered.
The crisis was over as soon as it began, when administrative
obstacles to the supplies were solved. Czech authorities
concluded a year-long contract with Russia. The daily supply will
be about 30,000 tons.
To prevent similar problems, the Czech side wants to continue
negotiations with the Russians.
Year of the Czech Family Initiated
The Czech Parliament launched January 20 the "Year of the
Family" as announced by the United Nations and Pope Jan Paul II.
Jindrich Vodicka, minister of labor and social affairs,
introduced the members of the National Coordinating Board and the
Honorary Presidium of the Year of the Family. Livia Klausova,
wife of Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus, Jirina Jiraskova,
actress and director of Theater Na Vinohradech, Lorna Vancurova,
mother of quadruplets, Zdenek Matejcek, child psychologist, and
professor Josef Svejcar, a leading pediatrician who says he is
"only" 97, and Tomas Halik, a priest, were appointed to the
six-member presidium.
The Czech "Year of the Family" is planned not to focus only
on relations of families with children, but also on improving
relations between adults and their elderly parents and between
young and old in general.
Zdenek Matejcek suggested that Parliament declare two days
during the school year when kids wouldn't have to go to school so
they can spend time with older people.
The National Coordinating Board began working in May 1993. It
includes the ministries of Health, Culture, Labour and Social
Affairs and Foreign Affairs. It finances and organizes concerts,
exhibitions and children's clinics dealing with family questions.
Couples in Czech Republic Wait up to Five Years for Adoption
Approximately 2,500 couples a year ask apply to adopt
children in the Czech Republic. People interested in adopting
a child must go through a whole range of interviews, during which
their family background, standard of living, income, and social
and health conditions are tested. The choice of a child is
usually quicker when the couples don't have any special
requierements, for example, when they will accept adopting
a Gypsy child. People over forty and single or divorced women
rarely can expect they will be given a child. Social service
employees invite applicants for a longer interview to check up on
the stability of their marriage every 9 month.
Future parents are also tested by psychologists and medical
doctors from children's homes. Only children whose parents
didn't express any interest in them for six months or children
whose parents agreed to their adoption can be adopted. Children
whose parents were excluded from parental by legal proceedings
are also available. Children are tested for cardiological,
genetic and psycholgical deficiencies and for the HIV virus. Two
to three Czech children a year are usually adopted abroad.
Old People Suffering Under Changes
Advocates for the elderly feel the important political,
social and economic changes in the Czech Republic have also had
negative consequences for older Czechs. Many old people feel
unimportant and left out of everyday life, with even children and
relatives having no time for them because of their workloads.
They also say the unsuccesful social system for old people has
become an acute problem, with a lack of services, home care, and
also the hospitals for long term ill and pension houses are
inconvenient.There are no social centres for seniors, which are
common in the western countries.
That is why the association Life 90 decided to create a model
social complex in Prague. It will include living rooms for the
disabled, rooms for temporary stay, canteens for old people from
the neighborhood, and some rooms for cultural activities. Denmark
has pledged financing for the project.
Student Strike Only Partially Succesful
A student strike against the central administration for
dorms and canteens demanding less disruptive renovation schedules
and investigations into alleged malfeasance culminated Wednesday,
Jan. 19. (Earlier reports about the strike were carried in the
previous issue of Carolina).
On Wednesday morning at about six o'clock, the entrances at
Budec and Arnost z Pardubic dormitories were closed after night
janitors left the buildings. Before that, students agreed that
canteens, which serve many non-students and pensioners, would
remain open. Shortly before 7 a.m., dorm administration employees
began to gather in front of Arnost z Pardubic Dorm, but were
prevented from going to their workplaces and began to gather in
the conference hall. The negotiations began after administration
director Karel Hoffer had arrived.
The Six-member strike committee explained the students'
positions to those present. The comittee expanded its charges by
claiming that Hoffer renovated his own flat during the
reconstruction of Vetrnik, using part of the designated money.
Hoffer denied the charges, and after an hour of negotiation talks
were at a standstill. Radim Palous, rector of Charles University
came personally to Vorsilska street where the dorms are situated
and the students canceled their blocade in honor of his
authority. But they went on striking, focusing on gathering about
350 signatures for their petition. A press conference crowded
with journalists and university spokespeople was held at 1 p.m.
At 6 p.m. the whole action was over.
CULTURE
Angel Eyes With Our Own Eyes
We informed you about the new Czech film "Angel Eyes" in the
last issue of Carolina. The story was based on a Cinema magazine
article and contained an inaccuracy in interpretation. The main
reason of the problems of the three priceless insurance agents
was their choice of a wrong colleague more than any fraud or
swindle.
We apologize to experts on Bohumil Hrabal's work.
EXCHANGE RATES (Czech National Bank)
country code purchase sale purchase sale average
Great Britain 1GBP 43,71 46,55 44,902 45,354 45,128
France 1FRF 4,89 5,29 5,064 5,114 5,089
Italy 1000ITL 17,00 18,54 17,682 17,860 17,771
Japan 100JPY 25,98 28,58 27,139 27,411 27,275
Canada 1CAD 22,10 23,88 22,876 23,106 22,991
Austria 1ATS 2,40 2,52 2,445 2,469 2,457
Germany 1DEM 16,81 17,73 17,179 17,351 17,265
Switzerland 1CHF 20,01 21,01 20,406 20,612 20,509
USA 1USD 29,48 30,88 30,029 30,331 30,180
ECU 1XEU - - 33,443 33,779 33,611
Slovakia 1XCU - - - - 32,6*)
WEATHER
Day and night temperatures stayed below freezing. That it's
rather more rainy than snowy in the Czech Republic in January may
appear unusual, but that's the way it is.
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