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Carolina (English) No 121
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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
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
C A R O L I N A No 121, Friday, June 3, 1994.
FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (May 25 - June 1)
Havel, Kovac Seek Stronger Czech-Slovak Ties
The presidents of the Czech and Slovak republics, Vaclav Havel and
Michal Kovac, agreed May 26 to establish a foundation to support the
cultural relationship and exchange of students between their countries.
According to media reports, the two also agreed on establishing an
Institute of Czech-Slovak Studies and founding a presidential prize for
those who contribute to the mutual relationship.
The activities grew out of the desire of Havel and Kovac to reverse
the declining interest in the relationship, they said. The countries'
ministers of culture, Czech Pavel Tigrid and Slovak Lubo Roman, met in
Bratislava.
Havel and Kovac also declared that the Benes decrees (adopted
immediately after the end of the Second World War) will not be revised.
They also spoke in favor of settling the property issue of the former
federal Czechoslovakia by the end of this year. Havel said he is
concerned about the long-term decline of trade with Slovakia, and Kovac
affirmed Slovak interest in maintaining the Customs Union and its
willingness to discuss issues with the Czech Republic.
Havel also met with Slovak Prime Minister Jozef Moravcik,
representatives of non-governmental organizations in the Slovak Republic
and the Society for International Relations. Natalie/Milan
Pinochet Visit Sparks Angry Protests
Former Chilean dictator and current army commander Augusto Pinochet
began a visit to the Czech Republic May 30 with a Chilean delegation is
interested in buying arms.
The visit sparked several street demonstrations against Pinochet,
who seized power from the democratically-elected Salvador Allende in
a bloody coup in 1973 and ruled Chile until 1990.
The delegation was invited by the company Omnipol, which specializes
in the export of arms. President Vaclav Havel and other Czech
politicians keep their distance from Pinochet's visit. A spokesman for
Havel said the president felt Czech-Chilean relations would be
beneficial only if they were developed by people respected in the
democratic world.
Interior Minister Jan Ruml said Pinochet should not have been
granted an entry visa. The Interior Ministry did not provide security
for the visit.
"It is a very private visit that has not been organized by any of
the institutions of the Czech state," prime Minister Vaclav Klaus was
quoted as saying in the Czech press.
The trip was exclusively a working and business matter with no
connection to political relations, said Defense Minister Antonin Baudys.
Baudys did not allow the delegation to visit the High Military School in
Vyskov.
On the evening of the 30th, Pinochet was supposed to attend a dinner
for the delegation at Troja Castle in Prague. But the director of the
Prague Art Gallery, owner of the castle, prohibited Pinochet from
entering the Castle. But not everyone was critical of the general. In
a televised interview, Christian Democratic Party Parliament Member
Tomas Svoboda characterized Pinochet as a man who had rescued Chile from
communism and brought the country to economic prosperity. He said that
if Czechoslovakia had had someone like Pinochet in 1948, when the
communists seized power, today's situation would be different.
However, Jiri Holub, the foreign secretary for the Liberal Social
Union said Svoboda's statement wasscandalous. According to a statement
by Jiri Holub reported in Lidove Noviny, Pinochet's visit was a victory
for the cynical Czech foreign policy and a consequence of minimizing the
danger of fascism and right-wing dictatorships in the world. Pinochet's
visit is damaging for interests and image of the Czech Republic, Holub
said.
While the schedule of the visit was kept secret, the Czech press
gave it front page treatment. Lida/Milan
President Edvard Benes Remembered
A memorial service for Edvard Benes, the second Czechoslovak
president, was held May 28 at the Benes family tomb in Sezimovo Usti on
110th anniversary of his birth.
A number of significant public and political personalities of
southern Bohemia took part, as well as Presidential Office Deputy Ivan
Medek and a parliamentary mission led by Parliament Chairman Milan Uhde.
After an opening speech by the Sezimovo Usti mayor, Uhde gave an
official speech before hundreds of people. He pointed out, that Tomas
Garrigue Masaryk wanted Benes to be his successor as early as 1918: "It
was evidence of the immense credit Benes deserved in concluding the
political struggle for Czech and Slovak representation during the First
World War. Masaryk's words - "We would not have the republic without
Benes" - were not uprooted even by his harshest critics."
Wreaths of the
president, parliament, Society of Edvard Benes, Sezimovo usti and other
missions were laid at the tomb. Dusan/Daniela
Agent Zifcak sentenced to 18 months
Former Secret Police lieutenant Ludvik Zifcak, known by the code
name Ruzicka, was sentenced May 27 to 18 months without parole. The
court found him guilty of abusing the power of public authority.
The court also found guilty Antonin Suchy and Vladimir Marecek two
former officers of the Prague and Central Bohemia Secret Police. The
convicts have the right to appeal within eight days.
The court found that the men, in contradiction with then valid rules
and regulations, prepared false papers to allow Zifcak to infiltrate
various organizations in Ostrava and Prague, and included preparing
false school records and enrolling Zifcak-Ruzicka among the students of
the Mining University in Ostrava. Dusan/Daniela
Entry Examinations Near
School entrance exams, a dreaded but necessary part of prospective
university students' applications, are soon to be administered.
The Philosophical Faculty of the Charles University is one of the
most attractive schools of classical education here, and it's system for
selecting students has a long tradition. The system has two parts:
a written and an oral test. All applying students, who pay about 200
crowns for administration purposes, take the written test. Those who do
well enought advance to the oral part. Boards of school professors from
particular courses examine the deeper knowledge of students, their
interest in the subject, and the level of their speech. Within a month,
participants find out if they are among the one in ten who pass, and are
accepted into university.
This year, 45 students will be chosen from the 1,264 who applied to
study pyschology. The interpreting and translating section will take 55
out of 1,279, history will take 70 of 1,254, and the department of Czech
language and literature will accept a tenth of the 739 students who
applied. A similar number will be accepted in the English and American
studies course.
On the contrary, there are fewer applicants this year than last for
the philosophy department. But even there, only 40 of the 311 applicants
will find a chair come next fall. Zuzana/Zuzana
ECONOMICS
Josef Tosovsky Awarded "European Manager 1994" Prize
Accepting the nomination of Economia and Hosposarske noviny, the
Union of European Financial Press awarded Czech National Bank Governor
Josef Tosovsky with the prize of "European Manager of 1994." He will be
awarded the prize June 16 in Roma.
Tosovsky, 43, won "The Governor of The Year" last autumn from the
English magazine Euromoney. Lida/Daniela
Prize for Komercni Banka
According to a press release from Komercni Banka, the prize for the
best Eastern European bank of 1993 was awarded to the Czech Komercni
banka. This prize is given annually by the readers of Central European,
a special magazine of European bank and financial businessmen.
The honor was given to Komercni banka representatives during recent
meeting of European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in St.
Petersburg. Five thousand financial businessmen took part in the
session.
Prizes were awarded to other banks and institutions as well, for
instance to Internationale Nederlanden Bank was named the most active
bank in Central and Eastern Europe.
Komercni banka was also recently given a "Euromarket Award," by
European Market Research Centre in Brussels. The nominating criteria
were professionalism of management and services, quality of products,
technical innovations and development potential concerning the European
market. Katerina/Daniela
EXCHAGE RATES OF THE CZECH NATIONAL BANK (valid from June 2)
CHECKS CASH
country Buy Sell Middle Buy Sell
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Australia 1 AUD 21.390 21.604 21.497 20.43 22.57
Belgium 100 BEF 85.331 86.189 85.760 83.06 88.46
Great Britain 1 GBP 43.759 44.199 43.979 42.56 45.40
Denmark 1 DKK 4.469 4.513 4.491 4.29 4.69
Finland 1 FIM 5.294 5.348 5.321 4.82 5.82
France 1 FRF 5.137 5.189 5.163 4.96 5.36
Ireland 1 IEP 42.755 43.185 42.970 40.97 44.97
Italy 1000 ITL 18.150 18.332 18.241 17.47 19.01
Japan 100 JPY 27.629 27.907 27.768 26.47 29.07
Canada 1 CAD 20.926 21.136 21.031 20.14 21.92
Luxemburg 100 LUF 85.331 86.189 85.760 82.76 88.76
Netherlands 1 NLG 15.662 15.820 15.741 15.26 16.22
Norway 1 NOK 4.049 4.089 4.069 3.92 4.22
New Zealand 1 NZD 17.159 17.331 17.245 16.50 18.00
Portugal 100 PTE 16.923 17.093 17.008 15.83 18.19
Austria 1 ATS 2.497 2.523 2.510 2.45 2.57
Greece 100 GRD 11.830 11.948 11.889 11.18 12.60
Germany 1 DEM 17.563 17.739 17.651 17.19 18.11
Spain 100 ESP 21.308 21.522 21.415 20.42 22.42
Sweden 1 SEK 3.683 3.721 3.702 3.54 3.86
Swityerland 1 CHF 20.631 20.839 20.735 20.24 21.24
USA 1 USD 28.936 29.226 29.081 28.38 29.78
EC-ECU 1 XEU 33.820 34.160 33.990 -- --
IMF-SDR 1 XDR 41.012 41.424 41.218 -- --
Slovakia 1 XCU -- -- 33.990 -- --
Weather
Mornings are still cold, however, during the day the weather is
summery, with clear skies, sunny and warm.
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