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Carolina (English) No 111
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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 111, Friday, March 25, 1994.
NEWS OF THE WEEK (March 16 - 23)
Labor Unions Stage Mass Rally
About 40,000 people took part in a mass meeting organized by the
Czech-Moravian Chambers of Labor Unions March 22 in Prague's Old Town
Square.
The demonstrators were protesting government steps in social policy,
focusing their anger on an increase in the age of retirement. The main
speech of the meeting was given by Vladimir Petrus, chairman of the
central labor unions headquarters.
Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Jindrich Vodicka attended the
meeting but wasn't allowed to speak by the organizers of the meeting. He
left the square after becoming a target of the protestors' anger.
Representatives of the labor unions appealed to the Czech
government concerning the contemporary social policy.
The rally was the largest labor demonstration since 1989. Many
demonstrators traveled from industrial regions of the republic such as
Ostrava to display their anti-government slogans.
Premier Vaclav Klaus accused labor unions of creating a false
pressure campaign. Other governing-coalition members were reserved about
the meeting.
New Slovak Premier Makes Brief Prague Visit
New Slovak Prime Minister Jozef Moravcik and Minister of Finance
Rudolf Filkus came to Prague Monday, March 21 to negotiate a one-month
suspension of the unilateral control of food imports from the Czech
Republic. They met with Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus and Finance
Minister Ivan Kocarnik.
According to Filkus, the main goal of the new Slovak government is
to stabilize the economy and continue the coupon privatization.
Commenting on rumors of a devaluation of the Slovak crown, Filkus
said the move is under control of the Slovak National Bank.
Dutch Queen Strolls Charles Bridge
Dutch Queen Beatrix and her husband, Prince Klaus, arrived for
a three-day visit in Prague Tuesday, March 22. The first crowned
head-of-state ever to visit the independent Czech Republic was invited
by Czech President Vaclav Havel. The royal couple met the Dutch
community living in Prague after an afternoon walk across the oldest and
the most famous of Prague's bridges, the Charles.
Queen Beatrix said she wanted to learn about different aspects of
life in the Czech Republic, including the devastated area of the
Northern Bohemia.
Air France Quits Czech Airlines After Two Years' Collaboration
The two-year involvement of Air France with CSA ended March 21 after
an agreement in Prague between representatives of the two companies and
the other shareholder, the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development.
The Czech Republic will buy the share of the French partner for 27
million U.S. dollars through the Czech Consolidation Bank.
Czech Minister of Transport Jan Strasky initially refused to comment
on this sum, but added that as a "private person", the amount seemed to
him much too high.
The agreement must be approved by the leadership of the European
Bank for Reconstruction and Development within five days, and a new
partner for CSA is to be found by the ministries of finance, transport
and privatization by the end of the year.
Zhirinovsky Didn't Arrive to Prague
Russian nationalist Vladimir Zhirinovsky failed to arrive for
a planned visit to the Czech Republic. Zhirinovsky, leader of the
Russian Liberal Democratic Party, was invited by Miroslav Sladek, leader
of the right-wing Czech Republican Party.
Zhirinovsky claimed at a press conference in Moscow that the journey
would be too expensive, but at the same time he announced that the visit
will happen later.
Czech Television, however, reported that Zhirinovsky already had his
plane ticket.
Discussion About the New Orthographic Rules
The new 1993 orthographic rules caused commotion among both experts
and the general public. The main question -- obey them or not?
A seminar held by the Institute for Czech Language March 17 and 18
was supposed to solve this problem. Over 40 leading Czech linguists and
teachers discussed if the new rules should be approved or not.
After many diverse and conflicting speeches, the rules were finally
recommended for codification. However, linguists agreed that certain
double forms, for example, filosofie and filozofie, should be added.
The rules shouldn't become a matter of strict marking as in most
cases before, the experts said. Orthography is just a part of the
language, together with stylistics and syntax.
Nearly Half Agree With Restitution of Jewish Property
According to a March poll by the Institute for Public Opinion, 44
percent of Czechs support restitution of Jewish property, while 22
percent oppose it.
Sixty-three percent of the respondents were against restitution of
property to the former aristocracy. For the church, 42 percent support
restitution while 8 percent are against.
Popularity of the Czech Politicians
Vladimir Dlouhy, Czech Minister of Trade and Industry, remains the
most popular Czech politician, with 86 percent of the country's citizens
trusting him.
According to the Center for Empirical Research, Dlouhy is followed
by Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus, 73 percent, and Minister of
Foreign Affairs Josef Zeleniec and President Vaclav Havel, both at 69
percent.
From last month, the popularity of Czech Defense Minister Antonin
Baudys fell from 52 to 32 percent, most likely as a consequence of his
private proposal to find a solution to the crisis in the former
Yugoslavia. the popularity of Josef Lux, Minister of Agriculture, fell
from 41 to 33 percent.
European Journalism Students Forum Next Week in Prague
As mentioned in previous editions of Carolina, the Ninth Congress of
European Students of Journalism will take place in Prague March 28-30.
The main topic is "Media and Manipulation".
The congress, organized by the Journalism Students Association of
the Faculty of Social Science, Charles University, is held under
sponsorship of the university, the Czech Syndicate of Journalists and
the Czech Foreign Ministry.
The program for the 140 members of the congress will include
lectures, discussions and seminars. Lectures will be held by such
well-known names in the field of mass communication as Vaclav
Belohradsky, Profesor of Terst University and a specialist in political
sociology, who also lectures at Charles, Denis McQuail, professor of
Amsterdam University, a specialist in sociology of communication, Michal
Cernousek from FSV UK, a psychologist interested in communication
(including non-verbal), Jeremy Tunstall, London University, a specialist
in media monopolies. An informal presence is also promised by Czech
Foreign Minister Josef Zeleniec.
The participants will also visit various offices of the Czech media,
Lidove Noviny, Blesk, CTK, Arteria among them.
The greatest problem for organizers was finding sponsors, but
students lined up support from IBM, AT&T and others. Some sponsors
provided lodging, board and transport. Important organizational help
came from the Faculty of Social Sciences and the Syndicate of
Journalists.
Czech Women More Faithful Then Men
Research into sexual life by the firm DEMA and the Sexual Institute
of the First Medical Faculty of Charles University has found that 44
percent of men and 26 percent of women view extra-marriage sexual
intercourse as normal.
The survey of 1,719 Czechs found that fewer than half of married
women and almost two-thirds of married men said they had had
extra-marital sex.
The risk of AIDS influenced the sexual behavior of 22 percent of men
and 14 percent of women, mainly by lowering of the number of partners.
The average number of sexual partners is 12 for men and five for women.
The results of the study were recently reported in the press.
FROM SLOVAKIA
New Slovak Government Forms
Slovak President Michal Kovac named a new government March 16. The
Democratic Union of Slovakia is represented by Prime Minister Josef
Moravcik, Deputy Chairman Roman Kovac and Health Care Minister Tibor
Sagat.
The Democratic Left Party has in the government Deputy Chairman
Brigita Schmognerova, Economy Minister Peter Magvasi, Agriculture
Minister Pavel Koncos, Defence Minister Pavol Kanis, Justice Minister
Milan Hanzel, Education Minister Lubomir Harach and Environment Minister
Juraj Hrasko.
From the Christian Democratical Movement: Deputy Chairman Ivan
Simko, Transport and Communication Minister Mikulas Dzurinda, Minister
of Internal Affairs Ladislav Pittner, Culture Minister Lubo Roman and
Labour, Social Matters and Family Minister Julius Brocka.
Finance Minister Rudolf Filkus and Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan are
members of Democrats Alliance SR. Milan Janicina from National
Democratic Party is the Minister of Privatization of National Property.
Elections Set For September 30 and October 1
The National Assembly of Slovakia voted unanimously March 17 to set
the date for early elections September 30 and October 1.
Deputies of the Democratic Movement for Slovakia had earlier
proposed June elections.
Slovak Locks Fail
Shipping on the Danube was interrupted March 20 when the left locks
of the Slovak Gabcikovo Dam failed.
Because it was not the first breakdown and because the 500-ton gates
failed in the least expected spot, sabotage has not been ruled out.
The difference in height of the water when the failure occurred was
five meters. The stream was so violent that it dragged and severely
damaged ships in the canal.
Julius Binder, a designer of Gabcikovo, said the accident is
difficult to understand and can hardly be explained by a staff failure.
"It is puzzling that the left chamber and the whole Gabcikovo
project has been connected with so many accidents straight from the
beginning," he said.
But Gyorgy Droppa, a spokesman for opponents of the dam, The Danube
Circle Organization, said, "It is not the first case when Slovak
scientific planning was bankrupt."
ECONOMY
Drop at the Exchange Stock
During all three of the last sessions at the Prague Stock Exchange
(March 18, 21, and 22) shares prices have continued to slide, and on
Tuesday the unquoted share market also dropped.
On March 18, Power Station Opatovice traded the most shares at
a value of 46 million Czech crowns. These shares dropped for the second
time consecutively 10 percent, after long periods of growth. Besides the
Power Station Opatovice loss, Sklarny Kavalier and Fatra also dropped by
nearly 10 percent. Nevertheless, the amount of increasing shares is
twice the decreasing shares.
Investment fund shares gradually are becoming the most frequently
traded commodities. Three investment funds were among the ten most
traded companies: Savings Bank Investment Fund (volume of 5 million
Czech crowns, price per share 890 Czech crowns), Creditanstalt
Investment Fund (volume of 4.9 million Czech crowns, price per share
1,420 Czech crowns), and Commercial Bank Investment Fund (volume of 4.9
million Czech crowns, price per share 981 Czech crowns).
On Tuesday, the quoted share trend was without change. The majority
of quoted shares has dropped 10 percent. The central market followed the
trend later. The ratio of decreasing and increasing shares changed
211:175. According to information of Petr Svoboda, head of the trade
department of the stock exchange, the drop is only temporary.
EXCHANGE RATES will be published every other issue
CULTURE
Most-Liked People And Programs On TV Announced
Results of "Ty Ty" public inquiry, organized by the Czech magazin
"Tydenik Televize a Teletip" were announced in Prague's Music Theatre in
Karlin March 19. The inquiry evaluates the most popular people and
programs on Czech Television.
Awards were given in ten categories. The most popular moderator of
evening news broadcast was Mirka Vseteckova. The most successful program
of 1993 was the gameshow Kufr, which requires of its contestants
perception, knowledge and quick reactions.
Awards were also given to winners in other categories -- best
program announcer, publisher and documentarist, sports commentator,
singer, singer, entertainer, actor and actress.
Jitka Molavcova, an actress and singer, was the moderator of the
event.
What AIDS Looks Like?
Prague's Old Town Hall was the site of a photography exhibition by
Peter Bialobrzesky called "What AIDS Looks Like." The photographer is
publicly presenting two rounds of his shots. The first is called Willi
and was produced in Dusseldorf. The second was photographed in London's
facility for people with AIDS -- House of Light.
The photographs were a simple record of the lives of people who have
AIDS, many in the advanced stages.
One of the exhibition organizers was the National Center of Health
Support.
In the Czech Republic there are fewer people with AIDS than in other
industrial countries. Through November 1993, 166 cases of HIV-positive
were recorded, with 45 people with advanced stages of AIDS. By the same
time, 33 people had died from AIDS.
SPORTS
Sakala World's Champion of Ski Jumping
Czech ski jumper Jaroslav Sakala won the world championship March
20 in Slovakia's Planice. Sakala jumped 189 and 185 meters to gain
351.3 points, enough for victory over Norwegian Bredessen with 329.8
points and the Italian Cecone with 324.7 points. Another Czech ski
jumpers taking part in the competition was Goder, who came in twentieth
with 177.4 points.
Sakala's victory made him the second Czech ski jumper to win the
giant skijump competition. Karel Kodejska won in 1975.
18th Round of 1st Football League Continues
Only seven matches were played out in the first football league's
18th round. The greatest smash of the round was the game of fifth place
Liberec against formerly second place Ceske Budejovice.
Other results of the 18th round: Dukla Praha - Banik Ostrava 0:3, FC
Boby Brno - Union Cheb 0:0, FC Vitkovice - Bohemians Praha 0:1, Spartak
Hradec Kralove - Petra Drnovice 3:1, Slavia Praha - Svit Zlin 5:0,
Victoria Zizkov - Victoria Plzen 1:1, Sigma Olomouc - Sparta Praha 1:0.
In the incomplete league board, Sparta Praha still leads with 26
points, in second place is Slavia Praha with 23 points, followed by
Dynamo Ceske Budejovice, also with 23 points, but with fewer games. The
hopeless last is Dukla Praha at 3 points.
Hockey Extra-League Steps Into Semi-Final Playoffs
The first semi-final extra-league hockey competitors are Olomouc and
Kladno. Olomouc placed in the semi-finals after a win over Ceske
Budejovice in a suprisingly easy 3 out of 0. Kladno won in the fourth
encounter (3:1) over Litvinov at a score of 7:2. Sparta Praha will play
in the in the second semi-final, after a win of 10:0 over Zlin in the
third encounter (3:0). They will compete with Pardubice, who defeated
Vitkovice in the fifth deciding game at 1:3.
The season has ended for Jihlava and Plzen, who were both,
coincidentally, defeated in the fourth round (3:1). Jindrichuv Hradec
beat Plzen, and Hradec Kralove, Jihlava. Both Jindrichuv Hradec and
Hradec Kralove together with the two best teams in the first national
hockey league - Slavia Praha and Vsetin - will begin a bloody battle,
which will determine two participants for next year's extra-league.
WEATHER
The most emphatic characteristic of the past week was April-like
(frequently changing) weather. It cooled down, and, once again, morning
temperatures were slightly above 0.
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SUPPLEMENT - WHO'S WHO ON CAROLINA'S EDITING STAFF (1st part, ending
later)
PAVEL BENES: Born 22.5.1974 in Prague, where I lives with my
parents. I have one younger brother. I graduated from an industrial high
school in electro-technology. I wanted to study artistic photography at
the Film and Television Faculty at the Academy of Musical Art in Prague.
I was not accepted, however. Afterwards, I tried my luck at Charles
University's Faculty of Social Sciences (FSV UK), but I wasn't
successful here, either. I worked a year in the sound department at the
Editing Office of the Czechoslovak (later Czech) Television. Now,
I study journalism at FSV-UK. I mainly live with film, which
unfortunately manifests itself even in the contents of Carolina.
VICTOR Z. BLANAR: I arrived in the world 21 years ago. At the time
I began to perceive and think, a little, I already knew that I wanted to
be a cosmonaut. Later, it was a doctor, policeman, teacher,
brontosaurus, writer, president, or other animal... In the end, I was
allowed to study electro-technology, and to continue at the
Mathematical-Physical Faculty at Charles University, which mellowed in
my head, and a semester later, I left for journalism. What else?
I don't like the government, racists, and the new Rules of Czech
Orthography. My dream is to travel to Pakistan, and enter NATO. I love
frogs, and I don't eat meat.
CLARA CASTRONOVO: I'm in my first year at FSV, even though I'm
already over 22 years old. After graduation from high school, I worked
as a stewardess. But because the work of journalists always interested
me, the desire to study triumphed over "eternal" traveling. I haven't
completely lost all my love of flying, however, and I like to return to
it, at least through my contributions. It wasn't by chance that the bad
economic situation of the Czech airlines is the target of my
"interests". In closing, I'll explain my slightly un-Czech name: my
father is Italian, my mother Czech.
FILIP CERNY: Condemned to the role of the youngest and smallest with
my birth in April 1975, crunched into the world with my sister, as
a twin, I found myself in Prague, already convinced that I would be
a journalist. After successfully graduating from high school, I was
accepted to journalism school, so I could learn the craft that has the
power to change the world. I don't like big talkers,
popularity-seekers, and the irresponsibility of the responsible. I like
nature and ecological life.
TOMAS CHALUPA:
Age: roughly like the rest Sex: suitable
Height: answers standing Width: huggable
Siblings: two older - in passing Memory: occasional functional
Standing: -at work: brief
-in society: doesn't let anyone else say a word
Studies: FSV UK - journalism, write economics in Carolina
Philosophical Faculty UK - politics and history
Employment: economics department of an ad agency
Best Time of the Year: vacation or holiday
Karekeva, Sofi: I was born in Brno, Czech Republic in 1973. In
1980, my family and I moved to Greece, our mother-land. Although I was
accepted to the university in Greece, I successfully completed the
entrance exams for journalism at Charles University. Not only do I like
journalism, I also love Prague. I work on the English version of
Carolina every week.
Honza Krecek: I saw the light of the world for the first time at
night. On the night of the 7th to the 8th of November 1974, 54 years
after the Great November Socialist Revolution. I attended a language
elementary school, then high school, where the gentle, velvet, merry,
big, November revolution reached me in my freshman year. Otherwise
without changes, I finished studying, and right after graduation, began
at the FSV. Currently, I study hard, I take joy in the strong, fragile,
democracy, I feel good in Europe, to which we have returned, according
to a general trend, I am learning to behave predatorily and recklessly,
I think about money, I looking forward to taking part in the EC, G7, and
NATO. Perhaps in your country, Dear Far Away Readers in Greece or
Turkey, I'll serve, after finishing school.
Dusan Mendal: I'm 20 years old, and besides journalism at FSV,
I also study Czech language and literature at the Pedagogical faculty
UK. I am from Tabor in Southern Bohemia, a town with a rich Hussite
tradition, where I graduated from high school. I am actively interested
in everything that goes on around me. I seriously enjoy playing the
guitar, eating, and sleeping.
Natalie Najdencovska: I was born the January 27, 1974 in Bulgaria.
I have a 16-year old brother. I am interested in art. I like nature.
I like animals. In my spare time, I do astrology. I know several
languages: I speak and write French, Russian, Bulgarian, and English,
I'm learning Czech .
Zita Nidlova: From the date of my birth 21 years ago, I have been
looking forward to retirement. Because psychologists recommend picking
up some sort of interests and hobbies in preparation, I am currently
trying to understand the journalistic craft at the FSV UK. My greatest
hobby is traveling, but thanks to my modest financial situation,
I currently realize it only through books.
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