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Carolina (English) No 157
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STUDENT'S E-MAIL NEWS FROM CZECHOSLOVAKIA
Faculty of Social Science of Charles University
Smetanovo nabr. 6
110 01 Prague 1
Czech Republic
e-mail: CAROLINA@cuni.cz
tel: (+42 2) 24810804, ext. 252, fax: (+42 2) 24810987
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
C A R O L I N A No 157, Friday, April 28, 1995.
EVENTS FOR THE WEEK APRIL 19-26
Ukrainian President Visits Czech Republic for First Time
Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma met with Vaclav Havel at Prague
Castle April 25. The Czech president promised to support Ukraine's
admission to the Council of Europe, which will be chaired this year by
the Czech Republic.
Their talks focused on Czech-Ukrainian relations, which both
statesmen said were problem-free. Also they discussed the export of
strategic raw materials from Turkmenistan and the Russian Federation
across the Ukraine to the Czech Republic.
Later, Kuchma also met with Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus. The
Ukrainian president was interested mainly in the Czech Republic's
experiences with privatization and the restructuring of its tax system.
On Wednesday the presidents signed a pact on friendship and mutual
cooperation. Lukas Zentel/Andrea Snyder
Olomouc Prepares for Pope's Visit in May
At a former military airport in Olomouc-Neredine, a 150-meter-long
horseshoe-shaped altar is being built for a visit to the north Moravian
town of Olomouc by Pope John Paul II, who will be beatifying Jan
Sarkander and Zdislava of Lemberk.
Specialists from the Ministry of the Interior will be working along
with builders at the site to clear the airport of any ammunition left
behind by the Soviet Army before the Pope arrives.
The costs of the Pope's visit, estimated at nearly 20 million Kc,
will be covered mainly from collections during church services.
Muhammad Shah/Andrea Snyder
New Law Aims to Cut Back on Smoking
Czech Parliament adopted April 19 an amendment to the law on
prevention of alcoholism and other drug abuse intended to make life more
difficult for smokers and tobacco companies.
One important change is an increase in the minimum age for the
purchase of tobacco products from 16 years to 18, intended to reduce
smoking among young people. The law further bans smoking at workplaces,
where non-smokers could be exposed to passive smoking, as well as at
medical facilities, meetings, conferences, schools, cultural venues,
indoor sports arenas, and even in restaurants.
Fines for violation of this law will be levied not on smokers but
on the establishment where the violation occurs, with a maximum penalty
of 200,000 Kc.
Cigarette manufacturers will now be required to fill at least 20
percent of the space on the front of the pack with a warning of the
harmful effects of smoking. The law also calls for gradually reducing
tar content and bans cigarette vending machines.
Reactions to the new law varied. Milan Uhde, chairman of
Parliament, believes that prohibition of smoking in the Parliament
building will not be very effective. Deputy Premier Jan Kalvoda went so
far as to call it an attack on human rights.
From Rude pravo by Michal Vynohradnyk/Andrea Snyder
Earth Day in the Czech Republic
On Saturday, April 25, people all around the Czech Republic
demonstrated to save the environment. The occasion was Earth Day,
a tradition started by American students in 1970.
Young Praguers performed skits with ecological themes, parading
around the city carrying inflatable models of the Earth over their heads
with slogans expressing fears for the world's future.
In Zlin, children and adults tied slips of paper with their
personal promises to help save the environment to the branches of
a symbolic tree.
At the zoo-park in Chomutov, Northern Bohemia, Earth Day
participants unveiled a stone funeral mound dedicated "To the Victims of
Man" and featuring a plaque with the names of 20 animal species that
humans have exterminated. This summer, park workers want to build an
entire graveyard for extinct animals, with an open grave reserved for
other animals, including man. Martin Kupka/Andrea Snyder
Zeman Reelected Chairman of Social Democrats
Milos Zeman was confirmed in his post as leader of the most
powerful opposition party in the Czech Republic on Saturday, winning 314
out of 374 votes at the 27th congress of the Czech Party of Social
Democrats (CSSD) in Bohumin. Thirty-seven delegates voted against Zeman,
and 23 votes were invalid.
The congress also elected five vice chairs from 11 candidates, with
the most votes in the first round going to Petra Buzkova (242) and
Kvetoslava Korinkova (222). Joining the two women as CSSD vice chairs
were Vaclav Moravek, Karel Machovec and Vaclav Grulich.
Zeman told the congress he believes in a future social democratic
government in the Czech Republic and that the Social Democrats' chances
for electoral success begin the moment they attain 25 percent support in
opinion polls (currently, according to the Center for Empirical
Research, CSSD has the backing of 21 percent of the Czech voters).
Zeman described the CSSD as offering the sole viable alternative to
the current government's policies, saying the dispute with Prime
Minister Vaclav Klaus' Civic Democratic Party (ODS) was "a conflict with
the Czech mutation of Thatcherism."
CSSD delegates approved an outline of the party's campaign platform
and renewed their backing for the 1993 CSSD congress resolution not to
work with any extremist political parties. According to the resolution,
these parties are the Assembly for the Republic-Czechoslovak Republican
Party (SPR-RSC), the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM), the
Left Bloc (LB), the Party of the Democratic Left (SDL), the Moravian
National Party (MNS) and the newly founded Party of Czechoslovak
Communists (see above).
Following a debate behind closed doors, the CSSD delegates withheld
approval of economic secretary Ivan Havlicek's report on party finances.
Havlicek told the congress that CSSD's financial situation was
"absolutely critical" as a result of its disputed ownership of the party
headquarters building. CSSD's debt at the moment is more than 80 million
crowns. Stepanka Kucerova/Martina Vojtechovska
Will the Left Wing Unite?
The Party of the Democratic Left (SDL) is proposing an alliance to
the Left Bloc (LB) for the 1996 parliamentary elections. SDL and LB
both split off from the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM),
the direct successor to the former Czechoslovak Communist Party, and are
composed largely of reform Communists.
LB chairman Jaroslav Ortman, however, said he proposed that SDL
candidates appear on the LB slate, and not as an independent party. Said
Ortman, "This would be a useless dissipation of strength, and it would
be a pity if the votes that should be oriented on the clearly named
party Left Bloc were dispersed."
He said LB's goal, unlike that of the Social Democrats, was not to
enter the government immediately but to craft a coalition for change.
One way to do this, said Ortman, is to ally all the left-wing parties,
including the strongest. "Given the stance of the Social Democrats,
however, I do not consider this a viable possibility," he said.
Social Democrat chairman Milos Zeman said that the addition of SDL
to the LB slate would not influence the number of votes it received
since SDL had zero voter support in the last public opinion poll. "The
Social Democrats are not considering any cooperation whatsoever with the
Left, (we) will go into the parliamentary elections independently," he
said. Stepanka Kucerova/Jiri Chvojka
Former Communist Prominent Sets Up New Party
Former Prague Party boss Miroslav Stepan was elected general
secretary of the Party of Czechoslovak Communists (SCK) at the party's
founding congress last weekend. "Our goal is the restoration of
socialism," Stepan told the 309 delegates to the congress.
Stepan spent a total of 15 months in prison, from 1990 to 1991, for
abuse of power as a public official (see Carolina no. 153).
Speakers at the SCK congress lashed out at the Communist Party of
Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM), saying the SCK was the only true successor
to the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSC), which ruled the country
from 1948 to 1989. As such, Stepan's party intends to claim the property
that the KSCM "inherited" from its predecessor, the KSC. Also the SCK,
which claims 20,000 members, does not recognize the 1992 split of
Czechoslovakia into independent Czech and Slovak states.
Jiri Chvojka
Kahanek Case Continues - Prison Director Dismissed
Czech Minister of Justice Jiri Novak dismissed the general director
of the Prison Facilities, Zdenek Karabec, April 24, one day after four
prison guards in Horni Slavkov were charged with the manslaughter of
Frantisek Kahanek, who was being held on charges of brutally murdering
a 10-year-old boy. The guards are also being charged with abuse of
power by a public official.
According to State Attorney Augustin Hrboticky, the police are also
investigating the possibility of a connection between the guards and the
father of the murdered child, Zdenek Belica, who is also an employee of
the Prison Facilities.
The Horni Slavkov guards have been placed in individual cells to
keep other prisoners from attacking them.
It is still possible that the policemen who arrested and
interrogated Kahanek on Friday, April 7, and escorted him to the court
the next day, may also have played a role in Kahanek's death.
Ministry of Justice spokesman Vladimir Voracek expressed doubts
about the future of the Prison Facilities general office. If this office
were abolished, the Ministry of Justice would assume its functions, as
is common practice in other European countries.
Otakar Osmancik, director of the Institute of Criminology and
Social Prevention, Osmancik, said this model was the one used in
interwar in Czechoslovakia, and that it was not until after World War II
that the Soviet model was adopted, subordinating the Prison Service to
the Interior Ministry.
Karabec's first deputy director, Jiri Maly, was named to replace
Karabec temporarily. From Mlada fronta Dnes by Jakub Knezu/Vera Vitkova
Inventor of Contact Lenses Receives Honorary Academic Title
Otto Wichterle (1913- ), the founder of macromolecular chemistry
and the inventor of an application gel for contact lenses, received an
honorary doctorate of technology on Tuesday from the Czech Institute of
Technology. Tomas Kopecny
Charles University Gets Its Own Magazine
Starting in April, Charles University will begin publication of its own
fortnightly magazine, called "Forum."
The magazine will be published under the aegis of the university's
rector, and according to Rector Karel Maly is intended to be an
"integrating element for our diverse and complex university community,
facilitating not only the publication of information that is essential
for its existence but also the exchange of opinions and discussion that
remains the very essence of academic life."
In addition to articles about goings-on at Charles University,
"Forum" will offer information on new academic books, seminars and
cultural events. It will also be available on Internet; its e-mail
address is: forum@cuni.cz. Martina Krizkova/Katerina Rus
Are We Truly Evil or Just Not Good Enough?
According to a poll by the Institute for Public Opinion Research, almost
one-third of the Czech population does not tolerate poor people, retired
people, foreigners and people with different political opinions.
Almost half of the Czechs surveyed said they had reservations
towards rich people and homosexuals, and 85 percent said they could not
tolerate Romanies. However, almost all of the respondents said they got
along with everyone. Martina Krizkova/Katerina Rus
Rescuers Find Body of Vavrousek's Daughter
After a month-long search, the Tatra Mountain Rescue Service found
the body of 19-year-old Petra Vavrouskova, in the valley of Parichvost
pod Jaloveckym sedlem. She was the daughter of former Minister of the
Environment Josef Vavrousek. Rescuers found the body of her father 50
meters higher up on the same slope at the end of March, where they were
trapped by an avalanche in mid-March.
For more information about the tragedy, see Carolina nos. 153 and
155. (Editor's Note: One of our readers has pointed out that it was the
Czechoslovak national anthem that was played at Vavrousek's funeral, and
not, as we wrote, the Czech national anthem. We apologize for the
error.) Martin Kupka/Andrea Snyder
Miss Czech Republic 1995 Crowned
Seventeen-year-old Monika Zidkova of Kravar u Opavy was crowned the
most beautiful woman in the Czech Republic on Saturday in Karlovy Vary's
Grand Hotel Pupp.
Zidkova, measuring 175 cm tall, with a figure of 85-58-92, was the
youngest of the 12 finalists in this year's beauty pageant. "I didn't
believe that I'd win," she told reporters afterwards. Zidkova will
graduate from the Pedagogical High School in her hometown this year.
Among the prizes she won was a KIA Sportage automobile.
First runner-up was Katerina Kasalova, a 19-year-old student from
Pardubice. Second runner-up was Renata Hornofova from Prague, aged 20.
Michaela Bergotova of Brno received the Miss Press.
(Note: If you would like to see a photograph of the most beautiful
women in the Czech Republic, e-mail us at Carolina at carolina@cz. cuni
and we will send you a TIF-picture, about 200 kB.)
Martina Vojtechovska/Katerina Rus
They Said Their Vows in the Underground
Czech Pavla Bratska, 39, and American Fred Reed, 49, were married
in the vestibule of the Prague Metro station Luziny. They walked down
the aisle of escalators in the presence of about 60 onlookers, and their
lives were wedded in matrimony by the Mayor of Jihozapadni Mesto and the
bride's brother, Pavel Bratsky. The ceremony, held according to all the
rules under a hastily hung state emblem, had to be interrupted twice due
to arriving subway trains.
The newlyweds met in Florida, where they plan to live, and chose to
marry in the Metro because the palm trees in the vestibule reminded the
bridegroom of his Floridian home. Jirka Schneider
Divorce Rate on the Rise
According to demographic studies, the number of divorces per 1,000
inhabitants is much higher in the Czech Republic than the European
average, with the number increasing each year. While in 1992 there were
28,500 divorces, in 1994 the figure grew to 31,000. In the last year the
courts turned down more than 300 divorces. Jana Maruskova/Jirka Sch.
NEWS IN BRIEF
* After their first meeting April 25, top officials of the Civic
Democratic Party and the Christian Democrats announced that if they
could agree, they would appear together on the ODS ballot in the 1996
parliamentary elections.
* The current US ambassador will be replaced by Jennone Walker, a close
aide of Bill Clinton's and former director of the U.S. National Security
Council's Department for European Affairs.
* Slovak Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar proposed that preparatory
meetings for the May talks between him and his Czech counterpart, Vaclav
Klaus, be held in the first 10 days of May.
* More than 10,000 people have signed a petition against the court's
verdict in the case of sculptor Pavel Opocensky, whose case we covered
in Carolina nos. 153 and 154.
* Talks last week between Czech Foreign Minister Jozef Zieleniec and
his Chilean counterpart, Jose Miguel Insulza, focused on economic
relations between the two countries.
* The first round of high school entrance exams was held for some
160,000 pupils on Tuesday, April 25.
* According to the Czech Statistics Institute, the population of the
Czech Republic dropped to 10,330,518 in 1994, a loss of 937 people over
the year before.
Jana Maruskova and Vera Vitkova
ECONOMICS/BUSINESS
Promising Talks on Czech Oil Industry
Economics Minister Vladimir Dlouhy held talks on Monday with
representatives of the International Oil Consortium (IOC) on the
possibility of the IOC investing in the Czech oil refineries of Kralupy
nad Vltavou and Litvinov. Dlouhy and the IOC - grouping Agip, Total,
Conoco and Shell - agreed to sign a contract by the end of June.
Tomas Kopecny
Prime Minister's Wife Joins Third Board of Directors
Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus' wife Livia was nominated to the
board of directors of the firm ZVVZ Milevsko at the stockholders'
meeting of the Sporitelni investicni spolecnost (Savings Investment
Company) last Thursday.
"The moment there is a law labelling this a true conflict of
interest, I will either resign or divorce (my husband) Klaus", she said.
Livia Klausova has been a member of the Ceska sporitelna (Czech
Savings Bank) supervisory board since 1993, and last year she was
appointed to the supervisory board of CEZ (Czech Energy Works), the
monopoly power supplier in the Czech Republic.
Jindrich Jirasek/Martina Vojtechovska
Exchange Rates of the Czech National Bank (April 28)
Checks Cash
country buy sell middle buy sell
Great Britain 1 GPB 43.663 44.101 43.882 42.46 45.30
France 1 FRF 5.224 5.276 5.250 5.05 5.45
Japan 100 JPY 27.564 27.842 27.703 26.40 29.00
Canada 1 CAD 19.395 19.589 19.492 18.60 20.38
Austria 1 ATS 2.568 2.594 2.581 2.52 2.64
Germany 1 DEM 18.071 18.253 18.162 17.70 18.62
Switzerland 1 CHF 21.479 21.695 21.587 21.09 22.09
USA 1 USD 27.435 27.711 27.573 26.87 28.27
Slovakia 1 XCU -- -- 34.342 -- --
CULTURE
International Film Festival in Karlovy Vary Pays Off Debts
The Czech Ministry of Culture has begun preparing for the 30th
annual international film festival in Karlovy Vary (Karlsbad), Western
Bohemia, by paying off the festival's debt of 7.5 million crowns.
This year's festival will feature 140 films in 14 categories, with
16 motion pictures competing for the main prize of the Crystal Globe.
For 1995 the festival's organizers have prepared a special
category of films dealing with the 50th anniversary of the end of World
War II and the 100th anniversary of motion pictures.
Some of the celebrities expected to attend this year's event are
Italian actress Gina Lollobrigida, British director Ridley Scott,
and Swedish actor Dolph Lundgren, who filmed his last movie "The
Shooter" in Prague. American director David Lynch will serve as chairman
of the festival jury. Tomas Kopecny
Prague Company Denies Blame for Problems of American Filmmakers
Prague International Films (PIF) has denied accusations made by the
chief producer of the American motion picture "Mission: Impossible" that
the film crew was overcharged for the use of the Liechtenstein Palace
during shooting in April.
Roger Hitchcock told a reporter for the Czech News Agency (CTK) in
London that filming in Prague had been problematic and that the film
crew had been forced to pay 10 times more for the use of the palace than
the 50,000 crown per day fee contained in a fax PIF sent before the film
crew came to Prague.
But PIF's chief, Oldrich Mach, said, "The letterhead on the fax is
reversed and, contrary to our standard practice, it is missing the cover
page with the information on who is writing to whom. As far as I'm
concerned, the fax was never sent."
Also Mach said PIF was considering suing the Americans for damaging
the firm's reputation as a story about Hitchcock's accusations had
appeared on CNN television as well as in other international media.
Ludek S. Stanek/Jiri Chvojka
SPORTS
Czech Kickers Turn in Best Performance in 10 Years versus Holland
The Czech national soccer team Wednesday night defeated the
Netherlands, quarterfinalists in the last World Cup, 3-0, in
a qualification match for Euro 96, the European championships.
The Dutchmen started out strong, Jonk's shot from 25 meters out in
the first half going straight into the corner of the Czech goal. After
halftime the Dutchmen, who normally place priority on their strikers,
strengthened their defense. They soon paid the price for that, thanks to
the heads of two Czech players - Skuhravy and Nemecek - who returned to
the Letna Stadium where they once played for Sparta Praha. Finally
Berger made the score definitive with a goal on a free kick.
Skuhravy turned in his best performance since the 1990 World Cup,
while Holland's goalkeeper de Goey was responsible for two of the goals
scored against him.
In their qualification group for the European championships the
Czechs are now tied for second with the Netherlands, though they still
have one more match to play. Norway leads the group with a five-point
advantage over both Holland and the Czech Republic. Mirek Langer
Two Wins for Czechs to Start World Ice Hockey Championship
Finland was not equal to the aggressive play of the Czech skaters,
and especially the performance by Czech goalkeeper Roman Turek, falling
to the Czechs 3-0 Sunday at the world hockey championships in Sweden.
Turek and Belohlav, whose 19th-minute shot found a crack between
the pads on Myllys' legs, gave the Czech team reassurance, as they made
it through one minute in the second period with two players in the
penalty box. In the third period Horak failed to convert on a penalty
shot, but Meluzin sealed the win in the last 20 minutes with a goal just
under the crossbar, and then Dopita closed out the match with a score
into Finland's empty net when the Finns pulled their goalie in the
closing minutes.
The Czechs' victory over Austria on Wednesday was like a dessert
compared to the win agains the Finns. Czech goalie Briza did not see any
shots for a full half of the first period, which the Czechs came out of
with a 3-0 lead thanks to goals by Prochazka, Vykoukal and Srsen.
But the Czechs then slowed down and the Austrians turned it to
their advantage, getting goals from Kerth and Kalt in the second period.
This woke up the Czechs, and two more goals, by Prochazka and Zemlicka
guaranteed the outcome, 5-2. Mirek Langer
Slovak Hockey Goes on Victory Ride Through "B" World Championships
After one year, Slovakia's national ice hockey team will move back
into the major leagues. Thanks to performances by players like Peter
Stastny, who once wore the uniform of the Czechoslovak national squad,
the Slovaks won this year's B-team world championship, held in Slovakia,
without giving up a single point and will advance to the A-group for
next year's tournament in Vienna.
Just one non-Slovak - Lithuania's goalkeeper Naumovs - was named to
the tournament's all-star team, along with five Slovak skaters: Svehla,
Sekeras, Petrovicky, Stastny and Satan.
Results: Slovakia vs. Great Britain 7:3, vs. Japan 9:3, vs. Poland
10:0, vs. Lithuania 4:3, vs. the Netherlands 13:4, vs. Denmark 6:2, vs.
Romania 11:0. Mirek Langer
Czech Under-21s Repeat Tie with Netherlands
In a battle to qualify for the European championships, the Czech
under-21 soccer squad led over its Dutch opponents twice only to finish
the match Tuesday with a 2-2 draw.
Vavra, the best player of the match, held in Teplice, Northern
Bohemia, got the ball rolling, but before long the Czech defense opened
up to Holland's Korsten. After a save by the Czech keeper, Oulida took
the rebound and tapped the ball into the empty net for an easy goal.
Rounding out the scoring for the first half was Lokvenc for the Czechs.
In the second half the Czechs retreated to defense in an attempt to
protect their one-goal lead, but Holland's Laros foiled their strategy.
Norway now leads the group with no losses, while the Czech Republic
is in third after the Netherlands. Mirek Langer
SPORTS IN BRIEF
* The Czech hockey team lost its third match in the world championships
to the United States 4-2.
* Bioveta Brno's basketball players repeated as champions this year,
defeating Chan Vysehrad in the league finals.
* In Los Belones, Spain, the Czech tennis team advanced to the
qualifications for the Federation Cup's first division, a tournament
launched this year and modeled after the Davis Cup. Mirek Langer
WEATHER
Nothing Special in the Works
After a drippy Easter, we finally got a gust of warm air from the
southeast at the end of last week. A sunny weekend brought us the
year's first summer days, with temperatures over 25 degrees centigrade.
In the Krkonose mountains people even took to the ski slopes in
T-shirts and shorts.
The persistently sunny weather unfortunately also reminded us of
the often subnormal amounts of ozone over Prague and that, therefore,
the more sensitive among us should avoid exposure to sun longer than 10
minutes in the midday hours.
Police began their traditional warnings that with warmer weather
and skimpier clothing women stand a greater risk of being attacked by
rapists. (Long-term statistics show that roughly one out of every 10
Czech women is raped in her lifetime, with more than half of them raped
by their husbands.)
April is unfathomable, no wonder now (Wednesday, April 26) we have
cool air flowing in from the southwest, with the temperature stuck below
17. It's going to get even chillier later on, too, as frost is expected
for Friday night.
If you plan to come to Prague within the next several weeks, don't
forget to pack an umbrella, for despite bearable temperatures it should
remain rainy. Jirka Schneider
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