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Carolina (English) No 160
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STUDENT'S E-MAIL NEWS FROM CZECH REPUBLIC
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 160, Friday, May 19, 1995.
EVENTS FOR THE WEEK MAY 10-16
Czechs to Toughen Fight Against Rasicm
Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus called a special meeting of ministers
and police officials May 16 at which they agreed on a concerted effort
to combat racially motivated attacks by right-wing extremist
organizations.
The Chief State Attorney suggested that public prosecutors
advocate the most severe penalties possible, file charges quickly, and
especially that they advocate prison terms for the criminals. Also,
starting in June, crimes will be examined to determine if race played
a role. Jakub Knezu/Andrea Snyder
World War II Celebrations Culminate in Grand Air Show
President Vaclav Havel unveiled a monument to Czech pilots in
Prague on May 12 and a monument to Romany victims of Nazism in Lety
u Pisku on May 13. (During World War II, some 1,300 Romanies died in
the Lety concentration camp.)
The celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the end of World
War II culminated in Hradec Kralove, eastern Bohemia, where a crowd of
60,000 watched more than 100 flying machines go through their paces.
Mirek Langer/Alex Zucker
Swedish King Visits Prague for First Time
Carl Gustav XVI, the king of Sweden, arrived in Prague with his
wife for his first visit to the Czech capital on Tuesday. On their
first day they toured Prague Castle, strolled the Charles Bridge, and
listened with enchantment to the Singing Fountain at the Belvedere
Summer Palace.
On Wednesday they continued their stay with a visit to the Czech
UNPROFOR units in the south Bohemian town of Cesky Krumlov, followed
by a tour of the Budvar brewery in Ceske Budejovice. Their visit ends
today. Mirek Langer/Alex Zucker
Vranitzky in Prague Offers Schillings to Stop Temelin
Austrian Chancellor Franz Vranitsky arrived in Prague May 11 for
a three-day visit. His talks with Czech President Vaclav Havel focused
on the Czech Republic's integration into the European Union.
Vranitzky also discussed the Sudeten Germans and the Temelin
nuclear power plant with Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus, who turned down
the Austrian chancellor's offer of half a million Austrian schillings
for the Czechs to put a halt to the construction of the plant, located
just across the border from Austria. Klaus said that the completion of
Temelin was a top-priority matter for the Czech Republic.
The Austrians' offer of 500,000 schillings (approximately 1.3
billion crowns) amounts to just one thirty-fifth of what the
construction of Temelin has cost so far. According to Miroslav Novak,
spokesman for CEZ (Czech Energy Works), construction costs have
already reached 45 billion crowns. Jakub Knezu/Andrea Snyder
Havel Protests Russian Troops from Chechenia in WWII Parade
Russian soldiers fighting in Chechenia took part in the military
parade celebrating the end of World War II in Moscow, contrary to the
promise Boris Yeltsin made to U.S. President Bill Clinton, British
Prime Minister John Major and Czech President Vaclav Havel.
Havel received this information from the Czech embassy in Moscow.
In response to the news, Lubos Dobrovsky, director of the president's
office, presented a protest from Havel to Russia's ambassador to
Prague, Alexander Lebedyev. Havel also penned a personal letter to
Boris Yeltsin. Jakub Knezu/Andrea Snyder
Tollner Unwilling to Give Up Parliamentary Post
The leadership of the Christian Democratic Party (KDS) called on
KDS deputy Pavel Tollner to step down from his post as vice chairman
of Czech Parliament after he founded an alternative parliamentary club
to protest the party's plans for a merger with the Civic Democratic
Party (ODS).
If Tollner does not step down voluntarily, KDS will discuss his
dismissal with the other members of the government coalition - besides
ODS, the Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party
(KDU-CSL) and the Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA).
May 4 Tollner and four other KDS members who disagreed with the
party's plans for alliance with ODS founded a new group of deputies in
Parliament called "KDS I."
Tollner has said he will not step down, and it is unlikely that
Parliament would be able to agree on a successor if he did. Opposition
parties have also expressed interest in the post, including the Social
Democrats. Mirek Langer/Alex Zucker
ODS Deputy Steps Down as Committee Chair After Traffic Accident
Anna Roschova of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) resigned from
her position as chair of Parliament's mandate and immunity committee,
citing her behavior after a minor car accident earlier this month.
Roschova would not take take the breathalyzer test and refused to
sign the police protocol on the incident. Roschova is the first deputy
to step down from a post as the result of a political blunder.
Jakub Knezu/Andrea Snyder
Meningitis Kills in Bohemia
So far this year Czech doctors have registered 89 cases of
meningitis, which causes severe inflammation of the membranes
enclosing the brain and spinal cord, often resulting in death.
Shortly after the ninth soldier in the Prague barracks came down
with the illness, the Army decided to inoculate all new recruits
against the meningococcus bacteria. Jakub Knezu/Andrea Snyder
Interest in Engineering Hasn't Grown
The Czech Institute of Technology (CVUT) accepts nearly half of
the applicants to its six schools. This fall the School of Civil
Engineering will accept 1,300 students from the 1,940 applicants; the
Electrical Engineering School 1,350 from 2,400; the School of Nuclear
Engineering 250 from 356; and Transport Engineering 270 from 740.
Applicants to the School of Machine Engineering will probably not
have to take entrance exams, as there have been just 1,580 applicants
for 1,600 spaces. The School of Architecture, on the other hand, has
several times more applicants than it can accommodate.
Karolina Polakova and Tereza Hadravova/Andrea Snyder
NEWS IN BRIEF
* TV Nova now has a 70 percent share of viewers in the Czech Republic.
* By no later than September, the Investment and Postal Bank will sell
its share in the television station Premiera, which will broadcast by
satellite under a different name and with a different schedule.
* The Czech Republic moved up to 32nd in "Institutional Investor"
magazine's annual rankings, meaning the country is a safer place to
invest than it was a year ago. Jakub Knezu/Andrea Snyder
BUSINESS/ECONOMICS
Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (as of May 19)
Checks Cash
country buy sell middle buy sell
Great Britain 1 GPB 41.645 42.063 41.854 40.43 43.27
France 1 FRF 5.178 5.230 5.204 5.00 5.40
Italy 1000 ITL 15.978 16.138 16.058 15.29 16.83
Japan 100 JPY 30.527 30.833 30.680 29.38 31.98
Canada 1 CAD 19.515 19.711 19.613 18.72 20.50
Austria 1 ATS 2.613 2.639 2.626 2.57 2.69
Germany 1 DEM 18.384 18.568 18.476 18.02 18.94
Switzerland 1 CHF 22.058 22.280 22.169 21.67 22.67
USA 1 USD 26.491 26.757 26.624 25.92 27.32
Slovakia 1 XCU -- -- 34.114 -- --
FROM SLOVAKIA
Slovak Government Wants Kovac Out
Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar's Movement for a Democratic
Slovakia (HZDS) and its coalition partner, the Slovak National Party
(SNS), called for President Michal Kovac to resign this week.
Kovac delivered a speech in Parliament in which he appealed to
the absent HZDS and SNS deputies not to place party allegiance before
truth, law and justice.
Slovak religious officials have taken Kovac's side, refusing to
recognize any attempts to undermine his authority. President Kovac is
also favored by the opposition, who organized a huge demonstration in
his support. Jakub Knezu/Andrea Snyder
CULTURE
International Music Festival - Prague Spring 1995
Last week saw the launch of the jubilee 50th annual Prague Spring
international music festival in the Czech capital on May 11, with the
premiere of a new version of the opera "Libuse" by Bedrich Smetana,
one of the founders of Czech classical music.
The next day was the ceremonial inauguration concert, Smetana's
cycle of symphonic poems, "Ma Vlast" ("My Country"), performed
traditionally on May 12, the day of Smetana's death, this year by the
Czech Philharmonic under the renowned Czech conductor Libor Pesek, who
currently works mainly in England.
Each year the festival closes with Beethoven's Ninth Symphony,
and this year is no exception, as the "Ode to Joy" will formally close
Prague Spring 1995 on June 2 in the Rudolfinum.
Leafing through the pages of the Prague Spring archive we find
a host of famous names that have performed in the festival, among them
Herbert von Karajan, Leonard Bernstein, Leopold Stokowski, Charles
Munch, Rafael Kubelik, Jaroslav Krombholc, David Oistrach, Rudolf
Firkusny, Sviatoslav Richter, Jarmila Novotna, and on and on.
The 1995 festival will feature the Czech and Slovak Philharmonic
orchestras, the Berlin Philharmonic (under the baton of Claudio
Abbado), the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, the Prague Symphony
Orchestra, and the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, as well as the
world-renowned Hilliard Ensemble and Les Arts Florissants.
In addition to the nearly 80 top-rate musical performances to be
heard here in the coming weeks, Prague plays host to the Zlata Praha
(Golden Prague) international television festival May 18 to 23.
Martin Kupka/Alex Zucker
Prague Buried in Stacks of Books
Bookworms, writers, illustrators, graphic artists, publishers,
booksellers, and all others willing to confront the current onslaught
of audiovisual media with a book in their hands, descended on Prague
last week for not just one, but two book fairs.
From May 10 to 13 the Palace of Industry at the Fairgrounds in
Prague 7 hosted the debut of Svet knihy (World of Books), while just
down the road, in the Trade Fair Palace, the Prague International Book
Fair made its fifth annual appearance here, from May 9 to 12.
The World of Books, sponsored by the Czech Publishers and
Booksellers Association and the firm of Itea, featured 171 Czech
exhibitors and 72 from other countries in a space measuring roughly
7,000 square meters. Additional support for the event came from the
Czech Ministry of Culture, the Writers' Community, the Czech Library
Association, the National Literature Monument, the Translators'
Community, and most of all from members of the Czech Publishers and
Booksellers Association.
The event's first day was designated exclusively for contracts to
be negotiated among publishers and booksellers. After that, the World
of Books opened its doors to the general public, who, in addition to
browsing among the stands, had the opportunity to listen to and get
autographs from such popular Czech authors as Arnost Lustig, Jaroslav
Foglar, Jiri Zacek, Miroslav Hornicek and Karel Hvizdala. One of the
most interesting discussions was on the topic "Readers and Reading in
the Czech Lands," based on research done by the Writers' Community and
the editors of the publication "New Books."
Meanwhile, the fifth Prague International Book Fair, organized by
Avencourt Exhibitions of England and the Artforum Jazz Section of
Prague, featured an electronic catalog of exhibitors that allowed
visitors to quickly familiarize themselves with publishers' wares and
obtain contact addresses. Most of the exhibitors in the Trade Fair
Palace were from countries other than the Czech Republic, and by and
large they offered specialty books.
In conjunction with this book fair, the Viola theater played host
to three nights of readings sponsored by the British daily "The
Guardian International." The fourth annual Writers' Festival, from
Thursday through Saturday, featured Czech authors Miroslav Holub, Ivan
Klima, Ludvik Vaculik, Sylvie Richterova, Jachym Topol, Jiri Stransky
and Bozena Spravcova, who read from their prose and poetry in Czech,
alternating with the English-language translations.
Among the non-Czech authors who appeared in the Viola (from
Austria, Australia, South Africa, Poland, Portugal and Turkey), the
best-known was Chinese dissident poet Bei Dao, who read from his new
collection titled "Forms of Distance." Vera Vitkova/Alex Zucker
Exclusive Interview on Czech Film and Television Academy
In Carolina no. 152 we wrote about plans for a Czech Film and
Television Academy (CFTA). In this issue we talk more about CFTA with
Petr Vachler, owner of Vachler Art Company (VAC) and the brainchild of
the project.
C: How long has VAC been in existence and what is it involved in?
PV: VAC is a creative production company that designs and produces its
own projects. It came into being nearly three years ago. In the
beginning, it only made advertisements. Now it produces the weekly
television show "Kinobox," a monthly show on student and independent
film called "Prology," and it is the main producer for the annual
Czech Lion film awards. Now the company is preparing the Film and
Television Academy.
C: What will be the purpose of the Academy?
PV: It will be involved with the Czech Lions, the Oscars, the Felixes
and the Stars of Tomorrow. I believe that with time CFTA will win the
prestige it deserves. At the same time, it can also serve as sort of a
"film parliament" in disputes between film festivals, like the one
between the Karlovy Vary festival and the Golden Golem in Prague about
which event is justified in claiming international status.
C: Will Academy officials be paid or will they work for free?
PV: Both. The employees of the secretariat will be paid, while the
others will work as volunteers. How many there will be I don't know.
Every member of the Academy will be nominated, with automatic
acceptance for anyone who has won an Oscar, Felix or Czech Lion.
C: Who will belong to CFTA?
PV: I would like it to include every important Czech filmmaker. Among
the people who confirmed membership at the first meeting were Milos
Forman, Miroslav Ondricek, Theodor Pistek, Jaromil Jires, Frantisek
Vlacil and Zdenek Sverak.
C: How will the Academy be managed and organized?
PV: The board of directors will be elected. The organization of the
Academy will be approved at the next meeting.
C: Are you considering something similar to the Czech Lion for
television shows?
PV: Not for the time being. There are already the TyTy awards. The
problem is that the jury barely has time to see all the films
nominated for the Czech Lion and I can't imagine any objective way to
present an entire year of television shows.
C: What is your view of Czech film in general?
PV: Very optimistic. The Czech film industry has made two important
steps recently, one good and one bad. The good one is that ideas are
starting to matter more than money; the bad one is that there are too
many movies being made. A lot of movies have been made that don't
appeal to the public. Today's Czech filmmakers go ahead and make
a film no matter what, just because they have the money. But I have to
admit that there have been many successful projects.
Tomas Kopecny/T.K.
SPORTS
Olga Sipkova Crowned European Aerobics Champion
On Sunday afternoon, the sixth annual European aerobic
championships climaxed with the long-awaited finale: a title for Olga
Sipkova. Before the eyes of a thunderous 3,000 fans at Prague's Palace
of Culture, she triumphed over her top competitor, Carmen Valderas of
Spain, and three other finalists. Sipkova went into the final round in
second place behind Valderas.
Last year Sipkova took the silver at the European championships
and 10th place at the world championships in San Diego. She hopes to
move up to fifth in this year's world competition. "Last year I was
25 short (of the title), and I'm hoping that I've made up about 15 by
now," she said.
Besides her dream of a world championship one day, Sipkova is
also after the title in recreational aerobics, which she teaches.
Sipkova said she planned to celebrate her European title with her
husband, who also serves as her coach, and and her son, whom she
hasn't seen for 10 days because of training.
Another standout in the Prague event was Alexandro Viligiardi of
Italy, the former Olympic gymnast who came to Prague a year ago for an
exhibition. He returned this year to take titles in both singles and
trios. The tandem title went to Canada and de las Heras of Spain.
The Czechs placed fifth in the team competition, plus
a sixth-place finish for Hanakova-Huf in the tandem event, and
a seventh-place finish for David Huf in the singles.
Mirek Langer/Andrea Snyder
Sparta Moves Ahead of Slavia in Soccer League
After the 25th round of the first soccer league, Sparta Praha has
taken first place after a 1-0 win over Zlin at its home field on
a penalty kick. Slavia lost its top ranking after it failed to score
against Sigma Olomouc, playing to a scoreless tie on its home pitch.
With just five rounds left in this year's season, Sparta's
position is looking strong, as its remaining matches are against
weaker opponents.
Results of 25th round: Hradec Kralove - Ceske Budejovice 1:3,
Slovan Liberec - Svarc Benesov 4:1, Bohemians Praha - Banik Ostrava
0:3, Boby Brno - FK Jablonec 2:0, Union Cheb - Viktoria Zizkov 1:2,
Svit Zlin - Sparta Praha 0:1, Viktoria Plzen - Petra Drnovice 0:1,
Slavia Praha - Sigma Olomouc 0:0. Rudolf Cernik/Mirek Langer
Czech Wins Peace Race Yet Again
Pavel Padrnos rode to victory in this year's Joko 95 Race for
Peace, taking over the yellow jersey after Wednesday's leg to the
Krkonose Mountains, then hanging on to it through the demanding climb
up Lysa Mountain and the time trial that followed.
First-place finishes by Nazon of France in the last two legs were
not enough to block Padrnos from winning, though the Frenchman did
foil the Czech team's hopes for a second-place finish for Trkal.
Following Padrnos in the overall standings were Baranowski and
Brozyna of Poland, then Gottschling of Germany, and Trkal in fifth.
The German rider Lehmann, leader for the first two legs, was left with
a 14th-place finish in the end. Mirek Langer/M.L.
Julie Halard Takes Prague Tennis Tourney
Julie Halard of France stroked her way to victory in this year's
Prague Open after starting the tournament as the no. 1 seed, defeating
the talented Czech Ludmila Richterova 6:4, 6:4 in the final.
This year's tournament was plagued by bad weather and poor
attendance - just six spectators turned out for the first-round match
between the Bulgarian Maleeva and the German Martinek.
Mirek Langer/Tomas Kopecny
SPORTS IN BRIEF
* The Czech team handball side defeated Korea 26-25 in a dramatic
match at the World Championships in Iceland, but fell to Sweden 21-17
in the quarterfinals.
* Martin Novak was the winner of the two-hour decathlon, defeating
Olympic champion Robert Zmelik, who had returned to the sport after
a break due to injury.
* Ludek Bukac announced that he would stay on as coach of the Czech
national hockey team.
* Czech tennis players returned from the world championships in China
in the same state as the judoists from the European championships in
Birmingham. Empty-handed.
* Finalists in the Czech soccer cup: Viktoria Zizkov (with a 3-0 win
over second-league Pribram) and Hradec Kralove (beating Drnovice 1-1,
4-3 on penalty kicks). Mirek Langer/Andrea Snyder
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
The spring semester is over and vacation awaits (some of) us. But
don't despair. Carolina never goes on vacation. It will continue to
appear weekly until the end of June, though with a reduced staff.
After that, it will be biweekly for the rest of the summer.
Yours truly,
The Carolina staff
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