Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Carolina (English) No 163
CCCCC AA RRRRR OOOO LL II NN N AA
CC AA A RR R OO O LL II NNN N AA A
CC AA A RRRRR OO O LL II NN N N AA A
CC AAAAAA RR R OO O LL II NN NN AAAAAA
CCCCC AA A RR R OOOO LLLLLL II NN N AA A
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 163, Friday, June 9, 1995.
EVENTS OF THE WEEK MAY 31-JUNE 7, 1995
Klaus Gives Up Municipal Apartment Due to Public Disapproval
Following a widespread wave of public criticism, Czech Prime
Minister and Civic Democratic Party (ODS) chairman Vaclav Klaus
announced last Friday that he would give up a luxurious six-room
apartment issued to him by city officials in the Prague 6 district.
Klaus said he was surprised at the fierce reaction of the public
and the media, saying he had "underestimated" and "not expected" it.
The prime minister said he would not accept the apartment for free but
that he would be interested in buying it.
Currently Klaus has the use of a coop apartment in the Prosek
housing development in Prague 9 and lives with his wife in a large
government-owned residence. In applying for the city-owned apartment,
however, Klaus said his housing situation was urgent on account of the
fact that his son is about to get married and is expecting children.
Prague 6's District Council awarded the prime minister an
apartment in a neighborhood of villas for an unspecified length of
time, though they were aware that Klaus had a permanent address at the
coop apartment in Prague 9, where his oldest son Vaclav resides.
Said Prague 6 spokeswoman Ingrid Kejkrtova: "The Prague 6
District Office was interested in having Vaclav Klaus live in our
neighborhood, because we would like to maintain its residential
character. We feel that Mr. Klaus is the kind of person we would like
to have here in Prague 6. We consider it to be in the interest of the
community."
Also in the name of "public interest," the Prague 6 Council has
awarded apartments to several members of Parliament, including Petra
Buzkova and Stanislav Gross of the Social Democrats (CSSD), Libor
Novak Jr. and Martin Syka of ODS, and Pavel Severa of the Christian
Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party (KDU-CSL).
From Rude Pravo and Mlada Fronta Dnes
by Stepanka Kucerova/Andrea Snyder
Kohl's Bundestag Address Brings Nothing New for Czechs
Addressing the German Bundestag last Thursday, Chancellor Helmut
Kohl said he was convinced that relations between Prague and Bonn
would soon be straightened out, but he did not make a single mention
of compensation for Czech victims of Nazism, one of the most pressing
issues between the two countries at the moment.
Kohl voiced thanks to President Vaclav Havel and Prime Minister
Vaclav Klaus for speaking openly of the "lawlessness toward the
Germans during their expulsion" from Czechoslovakia at the end of
World War II.
"The injustice of the expulsion does not diminish German guilt by
even one inch, however neither does the German guilt diminish the
injustice of the expulsion," Kohl was quoted as saying in the Czech
daily Mlada Fronta Dnes. Those who were expelled, he said, have the
right to call the lawlessness committed against them by its true name.
In his initial reaction to the chancellor's speech, President
Havel said there was a will on the part of the Germans to respond to
Czech diplomatic initiatives, though he went on to say that such
a speech could hardly do away with all the controversial topics in the
Czech-German relations.
Another speech by Edmund Stoiber, prime minister of the Bavarian
government, elicited a strong reaction from Czech politicians, as
Stoiber called, among other things, for Prague to rescind the 1946
decree of Czechoslovak President Edvard Benes granting amnesty to
those who committed violence against Germans.
Social Democrat leader Milos Zeman described Stoiber's speech as
interference in the Czech Republic's internal affairs and legal
system. Parliament Vice Chair Jan Kasal of the Christian Democratic
Union-Czechoslovak People's Party and Foreign Affairs Committee Chair
Jiri Payne of ODS voiced similar views. However, Pavel Tollner of the
Christian Democratic Party (1), the other vice chair of Parliament,
said he would not object to the rescindment of Benes's decree.
Jindrich Jirasek/Andrea Snyder
Price of Electricity and Gas Went Up June 1
As of last Thursday, suppliers of gas and electricity may charge
households higher rates on the basis of a price assessment conducted
by the Ministry of Finance.
On average, the maximum price of electricity will rise 12
percent, while gas prices will increase from 10 to 15 percent. The
increase is individual, however. For electricity, for example, the
maximum price for the most frequently used B-rate will rise from the
current 0.95 to 1.10 crowns/kilowatt-hour, a 15.8 percent increase.
Households consuming less than 900 cubic meters of natural gas
annually will pay 3.40 crowns (previously 3.15 crowns) per cubic
meter, while those that use 6,000 cubic meters or less will see their
gas prices rise from 1.90 crowns per cubic meter to 2.15 crowns.
Prices for utilities were last raised June 1, 1994, by 10
percent. The Ministry of Finance says energy prices (including heat)
should continue to increase by 10 to 15 percent annually until 1999,
when electricity bills for private homes are scheduled to match those
of other users. Stepanka Kucerova/Andrea Snyder
General Director of Czech Railways to Step Down
Czech Railways General Director (CD) Emanuel Sip announced last
Friday that he would resign from his post on July 31 due to continuing
conflicts with the chairman of CD's board of directors, Miroslav Tera,
in dealing with everyday problems, including personnel.
Sip denied that his resignation had anything to do with economic
shortcomings in CD management discovered by the Supreme Inspection
Office, or with recent demands for salary increases by railway
employees. Muhammad Shah/Andrea Snyder
Social Democratic Trade Unionists May Strike
Trade unionists employed by the opposition Czech Social
Democratic Party (CSSD) went on strike alert last Thursday because of
delays in receiving their salaries for May.
Strike committee chairman Zdenek Vasa confirmed the employees'
readiness to strike, but added, "we have to appreciate our employer's
willingness to solve the problem." According to Vasa, 80 percent of
the CSSD employees support the union's approach.
CSSD Chairman Milos Zeman said, "It would have been more
appropriate if the unions had been informed at least a week in
advance." Zeman told TV Nova: "The pay will be there."
Stepanka Kucerova/Martina Vojtechovska
Czech Police Raid Russian Mafia at Prague Restaurant
The Czech Police raided the Prague restaurant U Holubu last
Wednesday after receiving a letter warning of a plan to murder a man
named Mr. Mogilevich on the premises. But the police came away
emptyhanded and the man who passed the letter on to the police is now
nowhere to be found, according to Jan Subert, spokesman for the
Ministry of Interior.
Subert said the ministry had received the same information from
the Interpol office in Moscow.
According to the letter, a number of individuals suspected of
criminal activities were to gather for a birthday party at U Holubu,
including Moscow mafia boss Michailov and his right-hand man Averin,
said Subert. Though both men were detained by the police at the
restaurant, they had to be released because Russian officials could
produce no evidence against them.
In the raid - a joint operation of the Squad for Exposing
Organized Crime, the Special Weapons and Tactics Squad, and regular
police forces, including a helicopter - the law enforcement officers
detained a total of 200 persons, though all of them were released in
the end. Seven persons were reported injured in the action. According
to the official report, one person was found to be legally in
possession of a pistol.
Subert said the action was carried off with lightning speed and
great professionalism, and was strictly within the bounds of the law,
corresponding to the intensity of the situation without unnecessary
violence or brutality.
U Holubu's owner Anatoli Katrich, however, is of a different
opinion. Katrich, a citizen of Israel, said he intends to press
charges against the police for damages, and the Czech press has
speculated that he may have a case.
Stepanka Kucerova/Martina Vojtechovska
BUSINESS/ECONOMICS
Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (June 26)
Checks Cash
country buy sell middle buy sell
Great Britain 1 GPB 41.614 42.032 41.823 40.40 43.24
France 1 FRF 5.265 5.317 5.291 5.09 5.49
Japan 100 JPY 30.880 31.190 31.035 29.74 32.34
Canada 1 CAD 19.030 19.222 19.126 18.24 20.20
Austria 1 ATS 2.628 2.654 2.641 2.58 2.70
Germany 1 DEM 18.478 18.664 18.571 18.11 19.03
Switzerland 1 CHF 22.424 22.650 22.537 22.04 23.04
USA 1 USD 26.213 26.477 26.345 25.65 27.05
Slovakia 1 XCU -- -- 34.376 -- --
FROM SLOVAKIA
First Post-Communist Federal Government Gathers in Slovak Mountains
Former members of Czechoslovakia's first post-Communist federal
government met last weekend in the High Tatras to pay homage to the
memory of Josef Vavrousek, the former Czechoslovak minister of the
environment who died hiking in the Slovak mountain range with his
daughter earlier this year.
This was the fourth such meeting since Czechoslovakia split into
two independent countries on Jan. 1, 1993.
The talks, led by Marian Calfa, who served as prime minister in
the first Cabinet formed after the resignation of the Communists in
November 1989, focused on political events in the Czech and Slovak
republics since the breakup, which all those present agreed was
a defeat for the federalist policies they pursued.
Of the former federal ministers who attended the get-together,
only two remain active in politics: Lubos Dobrovsky, former minister
of defense, who now serves as chief of staff for Czech President
Havel; and Jan Langos, the former interior minister, now a member of
Slovak Parliament.
Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus, who served as minister of
finance in Czechoslovakia's post-1989 federal government, did not
attend the gathering but did send a message of greeting.
From Mlada Fronta Dnes by Rudolf Cernik/Martina Vojtechovska
CULTURE
Conductor Allegedly Lining Pockets at Philharmonic's Expense
Gerd Albrecht, the German conductor of the Czech Philharmonic,
has been accused of cheating the Czech Republic's top orchestra out of
some 140,000 marks (2.5 million crowns) during his tenure.
A special audit of the Philharmonic's foreign operations ordered
by Minister of Culture Pavel Tigrid in April found that Albrecht had
accepted payment for three separate trips without authorization, money
that would otherwise have gone to the orchestra's budget.
Albrecht's contract with the Philharmonic states that he is
entitled to an annual salary of 25,000 marks, which is also to cover
his work with the orchestra on trips abroad.
While the audit by the Ministry of Culture concludes that
Albrecht took payment "in violation of his contract," Albrecht's
lawyer, Miroslav Sipovic, said the ministry's legal information was
mistaken and that he considered the entire matter "nonsense."
In a statement addressed to the Ministry of Culture, the Czech
Philharmonic's General Director Ladislav Kantor wrote that "in the
interest of a peaceful settlement" the matter should be "solved
without delay in an elegant manner." In other words, that the minister
should simply ask Albrecht to return the money to the orchestra. If
Albrecht refused, then the matter would be turned over to the law
enforcement authorities.
But Albrecht has said he has no intention of giving the money
back. "My contract with the Philharmonic says the 25,000 marks
concerns only my presence in Prague. Tours and recordings have nothing
to do with that money," the conductor told Rude Pravo.
From Rude Pravo by Stepanka Kucerova/Martina Vojtechovska
SPORTS
Sparta Praha King of the Hill for This Year's Soccer Season
Last Thursday, one round before the end, the duel for the title
of the Czech soccer league between Sparta and Slavia found a winner,
as a goal by Zakostelsky in Liberec closed the door to success for
Slavia. Meanwhile Sparta defeated Banik Ostrava at Letna on a goal by
Lokvenc, giving them the title for the second year in a row.
That makes notch number 21 in the title belt for Sparta, who now
hope the European Football Federation will recognize their right to
play in the Champions League. Slavia can still advance to its European
UEFA Cup in this summer's Intertoto Cup.
Round 29 results: Sparta Praha - Banik Ostrava 1:0, Slovan
Liberec - Slavia Praha 1:0, Boby Brno - Viktoria Zizkov 2:0, Bohemians
Praha - Petra Drnovice 2:5, Ceske Budejovice - FK Jablonec 1:0, Hradec
Kralove - Svarc Benesov 5:0, Viktoria Plzen - Union Cheb 1:0, Svit
Zlin - Sigma Olomouc 0:1. Mirek Langer/M.L.
Fifteen Thousand Runners Take to Streets in Prague Marathon
The first running of the Prague International Marathon took place
Sunday, with a total of some 15,000 runners taking part in the 42-km
marathon itself and two recreational runs of 4.0 and 9.2 km.
In the main event, 26-year-old Turbo Tummo of Ethiopia came away
with a Renault car as winner of the men's marathon. Pavel Klimes was
the Czechs' best finisher, as their biggest hope Karel David failed to
complete the course. They found consolation in the women's race,
however, as Alena Peterkova pounded the pavement to first place.
Firing the starting gun was Emil Zatopek, the famed winner of
four gold medals at the 1948 and 1952 Olympics, including one in the
marathon. Mirek Langer/M.L.
Golden Spikes in Ostrava Features Quality Athletes
World record holder Daniela Bartova won the pole vault
competition clearing 4.01 meters last Thursday at the Golden Spikes
track and field meet in Ostrava.
Igor Kovac of Slovakia and two-time Olympic champion Roger
Kingdom squared off in the 110 meter hurdles, the American coming out
on top with a time of 13.99 seconds. In the javelin, world record
holder Jan Zelezny showed off his excellent form and won with a throw
of 86.50 meters. Jakub Linka/M.L.
Sports in Brief
* In soccer, the Czechs fell 1-0 to Luxembourg in a qualification
match in England for the European Championships.
* Meanwhile, the under-21 squad fared better, trouncing Luxembourg 7-0
in a qualifying match for the junior European Championships.
* Decathlete Jan Podebradsky won the Spanish Open Championships in
Valladolid, his new personal best of 8,045 points qualifying him for
the world championships. Dagmar Urbankova, finishing fourth in the
septathlon, also earned herself a spot in the world championships.
* In tennis, Jana Novotna, the last Czech left in the French Open,
was eliminated in the third round, failing seven times on matchpoint
against Rubin of Argentina.
* Primatorky, the annual eights competition on Prague's Vltava river,
broke with tradition this year to allow rowers from abroad; but Dukla
Praha won again, with helmsman Oldrich Hejdusek sitting with the
winning eight for the 10th time!
* In volleyball, the Czech men defeated Israel in a qualifier for the
European Championships, which means they need just one win in their
next two matches versus Belgium to advance.
Mirek Langer and Jakub Linka/M.L.
WEATHER
All last week when it rained, it poured, and the forecasts are
for more of the same right on through the end of June.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This news may be published only with "CAROLINA" designation. The
subscription is free. Comments and remarks are appreciated. Send them
please to the address:
CAROLINA@cuni.cz
To subscribe to CAROLINA news you send an e-mail message to the address
LISTSERV@earn.cvut.cz
The text of message for subscription of the English version must be:
SUBSCRIBE CAR-ENG First name Last name
or for the Czech version
SUBSCRIBE CAR-CS First name Last name
To delete your subscription from the list of subscribers you send
the following message to the address LISTSERV@earn.cvut.cz:
SIGNOFF CAR-ENG or SIGNOFF CAR-CS
We ask you not to send automatic replies to our list. You can
temporalily stop receiving of Carolina by sending the command:
SET CAR-ENG NOMAIL
All Listserve commands should be sent to the address:
LISTSERV@earn.cvut.cz
Please, don't send commands SUB, SIGNOFF, NOMAIL etc to the address
CAR-CS@earn.cvut.cz or CAR-ENG@earn.cvut.cz!
