Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Carolina (English) No 151
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 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 151, Friday, March 17, 1995.
EVENTS FOR THE WEEK MARCH 8-15
Vaclav Klaus in Copenhagen for U.N. Conference
The United Nations World Conference on Social Development took
place last Friday through Sunday in the Danish capital of Copenhagen.
With more than 120 heads of state and governments in attendance it was
the biggest ever conference of its kind.
Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus, who received the Adam Smith
prize at the conference, spoke to delegates about the prerequisites for
social development.
According to Klaus, a change in social conditions is impossible
without interference in other areas of society and the improvement of
people's lives depends on political and economic freedom. At the end of
his speech, the Czech prime minister said that he considered external
aid for improving the situation in individual states a marginal issue
and condemned the export of ideologies and lifestyles to developing
countries.
In an interview with Czech journalists, Klaus reacted to the
Austrian and Danish governments' decision to forgive debts owed them by
poor countries, saying the Czech Republic could not afford such
a gesture, as it is owed much more money by these countries than either
Austria or Denmark. Martin Kupka/Martina Vojtechovska
Report on Population in Czech Republic
In its National Report for the World Conference on Social
Development in Copenhagen, the Czech Republic stated that in 1993 the
number of children under the age of 14 fell to less than 20 percent of
the population for the first time. This means that Czech society is
approaching the trends in population development seen in Europe's
leading industrialized countries.
In 1992 infant mortality dropped to less than 10 per 1,000 in the
Czech Republic, with 9.9 infants out of 1,000 dying before the age of
1; in 1993 the figure was 8.5 per 1,000. Meanwhile the median lifespan
increased in 1993 to 69.3 years for men and 76.4 years for women.
From Lidove noviny by Eftychia Damianidou/M. Vojtechovska
Constitutional Court Will Not Strike Down "Benes Decree"
Rejecting the arguments of Rudolf Dreithaler, a Czech citizen of
German ancestry who seeks to reclaim property confiscated from his
parents after World War II, the Czech Constitutional Court confirmed on
Wednesday, March 8, a decree "On the confiscation of enemy property and
National Renewal Funds" issued by Czechoslovak President Edvard Benes in
1945.
Although Dreithaler's lawyer attempted to call into question the
legality of the act by pointing out that Benes had abdicated the
presidency in 1939, the Court confirmed the 1942 decision of the
London-based Czechoslovak government-in-exile, who accepted Benes as the
elected president. Benes was similarly accepted by the United States,
Great Britain and the Soviet Union, as well as 24 other countries.
After the war the Czechoslovak government-in-exile decided that
presidential decrees would substitute for legislation until a new
parliament was elected.
The Constitutional Court also rejected the argument that the decree
(no. 108/45) was directed against Germans and Hungarians, saying that in
fact it was directed against the enemies of Czech democratic
institutions and therefore could not be in contradiction with the
current Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms or other similar
acts. Lukas Zentel/J. Chvojka
Politicians React to Constitutional Court Verdict
Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus, head of the Civic Democratic Party
(ODS), said the government had taken note of the Court's decision and
that he personally welcomed it.
Parliament Vice Chair Karel Ledvinka of the Civic Democratic
Alliance (ODA) said the verdict was a decisive step in the direction of
putting an end to the uncertainty in Czech-German relations and said he
assumed the decision would be favorably received internationally as
well.
Milan Uhde (ODS), chair of Parliament, expressed "both general and
personal satisfaction" with the decision. And the Social Democrats and
the Communists, both opposition parties, voiced agreement with the
verdict too.
However, the leaders of the Sudeten German Association in Munich
took a different view, declaring the Court's decision "clearly
discriminatory and nationalist." They said they had been expecting this
result and that they had doubts about the independence of the Czech
judicial system.
Walter Piverka, president of the Association of Germans in Bohemia,
Moravia and Silesia, called the verdict a political one, and said it
replaced the concept of collective guilt with that of mass
responsibility. Vera Vitkova/J. Chvojka
Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs in Central Asia
Foreign Minister Josef Zieleniec took a seven-day trip, March 5 to
11, through four Central Asian republics, visiting Turkmenistan,
Kirgizstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.
On his return home, Zieleniec pointed out the enormous economic
potential of these countries and the opportunities their markets offer
to Czech industry and business.
Among the highlights of his trip the foreign minister listed an
agreement with the president of Uzbekistan on trade in cotton and, in
talks with the Kazakh president, the negotiation of the use of Czech
government credits to support the export of Czech goods to Kazakhstan.
In every republic he visited Zieleniec was received by the
president. The most important diplomatic act that took place was the
opening of a Czech embassy in the Kazakh capital of Alma-Ata.
On the whole the minister described the tour as a success,
especially in the "opening new channels of payment vis-a-vis the Czech
Republic." Accompanying Zieleniec on his trip was a delegation of Czech
businesspeople and leaders of industry.
The minister's planned meeting with the Czech minority in a village
in Kazakhstan (see last issue of Carolina) failed to take place due to
a problem with the government plane. Zieleniec said he was considering
another visit there at a later date.
Michal Vynohradnyk/M. Vojtechovska
Havel Delivers State of the Union Address
President Vaclav Havel delivered his third speech to Czech
Parliament on Tuesday, covering all areas of society and politics and
calling on legislators to deal with the problems he sees.
Now that Czechs have laid the foundations for the renewal of
democratic institutions, according to Havel, it is important not to
ignore the rise in racism, anti-Semitism and other signs of contempt for
human rights. The president appealed to the parliamentarians to
reconsider his proposal to create the institution of ombudsman to
consider cases of possible human rights violations.
Repeatedly Havel called on the deputies to form a Senate, as called
for in the constitution they adopted in 1992, and to make reforms in
regional administration, which is also in the constitution and which has
been the subject of debate for several years now.
Further, the president warned against political parties extending
into branches of state administration, and to counter this he proposed
the creation of a special fund that would ensure public oversight of
party financing.
Havel said he thought the transformation of the educational system
could be going better and called for new thinking in the areas of health
service, the environment and housing policy.
He also mentioned briefly poor relations between government and
opposition parties as well as malice within parties of the ruling
coalition.
After the speech both Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus and Parliament
Chairman Milan Uhde declined to voice their opinions, though according
to sources at the daily "Lidove noviny" Klaus said the speech was
directed at the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), which he chairs.
Most members of the government coalition considered the
president's speech critical, and their initial responses were hesitant
and ambiguous. The portions of Havel's speech concerning education,
health service and housing policy were received warmly by the
opposition, though they did not agree with the president on the Senate
and the financing of political parties.
Jiri Schneider/M. Vojtechovska
Government Approves Proposal for Trademark Legislation
The government approved the wording of a proposed new law on
trademarks at the Wednesday, March 8, Cabinet session.
This legislation, which should take effect in June, would protect
well-known firms from illegal use of their trademarks, specifically
preventing Czech companies from registering the trademark of
a world-famous company in this country. Economics Minister Karel Dyba
said the law was needed to protect trademarks as a sign of quality and
to ensure that no one would be able to profit from the investment of
others.
Another part of the bill would provide for free trade in
trademarks, abolishing the requirement for state approval.
From Mlada fronta Dnes by Martina Vojtechovska/J. Chvojka
Ceska Zbrojovka Director Found Dead During Weapons Fair
Miroslav Duda, general director of the Ceska Zbrojovka weapons
manufacturer in Uhersky Brod, died Sunday morning at the IWA 95 hunting
and sport weapons fair in Nuremberg, after falling out a window.
The report was confirmed for Carolina by the CZ business manager at
the fair, who asked not to be named.
"Mister Duda fell out of a window. Apparently in a momentary lapse
due to a sudden case of physical indisposition," the CZ official said.
He ruled out the possibility of suicide, saying there was "no rational
reason for it."
According to the Nuremberg Police Presidium's spokesman, Peter
Groesch, Duda came back to the Tiergarten Hotel in Nuremberg from
a business meeting at about 2:00 a.m. on Sunday, March 12, and left his
colleagues at about 2:30 saying he was going to sleep. At 4:00 a.m. one
of the hotel's employees saw Duda fall from the window and immediately
notified the managers.
"The hotel employees were at Duda's hotel room door almost
instantly. No one could have left the room after Duda's death. The door
was locked and the key was found inside. We therefore rule out the
possibility that a third person was responsible for his fall," said
Grosch.
Groesch told Carolina the German police had not yet received
detailed results from the autopsy. "The information we have obtained so
far reveals that the alcohol level in his blood was negligible. We
therefore tend toward the version that it was an unfortunate accident,"
he said.
Workers interviewed on Sunday at the CZ factory said director Duda
was a "tough guy" and that he was not the kind of person who would take
his own life. But according to a report on the incident by TV Nova,
"physical indisposition" could be ruled out as an explanation for the
death because Duda had to move a table with a television and a telephone
on it in order to open the window wide enough to fit through.
Conclusive results of the autopsy and lab tests will be made known
in two or three days. Jiri Chvojka/J. Chvojka
Radio Free Europe Starts Broadcasts From Prague
Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty, the U.S. radio stations
founded during the Cold War to inform the people of Communist Europe,
began regular transmission from new studios in the former Federal
Assembly building in Prague on Friday, March 10.
According to Jan Obrman, head of public relations for RFE/RL, the
Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Russian and Serbo-Croatian editors broadcast
their first shows on Friday afternoon.
On June 10 RFE/RL is scheduled to start broadcasts by all 19 editors
in 21 languages to Central and Eastern Europe and the countries of the
former Soviet Union. At the same time the two stations will end
operations at their present base in Munich.
For economic reasons, in 1994 the U.S. Congress decided to move the
stations to Prague, where they will pay a token rent of 1 Kc per day
plus the costs of operating the building, estimated at roughly 80
million Kc annually.
From Lidove noviny by Shah Muhammad/Eftychia Damianidou
Branik Rockers Charged with Promoting Racism
Members of the punk-rock group Branik were brought to court this
week for songs advocating attacks on Romanies (Gypsies), Vietnamese and
black people that appeared on the album "Branik Power" in 1991. The
group has disbanded since then.
This marks the first time in this country that anyone has been
tried for song lyrics promoting violence and racism. If found guilty,
the six members of the band face up to eight years in prison. The
record's producer, also one of the owners of the company that released
the album and the owner of the studio where the album was recorded, is
being tried along with the band.
In 1993 (see Carolina nos. 97, 98) police investigated the band for
song lyrics (rhymed in Czech) such as "Your mission is sacred, you
bastard, you're gonna beat those niggers, gypsies and yellows, don't let
them live in peace," and "A nigger stands in the side streets, colored
hair, getting people riled up, poisoning the air, we're the ones who
feed 'em, yeah like we really need 'em. Pour gasoline all over them and
torch 'em." But the case was closed after several months when the police
came to the conclusion that the band had not broken any laws. It was not
until later, when the case awoke the attention of the media, that the
state prosecutor ordered the prosecution reopened.
The members of Branik defended themselves before the judge saying
that they cared more about the music than the lyrics and that they were
given the lyrics by friends of theirs.
Lead singer Jan Stepanek said the band had such bad equipment that
it was impossible to understand their lyrics at concerts. When
questioned directly about the verses about beating up "niggers, gypsies
and yellows," he said they were exaggerated in order to capture the
feeling of a particular situation.
Despite the high attendance of skinheads at their concerts,
Stepanek said that Branik did not support the skinhead movement.
According to him, the musicians were in it for the money and had no
particular attachment to the lyrics.
The court postponed proceedings until April when the other three
people involved in releasing the record will be questioned.
Jindrich Jirasek/Eftychia Damianidou
BUSINESS/ECONOMICS
Czechs Want Out of Payment Agreement With Slovakia
The Czech Ministry of Finance has refused to comment on reports
that the Czech Republic is going to pull out of its payment agreement
with Slovakia on April 1, according to the Czech daily "Mlada fronta
Dnes."
According to the terms of the agreement, the Czechs' withdrawal
would then take effect officially as of July 1. After that, trade
between the two countries would be conducted in Czech crowns (Kc), which
is expected to be fully convertible by July. This arrangement should not
deplete the hard currency reserves of either state thanks to new
legislation allowing both Czech citizens and companies to use Czech
crowns in their transactions.
Since Czechoslovakia split into two countries on Jan. 1, 1993, the
Czechs have been dissatisfied with their trade relations with Slovakia,
based on a clearing system that allows money transfers without the use
of freely convertible currencies. Czech exporters lose money under this
system because the Czech crown is devalued by 5 percent in the
conversion to the ECU used in this payment regime.
Jakub Knezu/Andrea Snyder
Ministry Says "Stop" to Work Booklets
Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Jindrich Vodicka this week
rejected proposals made by entrepreneurs and unions to re-introduce work
booklets (see Carolina no. 150).
Vodicka said the employee evaluation, which would be an obligatory
part of the booklets according to current proposals, ran counter to the
Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, which protects individuals
from the unauthorized gathering of personal information.
Petr Hosek/Andrea Snyder
CULTURE
Most Popular TV Personalities Announced
On March 11 the awards ceremony, sponsored by "Television Weekly"
magazine, was held at Prague's Music Theater in Karlin. Nearly 90,000 TV
viewers cast votes in the fifth annual TyTy survey to determine the
favorite faces and programs on state-run Czech TV and TV Nova, the
private channel.
Winners in this year's prestigious TyTy awards were Saskia Buresova
of Czech TV for favorite program announcer and Martin Severa of Nova for
favorite newscaster, while Premysl Podlaha, famous for his gardening and
handyman show, for the second time in a row took home the prize for
favorite talkshow moderator.
Peter Vichnar won the balloting for most popular sports announcer,
Lucie Bila was voted favorite female TV singer, and the ever-popular
Karel Gott for the fifth time walked away as most popular male TV singer
with 24,000 votes, the most given to any personality in the poll.
Favorite entertainer went to Jan Rosak from Czech TV's "Videostop"
and TV Nova's "Television Bingo." Jirina Bohdalova won again as most
popular actress and Petr Zednicek of the gameshow "Suitcase" was voted
most popular actor, while "Suitcase" itself took home the prize as most
popular show.
This year also saw the introduction of a new category, "The
Television Hall of Fame," awarded by a jury to director Frantisek Filip,
who has shot more than 5OO titles for the TV screen.
From Lidove noviny by Andrea Rihova/Andrea Snyder
Voice of Michal Tucny Falls Silent
Michal Tucny, one of the leading figures in Czech country music,
died Friday at the age of 48 from a long-term illness. In the course of
his career he recorded more than 20 albums and compilations and sold
more than a million records.
Tucny began his career playing Dixieland on a banjo, then drummed
for a rock group called The Makers. In the early 1970s he began to play
with The Greenhorns, recording such favorites as "Red River" and "El
Paso." Later in the decade, he also played with Fesaci (The Dudes).
The high point of his career, though, was the founding of his own
group, Tucnaci (The Fatties). It was with them that he recorded his most
popular songs, "The Last Cowboy," "Breakfast in the Grass" and
"Wonderful Woman."
In the last three years of his life, Tucny served as host for the
Ceske Budejovice group Weekend and worked at a radio station introducing
music shows. Karolina Polakova/Andrea Snyder
Tom Cruise Filming in Prague
After flying into Prague on his private plane March 8, American
movie star Tom Cruise took part in a benefit premiere "Interview with
a Vampire," then began work March 13 on the film version of "Mission
Impossible," directed by Brian DePalma.
The U.S./British/Czech film crew took over several locations in
downtown Prague this week. Huge tents have gone up next to the National
Museum, where the first few minutes of the film will be shot, and
a whole battery of strong reflectors are clustered around the medieval
Charles Bridge. Kampa Island, a historical, picturesque part of Prague,
will be taken over by tents March 21-31, where much of the shooting will
take place at night.
After an unsuccessful search for a large villa to rent, Cruise
finally decided to make the Hotel Praha his home during his four-day
stay in Prague. Prior to 1989, the hotel was reserved for Communist
dignitaries. Jakub Knezu/Andrea Snyder
SPORTS
Sparta Praha Tries to Catch Slavia in Soccer League
Before a sell-out crowd last week, Hradec Kralove played to
a scoreless draw with first-place Slavia Praha. Second-place Sparta
Praha took advantage of this to defeat Sigma Olomouc, cutting Slavia's
lead to five points.
Round no. 18 brought surprises in the form of a successful debut
for new Bohemians Praha coach Svatopluk Bouska, as well as a victory for
Drnovice at Banik Ostrava's home field and a loss for Viktoria Zizkov at
Ceske Budejovice.
Viktoria has yet to pick up a single point in the spring season,
losing three times to teams from the bottom half of the standings. This
has raised doubts about the job security of Viktoria coach Jiri Kotrba.
Round 18 results: Hradec Kralove-Slavia Praha 0:0, Sparta
Praha-Sigma Olomouc 2:0, Bohemians Praha-Union Cheb 2:1, Banik
Ostrava-Petra Drnovice 1:3, Ceske Budejovice-Viktoria Zizkov 1:0, Svit
Zlin-Slovan Liberec 2:1, Boby Brno-Viktoria Plzen 2:0, FK
Jablonec-Svarc Benesov 2:0. Rudolf Cernik/J. Chvojka
Hockey Extra-league Moves on to Semifinals
The Czech ice hockey Extra-league now moves into the semifinal
round, with Kladno, which beat Slavia in three matches, Vsetin after
four matches against Litvinov, along with Zlin and Ceske Budejovice.
Rudolf Cernik/J. Chvojka
Results of Last Week's Playoffs
Slavia Praha-Kladno 2:3, Plzen-Zlin 3:4, Ceske Budejovice-Olomouc 5:3,
Litvinov-Vsetin 6:3,1:5
9th-12th place: Pardubice-Sparta Praha 4:1,
Vitkovice-Jihlava 6:4, Jihlava-Sparta Praha 4:4,
Pardubice-Jihlava 5:5. Tomas Kopecny/Andrea Snyder
Good Showing for Czech Athletes at Indoor Championships
Czech athletes took home three medals from the indoor championships
in Barcelona. Dvorak won a silver in the septathlon. Kostovalova,
Dziurova, Benesova and Formanova took second place in the 4x400m relay.
Souku battled through to take the bronze in the 800m dash, which was the
surprise of this year's indoor season. Triple jumper Kasparkova did well
with fourth place, while Gombala took sixth in the long jump.
Rudolf Cernik/Andrea Snyder
Radka Kovarikova and Rene Novotny World Champions
The Czech skating pair Radka Kovarikova and Rene Novotny won the
title of world champions in Birmingham in the category of sporting
couple. Tomas Kopecny/Andrea Snyder
WEATHER
The nearly springtime weather peaked on Sunday with an unbelievable
(for March) 18 degrees Celsius. But the situation changed Tuesday, as
winter made an attempt at a comeback, and the blooming violets, crocuses
and lilies of the valley found themselves under snow, which held out
until Wednesday. The snowy surprise brought with it cold wind and
changes in the temperature, which is now hovering around zero.
Karolina Polakova/Andrea Snyder
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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!
