Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Carolina (English) No 232
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
STUDENTS' 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 232, Friday, January 31, 1997.
FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (January 15-22)
Zieleniec Concurs with Supplemental Text to Czech-German Declaration
On January 24 at a meeting of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the
Lower House of Parliament, Foreign Minister Josef Zieleniec agreed to
the proposal of a short text to accompany the Czech-German declaration.
Such a text would need to be accepted by parliaments of both countries.
Zieleniec surprised not only his party's partners in the government
coalition, but also his own colleagues in the Civic Democratic Party
(ODS). Until now the coalition has stood opposed to any kind of change.
Further discussions on the declaration were provoked by a comment from
German Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl, who stated at the document's
signing in Prague last week that the property claims of Sudeten Germans
remain open (see Carolina 231). Zieleniec sees the text as a brief
formal resolution of two to three sentences which would present the
declaration as a document to guide future relations and cooperation
between the countries.
Milos Zeman, Chairman of the lower house and Social Democrat (CSSD)
leader, has other ideas. At the beginning of the week (January 27-8) in
Bonn he had discussions with the leadership of the German Federal
Assembly on the wording of the accompanying text. As head of
a parliamentary delegation, Zeman also visited Federal President Roman
Herzog, who, according to the CSSD leader, reacted favorably to the idea
of a supplemental text to the declaration. Zeman also presented his
three proposed versions to other German officials. According to the
daily Pravo all alternatives contain three points which would affirm
that: 1) neither party will burden their mutual relations with claims
from the past, 2) they share a common path towards an integrated Europe,
and 3) the vicious circle which divided both countries in the past has
been broken. The deciding factor for the German side, however, will be
the outcome of a meeting between the leaders of the largest
parliamentary factions, Christian Democrat Wolfgang Schauble (CDU/CSU)
and Socialist Rudolf Scharping (SPD).
School Strikes Start
Teachers in the Brno, Blansko, Znojmo and Nachod districts went on
strike January 28. The Ministry of Education says that only 251 of the
765 schools in these districts went on strike. The first to strike were
teachers and other nursery and elementary school employees, while high
school and other specialty school employees were slower to strike.
School unions say the number of striking schools is higher. They
have demanded an increase in average salaries of 18.9 per cent. The
state budget includes an increase of 12.5 per cent. The union is also
demanding re-evaluated wage brackets by 1998. Education Minister Ivan
Pilip says that a wage increase is only possible by economizing the
school systems. The ministry has proposed reducing the number of high
schools, regulating class divisions and increasing the amount of time
teachers must teach. In comparison to other OECD countries, Czech
teachers have the lowest amount of required hours. Elementary school
teachers must teach 21-23 hours weekly, while high school vocational
training school teachers must teach a 21-hour week. Less children are
being born, and classes are shrinking. In 1989-90, the average class
size was 27 students, now it is 22.
Strikers in Znojmo sent a letter to President Vaclav Havel,
reminding him of his own speeches from the 1989 revolution, and asking
him to assist in this issue. In 1989, Havel called education the most
valuable national treasure and emphasized that society must value its
teachers, Perhaps they believe he can use his authority to help solve
problems in the schools: salaries of school employees, the overwhelming
majority of female teachers and the increasing average age of the
teaching staffs. The letter also mentions the growing number of students
with behavioral and learning problems.
The strike should continue each Tuesday and Thursday until the end
of March, when union leaders will evaluate its success. Private schools
and universities will not join the strike.
First Medical School Calls for Minister's Resignation
The Research Board, the executive arm of Charles University's First
Medical School, and the management of the General University Hospital
are calling for the resignation of Health Minister Jan Strasky and his
deputies. They blame him for the financial problems that led to
medications not being restocked by hospitals because pharmacies refuse
to sell to them on credit.
They began to demand the resignations when the minister announced
January 28 that he was forbidding them to invest their own finances,
except in emergency, without the ministry's approval. Supplies had
pressed creditors to begin bankrupcy proceedings against the General
Faculty Hospital and the Motol Faculty Hospital.
Strasky refused the Association of Large Hospitals' demand that the
state pay the debt. He saidit is mostly the fault of the hospitals'
management.
Wagner Out of CSSD Again, Buzkova Saves Machovec
Josef Wagner has been expelled from the Social Democrats (CSSD)
January 24 for the second time in two weeks. Wagner is a member of
Parliament and chairman of the Budget Committee.
Wagner and Tomas Teplik were expelled from CSSD December 14, when
they supported the government's proposal for the 1997 state budget (see
Carolina 228). Roughly one month after his expulsion, the Dubi nad
Teplicku branch of CSSD accepted him as a member (see Carolina 230),
ignoring the CSSD Executive Board's decision. The board says that an
organization must ask for the approval of the party club in Parliament,
if they want to accept a Deputy of Parliament.
When Wagner recieved the news that the executive board had once
again revoked his party membership, he said "I reject the Executive
Board's decision as a show of political ill-will and not of law." He had
been publicly speaking out againsst CSSD Chairman Milos Zeman, even
saying Zeman was implementing Stalinist practices in the party.
CSSD Vice-Chairwoman Petra Buzkova saved Karel Machovec from
expulsion from the position of co-vice-chairman of the party. She
proposed that her resignation should be the next to be discussed,
because like Machovec, Wagner and Teplik she supports the the budget
proposal. Most members rejected the proposal to expel Buzkova, voted in
a January poll the most popular Czech politician.
Popular Politicians
The Czech Center for Empirical Research (STEM) conducted a poll in
January which showed the most popular politician to be Petra Buzkova,
Vice-Chairwoman of Parliament and of the Social Democrat party. She was
supported by 69.5 per cent of respondents. She was even more favored
among CSSD members than Milos Zeman, the party chairman. Pavel Simonek
from STEM believes that the public favors Buzkova due to her recent
motherhood, and because she did not participate in the recent internal
CSSD skirmishes.
Trade Minister Vladimir Dlouhy follows Buzkova, only half a point
behind. Minister of Foreign Affairs Josef Zieleniec takes third with 68
per cent. Head of the CSSD Parliament Club Stanislav Gross takes fourth
with 56 per cent and Josef Lux, Christian Democrat Chairman and
Agriculture Minister, comes in fifth with 51 per cent. Prime Minister
Vaclav Klaus takes sixth with 49 per cent, while his greatest opponent,
Zeman, has slipped to eighth place with with 43 per cent. Minister of
Justice Jan Kalvoda holds seventh place with 48 per cent. Minister of
Health Jan Strasky and Minister of Finance Ivan Kocarnik complete the
top 10 with 43 per cent.
STEM conducts a monthly poll of 26 politicians' popularity. They
exclude President Vaclav Havel.
Incident in Republican Parliamentary Club Offices
On January 21 Czech police entered the Parliament club offices of
the neo-fascist Republican Party (SPR-RSC) in order to capture Lubomir
Votava, who has been sought throughout the country; Votava was not
found. Votava, Republican Chairman Miroslav Sladek's assistant (though
Votava is not a member of Parliament and thus does not have
parliamentary immunity), has been charged with assaulting TV NOVA
reporter Marek Vitek at a demonstration October 28, 1994. In June 1996,
Votava was taken into custody for evading criminal prosecution. After
a month and a half he was released from custody on the basis of
a guarantee from Republican deputies; however, after that he appeared in
court once only, and therefore the District Court of Prague 1 filed
a warrant for his arrest.
Members of Parliament mostly condemned the police intervention.
"I think Parliament should be at least as sacred as universities or
churches," ODA Parliament club Chairman Ivan Masek said, according to MF
DNES. Interior Minister Jan Ruml admitted the intervention had been
inappropriate, and advised the Police President Oldrich Tomasek not to
force the police to nab Votava at any price.
Votava had probably been hiding in the Republican Party offices
since January 20. Although he was not to be found during the raid, a few
witnesses saw him at the offices at night again, and he probably stayed
in the building the following days. Police say they did not search every
room.
Havel Pardons Martin Odlozil
On January 24 President Vaclav Havel granted a pardon to Martin
Odlozil, who had been sentenced to four years in prison for causing the
death of his father, former Olympic medalist Josef Odlozil. Presidential
spokesman Ladislav Spacek said, "The constitution authorizes the
president to grant anyone a pardon." The president can use this
authority without providing any explanation.
The Odlozil case attracted much public attention, and opinions on
the president's decision differ. According to the press, it is possible
to think the pardon has been granted out of respect for the defendant's
mother - former post-1989 adviser of the president and famed Czech
female athlete Vera Caslavska, who suffered a breakdown and continues
undergoing treatment at the Bohnice Psychiatric Center.
To support Martin Odlozil, the Solomon Association for Support of
Independent Justice organized a petition, which was signed by Czech
noble-family descendant Karel Schwarzenberg, four-time Olympic gold
medalist Emil Zatopek or Social Democrat Parliament Deputy Pavel Dostal.
Josef Odlozil's sisters Miloslava Sevcikova and Marie Jakubikova
and his widow Eva protested Havel's decision.
Havel granted 77 pardons last year.
Many Pay Tribute to Memory of Olga Havlova
In memory of former first lady Olga Havlova, who died at 62 of
cancer last January 27, her widower President Vaclav Havel and his new
wife Dagmar brought a bouquet of daisies to her grave at the Vinohrady
Cemetery on the anniversary of Olga's death. Many people came to pay
tribute to Havlova with candles and flowers.
The Czech public perceived Havlova as the nation's most significant
female personality. A majority of the people appreciated the former
first lady particularly as the founder of the Good Will Committee, by
means of which she helped the needy for six years.
NEWS IN BRIEF
* On January 23 the Senate for the first time used its authority to
returned a bill (the Water Act) for further discussion to the lower
house of Parliament, the Chamber of Deputies.
* On January 27 Czech Railways introduced a new type of express
train, the SuperCity Manager, the highest-quality train in the Czech
Republic, connecting Ostrava with Prague without any stops. The train
has a riding time of 4 hours 10 minutes, ticket price 350 crowns
including a snack, newspapers, and it is possible to make phone calls
from the train and to use a computer. The price for the regular express
train on the same route is 156 crowns.
FROM SLOVAKIA
More Than 200,000 Citizens Want Direct Election of President
More than 200,000 people have signed a petition for direct election
of the Slovak president, a drive organized by the opposition Blue
Alliance three weeks ago. The chairmen of the Blue Alliance's parties
(Christian Democratic Movement, Democratic Party, Democratic Union) are
"in competition" for signatures. Not only in Bratislava, but in all
larger towns Slovaks can sign the petition. It seems the 350,000
signatures needed for a referendum will be collected by the end of this
week.
This is not the only petition going around Slovakia. For example,
Robert Krajnak, a businessman from Bratislava, has been collecting
signatures for the recall of Premier Vladimir Meciar for a few months.
He had gathered 274,000 signatures by January 22. Also, opponents of Jan
Slota, Chairman of the right-wing Slovak National Party and Mayor of
Zilina, are not far behind. They want to remove his parliamentary
immunity for his race-bashing and instigation of race riots. The creator
of the petition is M. Balaz, a spokesman of the Romany (gypsy) community
in the town of Prievidza. He has collected about 60,000 signatures.
The petition fad has not missed the education sphere, where
teachers have asked for salary increases for some months, with no
results. Antonin Polach, Vice-Chairman of the Trade Union of Education
and Science Workers, has not ruled out using the method of their Czech
colleagues - the school strike.
Democratic Left-Wing Party Considers Shortening President's Term
The Party of the Democratic Left-wing Party is ready to discuss
with the ruling Movement for a Democratic Slovakia the shortening of the
mandate of Slovak President Michal Kovac. The discussion is contingent
on the agreement of the Movement on direct election of a new president.
Kovac's term ends in March 1998. With the current balance of power in
the Slovak National Assembly, there is no candidate for the post of
president who would garner the necessary votes. Three months after
Kovac's mandate ends assembly elections are scheduled, after which there
could be nobody to receive the resignation of the government.
Other opposition parties resolutely reject discussion of
abbreviating the president's term. "We could consider such a possibility
only for technical reasons that presidential elections would be held
regularly at the same time," said Jozef Moravcik, Chairman of Democratic
Union. He said it is not unthinkable that the direct election of the
head of the country could be held at the end of this year.
ECONOMY
1996 Czech Foreign Trade Balance in Deficit of 160.3 Billion Crowns
The Czech foreign trade balance reached a deficit of 160.3 billion
crowns for 1996 (in 1995 101.7 billion crowns). Imports for 1996 were
755.3 billion crowns and exports 595 billion crowns. Reasons for the gap
might lie with companies and the insuffient productivity of the Czech
economy, wrote daily Lidove noviny.
In exports the share of industrial consumer goods increased the most
(14.9 per cent), machine and transportation exports close behind. Czechs
may be cheered, however, by decreases in exports of raw materials,
semi-finished goods and chemical products.
In 1996 imports of machines and transportation means continued quick
their rapid increase (an increase of 16.1 per cent), their share of
total import at 38.2 per cent (automobiles at 7.8 per cent). The rate of
increase also gathered speed in imports of agricultural and food
products, raw materials, semi-finished goods and chemical products.
These spheres make up 43.3 per cent of total imports.
For 1997 experts estimate a foreign trade deficit of 200 billion
crowns.
Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank
(valid from January 30)
country currency
------------------------------------------
Great Britain 1 GBP 45.069
France 1 FRF 5.005
Japan 100 JPY 22.781
Canada 1 CAD 20.802
Austria 1 ATS 2.401
Slovakia 100 SKK 85.663
Germany 1 DEM 16.894
Switzerland 1 CHF 19.553
USA 1 USD 27.922
ECU 1 XEU 32.746
SDR 1 XDR 38.860
CULTURE
Febiofest Film Festival Again in Prague
Febiofest, a film festival that chooses movies on the basis of
quality, ran for the fourth time in Prague last week. New films directed
by Neil Jordan, Barry Levinson, Barbra Streisand and the directorial
debuts of actors Tom Hanks and Al Pacino were presented to Czech
audiences for the first time. Also, new works from Czech filmmakers are
attracting attention of movie fans.
Czech film and TV production was partly represented by Boomerang,
a story based on fact of political prisoners working at a uranium mine
in the 1950's. The film, directed by Hynek Bocan, opened the festival.
Several young Czech directors made thier debuts - Lea, from Ivan Fila,
is already well known after it was awarded prizes abroad. Febiofest also
takes audience back to the years of totalitarianism as it screens
special "masterpieces" of the socialist realism school. Organizers
annually select awardwinning films for their Kristian award. The
Kristian for the best Czech film of 1996 was awarded to Kolya by Jan
Sverak (see below). Best documentary was won by Paper Heads from Slovak
director Dusan Hanak, Paper Heads the story of Czechoslovak reality
since World War II. The best animated short film was Aurel Klimt's
Maskin Killed Koskin.
The idea of the festival comes from Fero Fenic, director and head of
production company Febio. Since 1994 Febiofest has become more and more
popular throughout the Czech Republic. Many towns around the nation will
host the festival in coming weeks.
IN BRIEF
* Slovak actors Milan Lasica and Julius Satinsky signed their new book
L&S January 24 in the Slovak Institute in Prague. The book of short
stories, dialogues, sketches and pictures has become a bestseller in
Slovak bookstores. In its first eight days on the shelf, 9,000 copies of
the book were sold. The popular comedians intend to publish another two
volumes soon.
* Jan and Zdenek Sverak, father-and-son filmmakers responsible for the
film Kolya, returned from three weeks in the United States. They gave
126 interviews and visited 20 American cities. Kolya was awarded the
Golden Globe, awarded by Hollywood film critics, for best foreign film
of 1996 (see Carolina 231). The success helps their chances to be
awarded an Oscar in the category.
* Czech-born director Milos Forman's former wife, actress Jana
Brejchova (One Night At Karlstejn, Higher Tenet) married actor Jiri
Zahajsky January 24. It is her fourth marriage, after divorces from
Forman, German actor Ulrich Tein and Czech actor Vlastimil Brodsky,
respectively.
SPORT
Sparta Praha Fourth in EHL
The Finnish team TPS Turku won the European Hockey League (EHL)
while Sparta Praha took fourth place, in other words last in the final
group in the first-year European club team competition. Second and third
places were taken by the Russian team Dynamo Moskva and Swedish champs
Frolunda, respectively. The best four European hockey teams advanced
into the finale in Finland from the international groups. The organizers
hope that the EHL winner could meet the Stanley Cup winner or another
quality NHL team in the near future. Results: Sparta - TPS Turku 3-5,
Sparta - Frolunda 3-4, TPS Turku - Dynamo Moskva 5-2.
Czech Hockey Extraleague
Results of the 37th round (January 22-4): Sparta - Zlin 9-5, Vsetin
- Slavia 11-1, Plzen - Vitkovice 3-3, Ceske Budejovice - Litvinov 2-2,
Trinec - Jihlava 3-3, Opava - Olomouc 0-3, Kladno - Pardubice 4-4.
Results of the 38th round (January 26): Pardubice - Ceske Budejovice
1-4, Zlin - Vsetin 1-6, Jihlava - Litvinov 6-5, Slavia - Kladno 1-2,
Olomouc - Plzen 3-3, Trinec - Opava 5-6.
Results of the 39th round (January 28): Ceske Budejovice - Slavia
4-1, Litvinov - Pardubice 3-0, Opava - Jihlava 1-6, Sparta - Olomouc
8-8, Kladno - Zlin 2-6, Plzen - Trinec 6-2, Vsetin - Vitkovice 4-1.
Standings after the 39th round: 1. Vsetin 55, 2. Sparta (-2) 47, 3.
Vitkovice (-1) 46, 4. Pardubice 44, 5. Kladno 42, 6. Trinec 41, 7.
Litvinov 41, 8. Ceske Budejovice 39, 9. Zlin 37, 10. Olomouc 34, 11.
Slavia 33, 12. Plzen (-1) 32, 13. Jihlava 30, 14. Opava 21.
Czech Gymnastics Bids Farewell to One of Its Stars
On January 23 former gymnast and Olympian Alois Hudec died at the
age of 88. He first entered sport history by winning five gold medals at
the 1931 World Championships. The high point of his career was his
victory at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
Pole Vaulter Bartova Twice Breaks World Indoor Record
Twice in recent days the women's world indoor pole-vaulting record
has been broken by Czech Daniela Bartova. With her January 27 feat of
431 cm in Reykyavik, Iceland, the 22-year-old athlete improved on her
own four-day-old record by 1 cm, which she had set at the Prague Poles
Winter Meet.
While it is true that the holder of the overall record of 440 cm is
Australian Emman George, her world-best performance in Melbourne will
likely not be recognized because the jumping area did not meet required
specifications.
WEATHER
If anybody was deceived by the January 26 sun and sent his winter
coat to the cleaner's, he probably froze last week. Night temperatures
fluctuate between -4 degrees to -10 degrees Celsius/26 degrees to 14
degrees Fahrenheit, daytime temperatures climbed to -4 degrees to 1
degree Celsius/26 degrees to 34 degrees Fahrenheit. Light snow is
forecasted for the rest of the week. Skis should definitely not be put
into the closet.
CREDITS
Domestic news was translated by Andy Faust, Andrea Snyder and Denisa
Vitkova. News from Slovakia was translated by Magdalena Vanova, Economy
and Culture by Jan Majer and Sports were translated by Andy Faust and
Milan Smid. Smid also translated the weather. Edited by Michael Bluhm.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
ANNOUNCING: The International Study Program of the Faculty of Social
Sciences. Beginning in February 1997, a one-semester English-language
program will be offered twice a year in Central and Eastern European
Studies, with a selection of courses in modern history and recent
political and economic developments in the region. Some courses are also
available in German. For further information contact Cyril Simsa at:
E-mail-- svoz@mbox.fsv.cuni.cz
Phone-- 42/2/2481 0804
Fax-- 42/2/2481 0987
When e-mailing, please include a regular mailing address so an
information packet can be sent without delay.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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@listserv.cesnet.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@listserv.cesnet.cz:
SIGNOFF CAR-ENG or SIGNOFF CAR-CS
We ask you not to send automatic replies to our list. You can
temporarily stop receiving of Carolina by sending the command:
SET CAR-ENG NOMAIL
All Listserv commands should be sent to the address:
LISTSERV@listserv.cesnet.cz
Please, don't send commands SUB, SIGNOFF, NOMAIL etc to the address
CAR-CS@listserv.cesnet.cz or CAR-ENG@listserv.cesnet.cz!
