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Carolina (English) No 235
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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 235, Friday, February 21, 1997.
FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (February 12-19)
Czech-German Declaration Passed
The Czech-German Declaration, signed by the governments of both
countries January 21, was passed by Czech Parliament February 14 after
four days of negotiations. Of the 200 members of Parliament, 131 voted
for passing the declaration, 59 against.
In introducing the negotiations in Parliament, Prime Minister Vaclav
Klaus said Czechs consider the property-rights issues to be finished.
Foreign Minister Josef Zieleniec said German citizens can no longer
expect to have German government assistance in blocking Czech-German
relations with property demands. After signing the Declaration January
21, German Chancellor Helmut Kohl said the issue of Sudeten German
property rights are still open (see Carolina 231). Although the
declaration says that the two sides will not "burden their relations
with political and legal issues from the past," the agreement was to
respect each country's laws. Czech law does not make it possible for
issues preceeding 1948 to be taken up in court, while German law makes
it possible for individuals.
The Czech Social Democrats offered complete party support in
exchange for the addition of a rider. Civic Democratic Party (ODS)
Chairman Klaus accepted the condition, to the amazement of fellow party
members and ministers Jan Ruml and Jindrich Vodicka. "I am a man of
comprimise," said Klaus, "It was only a drop, a final detail." Even ODS
Parliament Club leader Milan Uhde criticized the move. "Next time they
can just send us a fax, telling us how we should vote," he said.
Government Boycotts Republicans' Interruptions
In protest to the neo-Fascist Republicans' interruptions in
Parliament's discussions of the Czech-German Declaration, Prime Minister
Vaclav Klaus decided to ignore them. He apologized to the rest of
Parliament.
Quotes from Republicans in Czech daily MF DNES include, "Who are
those who are hurding us into Germany's embrace? It is the alleged Czech
government, comprised of nationalities foreign to us; Jews, Poles,
former Sudetans and other nationalities," said Republican Rudolf Smucr.
His collegue Josef Krejsa responded to Deputy Minister of Foreign
Affairs Alexandr Vondra's address by saying, "That such a well-known
anal spelunker in the creation of a new German Empire under the guise of
the European Union should be a decision-maker concerning such an
important document..." (In Czech, the term used as an equivalent to the
American phrase "to kiss up" is "to crawl into someone." Such is the
reference Krejsa was making to Vondra with his "anal spelunker" comment.
Taken out of context, there are also undertones of homosexuality.)
Government members were furious with the comments. "We cannot accept
comments here that would be subject to a lawsuit elsewhere," said Labor
Minister Jindrich Vodicka.
Presidential spokesman Ladislav Spacek said, "These statements shame
our country abroad. Anyone else not protected by immunity would have to
be prosecuted in court for the things the Republicans are saying in
Parliament."
Klaus and other Civic Democratic Party ministers said the government
may reccommed to the Supreme Court that the Republican party be banned.
Legal experts say this is not feasible. If such a prohibition were made,
18 members of the Republican party would remain on the lawmaking
committee.
Communists Prosecute Ledvinka
The Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM) filed criminal
charges against Civic Democratic Alliance and Parliament Vice-Chairman
Karel Ledvinka for his comments in Parliament February 9. KSCM Chairman
Miroslav Grebenicek announced the decision on TV Nova's debate show
Seven Days. Ledvinka had called the Communists the "riff-raff" and
"dregs" of society.
The Communist party considers that to meet the legal definition of
slandering the nation. They are demanding an apology in the press and in
Parliament. Although Ledvinka says the media took his quotes out of
context, he does not deny the charges. He maintains that "Communism is
an extreme."
Government Meets on Healthcare
The Czech government met for an extraordinary session February 16.
to discuss the healthcare situation and how to solve its systemic
problems (for Czech healthcare problems see Carolina 232).
The lengthy discussion on the future of Czech healthcare finally has
faced the first specific steps. They became possible due to Prime
Minister Vaclav Klaus' decision to abandon temporarily his demand for
individual patient accounts, which had blocked the acceptance of
proposed healthcare reforms.
Major changes included in the proposal are connected with healthcare
insuarance companies' payments to physicians and hospitals. In the
future, physicians will be paid by the number of the patients and not
for the number of services, as today. Also, hospitals will receive money
for diagnoses. The current system, where each activity is evaluated by
points and paid according to point value, has been found fiscally
unsound. Physicians were hunting for points - they were prescribing
unnecessary check-ups and listing services never provided. A detailed
proposal should be presented to the government by Health Minister Jan
Strasky (Civic Democratic Party) by mid-March.
The government also rejected a proposal drawn up by Social Democrat
Vaclav Spidla. His proposal counted on the partial comeback of centrally
directed healthcare.
NEWS IN BRIEF
* The chain-strike called by the teachers' trade union on January 28
to for higher wages continues. Six counties joined the strike February
18. More than 420 employees went under strike in the Klatovy region (23
per cent of the region's school employees) and another 70 employees
supported their colleagues by providing their day's wage for charity
purposes or for the purchase of teaching equipment. Strikes in 13 other
counties will begin February 20, announced the union.
* The Central Military Hospital in Prague's Stresovice neighborhood
will become the guarantor of President Vaclav Havel's healthcare.
* If a regional organization of Social Democrats in Brno does not
expel parliamentary deputy Marie Noveska, it will have to be done by the
party's Central Executive Council (UVV). Noveska refuses to resign for
her function even though her party colleagues have repeatedly requested
she do so because of her improper use of the title of legal doctor. The
UVV asked her to resign in January and gave her a deadline of February
15. Still, Noveska has not changed her standpoint and she is not
thinking of giving up her parliamentary mandate. Noveska is the only
politician misusing the title who did not even finish her studies at law
school. Others were missing only the Czech equivalent of the bar exam.
* If Parliament elections were held the last week of February, the
ruling Civic Democratic Party would win with 26.2 per cent of the votes,
the opppostion Social Democrats would follow with 21.5 per cent. In
third would be the Christian Democrats with 11.2 per cent, followed by
the Communists with 11.6 per cent, the Civic Democratic Alliance with
9.6 per cent and the far-right Republicans with 5.4 per cent. These
facts from February research were released yby the Center for Empirical
Research.
Hearts of Lovers Burst on St. Valentine's Day
On February 14 couples in love celebrated the holiday of St.
Valentine - the patron saint of lovers. In the Czech Republic, this day
was not been celebrated until recent years. Younger couples particularly
express their liking and love with small gifts or cards with heart
motifs. Ahead of time, shop owners advertised St. Valentine's Day sales
on various trifles to remind lovers of their love. Also, restaurants
attracted customers for mysterious St. Valentine's Day menus.
FROM SLOVAKIA
NATO Referendum within Four Months
On February 14, the Slovak National Assembly approved a referendum
to decide whether the country will enter NATO. This decision obliges
President Michal Kovac to declare the referendum within 30 days. The
vote itself should be realized within the next 90 days. The citizens
will answer three questions: Do you agree with the country's entry to
NATO? Do you agree with placing nuclear weapons on Slovak territory? Do
you agree with locating army bases on Slovak territory? Experts and many
journalists are afraid Slovaks will give a strong "no," because of
a natural fear of foreign army forces and weapons in the Slovakia.
Slovaks Freeze Bank Privatization till 2003
On February 13 the Slovak National Assembly passed a law which
temporarily makes impossible the privatization of four most significant
financial institutions in Slovakia. The bill, submitted by opposition
deputy Ludovit Cernak of the Democratic Union, was supported by the
governing-coalition partner Slovak Workers' Association. The law will be
in effect from March 1 until December 31, 2003 and covers the Investment
and Development Bank, the Slovak Savings bank, Slovak Insurance and the
General Loan Bank.
NEWS IN BRIEF
* Three employees of the Slovak firm Nitra Property Construction
(Pozemne stavby Nitra), kidnapped by Chechnian insurgents October 10,
returned to their native country February 16 after the company paid
a ransom of 300,000 USD.
* Jan Slota, chairman of government coalition member Slovak National
Party, did not rule out the possibility premature elections, in respect
to the recent practice of the coalition member Slovak Workers'
Association to vote with the opposition.
* The Slovak National Theater (SND) strike committee continues to
discuss its demands with SND General Director Miroslav Fischer (see
Carolina 234). It is clear whether a strike will take place.
ECONOMY
Prague Exchange News
The Prague Stock Exchange has decided to speed up the the exit of
rarely traded stocks from the market. Unlike previous plans, the
exchange will expel 400 stocks by the end of March, with another 400 to
500 titles to follow by June. The exchange has not received any
complaints from the companies in question, nor have experts raised their
voices, according to the February 19 edition of the daily Pravo.
From April, exchange members will nevertheless have to announce all
direct trades, inculding those made outside the exchange. The exchange
will publish one complete set of results each day, while its inspection
department will check for any shortcomings in the reports.
Czech Republic Ready to Fight against Money Laundering
The Czech Republic has one of the best sets of laws against money
laundering, said Jonathan Harfield of the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development in Prague February 14 at the
International Conference against Money Laundering. Harfield did warn
that the enforcement of such laws in central and eastern Europe is
lagging behind and needs to be improved, according to the February 15
edition of the daily Denni telegraf. The Ministry of Finance has been
fully dedicating itself to monitoring suspicious transactions which
could serve for money launderung. In connection with this, the ministry
provided criminal investigators February 13 with materials from four
cases where money laundering is suspected.
NEWS IN BRIEF
* The crown staged a recovery on the interbank market this week after
its sharp fall February 12, which came after the Czech National Bank
expressed dissatisfaction with the currency's increasing strength (see
Carolina 231).
* Agriculture Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Josef Lux (Christian
Democrat Chairman) is calling for an increase in support for farmers in
the agriculturally marginal foothill and mountain areas. He presented
the idea at the third Congress of the Agricultural Workers' Trade Union,
which took place February 15-6 in Prague.
* The Poldi Kladno trade union is requesting a meeting with Poldi
Executive Director Marko Stehlik, released from custody last week on
three-million crowns' bail (see Carolina 234). Stehlik should clearly
declare his intentions regarding the employment issue and acquaint the
union with measures to make up back wages, said the union. In recent
months, in place of wages employees have only received advances of
1,000 crowns, which is below the poverty level.
* The forced administrator of the Trend V.I.F. investment fund (once
controlled by Hradec Kralove Brokerage) has made public some
transactions in which the fund lost more than a billion crowns.
According to the daily Pravo's February 19 edition, the illegal
transfers of property occurred in the investment fund to the advantage
of the former management and companies they controlled.
* Water prices rose last year by 13.6 per cent on average and sewage
rates by 16.4 per cent. In the coming years these will increase faster
than inflation.
* The Czech National Bank concluded the 1996 fiscal year with an 8.7
billion-crown loss. This result has yet to be assessed by an external
audit and was principally influenced by the increasing strength of the
crown at the end of the year, which lowered the value in crowns of the
Bank's foreign reserves and cost it 8.5 billion crowns.
Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank
(valid from February 21)
country currency
------------------------------------------
Great Britain 1 GBP 46.016
France 1 FRF 5.004
Japan 100 JPY 23.055
Canada 1 CAD 20.995
Austria 1 ATS 2.402
Slovakia 100 SKK 85.939
Germany 1 DEM 16.906
Switzerland 1 CHF 19.318
USA 1 USD 28.537
ECU 1 XEU 32.770
IMF 1 XDR 39.294
CULTURE
Most Popular TV Stars Awarded
The overall winner of Television Weekly's "TyTy" readers' poll was
Karel Gott, the country's most popular singer since the 60's. More than
half of the 76,000 TV viewers voted for Gott, so he won two awards (best
male singer and the most popular person). The results were announced the
Vionhrady Theater February 15.
The poll shows that the Czech public is loyal to its favorite stars
and does not change much from year to year. The only surprises were the
names of the winners in the categories of best actor (Miroslav Donutil)
and sports commentator (Pavel Poulicek). Poulicek is a student of
journalism at the Faculty of Social Sciences and three years ago he
worked at Carolina (see his greeting in Carolina 119).
In the rest of categories, former winners triumphed. Actress Jirina
Bohdalova was awarded for the fifth time. The best female singer was
again Lucie Bila and the most popular announcer is still Saskia
Buresova. Martin Dejdar (entertainer) and Radek John (TV journalist)
also own TyTy trophies already. The most popular newcaster is Martin
Severa from TV Nova.
The only category not voted on is the Hall of Fame. This year
Miroslav Hornicek, an actor and comedian, entered the hall. He said it
was the first step on his way to the museum. The ceremony was hosted by
Marek Eben, also nominated in the entertainer category.
Slovak Director Juraj Jakubisko's New Film Enters Cinemas
From February 13, the new Czech film by Slovak Juraj Jakubisko is on
the silver screen. One of the most expensive Czech films is, in its
author's words, a dialogue with God. Early returns say the film is
better than the average Czech production.
The story, inspired by the prophet Nostradamus' visions, is situated
in a remote village in indefinite era, symbolizes the world and its
history. The village is often overwhelmed by tragedy, such as an attack
by wolves, an unknown epidemic or the deformation of values caused by
intruders. Also, the characters should be understood as symbols.
Jakubisko says the film is a contribution to the end of the
millennium, to a world connected by media and becoming a "medieval
pancake" again.
Ustinov and Pliseckaja in Prague
Two celebrities from the world of culture, ballerina Maja Plisecka
and actor, director and writer Peter Ustinov, arrived in Prague February
18.
Ustinov, 76, was invited to Prague by the Council for International
Relations in order to speak about culture encounters in the global
neigborhood at its seminar. Ustinov has won two Oscars and today spends
most of his time writing screenplays and stage plays.
A Russian ballerina with a Lithuanian passport, Maja Pliseckaja
still dances, although she is 71 years old. She performed twice at
Prague's National Theater with the Imperial Russian Ballet February 19.
Both performances were sold out.
The name of Pliseckaja also adorns an international competition for
young talents, for whom she is still an ideal.
The Birth of Neomonumentalism
Without any publicity, the Grundsteinlegung alternative art society
was established in Prague February 13. Through the publication of its
manifest it intends to became the propagator of the
reform-revolutionary art form, i.e., neomonumentalism.
Members of this society remain in strict anonymity, on which its
speaker commented by saying: "We are not and never will be a group of
egoistic individualists, we work on the basis of collective consensus
and thus create multi-stratified values." The actual goal of the society
is to work up a design for the completion of the discarded
statue-monstrosity of Josef Stalin, which once topped Prague's Letna
Plain, and to bring it to public discussion. "We know we have chosen
a diffcult goal, but there is a beautiful area now dilapidated, where
a dignified zenith is missing," said the speaker.
In answer to the question, what is the basis of their artistic
movement, he answered: "Neomonumentalism, the hymn of granite and
marble."
Dagmar Peckova Becomes a Mother
Dagmar Peckova, outstanding Czech mezzosoprano, gave birth to a son,
Theodor, February 14. This happy news reached the father, violoncellist
Ales Kasprik, in Sweden, where he on a concert tour with Wihan's
Quartet. The world-renowned singer had refused some attractive offers
for work during her pregnancy, but she has decided to come back and
perform beginning in March.
SPORT
Hockey Extraleague Continues with Three Rounds
Results from the 42nd round (February 13-4): Sparta Praha - Plzen
6:3, Kladno - Trinec 3:0, Ceske Budejovice - Olomouc 8:2, Litvinov
- Vitkovice 2:2, Jihlava - Slavia Praha 3:5, Pardubice - Zlin 4:7.
Vsetin's 2:5 loss to last-place Opava was the biggest surprise of the
round.
Results from the 43rd round (February 16): Vitkovice - Pardubice
4:5, Sparta Praha - Jihlava 8:5, Plzen - Vsetin 3:3, Opava - Kladno
2:2, Trinec - Ceske Budejovice 7:3, Zlin - Slavia Praha 0:3, Olomouc
- Litvinov 3:2.
Results from the 44th round (February 18): Pardubice - Olomouc 5:0,
Kladno - Plzen 4:3, Jihlava - Zlin 2:3, Ceske Budejovice - Opava 6:2,
Litvinov - Trinec 6:3, Slavia Praha - Vitkovice 4:1. The match between
first-place Vsetin and second-place Sparta was the round's marquee
matchup. The two teams tied 5:5, after excellent play and a number of
lead changes.
Vsetin still leads the standings with eight rounds till the end of
the regular season, three points ahead of Sparta, Opava is in last. The
most dramatic situation is in the competition for eight place, the last
playoff spot. Seventh-place Ceske Budejovice has a one-point lead over
Litvinov, while Zlin and tenth Slavia are another one point back.
Czech Downhill Racers Score Decent Results Only in Combined Times
Karolina Sedova and Petra Bartlova finished 14th and 15th in the
combined portion of the downhill skiing world championships in
Sestriere, Italy. In the repeatedly postponed combined downhill (which
took place February 15, the championships' last day), they defended
their positions from the slalom portion. After the insignificant results
of the Czech representatives, who did not finish their races or wound up
in the third or fourth dozen finishers, Czech skiing had at least some
partial success.
Jizera 50 for 30th Time
The most popular Czech long distance cross-country ski race, the
Jizera 50 (Jizerska padesatka), attracted 2,669 participants February
16 (including event record-holder Pavel Mika, who has never missed
a year), for 50-km and 25-km races. Without top national team members,
who are preparing for the upcoming world championships in Trondheim,
Norway, Pavel Benc and Lucie Samkova won the 50-km race, Vit Fousek and
Petra Letenska the 25-km race. Pavel Pokorny, 55, died after
a heart-attack at the event.
Czech Athletes' Hopeful Results before Indoor World Championships
The Czech Republic men's track and field squad won the traditional
competition of six teams in Vienna (Feb 15-6), defeating England,
Hungary, Slovenia, Austria and Croatia, while the Czech women finished
third behind England and Slovenia. Two Czech records were broken - Ivan
Slehobr clocked in at 21.09 seconds for the 200 meters and the men's
4x200 meters relay finished in 1:52.29.
Top Czech decathlete Tomas Dvorak, bronze-medalist at the Atlanta
Olympics, broke the Czech record in the indoor septathlon in Prague with
6211 points, second-place finisher Kamil Damasek also bettered the
former record.
Sokol Turns 135
On February 15, the Sokol physical fitness organization celebrated
the 135th anniversary of its founding. A carnival for children followed
up with a great academy with participation of all groups. The
celebration took place in the historical gymnasium in Zitna Street in
downtown Prague 2 which has belonged to Sokol since 1862, when it was
founded by Miroslav Tyrs and Jindrich Funger.
WEATHER
Many Czechs took advantage of winter sales on warm clothing and
went shopping this week. Last week's nice spring days changed into frost
and the tepmerature dropped again to 0 degrees Celsius/32 degrees
Fahrenheit. Thanks to cool weather, the evacuation of people living
close to rivers which threatened to overflow their banks (the Berounka
River, for example) was not necessary. The flu epidemic also retreated,
but fog and rain has not brought much of an optimistic mood to anyone.
To escape depression and bad air conditions, it is still possible to go
to the mountains, and use up the last days of this year's not overly
successful ski season. Rain and snow flurries are forecast for the
majority of the country for the next few days.
CREDITS
Domestic news stories were translated by Andrea Snyder and Katerina
Zachovalova, news from Slovakia by Denisa Vitkova, Economy by Andy Faust
and Michael Bluhm, Culture by Jan Majer and Magdalena Vanova, Sports by
Mirek Langer and Weather by Vanova. Edited by Michael Bluhm
POSTSCRIPT
The editors wish to apologize to subscribers who received Carolina
234 twice. The issue was released a second time in response to numerous
responses from subscribers who, for reasons unknown, received Carolina
234 without any content.
Study In Prague Next Summer
From July 12 to August 3, 1997, the Faculty of Social Sciences,
together with Georgetown University and The Fund for American Studies,
will sponsor The American Institute on Comparative Political and
Economic Systems for the fifth consecutive year.
The Institute will take place at the Faculty of Social Sciences in
Prague, and will include lectures by professors from both Georgetown
University and Charles University, as well as guest appearances by
notable political and cultural figures. All lectures and site briefings
will be held in English.
In 1996, over 100 students from 22 different countries attended the
Institute. In 1997 the School hopes to maintain the same number of
students. The institute offers an equally diverse and interesting
program by combining lectures with site briefings around Prague and an
exciting program of social activities.
Scholarships are available for students from Central and Eastern
Europe. For further details and an application form, contact either Ann
Erker at The Fund for American Studies or Cyril Simsa at the Faculty of
Social Sciences at the following e-mail addresses:
Ann Erker: aipes@tfas.org
Cyril Simsa: SVOZ@mbox.fsv.cuni.cz
Please remember to include your full postal address, as well as
your e-mail address, since the applications will have to be sent by
post.
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