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Carolina (English) No 272
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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: (+4202) 24810804, ext. 252, fax: (+4202) 24810987
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
C A R O L I N A No 272, Friday, January 16, 1998.
FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (January 7 - 14)
Government Proposes Date for Early Elections
Prime Minister Josef Tosovsky's Cabinet January 12 proposed a June
19 date for parliamentary elections and a method to enable their
calling. The decision followed a Sunday meeting Parliament Chairman
Milos Zeman had called for the parties represented in Parliament. The
Government may present a bill to Parliament January 15 on the sale of
state-owned land and connect a vote of confidence as a rider. Parliament
must respond by April 15, or the President will dissolve Parliament,
thereby giving the Senate its powers, and early elections will be held
June 19. President Havel said that if Parliament elects him January 20,
he will disband it and arrange new elections.
Tomas Mls/Andrea Snyder
After deadline: The Cabinet January 14 approved the proposed state land
bill with the attached request for a vote of confidence.
Ruml's Faction Becomes Freedom Union
Former Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus' Civic Democratic Party (ODS)
fell apart January 13, when former dissident and Interior Minister Jan
Ruml announced his party platform. Thirty of 69 members then left the
ODS Parliament Club. Ruml and his supporters are founding a new party
- the Freedom Union - from what was the ODS faction opposing Klaus, and
say they will set up a club in Parliament following their conference
January 17.
Parliament Vice Chairmen Jiri Honajzer and Jiri Vlach left ODS, as
well as all ministers serving in Prime Minister Josef Tosovsky's
government: Stanislav Volak, Michal Lobkowicz and Jan Cerny. Klaus'
former ministers - Jan Strasky, Jindrich Vodicka, Jiri Novak - and
former Parliament Chairman Milan Uhde have also left ODS.
In the 1996 parliamentary elections, ODS garnered 29.6 per cent of
the popular vote. Now the Social Democrats lead the polls, and the
Factum agency reported that in December only 17.5 per cent of those
pooled would vote for ODS. The Freedom Union will fight for seats in the
upcoming elections.
Madiyar Magauin/Andrea Snyder
After deadline: Because of the unwillingness of some members of ODS
leadership to clear up the ODS financing affair, party Vice Chairman and
Klaus supporter Bohdan Dvorak resigned January 15, one month after being
elected to the position.
Zantovsky Back to ODA, Faction Founds New Party
Former Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA) Chairman Michael Zantovsky
was re-elected chairman of the party presidium after a two-month break
January 10 at a party conference by a 26-16 vote. Hradec Kralove Mayor
Martin Dvorak immediately resigned from the ODA (Dvorak is the brother
of the above-mentioned Bohdan Dvorak), and Justice Minister Vlasta
Parkanova said the spirit of confrontation has returned with Zantovsky.
Former Police President Stanislav Novotny is one of the founders of the
Party of Conservative Agreement, which splintered from the ODA early
this week. Other former ODA members pushing for this new party include
Parliament deputy Ivan Masek, Deputy Minister Without Portfolio Viktor
Dobal and Daniel Korte.
Madiyar Magauin/Andrea Snyder
Former Social Democrat Founds New Political Party
Former Social Democrat Jozef Wagner, now an independent in
Parliament, and Helsinki Committee Chairman Martin Palous announced
January 13 they are founding a new party, the Political Club
- Democratic Center Party. They say the current right-wing parties have
failed, and Milos Zeman's Social Democrats provide no solution to the
current political crisis. The political club was created last fall.
Tomas Mls/Andrea Snyder
Chopper with 20 Czech Soldiers Crashes in Bosnia
An Mi-17 Czech Army helicopter assigned to international SFOR troops
in Bosnia with 20 Czech soldiers and one British soldier on board
crashed January 8 shortly after the take-off. The most serious accident
in the Czech SFOR battalion, which wounded 10 of the Czech soldiers,
nine seriously, was allegedly caused by an unknown defect.
A Czech expert commission had been sent to Bosnia the day after the
crash and confirmed that the cause of the crash was neither the pilot
nor any shortcomings in the planning or performance of the flight, but
a hidden defect, not detectable even during the regular technical
checks. The small rear propeller evidently stopped functioning, which
made the helicopter nearly impossible to control. According to the
Ministry of Defense, no such malfunction has previously occurred. All
helicopters of this type will be grounded until the cause of the
accident is definitively determined.
Six of the nine seriously injured Czech soldiers, who suffered
broken bones and chest, spine and lung injuries, are being treated in
the Prague Army Hospital, while the condition of one still unconscious
soldier is very serious. One soldier has already been released from the
Prague hospital. Two soldiers are recovering after surgery in the
Bosnian town of Klisa. The uninjured members of the helicopter crew are
taking a short reconvalescence leave.
Anna Kadava/Milan Smid
Germany to Pay Eastern European Jews
The German government and the Jewish Claims Conference (JCC) have
finally come to an agreement concerning financial compensation for
victims of Nazism from Central and Eastern Europe. The agreement has to
be approved by the German Bundestag. Friedrich Bohl, minister of the
German Government and Helmut Kohl's chief of staff, said that during the
next four years Bonn will provide 200 million deutschmarks.
A new foundation managed by the JCC will be established to manage
the compensation monies. From 1999-2002 Germany will annually contribute
to the foundation 50 million deutschmarks. This agreement enables Bonn
to maintain its standpoint that all individual damage claims have been
resolved. That is why the amount of contributions is not part of the
agreement and why the foundation is for the support of people persecuted
by Nazism and not for damage payments.
According to JCC's estimations there are about 18,000 Jewish victims
of Nazism living in Central and Eastern Europe entitled to compensation.
About 1,500 Jewish victims live in the Czech Republic. The new
foundation will give victims 250 deutschmarks monthly. In order to
receive this support, victims will have to prove they survived Nazi
persecution, have not received any other form of compensation and are
"suffering from poverty."
Anna Kadava/Sofia Karakeva
FROM SLOVAKIA
Gabcikovo-Nagymaros to Become Gabcikovo-Pilismarot?
Hungary will probably build its part of the Gabcikovo-Nagymaros dam
in Pilismarot, because Gabcikovo has decreased the level of the Danube
River in Nagymaros too much. Negative public opinion might be the final
straw why construction is not taking place in Nagymaros. Construction of
the water colossus should end the eight-year conflict, which has
complicated relations between Hungary and Slovakia. Final construction
of the dam was agreed to by negotiators from both countries January 12
in Bratislava, during the fifth round of talks.
In this meeting Budapest significantly retreated, when lengthy
bargaining brought the acceptance of the Slovak proposal, according to
which the dam's Hungarian part will strongly resemble the original plan
from 1977, when the contract for the dam's cooperative construction was
signed. After the fall of Communism, Budapest withdrew from the contract
and Slovakia continued alone with construction on its side. This began
the conflict, as Hungary accused Slovakia of illegally blocking the
Danube's course and causing Hungary ecological damages. The situation
was taken to the World Court in The Hague, which last year ruled the
contract was valid and called on the countries to come to an agreement.
Anna Kadava/Sofia Karakeva
ECONOMY IN BRIEF
* Parliament passed a bill establishing a Securities Commission
January 13. It was the second passage of the bill, which had been
returned by the Senate. The commission, which is to begin work in April,
will replace the Finance Ministry's oft-criticized Securities Office.
* In the first days of 1998, the Czech Republic's rate of unemployment
broke through the 5-per-cent barrier for the first time in history.
According to Tadeas Kokotek from the Labor Ministry, the number of
unemployed increased in all regions, although the most difficult
situation is still in northern Moravia and Bohemia - most unemployed
come from the regions of Most, Chomutov, Louny, Karvina and Teplice.
* An extraordinary general meeting of the Investment and Postal Bank
(IPB) scheduled for January 8 was cancelled because of the National
Property Fund's decision to block the planned increase of basic capital.
The rejection of the increase, which would raise the bank's capital from
2.8 billion crowns to 11 billion crowns, stems from the unresolved sale
of the fund's share of IPB to Nomura.
* Goods and services prices increased in 1997 by one-tenth: last
year's inflation was 10 per cent. The rate of inflation, based on
average price levels of the last 12 months versus prices in the
preceding 12 months, worked out to 8.5 per cent.
Tomas Mls/Denisa Vitkova
Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank
(valid from January 16)
country currency
------------------------------------------
Australia 1 AUD 23.231
Belgium 100 BEF 95.043
Great Britain 1 GBP 58.370
Denmark 1 DKK 5.147
Finland 1 FIM 6.476
France 1 FRF 5.855
Ireland 1 IEP 48.992
Italy 1000 ITL 19.931
Japan 100 JPY 27.329
Canada 1 CAD 24.891
Luxemburg 100 LUF 95.043
Hungary 100 HUF 17.279
Netherlands 1 NLG 17.401
Norway 1 NOK 4.745
New Zealand 1 NZD 20.641
Poland 1 PLN 10.082
Portugal 100 PTE 19.178
Austria 1 ATS 2.788
Greece 100 GRD 12.432
Slovakia 100 SKK 101.770
Germany 1 DEM 19.610
Spain 100 ESP 23.137
Sweden 1 SEK 4.454
Switzerland 1 CHF 24.131
USA 1 USD 35.726
ECU 1 XEU 38.747
SDR 1 XDR 47.802
CULTURE
Actress Vlasta Fialova Dies
On January 13, a week before her 70th birthday, the actress Vlasta
Fialova died. The unexpected news shocked her troupe in Brno as well as
her fans. The actress performed in the stage play A Year in a Village
(Rok na vsi) one day before her death.
Fialova performed on the stages of Opava and Olomouc, as well as in
the National Theater in Brno. She became famous to moviegoers in the
movie Wild Bara (Diva Bara). She also appeared in The Hawk versus the
Dove (Jestrab kontra Hrdlicka), Citizen Brych (Obcan Brych) and Police
Hour (Policejni hodina). In recent years she experienced a comeback on
the scene of the Mahen theatre in Brno.
Michal Cerny/Ajla Zinhasovic
Exhibit of Charles University's Evolution
An exhibit documenting Charles University's development from its
establishment in 1348 until the present was opened in Prague's historic
Carolinum January 8 as part of celebrations of the 650th anniversary of
the university's founding. Besides the historical exposition, visitors
have an opportunity to become familiar with the development of the
school's colleges of medicine, pharmacy and physical education and
sports. From February 18, the other colleges will open their exhibits.
The exhibition ends November 5.
Michal Cerny/Ajla Zinhasovic
SPORTS
Two Czech Trucks Attacked during Paris-Dakar Rally
During the January 9 stage of the 20th Paris-Dakar Rally, a band of
armed men held up the two Czech trucks of Milan Koreny and Bedrich
Sklenovsky. Although they shot at the Czechs, no one was hurt.
"At the time when the Tatra ahead us with number 414 (with Koreny,
Lamac and Kahanek) was coming over a sand dune, bullets started to fly
at it," said Petr Hamerla, a member of Sklenovsky's garrison. Bandits
shot out the first truck's tires and then made both trucks' occupants
get out. Because they wanted to leave with two trucks (one Tatra being
immobilized), they waited for another to come by. After about half an
hour they ran out of patience and took anything they felt like, from
spare parts to personal belongings, into the mobile truck and left.
The team decided to go on in the rally with the surviving truck and
the third Czech truck of leader Karel Loprais. Koreny is in fourth.
Korda Wins in Qatar and Is 7th in ATP Rankings
Czech tennis player Petr Korda won the tournament in Dauha, Qatar
for the second time in his career. After his win in the final over
Santoro of France, he moved into seventh place in the world rankings.
"It's a good start to the new year, I was playing well for all week,
I was pretty aggressive," said Korda and noted that the win strengthened
his self-confidence before the Australian Open.
Katerina Neumannova Third Twice
Katerina Neumannova, the best Czech cross-country skier, repeated
her success in the 10-kilometer classic race in Ramsau, Austria and
finished third also in the 5-kilometer classic. Martinsen of Norway won
the race, and Russia's Lazutina was second.
Neumannova then retired from the 10-kilometer freestyle after six
kilometers because of absolute exhaustion.
Vsetin Loses Lead in Hockey League after Internal Controversy
Vsetin's home loss to Ceske Budejovice was the biggest surprise of
the ice-hockey extraleague's 36th round. Vsetin fell from the top of the
standings after two of Budejovice's goals were scored by former Vsetin
player Barus.
In the 37th round, Vsetin was led by new coach Zdislav Tabara, who
replaced Jan Neliba. Neliba was sacked probably because of conflicts
with the team's stars, Beranek and Srsen.
Slavia Praha's captain returned in a match against Kladno after
a knee injury.
Results of the 36th round: Trinec - Opava 6-2, Vitkovice - Jihlava
3-3, Vsetin - Ceske Budejovice 2-4, Kladno - Karlovy Vary 1-3, Pardubice
- Zlin 3-3, Plzen - Litvinov 3-3, Slavia Praha - Sparta Praha 3-2.
Results of the 37th round: Slavia Praha - Vsetin 3-2, Zlin - Sparta
Praha 5-3, Vitkovice - Karlovy Vary 3-1, Opava - Plzen 1-4, Jihlava
- Trinec 1-1, Ceske Budejovice - Kladno 4-2, Litvinov - Pardubice 2-1.
Results of the 38th round: Jihlava - Karlovy Vary 4-2, Kladno
- Slavia Praha 2-1, Vitkovice - Ceske Budejovice 4-2, Vsetin - Zlin
3-0, Trinec - Plzen 7-4, Pardubice - Opava 4-3, Sparta Praha - Litvinov
6-2.
Standings: 1. Vitkovice 52 points, 2. Trinec 51, 3. Vsetin 49, 4.
Sparta Praha 46, 5. Slavia Praha 43, 6. Plzen 43, 7. Litvinov 42, 8.
Jihlava 40, 9. Pardubice 36, 10. Zlin 33, 11. Ceske Budejovice 32, 12.
Kladno 27, 13. Karlovy Vary 20, 14. Opava 18.
Sports by Michal Cerny/Mirek Langer
WEATHER
Over the past weekend the Czech Republic had a chance to look into
spring. It turned out so perfectly that part of the rich Central
European flora were confused enough to prepare to bloom. That comes as
no surprise, considering temperatures were above 10 degrees Celsius/50
degrees Fahrenheit and the sky was azure-blue (to stay concentrated on
a book was a superhuman task). With the new week lower temperatures
appeared and cooled students' and flowers' hormones. Unfortunately, the
weather changed in the mountains as well - the mercury in the
thermometer reached an incredible 10 degrees Celsius/50 degrees
Fahrenheit. Besides the fact skiers have no threat of snow, it also
means the specter of smog and inversion has begun to appear.
Karolina Kucerova/Gabriela Pecic
English version edited by Michael Bluhm.
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