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Carolina (English) No 284
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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 284, Friday, April 10, 1998.
FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (April 1 - April 8)
Early Elections at the End of June
President Vaclav Havel has officially announced the date for early
general elections as June 19-20. This step was preceded by the February
approval of a constitutional amendment shortening the term of office of
the current Chamber of Deputies.
Jana Ciglerova/Jana Ciglerova
Definitive Decision on Voting from Abroad
Czech citizens living abroad have definitively lost any hope of
being allowed to participate in the June early elections. Communists,
neo-fascist Republicans and a majority of Social Democrats outvoted the
Freedom Union (which authored the bill), Civic Democratic Party (ODS),
Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA) and Christian Democrat deputies by 83
votes to 72 votes in the Chamber of Deputies April 1. The relatively
high absentee rate of deputies played an important role in the final
decision, as, for example, 16 ODS members did not vote (22 voted for,
7 abstained and 6 were absent).
Interior Ministry experts' six months of work, the president's
request, appeals from the Senate's Foreign Affairs Committee and eight
years of petitions from Czechs living abroad were in vain.
Many politicians and people living abroad have expressed their
disappointment over the vote. "We have been losing the experience and
good will of many of our people since 1989. It is a specific Czech thing
which I feel ashamed of," said Senate Chairman Petr Pithart to daily MF
DNES. He said deputies had succumbed to populism, influenced by polls
showing most Czechs do not even want to hear about voting rights for
those outside the country.
Jana Ciglerova/Jana Ciglerova
Chamber of Deputies Approves Security Amendment
The Czech Parliament's Chamber of Deputies April 3 approved a bill
for a constitutional amendment on security necessary for the Czech
Republic's membership in NATO. The proposed law would apply in emergency
situations such as natural disasters or a military attack. The Senate
will review the proposal.
The law would allow for calling a state of emergency or war if
there was a threat to the sovereignty of the state, its democratic
principles, its internal security, its citizens' lives, property or the
environment. Under the proposed law, the government could call a state
of emergency for a maximum of 30 days and it could be called for
a specific region, while war would apply to the entire country.
Laws on defense requirements and the armed forces would follow the
amendment.
Ludvik Pospisil/Andrea Snyder
Charles University Celebrates 650th Anniversary
Charles University, founded in 1348 by Holy Roman Emperor Charles
IV, celebrated its 650th anniversary April 7. In honor of the occasion,
the university's Scientific Council met with government representatives
at Prague Castle.
President Vaclav Havel said in his speech that science should not
only be led by the necessities of career and the demands of society, but
should also be faithful to its first mission of general learning.
Havel also expressed his doubts on the real internal freedom of
Czech society, in which he said many lose awareness of true values.
"Nothing keeps society from developing more than the arrogance of the
uneducated, their provincial suspicion of everything original - human
ignorance," he said.
Charles University Rector Karel Maly indirectly continued with the
president's line of thinking, saying that universities should find the
way to cross borders between the cultures and religious systems which
divide the world. "The connector between people cannot be only the
market and the economy and a common currency, but a shared spiritual
view of the world, a shared cultural tradition," Maly said.
The university celebrations, which began November 17, will end in
April after 150 special events (the Carolina staff is preparing
a special edition on the past and present of Charles University.)
Ondrej Hanzal/Andrea Snyder
Higher Education Act Says No to Tuition, Yes to Private Schools
Parliament's Chamber of Deputies approved the Higher Education Act
four years after the original bill was submitted. The law makes it
possible to establish private schools both as commercial and
public-service institutions. The law also allows for colleges which
would not be recognized as universities. Students will still not have to
pay for university, but applicants will have to pay about 550 crowns to
take entrance exams. Students who do not finish school in the standard
length of time will have to pay about 8,000 crowns for each extra year
of study. The law goes into effect in July, and fees for extended
studies will be paid in the 1999-2000 school year.
The Ministry of Education said that all profit from tuition was to
have gone to scholarships, and that a certain "ideological element" kept
it out of the law.
Of the deputies who voted on the law, 94 were against tuition and
79 supported the bill. The Social Democrats, Communists and neo-fascist
Republicans voted against the proposal, which the ruling parties and
some of the Christian Democrats supported it.
Nora Novakova/Andrea Snyder
President Havel Vetos Anti-Drug Law
On the last of the six days the president has to pass or veto
a law, President Vaclav Havel returned the proposed anti-drug law to
Parliament. The law would have penalized first-time drug offenders and
those who experiment with drugs the same as it would punish dealers of
hard drugs. Because Parliament needs only a simple majority to overcome
a presidential veto, it is likely that deputies will approve the law
again, as 118 voted for the bill rejected by Havel.
Presidential spokesman Ladislav Spacek said Havel considers the
amendments a severe attack on the system of human rights and is worried
victims would be persecuted more than criminals.
Tomas Mls/Andrea Snyder
Homosexuals Cannot Register Marriages
Gays and lesbians will not be able to register as married couples,
which would foremost help in solving property disputes. Parliament was
short two votes of passing the bill on registered partnership. The
neo-fascist Republicans, most Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and Civic
Democratic Alliance (ODA) and the Christian Democrats voted against the
the proposal. The Communists, Social Democrats and Freedom Union (US)
voted for the proposal.
Registered partnership, legal in seven countries, would in the
Czech Republic enable partners of the same sex to have the same
advantages and security the law gives heterosexual married couples, with
the exception of adopting children. Those who opposed the law said they
were worried about the effect it would have on traditional family
values. Republican Josef Krejsa said, "Even a healthy buck does not seek
another buck, but a doe, so as to have a fawn," while Jiri Hromada,
president of the Association for the Organization for Homosexual
Citizens (SOHO) said the group would push the proposal after
parliamentary elections in June.
Neither Social Democrat Petra Buzkova, who promised SOHO her vote,
was present, nor was ODS Chairman Vaclav Klaus. Czech daily MF DNES
quoted Klaus as saying, "As conservative as I am in these things,
I think we have to go with the times. It is a mistake it didn't make it
into the second reading."
Anna Kadava/Andrea Snyder
Zeman Remains Chairman
The Social Democrats' Central Executive Committee confirmed April
5 Chairman Milos Zeman in his position. In a secret ballot, 10 of 150
Social Democrats voted for Zeman's ouster.
Zeman offered his resignation April 3 in connection with the Bamberg
affair (see Carolina 281-3). He said he "did not want the party to be
muddied by suspicions of lies and frauds because of his role in the
affair," and he also felt "mortally exhausted." Zeman read his version
of the Bamberg case at the Sunday meeting and the Central Executive
Committee forgave him without any discussion. Karel Machovec, the former
vice chairman who attended the Bamberg meeting with Zeman, was not
allowed to speak.
Zeman and Machovec have been accused of signing
a political-posts-for-money deal with Czech-Swiss entrepreneurs in the
German town of Bamberg in 1995.
The affair, which has been shaking the Social Democratic party for
two weeks, is being investigated by Security Information Service (BIS)
on the order of President Vaclav Havel. The Social Democrats are
convinced the whole affair is a fiction aimed at discrediting the party
before the June elections.
Jana Ciglerova/Jana Ciglerova
SPR-RSC Evidently Misusing Public Money
Until now only the former government coalition parties and the
Social Democrats had suffered scandals from their party financing, but
it now seems neither the ultranationalist Republicans are free from
suspicion. Just after party Chairman Miroslav Sladek was re-elected head
of the Association for the Republic-Republican Party of Czechoslovakia
(SPR-RSC) at the party's congress in Ostrava (see Carolina 283), Andrea
Cerqueriova, a long-time editor of the party weekly Republika and
assistant to Parliament deputy Vlasta Hruzova, decided to testify on the
machinations which helped the party get financial means. By the end of
last week she stepped out of anonymity and is now in hiding, fearing for
her life.
According to information published in the daily MF DNES April 2-4,
the Republicans are extensively abusing public monies. Members of the
party are registered as Parliament deputies' assistants, whose 19,000
crowns monthly salary is paid from the state budget. They then have to
pay 9,000 crowns of that to party Secretary Jan Vik every month,
Cerqueirova said. They also had to sign invoices for services never
performed, because the invoices were reimbursed by Parliament and the
money then given to party leadership. Cerqueirova also confirmed
information according to which all Republican candidates for Parliament
had to sign a promissory note for 1 million crowns, given to Sladek, as
a guarantee of party obedience.
Those earlier forced to leave the party have already made similar
claims. Former Republican deputy Pavel Mozga initiated the Interior
Ministry re-evaluation of the SPR-RSC's registration, saying "it is not
a party, but a corporation." According to Mozga all party financial
matters are being controlled by Vik, Sladek and his long-time companion,
deputy Laura Rajsiglova. They decide on the establishment and closing of
local party organizations and on expelling party members.
All facts submitted by Cerqueirova, Mozga and other Republicans are
being investigated by the police.
Jakub Svab/Sofie Karakeva
Fake Sponsors Take ODS by Surprise
The Civic Democratic Party (ODS) leadership was shocked by the
revelation that ODS sponsors were not properly checked last November, in
the period when the party already faced charges of falsifying sponsors
and having a mysterious account in Switzerland (See Carolina 267, 268).
The 1997 ODS financial report revealed that two sponsors entered into
party accounting in November - Kajetana Kopernicka and Antonin Zeman
- with donations of 3.6 million crowns, are unknowing dupes.
ODS reacted to the revelations by filing a criminal complaint
against the unknown person who tried to damage the party by
intentionally defrauding it through falsifying sponsor names. ODS also
launched an investigation inside the party and is looking for the person
responsible for receiving the money. ODS Vice Chairwoman Libuse
Benesova, who oversaw party finances, is not considering resigning, she
said. ODS Chairman Vaclav Klaus was shocked by the discovery and he sent
his personal apology to the alleged "donors" for the negative
consequences of being involuntarily involved in the affair.
Erik Tabery/Milan Smid
Voting Preferences and the Advent of the Retirees
According to the latest pre-election public opinion poll taken by
the Sofres-Factum agency, Social Democrats (CSSD) remains to be the most
preferred party with voting preferences of 25.8 per cent. However, in
comparison with the last month's results, CSSD lost 0.5 per cent. On the
other hand, the Freedom Union increased its share by 0.7 per cent to
12.4 per cent of respondents' preferences, and the Civic Democratic
Party (ODS) improved its position by 1.4 per cent to 11 per cent.
Surprisingly, the Party of Retirees for Life Security (Duchodci za
zivotni jistoty, DZJ) has passed the 5-per-cent limit needed for entry
into Parliament for the first time since the elections in June 1996.
Tomas Mls/Sofie Karakeva
FROM SLOVAKIA
Michael Kovac Jr. Returns to Slovakia
Michael Kovac Jr., son of the former Slovak president, returned to
Slovakia April 5 from Germany, where he had been in police custody.
Kovac paid bail of 150,000 deutschmarks, and is now waiting for a court
date in the financial fraud case involving the Technopol company.
Prokop Havel/Michael Bluhm
Kosice Mayor Schuster Chairman of SOP
Rudolf Schuster, the popular mayor of Kosice, the second-largest
city in Slovakia, was elected chairman of the newly formed Party of
Civic Understanding. Schuster said the party's goals will be a return
toward integration into NATO and the EU, attracting foreign investment
and possible cooperation with Hungarian minority parties in the next
government coalition. Schuster openly rejected a coalition with Premier
Vladimir Meciar's Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS). Schuster
said he plans to form a coalition with other opposition parties after
the elections planned for the fall. The party already attracts the
support of 15 per cent of respondents in voter preference polls, making
it the third-most popular party behind the Slovak Democratic Coalition
and the HZDS, respectively.
Prokop Havel/Michael Bluhm
ECONOMY
Railways Will Increase Tariffs
Fares on the Czech Railways (Ceske drahy, CD) are going to be raised
by an average of 22 per cent July 1, according to an April 2 agreement
between Minister of Transportation Petr Moos and Minister of Finance
Ivan Pilip. They said the new tariffs reflect the rise of energy prices,
inflation and the fact that last year the railway tariffs moved up only
by 33 per cent instead of the 50 per cent projected by the CD
revitalization plan. According to Moos, increases in short-distance
fares will be higher than the long distance transport, where new tariffs
have yet to be decided.
Ales Bartl/Milan Smid
IN BRIEF
* Minister of Transportation Peter Moos held emergency talks with
railway union leader Jaromir Dusek to avert the danger of a railway
union strike. Railway unions want to strike because they say Prime
Minister Josef Tosovsky did not keep his promise not to privatize any
part of Czech Railways before June's early elections.
* The state budget finished for the first quarter with a surplus of
7.6 billion crowns.
Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank
(valid from April 10)
country currency
------------------------------------------
Australia 1 AUD 22.446
Belgium 100 BEF 91.091
Great Britain 1 GBP 57.167
Denmark 1 DKK 4.928
ECU 1 XEU 37.260
Finland 1 FIM 6.189
France 1 FRF 5.606
Ireland 1 IEP 47.319
Italy 1000 ITL 19.023
Japan 100 JPY 25.723
Canada 1 CAD 24.042
Luxemburg 100 LUF 91.091
IMF 1 XDR 45.798
Hungary 100 HUF 16.151
Netherlands 1 NLG 16.683
Norway 1 NOK 4.532
New Zealand 1 NZD 18.903
Poland 1 PLN 9.976
Portugal 100 PTE 18.340
Austria 1 ATS 2.671
Greece 100 GRD 10.789
Germany 1 DEM 18.790
Slovakia 100 SKK 97.533
Slovenia 100 SIT 20.067
Spain 100 ESP 22.150
Sweden 1 SEK 4.333
Switzerland 1 CHF 22.600
USA 1 USD 34.242
CULTURE
New General Director of Czech Television Sworn in
Ivo Mathe, the first general director of Czech Television (CT),
left the position April 1 after his six-year term of office expired. The
public service broadcaster Czech Television was established in 1992 as
a complement to the federal Czechoslovak Television. Czech Television
became the sole television broadcaster in January 1993 when
Czechoslovakia, as well as its federal television station, ceased to
exist.
Mathe was replaced by Jakub Puchalsky, 29, the former head of the
BBC's Prague branch, who in February won the search process conducted by
the Czech Television Council - the nine-member trustee body appointed by
the Czech Parliament (see Carolina).
Ivo Mathe's six-year record is impressive, as the original CT staff
of 4,279 was downsized to 3,105 full-time employees while the
broadcasting time of 9,998 hours yearly increased to 15,524 hours of
annual broadcasting. Czech Television participated in many successful
film productions, among them the 1996 Academy Award winner for best
foreign film, Kolya. During last five years Czech Television's income
nearly doubled from 2.753 billion crowns in 1992 to 5 billion crowns in
1997; although expenses climbed at about the same pace, the budget of
Czech Television is still in the black. On the other hand, Czech
Television lost the majority of the domestic television audience to the
new commercial channel TV NOVA, launched in February 1994.
Puchalsky announced at a press conference that he is ready to bring
Czech Television into the 21st century and that immediate changes are to
be made in news and current-affairs programming. Since April 1 Ivan
Kytka, the former CT correspondent in London, became head of the News
Department. New faces are also going to appear in other top positions,
such as director of programming, director of production and head of
public relations.
Erik Tabery/Milan Smid
CULTURE IN BRIEF
* The exhibit entitled Frantisek Drtikol - photographer, artist,
mystic is being held at Prague's Rudolfinum from February 12 to May 31.
Drtikol (1883-1961) was probably the most internationally renowned Czech
photographer in his era (his photographic career ended in 1935). His
work concentrated on portraits and nudes, and shows signs of
a painter's approach to photography.
* The American film company Miramax, which distributed Czech Academy
Award-winner Kolya in the United States, is considering making an
American version of the film, originally directed by Jan Sverak.
* Pop singer Lucie Bila performed at a charity concert in the Ta
Fantastika Theater April 5. The gala show was organized to collect money
for surgery on 14-month-old Nikolka Drgova, who suffers from
a congenitive liver condition.
* The third festival of works by Prague Film Academy (FAMU) students
took place at Prague's Archa Theater April 2-4. More than 100 films were
shown in 20 hours of screening. The audience reacted most welcomingly
toward Jan Bubenicek's animated film Na draka (an untranslatable play on
words), which was awarded the Maxim Kinook prize, the students' version
of the American Oscar.
Pavel Turek/Milan Smid
SPORTS
Slavia Players Could Not Close Gap after Sparta Loss
Slavia demonstrated again that it is not able to take advantage of
the possibility to move up in the standings. After Sparta's loss in
Ostrava April 3, second-place Slavia could have cut into first-place
Sparta's lead, but wound up losing to Olomouc 1:3.
In the fight to escape falling out of the top league, Ceske
Budejovice sank deeper in the standings as Zizkov's goalkeeper Simurka
played great.
The results of the 22nd round: Ostrava - Sparta 2-1, Slavia
- Olomouc 1-3, Dukla - Brno 2-1, Opava - Hradec Kralove 1-0, Drnovice
- Jablonec 0-2, Bohdanec - Plzen 2-2, Liberec - Teplice 0-0, Ceske
Budejovice - Zizkov 1-2.
Standings: 1. Sparta 52 pts., 2. Slavia 42, 3. Olomouc 37, 4.
Ostrava 36, 5. Jablonec 34, 6. Liberec 33, 7. Zizkov 32, 8. Brno 31, 9.
Opava 28, 10. Dukla 28, 11. Drnovice 27, 12.Teplice 26, 13. Plzen 25,
14. Hradec Kralove 24, 15. Ceske Budejovice 22, 16. Bohdanec 8.
Milan Eisenhammer/Mirek Langer
Vsetin Meets Trinec in Hockey Extraleague Final
Vsetin, hockey extraleague champion the last three seasons, won
its semifinal series against Sparta Praha to advance into the
extraleague final. It recorded its first loss in this year's playoffs in
the third match, but the next day - April 4 - beat Sparta 5-2 and
finished off Sparta in the next game.
Trinec started fulfilling its dreams in the second period of the
third match by scoring two goals within two minutes. Vitkovice then
played perfectly in the fourth game, defeating Trinec 4-1 and moving the
series to its home ice. There Vitkovice lost the match and the series
1:4.
Complete results of the semifinals: Vsetin - Sparta Praha 4-1,
3-1, 1-4, 5-2; Trinec - Vitkovice 5-6, 4-0, 3-1, 1-4, 4-1.
David Kozohorsky/Mirek Langer
Battle to Advance to Extraleague Continues
A 3:0 lead in the best-of-seven series and the fourth game on its
ice was not enough for Znojmo to advance into next year's extraleague.
Opava's players got off the mat and tied the series at 3:3 April 7 after
Tomek's goal in overtime. The deciding match will be played April 9.
David Kozohorsky/Mirek Langer
Davis Cup: Czech Team Loses to Switzerland
Without Petr Korda, the world's number-three player, the Czech
Davis Cup team lost in Switzerland 2-3 and will have to play to stay in
the World Group of the Davis Cup in the autumn. Marc Rosset got all the
points for home team.
David Kozohorsky/Mirek Langer
SPORTS IN BRIEF
* Dominik Hasek recorded his 13th shut-out this year and received
about 50 per cent of the votes for NHL most valuable player in a viewer
poll taken by the American sports network ESPN.
* Jaromir Jagr is the NHL's top scorer, with the highest number of
goals and assists, leading by 10 points over Teemu Selanne.
Milan Eisenhammer/Mirek Langer
WEATHER
The sunny face of the second half of last week could not last
forever. While the influx of warm air was not interrupted, the sky
became cloudy and an occasional rain has been our daily visitor since.
The weather forecast talks about a mild cooling down for the rest of the
week, with even some snow for the mountains. Nature might just make us
remember that April - and volatile April weather - is still with us.
Karolina Kucerova
English version edited by Michael Bluhm.
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