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Carolina (English) No 305
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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@mbox.fsv.cuni.cz
tel: (+4202) 24810804, ext. 252, fax: (+4202) 24810987
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
C A R O L I N A No 305, Friday, October 23, 1998.
FROM THE EVENTS OF THE LAST WEEK (October 14 - October 21)
Havel Visits Great Britain
President Vaclav Havel's activities scare his doctors. The
president October 11 opened the Forum 2000 international conference in
Prague. A day later, in Vienna, he participated in a summit of
presidents from the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, Slovenia, Austria,
Germany and Italy. Then October 19 Havel, accompanied by his wife Dagmar
and a delegation, left for a four-day visit to Great Britain. The most
important issue on the agenda was a discussion about the threat of
a visa requirement for Czechs.
The first day of his stay, Havel attended a gala dinner with Queen
Elizabeth II in Buckingham Palace. Later, Havel and Prime Minister Tony
Blair discussed the problem of racism, although no conclusions were
reached. On the contrary, discussions between Czech Foreign Minister Jan
Kavan and British Home Office were successful. Deputy Minister O'Brien
assured Kavan that Great Britain is not planning to introduce a visa
requirement for Czech citizens in the near future. After demanding
meetings, Havel relaxed on the evening of October 19 among writers. In
playwright Tom Stoppard's apartment the Czech president spoke with
Salman Rushdie.
Havel October 20 visited the town of Wingrave, near London, where
the Czechoslovak exile government had its residence during World War II.
Then he took a flight to Northern Ireland, where he met David Trimble,
prime minister of the new government and a fresh winner of Nobel Peace
Prize. Havel expressed his full support for the peace process.
His trip concluded with a dinner with Prince Charles and a speech
at Oxford, where he discussed the contemporary role of the intellectual
in politics. Oxford University presented him with an honorary doctorate.
Tomas Polacek/Denisa Vitkova
CSSD Central Executive Committee Meets in Hradec Kralove
The Social Democrat Executive Central Committee had a meeting in
Hradec Kralove October 16-18. In spite of media predictions, there was
no turbulent discussion in connection with changes in the party's
management. The board of the Central Executive Committee decided on the
first night of meetings that only Vladislav Schrom would resign as vice
chairman (he managed municipal politics and recently became a member of
the board of directors of mining giant OKD) while Vice Chairman Ivo
Svoboda, in charge of party financing, would remain in office
simultaneously with his duties as finance minister until the party
congress. Ostrava Deputy Mayor Petr Lachnit was named to replace Schrom.
The Central Executive Committee refused a proposal from Chairman
of the district executive committee in Karlovy Vary Josef Mikuta, who
wanted to convene an extraordinary congress where personnel changes in
party management would be made. Mikuta was the only committee member to
vote for the proposal.
Zeman confirmed he would resign as party's chairman before the
next Parliament elections, and said he had two candidates for the
office: Labor Minister Vladimir Spidla and the parliamentary club
Chairman Stanislav Gross.
The Central Executive Committee also ordered municipal elections
chief Jindrich Leska to withdraw the party ballot in Hradec Kralove,
allegedly because of the order and number of candidates.
Petra Machova/Denisa Vitkova
Zeman Criticizes Journalists, Klaus Also Dissatisfied with Media
Prime Minister Milos Zeman criticized Czech media at the Social
Democrat party meeting in Hradec Kralove. He called them unprofessional
and was particularly scathing in regard to dailies MF DNES and Lidove
noviny, which he called the "dumbest" daily in the country and lies with
every word. Zeman also labelled the weekly Respekt a "journalistic
sewer" recently. Zeman said the majority of Czech journalists excel
"neither in intelligence nor in professionality," and that "the
suspicion of corruption cannot be ruled out" with some of them. Zeman
said MF DNES is biased against the his government because of fear of the
Clean Hands operation, which could call into question the privatization
of the daily.
Irena Valova, the head of the Czech Journalist Syndicate (Syndikat
novinaru CR) said the prime minister's statement could be taken as an
"intentional intimidation" of journalists and asked the International
Federation of Journalists for solidarity.
Parliament Chairman Vaclav Klaus has also made critical remarks
addressed to the media, at an ODS election meeting in Prague October
16. He criticized the media for not reporting on events he considered
important, citing as an example the meeting of Industrialists Union
(Svaz prumyslniku). Klaus said newspapers and television create
a distorted picture of contemporary reality and asked aloud "how to make
media write about important things." Klaus has also indirectly blamed
journalists for inciting hysteria in regard to the alleged mismanagment
of Czech banks.
Jakub Jirovec/Milan Smid
Another Motion on Restricting Parliamentary Immunity Rejected
The Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) submitted October 16 a bill to
restrict parliamentary immunity, supported by Freedom Union (US)
deputies, but all other parties abstained and the proposal did not pass
the first reading.
Legislators voted the amendment down, saying that the restriction
should have been broader. Christian Democrats were accused of populism
and trying to get into the news.The author of the bill, KDU-CSL
legislative expert Miroslav Vyborny, said Parliament is trying to hide
its unwillingness to restrict immunity. One of the main issues is the
lifetime freedom from prosecution, which has been part of the
Constitution since 1918 and totally prohibits the prosecution of
a deputy as long as Parliament does not permit it. Another question is
how deputies should function while being investigated for criminal
activity, as well as the immunity of the justices of the Constitutional
Court.
Parliament had refused a similar bill presented by the Freedom
Union in February, as well as four similar bills in previous years.
Pavel Sladky/Marketa Kaclova
Kazakhstan Czechs Moving to Jablonec
There is hope for the families of Czech Kazakhstanis to find a new
home in Jablonec nad Nisou. The local City Hall granted them four
apartments from the town's housing fund. Jablonec Deputy Mayor Sona
Paukrtova said to the Czech daily Lidove noviny that it is not yet clear
in which neighborhood will the apartments will be, but it is more likely
that all four will not be situated in the same area.
The six families that took advantage of the Czech Foreign
Ministry's offer to move from Kazachstan to the Czech Republic were
originally to be housed in Vrkoslavice, in the Jablonec region. But the
citizens of this community protested with a petition in August, pointing
out that they are afraid of "an increase in crime, disturbances of the
peace and the decline of the value of the properties near the asylum
building" and also threatened to carry guns, according to Czech daily
Lidove noviny October 15. The Town Hall decided not to place the
Kazachstanis in Vrkoslavice.
Initiator of the petition Dagmar Bernardova said Vrkoslavice
residents thought the refugees would be from the Balkans and not Czech
Kazachstanis. She said they now have no reservations toward their
countrymen.
Pavel Novotny/Sofia Karakeva
Number of Refugees Increases
While police still investigate the case of the Moldavian plane,
(see Carolina 304), border police have taken into custody dozens of the
illegal immigrants from Kosovo who daily cross the Czech-Slovak borders.
According to Police President Jiri Kolar, 32,250 illegal immigrants were
recorded in the Czech Republic this year. The majority passes through
the Czech Republic on its way to the West, but some have asked for
refugee status in the Czech Republic. Today 910 people are in the Czech
refugee camps, but the number increases every day. It is assumed that
illegal immigrants are responsible for 7 per cent of Czech crime. Partly
because of this a change is being considered in the legislation relating
to foreigner residency and asylum in that foreigners might have to apply
for a visa before entering the Czech Republic.
Lenka Ludvikova/Sofia Karakeva
FROM SLOVAKIA
Slovaks Need Visas to Ireland as Well
Ireland introduced a visa requirement for the citizens of Slovakia
October 19. Ireland had to take the same measures as Great Britain
because of a border treaty. Great Britain introduced the visa measure
October 8 in reaction to the growing number of Slovak Romanies (Gypsies)
seeking asylum.
The Irish Embassy for Slovakia, located in Vienna, said the measure
would be temporary.
Sasa Jokic/Jan Martinek
ECONOMY
Karbon Invest, Owner of CMD, Takes Over OKD
The group of coal barons controlling the Metalimex trade company
and the Czech-Moravian Mines (CMD) October 14 gained control of the
Ostrava-Karvina Mines (OKD). The company Karbon Invest, owned primarily
by three managers from CMD and Metalimex, became the owner of 48.5 per
cent of the shares of OKD. This connection of Czech mines de facto
creates an unchallenged monopoly on the coal market. The new owner of
the OKD did not release the purchase price of the shares, but experts
say ownership of OKD is worth about 2 billion crowns.
OKD published a long-term business plan October 15. Former CMD
board Chairman and Karbon Invest part-owner Viktor Kolacek became
chairman of the OKD board. The main aim of the company is the
production, processing and sale of coal on Czech and foreign markets.
Administration seems to be in for some reduction, and coal production
should decrease by about 1 million tons. This year, about 12.5 million
tons will be mined in OKD and about 3.5 million tons by CMD.
The main advantage of this connection should be the coordination
and financing of mining strategy. The OKD general meeting, which should
approve the definitive version of restructuring and the merger with CMD,
is being planned for the end of the year. The new owner also counts on
projects which would create jobs for northern Moravia. The plans include
building energy sources in Trinec and Stonava.
Jiri Wazik/Jan Martinek
Farmers Postpone Demonstration
Czech farmers decided to postpone their demonstration against
government agricultural policy, but they are still insisting on the
fulfillment of their demands. The Agrarian Chamber accepted an offer of
dialogue from Agriculture Minister Jan Fencl and canceled the planned
demonstrations (see Carolina 304). Chamber President Vaclav Hlavacek
said farmers are ready to protest if the dialogue is unsuccessful.
Farmers threaten the blocking of all major highways to Prague and occupy
strategic offices. They have also spoken of loosing a herd of pigs into
Parliament.
The government meanwhile approved the plan for new legislation to
protect Czech farmers against subsidized imports, although it is
unlikely that such laws would come into effect before next summer.
Marketa Lajdova/Jakub Jirovec
ECONOMY IN BRIEF
* The auditing firm Deloitte & Touche published a rating of the top
100 banks in central Europe. There are four Czech banks among the top
10 - Commerce Bank (Komercni banka), the Czech Savings Bank (Ceska
sporitelna), the Investment and Postal Bank (Investicni a postovni
banka) and the Czechoslovak Trade Bank (Ceskoslovenska obchodni banka).
Although its shares have recently been in a free fall, Commerce Bank is
still the biggest bank in central Europe.
* The Czech Statistics Office said the Czech foreign trade balance
was almost level in September. The deficit of 18 million crowns was the
lowest in four years.
Jan Mates/Jakub Jirovec
Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank
(valid October 21)
country currency
------------------------------------------
Australia 1 AUD 18.114
Belgium 100 BEF 85.057
Great Britain 1 GBP 48.693
Denmark 1 DKK 4.616
ECU 1 XEU 34.597
Finland 1 FIM 5.771
France 1 FRF 5.233
Ireland 1 IEP 43.790
Italy 1000 ITL 17.740
Japan 100 JPY 24.470
Canada 1 CAD 18.534
Luxemburg 100 LUF 85.057
IMF 1 XDR 40.794
Hungary 100 HUF 13.275
Netherlands 1 NLG 15.564
Norway 1 NOK 3.836
New Zealand 1 NZD 15.202
Poland 1 PLN 8.304
Portugal 100 PTE 17.100
Austria 1 ATS 2.494
Greece 100 GRD 10.214
Germany 1 DEM 17.550
Slovakia 100 SKK 80.181
Slovenia 100 SIT 18.379
Spain 100 ESP 20.648
Sweden 1 SEK 3.658
Switzerland 1 CHF 21.542
USA 1 USD 28.681
CULTURE
Czech Culture in Brussels
President Vaclav Havel, the first lady, Belgian King Albert II and
Queen Paola October 15 christened the three-month cultural festival in
Belgium called Europalia 98. An exhibit of Prague Art Deco opened in
Brussels' Palace of Fine Arts. The Czech Republic will also be
represented by musical groups, films, theater performances and by the
winning works of the competition Czech Press Photo 97. Referring to the
fact that the festival is featuring for the first time a country which
is not a member of the EU, Havel said, "I perceive Europalia as
a spiritual prelude to our talks on EU membership."
Publicity about Europalia is not too extensive, but Belgian media
have shown a liking for the display of Czech culture. Culture Minister
Pavel Dostal, who participated in the inauguration with Foreign Minister
Jan Kavan, said he considers it a good sign that the Czech government
kept its promise to provide the necessary money for the festival and
thus shows the EU that it is a reliable partner. Because the Europalia
Foundation did not find needed sponsors, a deficit of 25 million crowns
had to made up.
Linda Kholova/Linda Kholova
Pilsen Festival Offers Variety of Genres
The Theater 98 festival, which ended October 18, was exceptional
for its variety of genres and for its international conception. All
performances were sold out, which none of the organizers had expected.
"This festival provides the opportunity to see performances in the most
various genres staged by the most various nationalities in a few days,"
said Antonin Prochazka, Czech actor and director.
The program covered four days and included almost all theater
genres, including ballet and marionette performances. Visitors could see
such genre-crossing pieces as Hamlet Part 2, a variation on
Shakespeare's play performed by David Prachar to the music of Brno
drummer Pavel Fajt.
Audience response was mostly positive. The biggest ovation might
have gone to the Pilsen Theater's staging of the Donizetti opera Lucia
of Lamemoor. Also taking part were small theaters from throughout the
Czech Republic and Germany, Hungary, Russia and Slovakia. Only Slovak
actor Marian Labuda's absence was cause for disappointment.
Jan Moravek/Zuzana Janeckova
Court Prohibits Distribution of Second Book
The Brno Regional Court October 13 prohibited distribution of Jana
Soukupova's book Who around Prague Castle Is Readying for Hell? Josef
Pojezdny, the abbot of the Strahov Monastery, is suing Soukupova. In the
book Soukupova says the abbot does not observe his vow of celibacy,
supports anti-Semitic ideas and does not respect the secrecy of
confession.
The court required Soukupova and publisher Dusan Skala to publish
an apology to the abbot in two daily newspapers. Soukupova called the
verdict unconstitutional and will ask the Supreme Court to consider the
case.
The most serious accusation of breaching the secrecy of confession
was based on the fact that police had gained some confidential
information in the case of Marta Chadimova allegedly related by the
abbot.
This is the second book published in the Czech Republic to be
banned by the court. The first one was Cooking with Cannabis, published
by Votobia two years ago. Three of the publishers were convicted of
promoting drug use.
Jan Moravek/Zuzana Janeckova
CULTURE IN BRIEF
* Vladimir Michalek's film Sekal Must Die will be the 1998 Czech
candidate for the best foreign-language film Oscar, decided the Czech
Film and Television Academy October 20.
* The new album from top pop group Lucie was released October 19. The
band has been a fixture on the Czech music sky for 10 years, but the
members of the group prepared this album on the Taiwanese island
Koh-Phan-Gan. Their stay is palpable throughout the album, and the band
members say the mood of the island stayed with them a long time after
their arrival. For the album, entitled Larger Than a Small Quantity of
Love, the band used four songs recorded in Taiwan. The title of the
album pokes fun at a recent Czech law on drug possession.
Linda Kholova, Robin Rohrich/Lenka Nejezchlebova, Linda Kholova
SPORTS
Becker Should Have Crowned Millionaires in Ostrava
The fifth year of the IPB Czech Indoor tennis tournament started in
Ostrava with qualification matches October 17. The tournament invited
seven players from the top 10 of the ATP rankings, including Andre
Agassi, Petr Korda and rising young Slovak Karol Kucera. Also aging
Boris Becker, 66th in the ATP rankings, was to have played, but withdrew
because of injury.
The top-seeded Korda disappointed Ostrava's tennis fans.
A merciless draw made Russia's Marat Safin his first-round opponent and
Korda lost to the newcomer 4-6, 2-6. Korda was frustrated by not
receiving a wild card for the doubles competition with Bohdan Ulihrach.
Only one Czech player advanced to quarterfinal: Martin Damm
surprisingly beat Russia's Yevgeny Kafelnikov (seeded fourth) 3-6, 6-3,
6-2. Two Czechs lost in the second round (Novak and Ulihrach), Vacek and
Stepanek - Becker's substitute - were ousted in the first round. Only
three seeded players remain in the competition, second-seeded Agassi and
Sweden's Thomas Enqvist (seventh) and Thomas Johansson (eighth).
Vladimir Vorechovsky/Mirek Langer
Sold-Out Teplice's Stadium Applauds Czech Soccer Team
Coach Jozef Chovanec continued his winning streak on the national
team bench in Teplice. The Czech team defeated Estonia 4-1 in its third
Euro 2000 qualification match there October 14. More than 13,000
spectators attended the match.
Pavel Nedved celebrated his comeback to the squad after a break
forced on him by a red card in the last match with the game's first
goal, in the 9th minute. Patrik Berger, who returned to the national
team after long refusing participation, then became the star of the
match. He increased the lead to 3-0 with two nice free kicks. Estonia
scored a goal for the Czechs, credited to Lokvenc, closed out the Czech
scoring. After the break Estonia avoided a complete embarrassment with
good defense and a goal in the last minute of the match.
The Czech Republic leads the group with the maximum number of
points.
Josef Koukolicek/Mirek Langer
Slavia Prague Not Eliminated Despite Loss in Bologna
The last Czech team in the UEFA Cup, Slavia Prague, lost 1-2 to FC
Bologna in Italy October 20. Its performance cannot be considered
a disappointment, because Slavia will host a rematch in Prague's Strahov
Stadium November 3.
Bologna played better throughout the entire first half, but all its
chances were snuffed out by goalkeeper Radek Cerny. After the break the
play was more courageous on both sides, and Bologna capitalized first
- Giuseppe Signori scored in the 51st minute. Slavia then had some
scoring threats and in the 68th minute Richard Dostalek scored after the
Italians' mistake. Klas Ingesson's header five minutes before the end
gave the win to Bologna.
Petr Wilfer/Mirek Langer
Boby Brno Soccer Players Finally Win First League Game
Boby Brno had to wait until the 9th round of the Gambrinus Soccer
League for its first win. Boby defeated Zizkov 1-0 but is still in last
place in the standings, with the same number of points as Dukla Pribram.
Dukla kept Sparta from scoring, but the goalless tie did not help Dukla
abandon the league cellar. After a win in a televised match against
Plzen, Teplice is still on the top of the standings, ahead of Drnovice
and Sparta.
Results of the 9th round: Slavia - Karvina 1-0, Pribram - Sparta
0-0, Ostrava - Jablonec 4-1, Opava - Olomouc 2-2, Brno - Zizkov 1-0,
Blsany - Hradec Kralove 3-0, Liberec - Drnovice 1-1, Teplice - Plzen
4-2.
Standings: 1. Teplice 20, 2. Drnovice 18, 3. Sparta 17, 4. Blsany
16, 5. Olomouc 16, 6. Opava 14, 7. Zizkov 14, 8. Ostrava 13, 9. Slavia
13, 10. Liberec 11, 11. Plzen 8, 12. Hradec Kralove 8, 13. Jablonec 7,
14. Karvina 7, 15. Pribram 6, 16. Brno 6.
Petr Wilfer/Mirek Langer
First Change of Coaches in Hockey Extraleague
Litvinov coach Ondrej Weissmann resigned after the 14th-round match
against Opava. He was the first coach to fall in this year's Staropramen
Hockey Extraleague. Vaclav Sykora succeeded him as coach of the
11th-place team. In the last two years, Sykora and Slavomir Lener led
Sparta Prague.
Jihlava and Vsetin, teams hit by a virus epidemic, return to play
in the 13th round. Vsetin did not look handicapped, winning matches
against Kladno and Pardubice. Karlovy Vary did not allow a goal to its
opponents in two consecutive matches, thanks to goalkeeper Rudolf
Pejchar. Zlin remains at the top of the standings, having tied its last
five games.
Results of the 13th round: Opava - Plzen 1-2, Litvinov - Karlovy
Vary 0-2, Kladno - Vsetin 0-6, Zlin - Ceske Budejovice 1-1, Pardubice
- Jihlava 2-1, Trinec - Slavia 3-2, Sparta - Vitkovice 7-3.
Results of the 14th round: Opava - Litvinov 3-3, Zlin - Plzen 3-3,
Pardubice - Vsetin 2-4, Karlovy Vary - Jihlava 6-0, Sparta - Ceske
Budejovice 2-6, Kladno - Slavia 3-1, Trinec - Vitkovice 1-3.
Postponed match from the 12th round: Jihlava - Kladno 3-3.
Standings: 1. Vsetin 21, 2. Zlin 19, 3. Trinec 19, 4. Plzen 18, 5.
Sparta 16, 6. Ceske Budejovice 15, 7. Slavia 14, 8. Karlovy Vary 14, 9.
Pardubice 14, 10. Vitkovice 13, 11. Litvinov 12, 12. Kladno 10, 13.
Opava 6, 14. Jihlava 5.
Stepan Etrych/Mirek Langer
SPORTS IN BRIEF
* Petra Piskackova recorded the best result ever for Czech karate,
winning a silver medal in the unlimited category in the World
Championships in Rio de Janeiro.
Mirek Langer/Mirek Langer
WEATHER
It seems that nice, sunny days have been shining on the republic
recently, perpetual optimists are even calling it Indian summer. The
less optimistic are not talking of summer, but their clothes confess
that winter has not yet broken out. And the pessimists? A typical
pessimist grimaces at the morning sun penetrating through the clouds and
puts on a scarf and gloves. Everybody simply takes a different approach
to days with mornings near freezing and sunny afternoons.
Marketa Lajdova/Lenka Nejezchlebova
English version edited by Michael Bluhm.
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