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Carolina (English) No 300
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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) 22112252, ext. 252, fax: (+4202) 24810987
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
C A R O L I N A No 300, Friday, August 28, 1998.
FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS (August 13 - August 26)
Zeman's Minority Government Wins Confidence Vote
The Czech Parliament's Chamber of Deputies August 19 gave a vote of
confidence to the new Social Democrat (CSSD) minority government, after
63 Civic Democratic Party (ODS) deputies left the hall (for more on the
Opposition Contract see Carolina 297). Their absence enabled the 73
Social Democrat deputies to outvote easily the deputies of the remaining
political parties. The Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL, 20 deputies) and
Freedom Union (US, 19 deputies) voted against Prime Minister Milos
Zeman's cabinet . The 24 Communist (KSCM) deputies abstained.
Zeman did not present Parliament the entire 45-page government
program statement (see Carolina 298, 299), and confined his speech to
the Social Democrats' vision of government. Zeman said that his
government "wants to serve citizens, not to exert arrogantly its power
upon them, and has only one ambition - to hand over the Czech Republic
to its successor in better shape than it was inherited from its
predecessor."
Chairman of Parliament and ODS leader Vaclav Klaus said the ODS
will not "tolerate the CSSD government because of its policy, but in
spite of its policy." Klaus called the program statement "a stylish
propaganda composition," its authors do not believe in its possible
realization and are using and exploiting the fact that their government
is a minority government with a limited power.
A big response was drawn by the comments of US deputy Vladimir
Mlynar, a member of former Prime Minister Josef Tosovsky's Cabinet, who
changed the famous Zeman bon mot according to which "a government which
tolerates thieves becomes objectively a government of thieves" and
finished his speech with a shot at Klaus' ODS: "Whoever tolerates
a socialist government becomes objectively a socialist himself."
30th Anniversary of August 1968 Occupation
Ceremonies commemorating the 30th anniversary of the August 1968
Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia and paying tribute to the victims
of the occupation armies took place in Prague and other towns of the
Czech Republic. Prime Minister Milos Zeman addressed a gathering of
several hundred citizens in front of the Czech Broadcasting building.
The commemoration at Czech Broadcasting was attended also by the chief
of President Vaclav Havel's staff Ivan Medek, the president's wife
Dagmar, Senator Jaroslava Moserova and members of the Czech Union of
Freedom Fighters.
Nearly all the political parties and high-ranking politicians
expressed their opinions on the anniversary. In contrast to
representatives of conservative parties like Vaclav Klaus' Civic
Democratic Party (ODS) and the Freedom Union (US), which see the Prague
Spring events as a futile and virtually hopeless attempt to reform the
Communist regime, the mainstream Czech media have presented mostly
a positive and nostalgic picture of the Prague Spring. The extra
supplements of print media as well as the radio and TV specials about
the events of 1968 brought to light previously unpublished facts and
documents about the Prague Spring and the Soviet-led invasion.
Havel told Czech Broadcasting Radio that "this week-long resistance
of the general public and the entire society against the occupation in
August 1968, the absolutely united resistance, was a remarkable
phenomenon." Havel stressed that "the Prague Spring had a great
international importance" and "unmasked the totalitarian nature of the
system."
Havel Records Talks in Lany with Zeman
Prime Minister Milos Zeman visited President Vaclav Havel August
25 in the Central Military Hospital in Prague. They recorded the radio
talk show Talks in Lany (Hovory v Lanech), to be broadcast by the Praha
radio station August 29. Zeman is probably the very first politician
allowed to visit the president, because doctors have prohibited Havel
from receiving visits because of the danger of infection.
Boris Stastny, a member of president's medical team, said August
24 on TV Prima that Havel will stay in the hospital at least two more
weeks. Doctors do not object so far to the president's scheduled trips.
Havel is to visit the United States in September and the United Kingdom
in October.
Secret Cabinet Document Leaked by Media
Personnel shuffles in government offices was the hottest topic in
the Czech media during last two weeks. The issue came to a head with the
publication of an August 5 secret Cabinet resolution that laid down the
rules for recalling and appointing officials in companies where the
state has an ownership interest. Prime Minister Milos Zeman and Deputy
Prime Minister Pavel Rychetsky confirmed the authenticity of the
document on the August 25 TV NOVA evening news, although they refused to
comment on it.
On the one hand, the existence of the document is proof that the
government is going to realize its program statement, according to which
the government is going "to grasp firmly the administration of the
remaining state shares in companies." On the other hand, the Czech media
could find no explanation why the resolution was classified "secret" and
presented it as a guideline for purges to clear well-paid positions for
Social Democrat supporters.
In contrary to the media, Rychetsky claimed August 26 in the daily
MF DNES that the Cabinet's document and it secrecy were aimed against
nepotism, because the resolution asked for consultation of any
appointments made by ministries with the Cabinet's deputy prime
ministers. According to Rychetsky, the resolution is a defense "against
some of ministers, not allowing them to promote their proteges. I am
just concerned about (Trade Minister Miroslav) Gregr not putting his own
people there. And (Finance Minister Ivo) Svoboda - as it turns out - has
had a similar tendency. The Government is not informed who is appointed
where," said Rychetsky.
After deadline: The government decided to declassify the resolution
at its August 26 meeting.
ODS Draws Concludes from Forensic Audit
The Civic Democratic Party (ODS) Executive Council approved August
17 conclusions about the findings of a forensic audit concerning ODS
financing. The Executive Council apologized to all party members and ODS
supporters for improper past financing. "These blunders arose mostly
from inexperience," the ODS conclusion said.
The remedy should be ensured by changes in the filing of donor
contributions and membership fees. Moreover, ODS is going to reorganize
its economic department. However, in spite of the indisputable evidence
of illegal accounting and the hiding of donors, ODS did not make any
personnel changes which would show responsibility for the scandal which
caused the split of the government coalition in November. The audit
mentions the names of 24 persons, of which 18 have left the ODS offices.
Clean Hands - Do They Have a Chance?
The Czech media expressed doubts about whether the Social
Democrats' Clean Hands Operation will be realized as promised before the
election, after Supreme Control Office (Nejvyssi kontrolni urad NKU)
president Lubomir Volenik criticized the Cabinet's idea of the NKU
verifying all privatization cases, according to the daily MF DNES August
22. A few days before, Deputy Prime Minister Pavel Rychetsky called for
the amendment of two acts - the District Attorneys Act and the Supreme
Control Office Act - which would make the Clean Hands project possible.
However, after a meeting with Volenik, Rychetsky also expressed
skepticism about the possibilities of examining records in suspicious
privatization cases. Rychetsky said that from the legal point of view
privatization is not possible to investigate. According to Rychetsky,
Clean Hands would concentrate namely on direct-sale privatizations from
the period of former Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus' government. "Most of
the privatizations using the direct sale method, which means the
privatizations organized by government, do not have any basic
documentation, because the tape recordings of cabinet meetings were
erased by mistake, and written records of cabinet meetings are reduced
into one-sentence information," said Rychetsky, whose findings are
conform to the opinion of Vladimir Mlynar, the minister in former Prime
Minister Josef Tosovsky's government who prepared materials about
privatization who said August 24 that the materials could have been
tampered with.
No Agreement on RFE/RL Broadcasting for Iraq?
American ambassador to the Czech Republic Jenonne Walker told the
daily Pravo August 26 that Washington still has not sent any
instructions to request the Czech government officially for permission
to start Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) broadcasting from
Prague to Iraq. On the other hand, the RFE/RL broadcasting in Farsi to
Iran was already discussed with former Prime Minister Josef Tosovsky's
Government. Meanwhile, information about the security risk this
broadcasting could pose for Prague appeared in the press.
The Iran and Iraq departments should be situated in a separate
villa away from the RFE/RL headquarters in the former Federal Assembly
next to the top of Wenceslas Square. Walker said the safety of the
buildings is secured by RFE/RL without the assistance of Czech
authorities.
Iraq and Iran have already officially protested against the planned
broadcasting. The new Czech government has not adopted a position on the
issue yet.
NEWS IN BRIEF
Otto Wichterle, a famed Czech chemist scientist who invented the
material for soft contact lenses, died August 18 in Prague at the age of
84. He was the owner of about 150 patents and published more than 200
scholarly pieces.
ECONOMY
Russian Turmoil Shall Not Endanger Czech Economy
While the Russian financial crisis has been threatening currency
stability in neighboring states and some Central European countries, the
Czech crown is surprisingly holding its own. In spite of some
fluctuation caused by movements on other financial markets, the Czech
crown maintained its exchange rate of approximately 18.50 Czech crowns
per deutschmark.
The fact that the meltdown in Russia is not directly endangering
the Czech economy is regarded by analysts as proof of the extent to
which the Czech economy has been able during the last eight years to
break free from its former dominant economic partner.
IPB Would Like to Merge with Czech Insurance Company
Negotiations about merging the Investment and Postal Bank (IPB)
with the Czech Insurance Company (CP) have been held in London by
representatives of Nomura, IPB and the PPF investment group, which is
closely connected to CP, the biggest Czech insurance company with 60 per
cent of the market, according to the daily Pravo's August 25 edition.
The merger of IPB and the Czech Insurance Company would create the
strongest financial entity in the Czech Republic.
Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank
(valid August 27)
country currency
-----------------------------------
Australia 1 AUD 19.217
Belgium 100 BEF 89.850
Great Britain 1 GBP 54.697
Denmark 1 DKK 4.867
ECU 1 XEU 36.595
Finland 1 FIM 6.093
France 1 FRF 5.530
Ireland 1 IEP 46.490
Italy 1000 ITL 18.786
Japan 100 JPY 23.062
Canada 1 CAD 21.520
Luxembourg 100 LUF 89.850
IMF 1 XDR 44.253
Hungary 100 HUF 14.744
Netherlands 1 NLG 16.434
Norway 1 NOK 4.190
New Zealand 1 NZD 16.485
Poland 1 PLN 8.915
Portugal 100 PTE 18.102
Austria 1 ATS 2.634
Greece 100 GRD 10.799
Germany 1 DEM 18.530
Slovakia 100 SKK 93.822
Slovenia 100 SIT 19.685
Spain 100 ESP 21.833
Sweden 1 SEK 4.003
Switzerland 1 CHF 22.232
USA 1 USD 33.388
CULTURE Rolling Stones in Prague for Third Time
The Rolling Stones rocked Prague for the third time, playing August
in the Sport Hall at the Prague Fairgrounds. The band's first
performance here took place in Prague's Strahov Stadium in front of some
100,000 viewers eight years ago. Despite the expensive tickets, ranging
from 990 crowns to 4,990 crowns - the concert in the Sport Hall was
almost sold-out, with attendance of about 12,000 people. Immediately
after the concert the band left for Berlin.
Evita Replaces Jesus Christ Superstar
The first performance of the famous musical Evita took place at the
Spirala Theater August 25, although the gala premiere was going to come
four days later, August 29. Evita is presented by director Petr
Novotny's company, Musical, which had produced the successful musical
Jesus Christ Superstar in the same theater for four years with nearly
1,300 performances.
Novotny said he hopes that the staging cost of 19 million crowns
will be returned in one year. After Lucie Bila did not accept the offer
to perform Evita, two young and promising singers - Radka Fisarova and
Tereza Sloukova - will alternate in the main role.
SPORT
Czech Republic Wins Three Medals in Track and Field Championships
The well-represented Czech Republic won three medals in the track
and field European Championships in Budapest August 18-23. Although
specialists consider the result a success, it failed to meet
expectations. A gold medal is missing in the haul, although Sarka
Kasparkova almost could not have been closer.
World champion Kasparkova finished two centimeters behind Greece's
Vasdeki. Kasparkova was not satisfied: "I am disappointed, it perhaps
was not me today. It looked like it was a body without a head."
Helena Fuchsova added another silver in the 400 meters. With
a final time of 50.21 seconds, she trailed only Breuer of Germany.
"I had written all the times and positions from heat to final on a small
piece of paper. For final I had written gold, but silver is not bad, is
it?"
Pole-vault European record holder Daniela Bartova returned home
without a medal. In the qualification round she had only one successful
attempt (400 centimeters) and did not advance to the final. A fifth
place in the 4x400-meter relay was also among the positives of the
women's team.
The Czech men earned a bronze thanks to Lukas Vydra in the 800
meters. He lost to Germany's Schumann in the finish, but with a time of
1:45.23
minutes he defeated world record holder Kipketer of Denmark.
"When I watch the TV recording, maybe I'll be angry at myself, but now
I am happy," he said.
Decathlete Tomas Dvorak, hampered by injuries, finished fifth with
8,506 points. "It was not a mistake to participate here, I defeated
Sebrle and remained the number-one Czech." Roman Sebrle was sixth, 29
points behind Dvorak.
Results of the Czech athletes: Men: Finals: 3. Vydra (800m), 5.
Dvorak, 6. Sebrle (both decathlon), 7. Muzik (400m hurdles), 7. relay
4x400m, 10. Malina (discus), 12. T. Janku (high jump), 18. Holusa (50km
walk), 21. Malysa (20km walk), Pesava did not finish (10,000m).
Semifinals: Podebradsky (400m), relay 4x100m. Heats: Krsek and
Bohman (100m), Morkes (200m), Stejfa (400m). Qualifications: Kovar (long
jump), Maska a Sedlacek (hammer throw), Kuntos (triple jump), J. Janku
(high jump).
Women - finals: 2. Kasparkova (triple jump), 2. Fuchsova (400m),
5. relay 4x400m, 7. Suldesova (1,500m), 8. Suchovska (200m), 11.
Kovacikova (high jump), 12. Nekolna (septathlon), 12. Hamackova (pole
vault).
Semifinals: Burianova (400m), Formanova (800m). Heats: Vostatkova
(100m), Benesova and Vostatkova (200m), Novotna (100m hurdles).
Qualifications: Tomeckova (javelin), Bartova (pole vault), Silhava
(discus).
Soccer Players Beat Denmark, 1998 World Cup Quarterfinalist
After an esthetically wonting performance the Czech Republic
defeated Denmark 1-0 in a preparation match in Prague August 19. The
Danes advanced this year to the quarterfinal in the World Cup in France.
The match was affected by an early goal, scored by Karel Rada's header
after Cizek's corner in the eighth minute. Good play continued only for
the next 30 minutes. After the break, the level of play declined and the
Czech Republic kept the lead.
Result of the under-21 played in Prague-Zbraslav August 17: Czech
Republic - Denmark 0-5.
Sparta Stops Itself on Way to Champions League
The successful performance in the first match in Kiev, where Sparta
Praha defeated Dinamo 1-0, determined Sparta's strategy for the rematch.
It concentrated on defense and eliminated the Ukrainians' combination.
Both teams had no scoring chance for 80 minutes, but then Sparta fell
victim to its own caution. Kiev chalked up a goal in the 88th minute,
scored by Sparta's Gabriel after Shevchenko's shot. After the goal-less
extra time, the game was decided by penalty shots. Kiev won 3-1 and
advanced to the Champions League, while Sparta will play in the UEFA
Cup.
Two other Czech teams also advanced to the UEFA Cup. Slavia Praha
profited from a 4-0 win in the first match, losing after poor play and
goalkeeper Stejskal's mistakes 0-2 to Inter Bratislava. Slavia's Kucera
hit the bar after 30 minutes of play. Olomouc performed much more better
in Scottish Kilmarnock. It led 2-0 after 20 minutes, when Heinz and
Mucha scored, and advanced easily.
Sparta Loses Three-Goal Lead in Drnovice in Soccer League
The third round of the soccer league brought bad results for teams
participating in European Cups. While Olomouc lost, Slavia and Sparta
each won a point. Sparta led in Drnovice 4-1, but wound up in a tie.
Sparta's Siegl and Drnovice's Tuma scored hat-tricks. Zizkov was down
0-2 in Liberec, but after two players were sent off it scored and after
another red card it tied the score with eight players on the field.
After his contract in the English Premier League club Newcastle was
terminated, national team goalkeeper Pavel Srnicek returned to Banik
Ostrava and recorded his first shutout, in Teplice.
Results from the 3rd round: Drnovice - Sparta Praha 4-4, Slavia
Praha - Brno 1-1, Plzen - Olomouc 1-0, Liberec - Zizkov 2-2, Karvina
- Hradec Kralove 1-1, Blsany - Dukla 1-0, Opava - Jablonec 2-1, Teplice
- Ostrava 0-0.
Standings: 1. Sparta Praha 7, 2. Drnovice 7, 3.-5. Olomouc , Blsany
and Opava 6, 6. Ostrava 5, 7. Liberec 5, 8. Hradec Kralove 4, 9. Zizkov
4, 10. Teplice 4, 11. Slavia Praha 4, 12. Karvina 4, 13. Plzen 3, 14.
Brno 1, 15. Jablonec 0, 16. Dukla 0.
Great Successes in White Water Canoeing European Championships
The Czech national team won seven medals in the Roudnice nad Labem
channel, where the white water canoeing European Championships took
place. Only Slovakia was better. David Jancar won the gold in the single
canoe category, defeating two Olympic champions - silver medalist
Martikan of Slovakia and Czech bronze medalist Lukas Pollert.
Medals for Czech athletes: Individuals: C-1: 1st Jancar, 3rd
Pollert. C-2: 2nd Volf and Stepanek. Women K-1: 2nd Hilgertova.
Teams: C-2: 1st men, K-1: 1st women, 2nd men.
SPORTS IN BRIEF
* Just as soccer team Sparta Praha was sold to Slovak owners, the best
Czech ice hockey team is now in Slovak hands. Bratislava's Harvard
Investing Company purchased Vsetin. Juraj Siroky became president of the
HC Slovnaft Vsetin, as the four-time defending champion will be called.
Siroky also heads the Slovak Hockey Union and the Slovak champion Slovan
Bratislava.
* The McLaren formula one team introduced itself to Czech fans in
Prague and Most August 20 with both its drivers, Finland's Hakinen and
Scotland's Coulthard.
* Czech rider Jaroslav Hules did not finish the Czech Republic Grand
Prix in Brno August 23 after mechanical problems. Winners: 125cc:
Melandri (Italy, Honda), 250 cc: Harada (Japan, Aprilia), 500cc: Biaggi
(Italy, Honda).
* Czech soccer players started well in foreign leagues: Kuka scored
twice in Nuremberg, while Poborsky of Benfica Lisbon and Smicer of Lens
each scored once.
* Czech volleyball players recorded excellent results in the European
League, defeating Olympic champions the Netherlands 3-0.
This issue of Carolina was translated by Denisa Vitkova, Mirek Langer
and Milan Smid, and edited by Michael Bluhm. We apologize for the delay
in releasing this issue and hope it will still be of some value to our
readers.
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