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Carolina (English) No 308
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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) 22112252, fax: (+4202) 24810987
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
C A R O L I N A No 308, Friday, November 13, 1998.
FROM EVENTS OF THE LAST WEEK (November 4 - November 11)
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Czech Republic Criticized by European Union
The European Union (EU) November 10 initiated official membership
talks with countries chosen for the first wave of expansion, on the
heels of the November 4 European Commission (EC) report on the Czech
Republic's readiness for joining the EU. Brussels warned that the
stagnation in preparation must end, or the Czech Republic might not make
the 2003 deadline to become an EU member. EU lead negotiator Nikolaus
van der Pas said, "In Prague, there is a conflict between a good
intentions and the determined time frame."
The EC says the Czech Republic needs to improve problems with
minorities (primarily Romanies), its ineffective judicial system, the
fight against corruption, finish the privatization of banks, improve the
protection of private industrial and intellectual property, agriculture
and the restructuring of companies. The biggest problem is the
macroeconomic situation. There is no economic growth, rising
unemployment and pitifully little foreign investment (because of
ineffective capital market supervision). What the EC found positive is
that Parliament and central state institutions operate well, the market
economy functions, there is low inflation and export are rising.
Politicians had a variety of reactions to the criticism. President
Vaclav Havel said to Czech Television: "It is a very serious warning and
I also somewhat understand it psychologically as the price for our
pride." Prime Minister Milos Zeman blamed the government of former Prime
Minister Vaclav Klaus for the problems and said his government is ready
to speed up its preparation for joining the EU. Klaus, now chairman of
Parliament's Chamber of Deputies, said, "It is the conscious policy of
European officials. In some countries there is a strong campaign against
expansion. Officials should not accuse the government of any state."
Pavlina Hodkova/Jakub Jirovec
New Era in Slovakia - Havel Warmly Welcomed in Bratislava
President Vaclav Havel and his wife Dagmar visited Bratislava
November 7. Although it was not a state visit, Havel met Prime Minister
Mikulas Dzurinda, former President Michal Kovac and others.
Havel said he appreciated the changes Slovakia has undergone since
general elections in September, and promised support for the new
government and generosity in resolving property issues. He proposed
resuming cooperation among the Visegrad Four of Slovakia, Hungary,
Poland and the Czech Republic. The beginning of the new cooperation
could be a presidential summit which, Havel suggested, could take place
in Bratislava next spring. Since the Czech Republic and Slovakia are
closer than the other countries, their leaders expect intensification of
cooperation and support concerning EU and NATO membership.
Havel was invited by four non-governmental organizations. He said
he valued their significance, and appealed to the Czech Republic to be
inspired by Slovakia in this area. It is worth noting that the visit
took place on the anniversary of the death of Alexander Dubcek, who died
after an automobile accident November 7, 1992.
The atmosphere surrounding the presidential pair's visit to
Bratislava, including their walk through the city center, was probably
a very pleasant surprise, and not only for Havel. He said Slovakia today
reminded him of November 1989, the time of the Velvet Revolution. "There
is a special atmosphere of hope," he said.
Petra Machova/Denisa Vitkova
Looking for a Way to Show Helmut Zilk His File
Former Vienna Mayor Helmut Zilk, who was removed at the last minute
from the list of those to be honored by President Vaclav Havel because
of suspicions of collaboration with the Communist secret police, is
coming to Prague. The president had originally invited him to look into
his file as kept by the former State Security (StB). However, according
to Interior Minister Vaclav Grulich, Zilk cannot see his file because he
is a foreigner, and Havel does not have to see the file because it is
not his. The whole affair is being looked into by special commission,
which is trying to find a legal resolution. The exact date of Zilk's
visit has not yet been determined.
Marketa Lajdova/Petr Novy
NEWS IN BRIEF
* New Slovak Defense Minister Pavol Kanis discussed in Prague
November 4 Czech-Slovak relations and Slovakia's membership in
Euro-Atlantic structures. He also delivered the Slovak Prime Minister's
invitation for Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman to visit Slovakia
November 23.
Veronica Macias/Denisa Vitkova
* Czech government representative for human rights and minorities
Petr Uhl discussed in Bratislava November 6 with Slovak Vice Premier
Palo Csaky dual citizenship and the position of the Czech minority in
Slovakia and the Slovak minority in the Czech Republic.
Sasa Jokic/Denisa Vitkova
* The new German government will force companies which profited from
forced labor during World War II to indemnify those laborers, said
German Secretary of State Gunter Verheugen after meeting Czech Foreign
Minister Jan Kavan in Prague.
Jan Mates/Jakub Jirovec
* Iran Foreign Minister Kamal Charrazi said that there is no need for
Iran to maintain diplomatic relations with the Czech Republic, according
to the CTK press agency, which quoted the Iranian daily Abrar. His
statement was another reaction to the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
broadcasts to Iraq and Iran from Prague, after the recall of the Iranian
ambassador to Prague (see Carolina 307).
Pavel Novotny/Milan Smid
DOMESTIC SCENE
Cabinet Passes Budget with Deficit of 31 Billion Crowns
Prime Minister Milos Zeman's minority government approved the final
version of the 1999 budget proposal at its cabinet meeting the night of
November 7. The second version of the bill plans for a deficit of 31
billion crowns with revenues of 574.1 billion crowns and expenditures of
605.1 billion crowns. Whether the Social Democrats' draft is going to be
passed is still unsure, although its chances are getting better in spite
of the fact that the second draft has increased the proposed deficit by
4.2 billion crowns.
While the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and the Freedom Union (US)
resolutely reject any future support for the draft, the Communists
(KSCM) have already made public their support for the bill, the decisive
role was left to the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL). The Christian
Democratic Union-Czechoslovak Peoples Party does not rule out that it
will vote for the bill, citing the pro-growth nature of the budget
draft. The Chamber of Deputies is going to start debate on the budget
November 24.
Michaela Prokopova/Michaela Prokopova
Election Campaign Enters Last Phase
The coming date of the Senate and local elections November 13-14
did somewhat stir the stagnant atmosphere of the election campaign. The
Civic Democratic Party (ODS) was the target of much criticism for its
tactics.
Critics primarily reproach ODS for breaking the Construction Act by
illegally placing its disputed megaboard on Prague's Letna Plain, while
some also point out that ODS' slogan We Think Differently is similar to
the motto of Apple Computers, a potential breach of copyright laws. Some
speculate ODS did not respect the law when using portraits of Prime
Minister Milos Zeman (Social Democrat, CSSD) and Jan Ruml (Freedom
Union, US) in its campaign materials. The two politicians will not press
charges, during a TV Prima talk show Ruml said, "a negative advertisment
is also an advertisment."
The opening of the fourth part of Prague's B subway line could be
a good move for the ODS campaign. Prague Mayor and ODS Senate candidate
Jan Koukal made the opening official November 8. Nevertheless, Koukal
has not yet found the money to complete the stops of Hloubetin and CKD.
Koukal's rival, Christian Democrat Martin Bursik, renamed the Hloubetin
station after Koukal and cut a symbolic black ribbon. The architects are
said to have done a good job on the newly opened stops of Cerny Most,
Vysocanska and Rajska Zahrada.
Tomas Kohout, Alena Smrzova/Sofia Karakeva
FROM SLOVAKIA
Dzurinda in Brussels
New Slovak Premier Mikulas Dzurinda met NATO General Secretary NATO
Javier Solana November 5 at the end of his stay in Brussels. He visited
the European Parliament and talked with Parliament Chairman Jose Maria
Gil-Robles and other members of Parliament. The impression made by his
trip was said to be positive, observers agree the new government is
opening doors to the West.
Dzurinda said to Solana that he is aware that Slovakia is falling
behind in integration to western structures. On the other hand, Dzurinda
expressed his expectation that NATO's April summit will consider
Slovakia in a more positive light. The Slovak government, Dzurinda said,
is decided to do a great deal to that end.
Pavel Sladky/Michaela Prokopova
Government Abolishes Some Visas, Supports Direct Presidential Election
Slovak ministers November 4 agreed on direct presidential election,
thus keeping their campaign promise, and at the same time they assured
Rudolf Schuster, chairman of the Civic Understanding Party (SOP), of
their support. The election date has not been set, next February looks
most probable. Even though former Premier Vladimir Meciar will not run
as candidate for the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), the
situation is not simple. The conservative wing of the Slovak Democratic
Coalition (SDK) is hesitant to support Schuster, the former mayor of
Kosice, because of his former post in the Central Commitee of the
Communist Party of Slovakia.
The same day the government abolished visa requirements for
citizens of Great Britain and Ireland. The visa requirement was one of
the former government's last measures, taken as revenge for the visa
requirement introduced for Slovaks by the British. The government also
promised to give priority to resolving the Romany (Gypsy) question, as
Belgium is threatening visa requirements because of the presence of
emigrants refused by Great Britain.
Lenka Ludvikova/Jan Martinek
ECONOMY
Unemployment in the Czech Republic Did Not Rise in October
The unemployment rate in the Czech Republic remained at the same
level in October as in September. At the end of October, 350,000
unemployed people were registered, making for a 6.8-per-cent
unemployment rate. According to some experts, the situation has been
influenced by the fact that many drop-outs and graduates found jobs
after the summer holidays. At the same time the seasonal jobs in
construction and agriculture are continuing, so a stagnant rate of
unemployment is rather typical for October.
The highest increase in unemployment was recorded in the capital
city of Prague, which does, however, retain the lowest unemployment rate
overall, with 2 per cent. On the other hand, the highest unemployment
rate continues to be reported from the district of Most, with an October
rate of 15.2 per cent.
Jan Moravek/Milan Smid
Czech Republic's Rating Lowered
Renowned international rating agency Standard and Poor's November
5 lowered the Czech Republic's rating from A to A-. The rating expresses
a subject's credit reliability. At the same time, the agency also
lowered the ratings of Commerce Bank (Komercni banka), the Czech Savings
Bank (Ceska sporitelna), the Czechoslovak Trade Bank (Ceskoslovenska
obchodni banka) and SPT Telecom. "It is unpleasant and has concrete
economic consequences. Access to loan sources will be more difficult and
the price higher," the daily Hospodarske noviny quotes the Czech
National Bank (Ceska narodni banka) spokesman Martin Svehla. Immediately
after announcing the new rating, the Czech crown weakened slightly.
Jan Moravek/Denisa Vitkova
Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank
(valid November 13)
country currency
---------------------------------
Australia 1 AUD 18.855
Belgium 100 BEF 86.128
Great Britain 1 GBP 49.668
Denmark 1 DKK 4.674
ECU 1 XEU 34.946
Finland 1 FIM 5.840
France 1 FRF 5.298
Ireland 1 IEP 44.202
Italy 1000 ITL 17.957
Japan 100 JPY 24.300
Canada 1 CAD 19.340
Luxemburg 100 LUF 86.128
IMF 1 XDR 41.546
Hungary 100 HUF 13.692
Netherlands 1 NLG 15.758
Norway 1 NOK 3.992
New Zealand 1 NZD 15.862
Poland 1 PLN 8.685
Portugal 100 PTE 17.331
Austria 1 ATS 2.525
Greece 100 GRD 10.577
Germany 1 DEM 17.765
Slovakia 100 SKK 82.098
Slovenia 100 SIT 18.472
Spain 100 ESP 20.892
Sweden 1 SEK 3.731
Switzerland 1 CHF 21.549
USA 1 USD 29.921
CULTURE
Czech Comedy of the Century Award
The 1982 Czech family film With You I Enjoy the World (S tebou me
bavi svet), written and directed by Alena Polednakova, was declared the
best Czech comedy of the century. The awards ceremony took place in
Prague's Lucerna Palace and was broadcast live by Czech Television. The
voting was done by phone during the program. The Oscar-winning comedy
Kolya finished second, and the Czech version of Cinderella (Tri orisky
pro Popelku) earned third place.
The movies were nominated by the readers of Television Weekly. The
readers chose from 651 movies made since 1931. According to screenwriter
Pavel Taussig, the preference for family entertainment reflects the
"taste of the mass." The best comedy of each decade advanced to the
semifinal. Those were, apart from the three winners above, Eva Makes
Trouble (Eva tropi hlouposti), Train Station Master (Prednosta stanice),
Caesar's Baker and the Baker's Caesar (Cisaruv pekar a Pekaruv cisar)
and Madly Sad Princess (Silene smutna princezna).
Lucerna was crowded with Czech celebrities, such as Fan
Vavrincova, screenwriter of Eva Makes Trouble (1939), Zita Kabatova, the
screen partner of Vlasta Burian and Adolf Branald, writer and doyen of
Czech actors. At the end he said, "Comedy is the princess of Czech
cinematography, which reflects us like a mirror. I wish comedy would
always smile and be kind."
Instead of broadcasting With You I Enjoy the World, Czech
Television presented another movie by Alena Polednakova, How to Pull
a Whale's Back Tooth (Jak vytrhnout velrybe stolicku), because Czech
Television does not have the rights to the winner - TV NOVA bought them.
TV NOVA offered to swap the rights of the winner for the rights to
Kolya, but Czech Television refused. The winner will crown TV NOVA's New
Year's Eve programming.
Zuzana Galova/Zuzana Janeckova
Miroslav Hornicek's 80th Birthday
Miroslav Hornicek has reached the age of 80. He is not only one of
the most significant actors in Czech theater and cinematography but also
a director, writer and artist.
The celebration took place on the stage of Prague's ABC Theater.
This was the scene of his and Jan Werich's famed performances during the
50's and 60's. Many people took part in the celebration, including actor
and writer Jiri Suchy, actor Jiri Sovak, actor Vlastimil Brodsky and
Culture Minister Pavel Dostal.
Hornicek and Werich became part of Czech theater history thanks to
their plays Rag Ballad (Balada z hadru) and Heavy Barbara (Tezka
Barbora), while Hornicek also starred in the television series Once
There Were Two Clerks (Byli jednou dva pisari), H Talks (Hovory H) and
Kinoautomat, directed by Vladimir Svitacek.
Petr Kupec/Zuzana Janeckova
Minor Theater Belongs to Puppets
The eighth-annual Czech professional and amateur festival of puppet
theaters, traditionally called One Flew over the Puppeteer's Nest, was
held in Prague's Minor Theater November 6-8.
Eight Czech troupes and the German group Fundus, which brought in
a Saxon marionette historical circus, performed. The festival peaked
with the opening night of the performance of Three Golden Hairs of
Grandfather Know-It-All (Tri zlate vlasy Deda Vseveda) performed by the
Dragon Theater (Divadlo Drak) from Hradec Kralove. This performance was
also awarded with the festival's main prize - the Erik, named after
Czech theater mag Erik Kolar.
Other objects of interest were performances by first- and
second-year students of the School of Puppets and Alternative Theater of
the Theater Arts Academy of Prague.
Katerina Kolarova/Katerina Kolarova
Bartoska to Run Karlovy Vary Film Festival for Five More Years
The upcoming five years of the biggest Czech film festival, the
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, will be organized by actor
Jiri Bartoska's Film Service agency. After more than one month of
negotiations, Karlovy Vary Mayor Josef Pavel signed a contract with the
agency November 5. The city will control the use of finances. The budget
for next year is about 80 million crowns. "Including inflation of about
10 per cent, the budget is comparable to last year's," Bartoska said and
added he would demand the state finance one-quarter of the festival this
year and more in future years.
Marketa Kaclova/Mirek Langer
SPORTS
Karjala Cup: Czech Hockey Players Finish without Win Again
The second event of the Euro Hockey Tour, the Karjala Cup, finished
in Helsinki November 8. The Czech national team finished in third place
behind Finland and Russia. It did not win a single match and so
prolonged the streak of games without a win to six. The Czech Republic
is third in the Euro Hockey Tour standings, led by Finland.
The use of two referees was an interesting experiment. Russia
rejected it and thus only one referee supervised its matches. The
innovation did bring more penalties.
The Czech team met Sweden November 5. After a hopeful beginning,
when it led 2-0 (Radek Martinek and Pavel Patera scored), Anders
Soderberg replied shortly before the first break. Goalies Roman
Cechmanek and Johan Hedberg starred in the scoreless second period. The
heightened Swedish pressure at the beginning of the third period caused
many Czech penalties and Jan Larsson tied on a power-play goal. The 2-2
score did not change, Viktor Ujcik did hit the bar.
The first 10 minutes were fatal for the Czech Republic in the game
against host Finland November 7. Finland scored thrice during two
minutes. Coaches substituted goalkeeper Jaroslav Kames with the more
experienced Cechmanek. David Vyborny and Jan Srdinko evened out the
scoring before the end of the first period, and after the break Tomas
Kucharcik tied it at 3-3. Finland took the lead again on a power play
and in the 37th minute Marko Tuomainen closed the match's scoring at
5-3.
The Czech Republic played its last match, against Russia, November
8. Kames returned to the goal and guarded it successfully until the
16th minute, when Alexey Kudashov scored. Russia increased its lead in
the second period with Vladimir Samylin's power-play goal. The Czechs
did not give up and their struggle paid off with Kucharcik's and Martin
Prochazka's goals in the last 10 minutes. Though Prochazka was near to
a winning goal just five seconds before the end, the match finished in
a 2-2 tie.
Alena Smrzova and Tomas Kohout/Mirek Langer
Siegl's Hat Trick Moves Sparta to Top of Soccer League Standings
Sparta Praha's 5-0 win over Viktoria Zizkov in the 12th round mixed
up the standings of the Gambrinus Soccer League. After a long layoff,
forward Horst Siegl starred - he scored three goals and moved into first
place in the scorers' standings. FK Teplice kept its unbeaten streak
away from home alive thanks to Marian Rizek's goal in a thriller in
Opava, which tied the game at 3. Teplice fell to second place, but still
has one game to play.
FC Karvina defeated last-place Dukla Pribram 2-0 and the loss was
fatal for coach Josef Csaplar, who became the fifth coach fired this
season. Jiri Kotrba, who started the autumn season in Jablonec, will
replace him.
In the first game between the league's smallest towns, Petra
Drnovice defeated Chmel Blsany.
Results of the 12th round: Karvina - Pribram 2-0, Opava - Teplice
3-3, Plzen - Ostrava 1-1, Olomouc - Jablonec 3-1, Hradec Kralove - Brno
1-0, Liberec - Slavia 1-1, Drnovice - Blsany 2-0, Sparta - Zizkov 5-0.
Standings: 1. Sparta 24, 2. Teplice 24, 3. Olomouc 23, 4. Drnovice
22, 5. Blsany 19, 6. Slavia 18, 7. Opava 18, 8. Ostrava 16, 9. Hradec
Kralove 15, 10. Zizkov 14, 11. Liberec 13, 12. Plzen 12, 13. Karvina
10, 14. Jablonec 8, 15. Brno 7, 16. Pribram 6.
Vladimir Vorechovsky and Josef Koukolicek/Mirek Langer
Staropramen Extraleague: Milos Holan's Comeback
After a short break, the Staropramen hockey Extraleague got on
with an incomplete 19th round. Hockey players from Opava had success,
defeating Kladno in a match of teams from the lower regions of the
standings with their first win at home since the beginning of the
season. Jihlava ended its string of bad results on their rivals' ice,
winning in Pilsen 2:1 and ending Pilsen's home winning streak. Ceske
Budejovice tied 2:2 with league leader Vsetin, but could not come to
terms with former player Libor Zabransky, who had returned from an
unsuccessful engagement in the NHL - Zabransky wound up signing with
Vsetin. Zlin had a fine performance in a battle with Trinec, as
third-place Zlin overtook second-place Trinec by a score of 7:2.
Slavia Praha played in Vitkovice in the most celebratory match of
the round, as defender Milos Holan signed a contract with Vitkovice
before the game started. Holan did not play and Vitkovice lost 1:4.
Holan, former defenseman for the NHL's Anaheim Mighty Ducks, has nearly
realized his dream of returning to professional hockey after his bout
with leukemia. Holan will be a symbolic salary of one crown, because he
cannot play for money, according to the conditions of the American
insurance policy compensating him for the premature end of his
professional career.
Results of the 19th round: Ceske Budejovice - Vsetin 2-2, Litvinov
- Pardubice 1-4, Zlin - Trinec 7-2, Plzen - Jihlava 1-2, Vitkovice
- Slavia 1-4, Opava - Kladno 4-3. The match between Karlovy Vary and
Sparta Praha was postponed to November 17 because of Sparta's
participation in the European Hockey League.
Standings: 1. Vsetin 27, 2. Zlin 25, 3. Trinec 25, 4. Ceske
Budejovice 22, 5. Plzen 22, 6. Slavia 20, 7. Sparta 19, 8. Karlovy Vary
19, 9. Pardubice 19, 10. Vitkovice 17, 11. Litvinov 15, 12. Opava 12,
13. Kladno 11, 14. Jihlava 9.
Stepan Etrych/Petr Novy
SPORTS IN BRIEF
* National soccer team coach Jozef Chovanec released the squad for
the upcoming exhibition match against England in Wembley Stadium in
London November 18. After being left off the team for some matches,
goalkeeper Petr Kouba and defenders Lubos Kozel, Jiri Novotny and Martin
Kotulek are returning to the team, while Jan Suchoparek, Karel Rada and
Tomas Postulka are missing.
* Sparta Praha soccer club prezident Alexander Rezes confirmed he was
looking for a strategic partner to buy about 30 per cent of the club.
Rezes denied speculation about the sale of the club's majority.
* Pavel Nedved, Czech soccer national team and Lazio Rome player, is
the only Czech player among the 50 candidates for the Golden Ball,
warded to the best European player each year. Josef Masopust won the
Ball in 1962.
* Sparta Praha hockey players defeated Switzerland's Fribourg 6-2 in
the European Hockey League and lead the standings of group E after five
matches without losing a point.
* Dominik Hasek won his 157th match in a Buffalo Sabres jersey
against the Boston Bruins and broke another club record, passing
predecessor Don Edwards' record. "Yeah, I read it in the newspapers
a few days ago," said Hasek, nicknamed the Dominator.
* Kovopetrol Plzen's men handball players lost their first match in
the Champions League to Celje Pivovarna Lasko 21-27 (halftime 9-10).
Josef Koukolicek, Stepan Etrych, Petr Novy and Petr Wilfer/Mirek Langer
WEATHER
The weather is not playing fair with us. You really can't say how
the weather is, because it changes every minute. It rains, the sun
shines and then it rains again. In the morning the thermometer shows 4
degrees Celsius/39 degrees Fahrenheit and it rises to around 10 degrees
Celsius/50 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. Over the weekend the
celestial meteorologists enticed us with sunny and warm weather, so
I nearly started to look forward to the work week. Everyday reality
turned out to be very ordinary, sometimes stormy. Perhaps it would have
been better if it had snowed here in the lowlands as it did in the Czech
mountains.
Marketa Lajdova/Katerina Kolarova
English version edited by Michael Bluhm.
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