Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Carolina (English) No 343
CCCCC AA RRRRR OOOO LL II NN N AA
CC AA A RR R OO O LL II NNN N AA A
CC AA A RRRRR OO O LL II NN N N AA A
CC AAAAAA RR R OO O LL II NN NN AAAAAA
CCCCC AA A RR R OOOO LLLLLL II NN N AA A
STUDENTS' E-MAIL NEWS FROM THE CZECH REPUBLIC
Charles University in Prague
Faculty of Social Sciences
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 343, Thursday, August 26, 1999.
FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS (August 11 - August 25)
Nation Recalls August 1968 and August 1969
Czech media dedicated a great deal of attention in the past week to
the anniversaries of the August 20-21, 1968 Soviet-led Warsaw Pact
invasion of the former Czechoslovakia, and the demonstrations and
repression of August 1969. The recollections focused on 1969, when
demonstrators were beaten, imprisoned and killed (the demonstrations
claimed five lives) by their own countrymen, in the persons of the army,
police and civilian militia. The theme of betrayal was enhanced by
television documentaries recounting how special legal measures adopted
August 22, 1969 allowing citizens to be held in police custody for three
weeks without being charged (known as the nightstick (pendrek) laws)
were signed by the leaders of the Prague Spring: Federal Assembly
Chairman Alexander Dubcek, Prime Minister Oldrich Cernik and President
Ludvik Svoboda.
Milan Smid/Michael Bluhm
Kosovo Refugees Return Home
The first plane filled with Kosovo refugees returning home left the
Czech Republic August 14 from the Mosnov Airport near Ostrava. The Czech
Republic officially took in 824 refugees during the war in Kosovo,
mostly the elderly and women with children and most of whom wish to
return to Kosovo. The Czech Foreigners Police gave the refugees the
travel documents with possibility to return to the Czech Republic till
the end of the year, and the Czech Government gave each refugee 1,000
deutschmarks. The second plane left for Kosovo August 17, and the return
of the refugees should continue until September 14.
Milan Smid/Michael Bluhm
Aid for Turkey Delayed by Faulty Ministry Communication
According to the August 23 issue of the daily Lidove noviny,
Foreign Minister Jan Kavan admitted that the delay in sending assistance
to Turkey earthquake victims was caused by poor communication between
ministries. Offers from firefighters and rescue workers from throughout
the country delivered to the Foreign Ministry were turned over to the
Interior Ministry, which referred the issue to the Defense Ministry.
A Civil Guard rescue team from Olomouc with special equipment departed
for Turkey August 18 and arrived there August 20, five days after the
earthquake disaster.
Nevertheless, Czech experts participated in extinguishing the fire
at the Tupras oil refinery in Izmit after special materials were
transported from Prague to Istanbul by the Fischer Air company. The
Defense Ministry transferred part of a field hospital for AFOR troops in
Albania to Turkey.
Milan Smid/Milan Smid
TV NOVA Dispute Continues to Boil
The Czech Broadcasting Council (Rada pro rozhlasove a televizni
vysilani) did not take any action in the conflict between TV NOVA
license-holder CET 21 and its former service company CNTS at the regular
council meeting August 17. CET 21, controlled by Vladimir Zelezny,
withdrew from its contract with CNTS August 6 after launching
broadcasting on its own from the Barrandov film studios one day earlier
(see Carolina 342). Both parties submitted to the council reams of
documents pertaining to the dispute, but the council claimed it has no
jurisdiction in a business dispute and a verdict should be given by
a court. Representatives of CET 21 and the American firm CME, which
controls CNTS, were invited to attend the next regular council meeting
August 31.
Fred Klinkhammer, president of CME, August 18 claimed at a press
conference in Prague that the council's indecisiveness enables CET 21
owner Zelezny "to steal programs and trademarks for two more weeks." CME
majority owner and cosmetics empire heir Ronald Lauder declared August
23 that he will begin international judicial proceedings to defend his
property rights against the Czech Republic, which he says breached
a US-Czech agreement on investment protection.
Milan Smid/Milan Smid
ODS 1996 Election Campaign Appears Illegally Financed
The daily MF DNES August 13 published a scoop on the illegal
financing of the 1996 ODS election campaign (see Carolina 267, 274,
313). According to published documents, the 7.3 million-crown bill for
campaign posters and billboards provided by the Helios agency was paid
for by Railway Construction Brno (Zeleznicni stavitelstvi Brno, ZSB) and
Moravka Centrum. At first, ZSB CEO Michal Stefl admitted that his
company paid the bill, but later he recanted his statements, claiming
Helios did promotions for his company.
There is no direct evidence connecting the money and the
construction contracts for building high-speed rail corridors awarded to
ZSB by the state railway in 1994-96. However, if ODS did not put the
bill for posters and billboards into its campaign accounts, that would
be considered tax evasion.
ODS election campaign financing is still the subject of police
investigation, and the former ODS secretary Ludvik Otta is still in
police custody, together with his business partner and friend Milos
Behounek.
Milan Smid/Milan Smid
Lansky Denies Illegality of His Vienna Bank Account
Deputy Prime Minister Egon Lansky August 23 rejected charges that
he broke the Foreign Currency Act when he opened a personal bank account
in Vienna in 1996. In an interview with the Czech daily Pravo, Lansky
said the Ministry of Finance and the Czech National Bank were informed
about the account, which Lansky established to help his Swedish friend
Fritz Hollander.
The Finance Ministry paid 290,000 USD to the account after a Paris
arbitration court ruled in favor of one of Hollander's companies against
a Czech state-owned company. Lansky was a Senator in 1996 and an adviser
to then-Chamber of Deputies Chairman Milos Zeman.
Milan Smid/Milan Smid
Will British Government Require Visas for Czechs?
British Home Office representative Lord Bassam said that "if the
situation gets out of control," the United Kingdom might introduce visa
requirements for Czech citizens. July's 192 Czech asylum-seekers in the
UK were more than the average number, even though all applications for
asylum submitted this year by Czech Romanies (Gypsies) have been
rejected. Bassam told Reuters that the UK does not feel the Romanies are
"truly refugees".
German border guards at the Rozvadov-Weidhaus crossing August 14
did not allow into Germany a group of Czech Romanies from Prerov
travelling by bus to London. They were turned back because they could
not show they had the money for a stay in the EU, i.e., 100 deutschmarks
per day per person. Altogether the group had 40 British pounds.
Milan Smid/Milan Smid
NEWS IN BRIEF
* The Senate election campaign for Prague's first district (see
Carolina 342) closed August 25. Polls say the best chance to fill the
seat of the late Vaclav Benda belongs to independent candidate and
travel-agency owner Vaclav Fischer.
* Anastaz Opasek, abbot of the Benedectine monastery in Brevnov, died
August 24. Opasek, who was a monk, priest, poet, political prisoner and
exile, died in Bavaria of a heart attack.
* The Environment Ministry upheld the decision of Sumava National
Park management not give in to the environmentalists who have been
trying to stop the cutting of termite-infested trees by chaining
themselves to the trees since July.
* The king of Olach Romanies, Josef Smolka, died August 18 in
Ostrava. The wake and funeral in Opava were attended by more than 500
people, whose cars caused a small traffic jam during the transport of
the coffin from Ostrava to Opava.
Milan Smid/Milan Smid
ECONOMY
Privatization to Move More Quickly
National Property Fund Chairman Michal Hruby said the fund's
presidium August 17 decided to move forward on the sale of the state's
shares in 12 firms, including Czech Airlines, Paramo, Northern Bohemian
Mines (Severoceske doly), OKD and Czech Radiocommunications. Prime
Minister Milos Zeman's Government should decide on the sale of these
firms by the end of the year. Faster privatization is supported by
Finance Minister Pavel Mertlik and the domestic and foreign investment
communities, while Trade Minister Miroslav Gregr is against the plan.
Patria Finance estimated that the sale could bring in 60 billion crowns.
Pavlina Hodkova/Michael Bluhm
Zeman Hints at Reduction of State Employees
Prime Minister Milos Zeman August 24 in a radio interview for
Radiojournal (Radiozurnal) said that state employees' pay next year can
slightly rise only if there are less workers receiving wages. Zeman did
not specify any numbers or areas for reduction, saying the reduction
would be made only where they did not cause any harm and would lead to
increased productivity of remaining workers.
Unions for the state's approximately 800,000 employees want a raise
of 4.4 per cent (the predicted inflation rate) for next year, while
Finance Minister Pavel Mertlik is against such a raise. Zeman's
Government had promised to reduce state bureaucracy, but instead the
number of bureaucrats has risen since Zeman took office and his
Cabinet's first step was to grant state employees a blanket 17-per-cent
raise.
Pavlina Hodkova/Michael Bluhm
Eight Applicants for Third Mobile-Phone License
The winner of the tender for the third mobile-phone license will be
announced September 30 by Transportation Minister Antonin Peltram, who
will receive a recommendation from a selection commission chaired by
Czech Telecommunications Office boss David Stadnik. Of the 12 applicants
who submitted a 2-million-crown application fee, four elected not to
enter the next stage of the tender.
Pavlina Hodkova/Michael Bluhm
ECONOMY IN BRIEF
* Chemapol Group, which was placed in bankruptcy in January, gained
another 28.58 per cent of Spolana Neratovice from the Investment and
Postal Bank's Bank Holding. Chemapol now controls 48.56 per cent of
Spolana.
* Miners from Most Coal Company's Koh-i-noor mine in Marianske
Radcice staged a one-hour warning strike August 13 against the planned
closing of the mine.
Pavlina Hodkova/Michael Bluhm
Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid August 26)
------------------------------------------------------------
1 EUR = 36.370
country currency CZK
------------------------------------------
Australia 1 AUD 22.048
Great Britain 1 GBP 55.210
Denmark 1 DKK 4.892
Japan 100 JPY 31.336
Canada 1 CAD 23.331
IMF 1 XDR 47.483
Hungary 100 HUF 14.389
Norway 1 NOK 4.411
New Zealand 1 NZD 18.058
Poland 1 PLN 8.755
Greece 100 GRD 11.144
Slovakia 100 SKK 81.835
Slovenia 100 SIT 18.606
Sweden 1 SEK 4.180
Switzerland 1 CHF 22.712
USA 1 USD 34.830
Exchange Rates of countries participating in the euro
(converted from the euro rate)
country currency CZK
-----------------------------------------
Germany 1 DEM 18.596
Belgium 100 BEF 90.159
Finland 1 FIM 6.117
France 1 FRF 5.545
Ireland 1 IEP 46.180
Italy 1000 ITL 18.784
Luxemburg 100 LUF 90.159
Netherlands 1 NLG 16.504
Portugal 100 PTE 18.141
Austria 1 ATS 2.643
Spain 100 ESP 21.859
CULTURE
Havel Attends Trutnov 99 Festival
The three-day rock festival in Trutnov August 20-22 was the last of
the series of bigger Czech summer music festivals. Some 60 performers of
various styles, from underground legend Mejla Hlavsa to jazz big band
Kontraband and the gypsy band Tockolotoc participated in the event.
Several foreign bands played as well, such as the Portuguese group
Moonspell and the festival's headline act, the British quartet Reef.
Among the visitors to the festival was President Vaclav Havel, whose
country house is nearby and who had attended the festival in the years
before 1989.
CULTURE IN BRIEF
* The 69th amateur theater festival Jiraskuv Hronov closed August
15. Nearly 9,000 spectators attended 40 performances by 26 theater
groups, among them amateur troupes from Slovakia and France.
* Vaclav Nyvlt, 69, dramaturg and scriptwriter who participated in
more than 90 films, among them the most famous adaptations of late
novelist Bohumil Hrabal's work, (including director Jiri Menzel's Oscar
winner Closely Watched Trains), died August 16.
Milan Smid/Milan Smid
SPORTS
Formanova and Dvorak Win Gold Medals in Track and Field World
Championships
The Czech Republic can boast of two world champions - Ludmila
Formanova in the 800 meters and Tomas Dvorak in the decathlon were
victorious in the World Championships in Seville. Formanova finished in
1:56.78, while Dvorak recorded 8744 points. After the first day of the
decathlon, Czech athlete Roman Sebrle was seventh, but he had to
withdraw in the middle of the sixth discipline with an injury. Hammer
thrower Maska, septathlete Nekolna and triple-jumper Kuntos also
participated in the finals.
National Soccer Team Opens Season with Win over Switzerland
The first match for the Czech Republic's soccer team this year
ended with a 3-0 victory over Switzerland. The under-21 national team
lost an exhibition match in Prostejov to Korea 1-4.
Teplice Eliminated in Champions League Qualifying Round, Next Chance in
UEFA Cup
After Carolina's deadline, Teplice was defeated by Dortmund 0-1
in their Champions League rematch and was eliminated from the
competition, having lost the first match 0-1 at home. All teams that
lost in the Champions League qualifying round will have another chance
to make it into the European Cup's second round in the UEFA Cup.
Ostrava Fans Severely Injure Woman after Soccer Match
A 35-year-old woman was seriously injured when Ostrava soccer
hooligans threw stones at a train coming in from Olomouc, which was to
play the Ostrava team. A stone flew threw a window of the train and
struck the woman in the head. The Czech Soccer Union reacted by
establishing a foundation to crack down on hooligans. A quarter-million
crowns has been offered from the foundation for information leading to
the capture of the Ostrava fan who injured the woman. Another
quarter-million crowns will be donated to the woman by Czech soccer
national team members.
Results of the third round: Ceske Budejovice - Opava 1-0, Sparta
Praha - Jablonec 3-0, Brno - Zizkov 4-2, Liberec - Blsany 1- 1,
Bohemians Praha - Drnovice 3-1, Ostrava - Olomouc 2-2, Teplice - Pribram
2-0, Hradec Kralove - Slavia Praha 0-1.
Results of the fourth round: Teplice - Sparta 4-2, Opava - Brno
4-1, Zizkov - Bohemians Praha 2-2, Drnovice - Ostrava 1- 0, Jablonec
- Ceske Budejovice 2-1, Slavia Praha - Liberec 0-0, Olomouc - Hradec
Kralove 2-2, Pribram - Blsany 1-0.
Standings: 1. Slavia Praha 10, 2. Ceske Budejovice 7, 3.-4. Teplice
a Sparta Praha 7, 5. Pribram 7, 6. Liberec 6, 7. Drnovice 6, 8. Brno 6.
9. Jablonec 6, 10. Opava 5, 11. Bohemians Praha 5, 12. Ostrava 4, 13.
Blsany 4, 14. Olomouc 3, 15. Zizkov 2, 16. Hradec Kralove 1.
UEFA Cup: Olomouc Brings Tie and Hope Home from Moldova
Sigma Olomouc, which has not been playing well in the Czech soccer
league, managed a 1:1 tie in its match against Moldavia's Sherif
Tiraspol August 12 in Moldavia. The rematch will be played in Olomouc
August 26.
Sports pages by Mirek Langer/Mirek Langer
WEATHER - without rain with daily temperature fluctuating around 20-24
degree Celsius. The summer is still here.
English version edited by Michael Bluhm
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This news may be published only with attribution to CAROLINA.
Subscription is free. Comments and remarks are appreciated. Please send
them to the address:
CAROLINA@mbox.fsv.cuni.cz
To subscribe to CAROLINA news, send an e-mail message to the address
LISTSERV@cesnet.cz
The text of the message for subscription to the English version must be:
SUBSCRIBE CAR-ENG First name Last name
or for the Czech version
SUBSCRIBE CAR-CS First name Last name
To delete your subscription from the list of subscribers, send
the following message to the address LISTSERV@cesnet.cz:
SIGNOFF CAR-ENG or SIGNOFF CAR-CS
We ask you not to send automatic replies to our list. You can
temporarily stop receiving Carolina by sending the command:
SET CAR-ENG NOMAIL
All Listserv commands should be sent to the address:
LISTSERV@cesnet.cz
Please, don't send the commands SUB, SIGNOFF, NOMAIL etc to the address
CAR-CS@listserv.cesnet.cz or CAR-ENG@cesnet.cz!
Past issues of Carolina are available at the address
www.cuni.cz/carolina.
