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Carolina (English) No 362
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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 362, Friday, February 11, 2000.
FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (February 2 - February 9)
Czech Republic Joins Diplomatic Pressure on Vienna
President Vaclav Havel and Prime Minister Milos Zeman expressed
their support for the European Union's sanctions against Austria. The
strongest statement from the Czech Republic after Jorg Haider's Freedom
Party (FPO) joined the Austrian Government was heard from the Foreign
Ministry: Prague is alarmed by the program of the new Austrian
Government (which makes Czech EU membership conditional on the Czech
Republic annulling the Benes Decrees and compensating expelled Sudeten
Germans).
In its February 7 statement the Foreign Ministry considers this
posture unacceptable, because "it does not distinguish between the tens
of millions of victims of the Nazi attack on Europe, in which many
Austrians participated, and retribution or revenge, be it often
inappropriate."
"We fear that the positions of the new Government could become
a very obstacle to the Czech Republic joining the EU," said ministry
spokesman Ales Pospisil. Haider also said Austria would veto Czech EU
membership if the Czechs' Temelin nuclear power plant begins operating.
Many Czech politicians were horrified by the statements of Vaclav
Klaus, chairman of the Chamber of Deputies and the Civic Democratic
Party (ODS), who expressed in a letter to Austrian People's Party
Chairman Wolfgang Schussel solidarity with his moves in creating
a coalition government with Haider. Klaus wrote that he sympathizes with
the opinion that the "EU declarartion represents an unprecedented
attempt to influence the internal affairs of an independent, democratic
state."
David Mirejovsky/Ondrej Maly
Government Introduces Visa Requirements for Russia, Belarus and Ukraine
In accordance with its EU accession program, the Government
February 2 instituted visa requirements for citizens of Russia, Belarus
and Ukraine. The requirement will take effect in three months. The
Interior Ministry said it believes the measure will reduce illegal
immigration, crimes committed by foreigners and the illegal employment
of foreigners. The Czech Republic was asked to harmonize its visa
policies with those of the EU in the EU's 1999 evaluation.
The three states are expected to reciprocate the measure. Foreign
Minister Jan Kavan said the Government will consider visa requirements
for Moldavia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Tadjikistan and
Georgia.
David Mirejovsky/Veronika Hankusova
Bohumil Fiser Is New Health Minister
President Vaclav Havel February 9 named Bohumil Fiser, head of the
Physiological Institute at Masaryk University in Brno, as successor to
former Health Minister Ivan David.
Fiser's naming is only the beginning of expected changes in the
Government. Ministers believed on their way out include Antonin Peltram
(transport), Jaromir Cisar (regional development), Jaroslav Basta
(deputy prime minister) and Vaclav Grulich (interior). Prime Minister
Milos Zeman informed the president about the forthcoming changes
February 8. Havel said the changes should take place after the Chamber
of Deputies passes the state budget, which will be discussed at the
beginning of March.
Tereza Tesarikova/Veronika Hankusova
Head of National Property Fund Resigns
Jan Stiess resigned from his position as National Property Fund
(FNM) chairman February 4, just before the fund's presidium was to
discuss his recall. "Massive media attacks, which have complicated my
personal life, and that makes the situation in managing the FNM
difficult, led me to the decision to resign," said Stiess, who remains
a fund employee as well as its representantive on the boards of many
companies partly owned by the state.
Stiess' departure has been discussed because of his falsified
screening/lustration (background checks on the communist past of
prospective state employees) documents last November. Police confirmed
his lustration document, which showed no connection to the former state
police StB, was a forgery January 11. Immediately the debate broke out
whether lustration was relevant for the fund's chairmanship and whether
Stiess actually cooperated with the StB. Stiess denies collaboration and
says he is going to sue the Interior Ministry. He said he was publicly
attacked because of his determination in the fund to pursue an energetic
policy of restructuring Czech industry.
In contrast to Stiess' claim, the weekly Tyden published a copy of
a document from an Interior Ministry department showing Stiess was
registered as a counterintelligence service collaborator on September
18, 1980, under the alias Strkal.
The fund's presidium decided February 4 that all future fund
chairmen have a clean past, despite the Finance Ministry's claim that
the Lustration Act does not cover National Property Fund staff. The fund
will be chaired temporarily by Stiess' deputy Jiri Havel.
Martin Rusek/Milan Smid
Army Bought Defective Chopper Props
The Defense Ministry received from the Motokov company a supply of
defective propellers for its Mi-24 combat helicopters, a ministry source
confirmed February 8.
That was the second time spare parts for the Mi-24 helicopters
worth hundreds of millions of crowns included defective propellers. In
1998 Motokov brought from Russia old propellers that had been repainted
and given new production numbers. This year's supply is in better shape
than those propellers, said Defense Ministry Inspection Office head
Jaroslav Svabik. "We found some defects, but this time it's not scrap
like two years ago," he said.
The Chamber of Deputies' Defense and Security Committee Chairman
Petr Necas criticized the Defense Ministry for its trade policies and
asked it to reconsider its contracts with Motokov.
Martin Rusek/Milan Smid
Plan for Romany Integration Rejected
The plan for Romany integration, submitted to the Government by its
Envoy for Human Rights Petr Uhl, was rejected and returned for changes.
The most controversial proposal - establishing an office for ethnic
equality and Romany integration - was rejected, because ministers said
its budget (between 500 million crowns and 1 billion crowns annually)
was too high and its establishment was unnecessary.
The Government said it does not oppose projects to help Romanies
get access to education and training, but they cannot accept the
organizational and conceptual shortcomings of the plan. Other elements
of the plan included various entitlement programs, free requalification
and education, cheap housing and assistance for Romany companies.
Tereza Tesarikova/Daniela Vrbova
Questions Surround Sentence for Marijuana Sale
Stanislav Pobuda, 19, from Frydek-Mistek sold 50 marijuana
cigarettes to three friends, one of them under 15. For that he was
sentenced to four years' imprisonment. Chief of the Inter-Ministry
Anti-Drug Commission Josef Radimecky called the sentence the social
disqualification of Pobuda.
Radimecky wrote in an open letter, "I cannot idly watch how a young
man who has searched with difficulty for his place in society, was
instead of a rehabilitational - probationary punishment, sentened to
four years." Radimecky also cited the recent case where the same court
handed down a sentence of two and a half years to a man who had sold the
amphetamine-based hard drug pervitin to youngsters for at least six
months.
Debate around the sentence has been very lively, with planned
requests for amnesty from President Vaclav Havel and attention to the
fact that Czech law does not differentiate between types of drugs,
i.e., hard drugs and soft drugs.
Martin Rusek/Daniela Vrbova
NEWS IN BRIEF
* The deaf and hard-of-hearing followed February 5 the example of the
blind and visually impaired demonstrators (see Carolina 360) and
protested against cuts in the state budget that limit resources for
their projects. About 200 people gathered on Old Town Square with
banners reading "We do not hear, but we are here," or "We want to live,
not survive." The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs said the cuts are
inevitable because of a shortage of money in the budget and because of
exaggerated demands by lobbies for handicapped people.
Tereza Tesarikova/Milan Smid
ECONOMY
Erste Bank Buys Czech Savings Bank
The Government February 2 decided on the new majority owner of the
Czech Savings Bank (CS): 52 per cent of the bank will be sold for 19
billion crowns to Austria's Erste Bank Sparkassen The purchase contract
should be signed within one month.
The 52-per-cent share is owned by the state through the National
Property Fund, which will receive the proceeds from the sale. However,
the purchase means a loss for the state because it has invested some
30-40 billion crowns to clean the Czech Savings Bank in the past. Erste
Bank will be protected from further financial risk by state guarantees
on some classified loans. Erste will have the right to transfer these
problem loans to the state-owned Consolidation Bank, meaning the
state's total losses on the Czech Savings Bank could still grow.
Erste Bank is, according to some sources, the second-largest
banking group in Austria (thanks mainly to its merger with GiroCredit).
It has expanded to the Hungarian market and has been trying to build an
international banking house for central Europe focused on retail
banking. On the Czech market Erste Bank will keep the Czech Savings Bank
name. Erste promises to raise its new acquisition's capital by 4 billion
crowns, to improve its computer network, to invest in educational
projects and loans for housing, agriculture and venture capital. Erste
will probably cut the number of employees (about 16,000 today) and
branches (twice as many as Erste with half its deposits).
Unemployment Rate Close to 10 Per Cent
At the end of January unemployment offices registered 508,451
unemployed individuals, which means a rise in the unemployment rate to
9.8 per cent. Many expect the 10-per-cent barrier to be crossed soon,
owing mainly to company restructuring and seasonal changes.
The worst situation was in the regions Most (20.5%), Karvina, Louny
and Chomutov (all over 18%). On the contrary, Prague and the regions
Benesov and Mlada Boleslav were all around 4%.
ECONOMY IN BRIEF
* A District Court in Pilsen (Plzen) decided February 7 that an
approximately 22-per-cent share of Skoda Pilsen will be auctioned off in
a public sale. The share is owned by the company NERo, belonging to
former Skoda General Director Lubomir Soudek. The company NERo, however,
has been in bankruptcy since October.
The opening price for the Skoda shares will be 245 million crowns.
The amount paid for the shares will go to satisfy claims against NERo
held by the Investment and Postal Bank (IPB).
* The Czech National Bank (CNB) showed a profit of 32.4 billion
crowns in 1999, especially thanks to the weakening of the crown and the
sale of its shares in the Czechoslovak Trade Bank (CSOB). However, the
profit will not be included in the state budget. The bank will use it to
cover part of its 1997 losses of 50.7 billion crowns. The CNB has not in
past years given its profits to the state - it has them to build up
reserves for losses connected with the consolidation and stabilization
of the banking sector.
* Some 1,700 employees of Brno tractor-maker Zetor returned to work
February 7 after six weeks of forced vacation. They did not return to
build tractors, but to take inventory, clean and maintain machines. The
company lacks financing to start production (it needs 300-400 million
crowns) and has no prospective financing. It is expected that some
employees will be fired, unnecessary material will be sold and the
company might be placed in bankruptcy. Zetor has not paid its employees
full wages since June and has paid no wages since November.
Economy news prepared by Lubos Kratochvil and Petra Kovacova, translated
by Denisa Vitkova
Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid February 11)
--------------------------------------------------------------
1 EUR = 35.710
country currency CZK
------------------------------------------
Australia 1 AUD 22.830
Great Britain 1 GBP 58.147
Denmark 1 DKK 4.796
Japan 100 JPY 33.186
Canada 1 CAD 24.878
IMF 1 XDR 48.718
Hungary 100 HUF 13.965
Norway 1 NOK 4.419
New Zealand 1 NZD 17.771
Poland 1 PLN 8.679
Greece 100 GRD 10.730
Slovakia 100 SKK 84.401
Slovenia 100 SIT 17.762
Sweden 1 SEK 4.209
Switzerland 1 CHF 22.237
USA 1 USD 36.083
Exchange Rates of countries participating in the euro
(converted from the euro rate)
country currency CZK
-----------------------------------------
Germany 1 DEM 18.258
Belgium 100 BEF 88.523
Finland 1 FIM 6.006
France 1 FRF 5.444
Ireland 1 IEP 45.342
Italy 1000 ITL 18.443
Luxemburg 100 LUF 88.523
Netherlands 1 NLG 16.204
Portugal 100 PTE 17.812
Austria 1 ATS 2.595
Spain 100 ESP 21.462
CULTURE
Festival of Slovak Theater in Prague Again
The Eugene Ionesco drama The Chair, performed by Little Stage of
the Slovak National Theatre (Mala scena SND) with Slovak stars Emilia
Vasaryova and Emil Horvath, opened the 5th Festival of Slovak Theater in
Prague. The main stage of the festival, which takes place February
7-14, is Prague's Theater without Balustrades in the Adria Palace.
Slovak theaters are represented by the SNP Theater from Martin
(with the drama Lady from Cachtice), the Andrej Bagar Theater from Nitra
(Albee's Three Women) and by the Radosin Naive Theater (The Bee) and
Theater Astorka Korzo (An Axe Murder in St. Petersburg) from Bratislava.
Milan Lasica and Julius Satinsky brought to Prague the same drama as
last year: Slawomir Mrozek's Emigrees. Shakespeare's A Midsummer
Night's Dream will be presented by students of the University of
Dramatic Arts (VSMU) in Bratislava. The festival will be closed by the
talk show A Slovak Language Course (Kurz slovenciny) by musician Jaro
Filip, singer Richard Muller and Stano Radic in which politicians Petra
Buzkova, Milan Knazko and Michal Prokop should participate. All
performances were sold out by last week.
Michal Pospisil/Milan Smid
SPORTS
Hockey Coach Ivan Hlinka Leaves National Team for Pittsburgh
Still a few days ago, when he returned from a stay in Pittsburgh,
national ice-hockey team coach Ivan Hlinka, 50, rejected all speculation
about him leaving for the NHL. Now he has a signed contract and will be
the head coach of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins for three and a half
years. He will be the first European coach in the NHL.
Hlinka will join the Czech legion in Pittsburgh, led by team captain
Jaromir Jagr. He will move to America in a few days, and not after the
World Championships, as had been planned. "I had no choice," he said
sadly before the national team's departure for the Swedish Hockey Games,
where he had to act as an observer. However, he did not have the
patience to watch and left Stockholm during the first day of the
tournament. "I can't just stand on the bench," he said.
Hlinka played in the NHL, advancing to the Stanley Cup finals in
1982 with the Edmonton Oilers. He was a member of three World Champion
Czech teams - in 1972, 1976 and 1977. His coaching career was crowned by
the 1998 Nagano Olympic gold medal and the 1999 Lillehammer World
Championships title.
On the national team Hlinka will be replaced by Josef Augusta.
Czech Tennis Players Return to Form, Going to America
The match between the top players of the Czech Republic and Great
Britain was decisive for the Davis Cup meeting of the countries in
Ostrava-Poruba February 4-6. Jiri Novak dragged a tired Tim Henman down.
He won the Czechs' third point and the Czech team advanced, after years
of shame of struggle in the qualification rounds, to the quarterfinals.
The Czechs will meet the United States April 7-9, probably in Los
Angeles.
In the opening singles match, Slava Dosedel led 2-1 and served for
the match, but Tim Henman turned the match around and after four and
a half hours he won the first point. Czech team captain Jan Kukal found
one positive fact: "Slava forced Henman to give everything he had, which
showed up in his next matches." Jiri Novak got the point back with a win
over Jamie Delgado.
In doubles, Novak and David Rikl defeated Atlanta Olympics
silver-medal winners Neil Broad and Henman.
After Novak won the third point, Bohdan Ulihrach successfully
returned after his injury.
Results: Dosedel - Henman 7-6 (7-4), 7-5, 1-6, 5-7, 3-6. Novak
- Delgado 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-3. Novak, Rikl - Henman, Broad 7-6 (7-4),
6-4, 6-7 (4-7), 6-2. Novak - Henman 6-4, 6-2, 6-2. Ulihrach - Delgado
5-7, 7-5, 6-4.
National Soccer Team Wins Tournament in Hong Kong
The Czech national soccer team won the Carlsberg Cup, which took
place in Hong Kong February 5-8, the second Asian tournament win after
the Kirin Cup in Japan two years ago.
In the semifinal the Czechs defeated a team from the Hong Kong
league after penalty kicks 4-3. Half-time substitute and top
Czech-league scorer Marek Kincl decided the game. He set up the first
goal for Marek Jankulovski in 48th minute and then, one minute before
the end, saved the 2-2 draw. Rada, Lokvenc, Kincl and Necas converted
the Czech penalties, Jankulovski failed.
In the final against Mexico, after a goalless first half, in which
goalkeeper Radek Cerny saved some good Mexican chances, Teplice's
players shined. Martin Kolomaznik converted his teammate Pavel Verbir's
pass for his first national team goal in the 50th minute, five minutes
later Verbir added a second goal. Mexico, defending FIFA Cup champ, got
one goal back but wound up on the short end of the final Czech 2-1 win.
Sparta Praha Second-Best European Hockey Team
As the prestige of the European Hockey League grows, the results of
the Czech teams improve. Sparta finished fourth in 1997, Vsetin third in
1998. Sparta moved one step higher this year. The Final Four tournament
was played in Lugano, Switzerland February 5-6.
In the semifinal Sparta defeated the home team 3-2 on an overtime
goal by Vladimir Vujtek, his second of the game. Sparta led 2-1, but
goalkeeper Petr Briza had to save it from elimination. In the final
Sparta met reigning champion Metallurg Magnitogorsk of Russia. Sparta
allowed two goals by Razin and could not manage to score.
Hockey Extraleague: Havirov's Coach Sacked
Havirov coach Richard Farda was fired because of his club's poor
play. Eighth-place Znojmo, which would be in the playoffs today, helped
itself with a win in Zlin, but Pardubice is playing well again.
Results of the 42nd round: Vsetin - Zlin 2-3, Karlovy Vary - Slavia
Praha 5-3, Znojmo - Vitkovice 2-6, Plzen - Kladno 5-2, Litvinov - Ceske
Budejovice 4-1, Havirov - Trinec 3-9. The game between Sparta Praha and
Pardubice is postponed to February 16.
Results of the 43rd round: Trinec - Vsetin 6-2, Zlin - Znojmo 3-4,
Vitkovice - Karlovy Vary 4-6, Pardubice - Havirov 5-2, Litvinov - Plzen
0-0, Slavia Praha - Kladno 2-6. The game between Ceske Budejovice and
Sparta Praha is postponed to March 7.
Standings: 1. Sparta Praha, 58 points (3 games to play), 2. Vsetin
54, 3. Plzen 53 (1), 4. Zlin 51 (1), 5. Trinec 49, 6. Ceske Budejovice
48, 7. Litvinov 47, 8. Znojmo 39, 9. Pardubice 35 (2), 10. Karlovy Vary
35, 11. Slavia 34, 12. Havirov 32, 13. Vitkovice 30, 14. Kladno 29.
SPORTS IN BRIEF
* The Swedish Hockey Games, the last tournament of the Euro Hockey
Tour, began in Stockholm. Two of the Czech team's games were played
before Carolina's deadline: Czech Republic - Russia 6-2, Czech Republic
- Finland 1-3.
Sports news prepared by Martin Moravec, translated by Mirek Langer
WEATHER
Despite a forecast of colder winds for Central Europe, last week
saw mild and nearly spring-like weather. Daily temperatures climbed to
5 degrees to 10 degrees Celsius/41 degrees to 50 degrees Fahrenheit in
Prague, snow in the mountains slowly disappeared and, because
tempermental cloudy weather produced heavy local rains, it was no wonder
that the water of the Labe River overflowed local roads in Northern
Bohemia. Farmers are afraid nature will awake and make them the victims
of late frosts.
English version edited by Michael Bluhm.
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