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Carolina (English) No 356
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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 356, Friday, December 17, 1999.
FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (December 8 - December 15)
Chamber of Deputies Passes Referendum Bill
The Chamber of Deputies December 9 passed a constitutional
amendment on referendums. The new law was voted for by 121 deputies of
the Social Democrats Party, the Communists, the Christian Democrats and
some Freedom Union deputies. The Civic Democratic Party and some Freedom
Union deputies voted against the bill. To pass a constitutional
amendment, 120 votes in the 200-seat chamber are necessary.
If the Senate approves the law, Czech citizens will from 2001 have
the opportunity to vote on joining the European Union and on
constitutional amendments. A referendum will be called by the president
on the basis of a request by the government or at least 80 deputies or
a petition signed by at least 250,000 citizens.
A referendum will be valid if more than half of the eligible voters
participate and the bill must be supported by more than half of them of
those who vote. Citizens can not vote about questions related to the
democratic foundation of the state, human rights, budget matters or
personal questions.
Iva Potrebova/Jakub Jirovec
Havel Talks with Parliament Heads
President Vaclav Havel met December 14 with Senate Chairwoman
Libuse Benesova and Chamber of Deputies Chairman Vaclav Klaus, both of
the Civic Democratic Party, ODS.
Klaus asked Havel to change the stance of the talk the smaller
parties (the Freedom Union and the Christian Democrats) which do not
support the idea of a super-coalition proposed by ODS (see Carolina
355). Havel refused to persuade anybody. Havel also said he can imagine
the existence of a super-coalition but all discussions are premature
until the Opposition Contract between ODS and the ruling Social
Democrats is ended.
David Mirejovsky/Jakub Jirovec
Russia Criticized over Chechnya by Czech Citizens and Government
Czech citizens declared their protest against Russia's actions in
Chechnya December 10 during a demonstration in Prague in front of the
Russian embassy. "There is a huge massacre of the population going on in
Chechnya and we are convinced that it is not possible to remain silent
and that we must express our disagreement," said Director of the Human
in Need Foundation Tomas Pojar. Parliament deputy Petr Mares of the
Freedom Union presented a protest petition signed by 70 deputies to
Russian embassy representatives. About 20 demonstrators in Brno put up
slogans like Hands off Chechnya in Russian and in Czech on windows
belonging to Russian airline Aeroflot.
Foreign Minister Jan Kavan said the Czech Republic officially asked
Russia to stop the actions.
Jan Vedral Jr./Jakub Jirovec
Health Minister David Resigns
Health Minister Ivan David resigned December 9. President Vaclav
Havel accepted David's resignation and gave Labor Minister Vladimir
Spidla temporary control of the Health Ministry. David denies any
connection between his resignation and the state of healthcare, and says
he was forced to resign by pressure from various lobbies and some Social
Democrat quarters.
David became the third person to leave Prime Minister Milos
Zeman's Government after Ivo Svoboda (former finance minister now in
jail) and Egon Lansky (former deputy prime minister recently fined for
having an illegal foreign bank account).
Jaroslav Svelch/Jaroslav Sauer
Social Democrats' Popularity Continues to Fall
If elections were held today, one poll claims the ruling Social
Democrats (CSSD) of Prime Minister Milos Zeman would finish in fourth
place. According to a survey taken by the Sofres-Factum agency, the
Social Democrats would receive 9.8 per cent of the vote. First place
would belong to the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) with 21.8 per cent,
with the silver medal going to the Communists (KSCM) with 17.3 per cent
and coming in third would be the Freedom Union (US) with 10.1 per cent.
The Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) would finish fifth with 8.6 per cent.
The result of the poll is the worst for Zeman's party since the end of
1994. The Social Democrats' popularity has been steadily decreasing
since 1998, when the party won the general elections with 32 per cent of
the vote.
Iva Potrebova/Jaroslav Sauer
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Slovaks Might Enter EU with Czech Republic
At its Helsinki summit, the European Union set a date of the year
2002 for the accession of new member countries. According to EU
Commissar Gunter Verheugen, the new countries will not receive full
membership before 2004.
At the summit the EU also declared that the former first group of
candidate countries now includes countries such as Slovakia, Lithuania,
Latvia, Malta, Bulgaria and Romania, which will begin negotiations with
EU officials in the coming months.
Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman and Foreign Minister Jan Kavan
attended the summit. According to the daily Pravo, Zeman said,
"I consider it realistic that we shall enter the Union in the year
2003." He also said that all the main political parties want to help the
country join the EU as soon as possible.
Michal Pospisil/Zuzana Janeckova
Zeman Visits China and Vietnam
Prime Minister Milos Zeman, accompanied by Finance Minister Pavel
Mertlik and the Trade Minister Miroslav Gregr, signed a treaty with the
Chinese Sen-tchou power plant December 16 during his visit to China and
Vietnam. Zeman left for China aiming to reconquer the Chinese and
Vietnamese markets, from which the former Czechoslovakia somewhat
withdrew after 1989. Zeman said, "I do not claim the contract is
profitable, I am only stating that it will not create a loss."
Jaroslav Svelch/Zuzana Janeckova
ECONOMY
Commerce Bank Discovers Tunnel Under Bank
After recent scandals over inaccurate financial results and the
decline of its share price, more trouble found Commerce Bank (Komercni
banka, KB) last week. From 1996-1999 Commerce Bank granted loans of
about 7 billion crowns (KB's share capital is about 9.5 billion crowns)
to an unnamed Austrian company, which evidently will never return the
money. The Austrian company used the loans for activities different from
those in the loan documents, while its new credit line was used for the
payment of the old loans. The loan should have been secured by a lien in
the form of goods and documents which turned out to be false. The bank
filed a criminal complaint and auditors Deloitte and Touche are
performing a forensic audit of the transaction. Bank lawyers are
negotiating with the Austrian company about repayment of the loan.
Jakub Trnka/Milan Smid
Czech GDP Grows Slightly
According to a December 15 report from the Czech Statistics Office
(Cesky statisticky urad, CSU), GDP in the Czech Republic grew by 0.8 per
cent in the third quarter of 1999. Analysts consider the report a sign
of economic prosperity.
Some improvement is noticeable over the second quarter (which
showed 0.4 per cent growth), but over the last 12 months the economy
decreased by 0.9 per cent. Increased exports were mostly responsible for
the third-quarter's favorable development. Export was helped by the
general revitalization of EU countries' economies, and the majority of
Czech export wound up there. The 12-month trade deficit was down by 9.6
billion crowns. Individual household consumption rose, mainly because of
a rise in prices of commodities and transportation. Government spending
increased by 0.4 per cent. Additional economic growth is dependent on
investment in development, which, however, were down by 4.7 per cent in
the third quarter.
Information about the GDP growth leaked from the CSU December 14,
causing a small scandal. The Bloomberg and Bridge News press agencies
and the Czech Press Agency received the data by e-mail, as did analysts
in the Czech National Bank and elsewhere. The slip-up could affect money
markets and harm investors who did not receive information about the GDP
growth. Nothing happened, however, and the official report data and real
data were similar.
Lubos Kratochvil/Ondrej Maly
IPB and Nomura Want Czech Savings Bank
The exclusive suitor of the state's 52-per-cent share of the Czech
Savings Bank (Ceska sporitelna, CS), Austria's Erste Bank Sparkassen,
may have to face competition. The Investment and Postal Bank (Investicni
a postovni banka, IPB) and IPB part-owner Nomura also want to bid for
the share.
IPB spokeswoman Barbora Tacheci said the bank wants to enter the
privatization of CS under the same conditions as Erste Bank, but wants
to offer a higher price. The Austrian bank began official negotiations
on the purchase October 29 as the only bidder, but its exclusive
negotiating rights expire January 31. According to the Financial Times,
at this time Erste Bank is willing to pay 15 billion crowns.
IPB's intentions would have to be approved by the Czech National
Bank because of the investment risk. The Government would not rule out
the possibility of negotiations with IPB, but at the same time
emphasized the exclusivity of the Erste Bank talks and efforts to find
a strong partner for CS.
Lubos Kratochvil/Ondrej Maly
Allianz Wants IPB and Czech Insurance Company
The German company Allianz, Europe's biggest insurer, expressed its
interest in purchasing the Investment and Postal Bank (Investicni
a postovni banka, IPB) and the Czech Insurance Company (Ceska
pojistovna). Allianz says the reason for its interest is to improve its
of position in the insurance and banking markets in eastern Europe.
Allianz representatives met December 13 with Prime Minister Milos
Zeman and Finance Minister Pavel Mertlik to discuss Allianz's investment
plans for the Czech Republic. The state owns 40 per cent of the Czech
Insurance Company through the National Property Fund (FNM) and the
Commerce Bank (Komercni banka), while 52 per cent is owned by the Czech
financial group PPF and IPB, who are acting in concert. The Government
mentioned combining both stakes and offering them to a strategic
investor.
If Allianz wants IPB, it will have to buy the 43 per cent of IPB
owned by Nomura.
Lubos Kratochvil/Ondrej Maly
Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid December 17)
--------------------------------------------------------------
1 EUR = 35.970
country currency CZK
------------------------------------------
Australia 1 AUD 22.672
Great Britain 1 GBP 57.283
Denmark 1 DKK 4.838
Japan 100 JPY 34.416
Canada 1 CAD 24.910
IMF 1 XDR 48.397
Hungary 100 HUF 14.130
Norway 1 NOK 4.440
New Zealand 1 NZD 17.852
Poland 1 PLN 8.479
Greece 100 GRD 10.899
Slovakia 100 SKK 84.780
Slovenia 100 SIT 18.063
Sweden 1 SEK 4.179
Switzerland 1 CHF 22.475
USA 1 USD 35.428
Exchange Rates of countries participating in the euro
(converted from the euro rate)
country currency CZK
-----------------------------------------
Germany 1 DEM 18.391
Belgium 100 BEF 89.167
Finland 1 FIM 6.050
France 1 FRF 5.484
Ireland 1 IEP 45.672
Italy 1000 ITL 18.577
Luxemburg 100 LUF 89.167
Netherlands 1 NLG 16.322
Portugal 100 PTE 17.942
Austria 1 ATS 2.614
Spain 100 ESP 21.618
CULTURE
Prague - European City of Culture 2000
The project designed to define Prague as a European city of culture
for the year 2000 was christened in Prague's Municipal House (Obecni
dum) with a concert by the Prague FOK Symphonic Orchestra December 14.
President Havel and his wife were present, as well as members of the
Government and various diplomats. After 18 months of preparations, the
concert inaugurated what organizers hope will be the greatest cultural
celebration in the history of Prague. According to head dramaturg
Ladislav Kantor, 820 performances and projects have been prepared in
fields including fine arts, music, literature, theater, dance, film,
audio-visual media, multimedia, architecture and history. The planned
budget of 1.2 billion crowns will likely be reduced to between 800
million crowns and 1 billion crowns. The money was donated by the city,
the Ministry of Culture and various Czech sponsors.
Prague wants to be seen as a center of culture, history, education
and business. Besides Prague, the EU has given the honor of the title of
European City of Culture to eight other cities (Avignon in France,
Bergen in Norway, Bologna in Italy, Brussels in Belgium, Helsinki in
Finland, Cracow in Poland, Reykjavik in Iceland and Santiago de
Compostela in Spain).
Iva Potrebova/Daniela Vrbova
Czech Nightingale Awards
The Karlin Musical Theater hosted the third annual Czech
Nightingale (Cesky slavik) awards ceremony December 11 (the contest is
the successor to the former Golden Nightingale). Karel Gott, famed pop
singer who has been in the limelight since the 60's, was voted male
singer of the year, his third Czech Nightingale in addition to 22
previous Golden Nightingales. Daniel Hulka, best known for his role in
the musical Dracula, came in second and Janek Ledecky (co-creator of the
new musical Hamlet) was third. Lucie Bila's vote total won her not only
the female singer category but also represented the largest number of
votes well as for the absolute winner one. Second and third places went
to Iveta Bartosova and Ilona Csakova, respectively. Lucie was elected
the best group of 1999, followed by dinosaurs Olympic and teen phenoms
Lunetic (the Czech version of bands like Backstreet Boys and New Kids on
the Block). The composition of the year is the song Heaven (Nebe) by Jan
P. Muchow and performed by Anna K., while the award for most improved
artist went to the duo Damiens. Customarily, part of the music industry
protested against the awards, calling it a show of pop stars incapable
of writing their own songs.
Pavel Korinek/Daniela Vrbova
Petr Lebl's Suicide Stuns Theater World
Petr Lebl, 34, award-winning art director of the Theater on the
Balustrade (Divadlo na Zabradli), committed suicide above the stage of
the theater on the night of December 11-12. He hung himself in the
rafters and was found a day later while three actresses, having no idea
Lebl hung above them, performed Werner Schwab's play Presidents December
12. Lebl left his will and several farewell letters, evidence he had
thoroughly prepared this last act of his life.
Theater on the Balustrade Director Doubravka Svobodova said, "It
was the permanent, long-term condition of his soul."
Nevertheless, Lebl's death caught his colleagues by surprise. His
works were honored by several prestigious awards, such as the Alfred
Radok Prize for the best staging of the year in 1994 and 1997
(Chekhov's The Seagull and Ivanov - see Carolina 281). He was working on
a staging of William Matrosimone's Like Totally Weird with star Jiri
Bartoska which was to have its premiere January 23. Lebl also had been
invited to work with the National Theater in preparing Cyrano de
Bergerac.
"His talent had to be redeemed by great pain. It's an irreparable
loss for all of us," said to the daily Lidove noviny actress Zdena
Hadrbolcova, who performed in several of Lebl's plays.
Tomas Havlin/Milan Smid
SPORTS
Czech Republic Will Play Netherlands, France and Denmark in Euro
The Czech Republics' soccer team received its opponents for the Euro
2000, which will take place in the Netherlands and Belgium from June
10-July 2. The Czech team, which advanced from the qualification round
without losing a point, will meet the host Netherlands (June 11 in
Amsterdam), France (June 16 in Brugge) and Denmark (June 21 in Liege) in
Group D.
Two teams will advance from each group. The Czech team played all
the opponents recently, defeating Denmark 1-0 and drawing with the
Netherlands 1-1 in friendly matches. In the semifinals of the last Euro
the Czechs defeated France, winner of the last World Cup. The
Netherlands are considered a favorite of the tournament and should take
advantage of the home field.
Czech coach Jozef Chovanec said, "Who's the favorite? The tournament
will show that. Judging by our recent form, we are among them. We
definitely aren't going to be shaking in front of anybody."
Slavia Praha Advances in UEFA Cup
Slavia Praha soccer players met Steaua Bucharest in the second leg
of the UEFA Cup fourth round December 9. In the Prague game they won
4-1 and after a 1-1 tie in Bucharest they advanced to the spring session
of the UEFA Cup. Slavia defended well and made fast counterattacks.
Steaua was supported by some 22,000 fans, who saw the first goal in the
extra time of the first half, when Ciocoiu scored after Vlcek's slip.
After the break Slavia played more actively and scored on Richard
Dostalek's goal in the 50th minute.
Sparta Praha Ends Autumn in Champions League with Two Defeats
After two games of the autumn part of the UEFA Champions League's
second phase, Sparta Praha is still waiting for its first point and its
first goal. In its second game it lost to Barcelona 0-5. The game,
against one of the world's best clubs now out of form in the Spanish
league, was decided after Martin Hasek was sent off after two yellow
cards and Barcelona scored two goals at the end of the first half. After
the break the Spanish team was definitelly better and added three more
goals. Barcelona managed to defeat Sweden's AIK Solna 5-0 in the first
phase. The four remaining games will be played in March.
Standings of the group: 1. Porto 6, 2. Barcelona 4, 3. Hertha Berlin
1, 4. Sparta 0.
Zelezny Named International Olympic Committee Member
After last year's corruption scandal, the International Olympic
Committee (IOC) decided to engage active athletes. Czech javelin thrower
Jan Zelezny is among the 10 new athletes and, along with former gymnast
Vera Caslavska (seven-time Olympic champion from Tokyo 1964 and Mexico
1968), he is the second Czech representative in the IOC.
The Olympic champion and world-record holder Zelezny already was
a member of the Athletes' Commission of the IOC. Until the 2000 Sydney
Olympics, Zelezny will concentrate on track and field (with IOC
recognition), but then he will begin work.
SPORTS IN BRIEF
* The hockey extraleague did not play because of the national team's
participation in the Baltica Cup tournament. The Czech team played two
preparation games. Canada replied three times to Czech goals in Brno
December 9 but did not manage to reply to Tesarik's goal 57 seconds
before the end of the game. The Czechs were then losing to Slovakia 1-3
in Zvolen December 11 before finishing in a 3-3 tie.
* Race driver Tomas Enge was the first Czech to test the Jordan
formula one car in the Catalunya circuit in Barcelona December 10. He
finished 2.52 seconds behind Scotland's David Coulthard. Enge will
participate in the Formula 3000 European Championships next season, the
league just below the formula one championships.
* Hana Cerna finished third in the short-track swimming European
Championships in Lisbon. In the 400m individual medley she could not
defend last year's title. In the 4x50m medley relay, the Czech team
(Nyvltova, Dufkova, Hlavacova and Hlavackova) finished fourth.
Sports news prepared by Dita Kristanova/translated by Mirek Langer
After deadline: Czech Republic - Sweden 2-0 in the first game of the
Baltica Cup hockey tournament.
WEATHER
Christmas Eve is around the corner and the question is whether
we'll enjoy Christmas and New Year in white and frost or in the dark
gray of mud and rain. The prospects for a white Christmas are promising.
While last week's daily temperatures varied from about 5 degrees to 10
degrees Celsius/41 degrees to 50 degrees Fahrenheit and the unstable
weather brought rainstorms to Prague and snowstorms to some mountain
regions, the present temperatures are steadily below zero degree
Celsius/32 degrees Fahrenheit. Only the snow is still missing.
Iva Potrebova/Zuzana Janeckova
English version edited by Michael Bluhm
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