Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Carolina (English) No 398
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 ISSN 121-5040
tel: (+4202) 22112252, fax: (+4202) 22112219
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
C A R O L I N A No 398, Friday, December 15, 2000
FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (December 6 - December 13)
Otakar Motejl Elected First Ombudsman
The Chamber of Deputies December 12 elected former Justice Minister
and former Supreme Court Chairman Otakar Motejl as the first Czech
ombudsman, the official protector of citizen's rights. Motejl, who was
nominated by President Vaclav Havel and by the Senate, received 125 of
182 votes.
The ombudsman is elected once each six years. Motejl will take his
oath from Chamber of Deputies Chairman Vaclav Klaus December 18. He will
chair the 50-member office responsible for defending citizens's rights
against the abuse of power by state bureaucracy, or against the slow,
lax or arrogant behavior of public officials. Motejl shall also keep an
eye on the overall state activity and the maintenance of democratic
principles of government. However, he has no right to interfere in the
activities of public prosecutors and judges.
The ombudsman has full immunity. He can be investigated for
criminal activities only with the consent of the Chamber of Deputies, to
which he will also submit quarterly reports on his activities. The
ombudsman's headquarters in the Red House (Cerveny dum) on Brno's Valley
Street (Udolni ulice) is under reconstruction. It will be opened next
summer, for now Motejl will run his office from Jesuit Street (Jezuitska
ulice) in Brno.
The Chamber of Deputies will decide in a second round of voting in
January who will be Motejl's deputy ombudsman. The runoff will take
place between former Charter 77 speaker Anna Sabatova and former Civic
Democratic Party (ODS) Senator Jan Voracek.
Gabriela Pribilova/Sofia Karakeva
Christian Democrats Nominate Candidate for Four-Party Coalition Leader
The national conference of the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL)
December 8 elected Jaroslav Kopriva, deputy to four interior ministers,
its candidate for the position of election leader of the Four-Party
Coalition (the KDU-CSL; the Freedom Union, US; the Civic Democratic
Alliance, ODA; and the Democratic Union, DEU; see Carolina 396).
Kopriva's nomination came after hours of debate and a secret ballot in
which Kopriva defeated party First Vice Chairman Cyril Svoboda 42 votes
to 32 votes. After his victory, Kopriva declared his dedication to the
integration of the Four-Party Coalition and said he was sent by his
party to a "mission impossible."
The Four-Party Coalition leader may become the next prime minister;
the other parties' nominations are expected in next weeks. The final
decision on the leader will be made by the eight-member Four-Party
Coalition Council (KDU-CSL has three members, the Freedom Union three,
ODA one and DEU one) by the end of January. Rumors have long persisted
that the Christian Democrats can select the chairman of the Senate (in
all likelihood former Senate Chairman Petr Pithart) and certain regional
positions in exchange for the Freedom Union taking the position of
coalition election leader.
Marie Sternova/Sofia Karakeva
ODS to Be in All Regional Governments
A month after the regional elections it is almost certain that the
Communists (KSCM) will not be represented in any of the 13 regional
governments. Though the Communists won the election in the Usti nad
Labem region, they found no takers for a coalition, neither among the
Civic Democratic Party (ODS) or the Social Democrats (CSSD). The
appointment of regional government leaders (heitman) is still under
discussion. Usti nad Labem is the only region where the ruling Social
Democrats have a chance to gain the heitman position. If they do not,
the ODS, with the most votes overall in the regional election, will get
eight executive positions and will be represented in the all regional
cabinets, and the Four-Party Coalition will probably have five regional
executives and will be represented in 12 of 13 regional cabinets. The
general loathing to cooperate with the Communist helped the Social
Democrats be included in five regional cabinets.
Sona Vonavkova/Sofia Karakeva
Court Sentences Mein Kampf Publisher to Suspended Sentence
Michael Zitko, who published Adolf Hitler's Mein Kampf in Czech
earlier this year, received a three-year suspended sentence and
a 2-million-crown fine from the Prague 7 District Court December 11 for
propagating racism. Zitko's edition, released in mid-March, sold more
than 106,000 copies and contains the entire text and no commentary.
Zitko's edition was not the first in Czech but was the first without
a commentary giving lip-service to the horrors of Nazism. Zitko's lawyer
said Zitko will appeal.
Katerina Komadova/Sofia Karakeva
Czech Television Council Recalls Director Dusan Chmelicek
The Czech Television Council, a nine-member supervisory body
nominated by the Chamber of Deputies and with the authority to appoint
and recall the station's director, voted December 12 with a majority of
seven votes to dismiss Dusan Chmelicek, general director of the
public-service Czech Television. Chmelicek was appointed February 1 this
year and was the third Czech Television director in the last two years.
According to the Czech media, Chmelicek was criticized for a lack of
conception, bad communication with the Czech Television Council and for
not being energetic enough in defending the current-affairs department
in its conflict with the Czech lottery company Sazka.
Speculation about the next director has focused on former TV Prima
director Katerina Fricova, Czech Television-Brno Regional Studio
Director Zdenek Drahos and former Investment and Postal Bank speaker
Barbora Tacheci.
Katerina Komandova/Milan Smid
Kajinek Captured
Fugitive convicted murderer Jiri Kajinek, who escaped October 29
from the high-security Mirov Prison, was arrested December 8 in the
Prague suburb Velka Ohrada. Kajinek was hiding in a flat belonging to
Marie Cerna, the wife of another convicted killer. Cerna,
a nursery-school teacher, lives there with her small child. The police
SWAT team broke into the flat through the windows (after rappeling down
from the roof) and the door so quickly that Kajinek, lying naked in bed,
had no chance to use the gun in the room. Kajinek, sentenced to life
imprisonment for killing two people, was then transported to Valdice
Prison in Northern Bohemia.
Katerina Komandova/Milan Smid
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
European Union Will Accept Czech Republic after Internal Reform
After 10 days of negotiations, the European Union summit in Nice
reached an agreement December 10 on the reform of the EU Commission,
Council and Parliament. This means the condition for accepting new
member countries, including the Czech Republic, was met. The reforms
will be completed at the beginning of 2005.
The Czech Republic will have 12 votes in the new Council of
Ministers after entering the EU, the same number of votes as Belgium and
Greece each have, and will also have one deputy in the EU Commission and
20 representatives in the EU Parliament.
Czech politicians expressed satisfaction with the summit's results.
President Vaclav Havel said he hoped the changes would enable accepting
new members according to given schedules (a reference to the date of
2003 earlier raised), and so did Premier Milos Zeman. Chamber of
Deputies Chairman Vaclav Klaus said he considered the new arrangement
relatively appropriate.
Petr Adam/Adam Fendrych
Zeman and Schussel Reach Agreement on Temelin
Under an agreement reached by Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman and
his Austrian opposite number Wolfgang Schuessel in Melk, Austria
December 12, the Czech Republic agrees to a study of the Temelin nuclear
power plant (JETE) according to EU safety standards and another study on
the plant's effect on the environment, while Austria will ensure that
Czech-Austrian border crossings remain passable. Zeman also promised
Temelin would not start operating on a commercial basis until the
studies are completed next summer. A group of international experts,
including Czechs and Austrians, will be put together in January. The
meeting took place in the presence of the European Union Commissar for
Expansion Gunter Verheugen.
Dana Zlatohlavkova/Adam Fendrych
New Zealand Restores Visas for Czech Citizens
New Zealand restored visa requirements for Czech citizens December
8 (they were cancelled in 1996), valid through January 1. The reason is
the increasing number of Czechs, mostly Romanies, asking for asylum. The
Czech Foreign Ministry said it considers the arrangement temporary and
will not introduce visa requirements for Kiwis.
Dana Zlatohlavkova/Adam Fendrych
FROM SLOVAKIA IN BRIEF
* Deputy Premier for Economic Issues Ivan Miklos and two other
members of the Democratic Party (DS) have left the party. After Premier
Mikulae Dzurinda founded the Slovak Democratic Christian Union (SDKU)
and founded a new club of legislators in the National Assembly,
legislators from the Democratic Party decided to leave the SDKU's joint
club with the other governing coalition parties (see Carolina 397).
Miklos said this step and the party's policies in general led to his
departure. He said he is not planning on joining another party, but the
SDKU's policies are closest to his own. Some have begun to speculate
about the future of the Democratic Party, although Chairman Jan Langos
says he expects a rise in the party's voter preferences.
* The seven-day international film festival held in Bratislava ended
December 9. Attendance went far beyond the expectations, with some
20,000 tickets sold during the first four days. Among the most
successful movies was Swedish director Roy Andersson's movie Songs from
the Second Story. Czech films were represented by Eliska Loves the Wild
Life (Eliska ma rada divocinu) and Loners (Samotari). One of the movies
that debuted at the festival was the low-budget Hana and Her Brothers
(Hana a jej bratia) from Slovak director Vladimir Adasek.
Zdenek Sloboda/Stepan Vorlicek
ECONOMY IN BRIEF
* Deputies December 12 approved a controversial amendment to the
Czech National Bank (CNB) Act to override the president's veto and the
rejection of the Senate. The most important change is that the CNB's
governor will be nominated by the government and named by the president.
* The government decided December 11 that Czech Telecom, the monopoly
telephone provider in the Czech Republic, will be privatized undivided.
The new owner will be chosen by a commission consisting of experts from
the Finance and Transportation ministries and the consulting firm JP
Morgan/Commerce Bank (Komercni banka). Deutsche Telekom and
France
Telecom are among the hottest candidates for the 51-per-cent share of
Czech Telecom. The winner should be chosen by the end of June.
* Most Czech families will have to strive somewhat harder to make
ends meet next year. Living, transportation and telecommunication costs
will rise; the most significant increase concerns gas prices (24.1 per
cent on average) and electricity (14 per cent on average). Rents, heat
and water rates, phone and postal charges and bus and rail
transportation costs will be adjusted, too.
* Ceske Budejovice's Budvar brewery lost in an Italian court to its
eternal rival, the American colossus Anheuser Busch. An appellate court
in Milan ruled Budvar cannot use the names Budweiser or Bud on its
products or in its advertising.
Ales Borovan,David Pilar//Stepan Vorlicek
Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid December 15)
--------------------------------------------------------------
1 EUR = 34.780
country currency CZK
------------------------------------------
Australia 1 AUD 21.336
Great Britain 1 GBP 57.665
Denmark 1 DKK 4.666
Japan 100 JPY 34.990
Canada 1 CAD 25.906
IMF 1 XDR 50.563
Hungary 100 HUF 13.134
Norway 1 NOK 4.287
New Zealand 1 NZD 16.660
Poland 1 PLN 9.035
Greece 100 GRD 10.207
Slovakia 100 SKK 80.375
Slovenia 100 SIT 16.348
Sweden 1 SEK 4.057
Switzerland 1 CHF 23.118
USA 1 USD 39.380
Exchange Rates of countries participating in the euro
(converted from the euro rate)
country currency CZK
-----------------------------------------
Germany 1 DEM 17.783
Belgium 100 BEF 86.217
Finland 1 FIM 5.850
France 1 FRF 5.302
Ireland 1 IEP 44.161
Italy 1000 ITL 17.962
Luxemburg 100 LUF 86.217
Netherlands 1 NLG 15.782
Portugal 100 PTE 17.348
Austria 1 ATS 2.528
Spain 100 ESP 20.903
CULTURE
Czech Music Awards - No Surprise, Little Change
TV NOVE broadcast live the Czech Nightingale (Slavik) Music Awards
December 9. A record 150,000 votes cast by the public confirmed the
reigns of Karel Gott and Lucie Bila as favorite male and female singers,
respectively. Daniel Hulka was the runner-up to Gott, followed by Janek
Ledecky. Iveta Bartosova ranked second among the female singers, with
the successful comeback of Helena Vondrackova giving her third place.
The legendary band Olympic gave up its throne to Lucie after several
years. The bronze went to the teenage male quartet Lunetic. The group
was favored in the new Teenage Award category, which was won, however,
by Bila, with Lucie as the runner-up.
Petr Frinta/Stepan Vorlicek
Seifert Award to Pavel Srut
Pavel Srut was given the 2000 Jaroslav Seifert Award. His work
includes poetry for children and adults, as well as song lyrics and
literary criticism. The Seifert Award is given for an outstanding piece
of literature published in the Czech Republic or abroad during the last
three years. This year's prize was given for Srut's collection of poetry
Unbound Poems (Brozovane basne), published this year, and also
a previous collection, My Evil Beloved (Zla mila).
Petr Frinta/Stepan Vorlicek
SPORTS
Slavia Will Play Kaiserslautern in UEFA Cup Fourth Round
Slavia Praha won its rematch against NK Osijek 5-1 in the UEFA Cup
third round. Slavia managed to overcome the Croatian team's advantage
from the first game, won 2-0 by Osijek, and advanced to the UEFA Cup's
final 16 teams.
The game in Prague was dramatic. Slavia scored two quick goals in
the first half (Tomas Dosek and Ludek Zelenka), but its hopes were
punctured by Turkovic's goal before the break. "The goal turned the
qualification hopes in advantage of Osijek, but I always believed we
would score two more goals," said Slavia coach Karel Jarolim to the
daily Pravo.
Slavia concentrated all its efforts on its attack and Dosek's
second goal rewarded the strategy in the 53rd minute. However, the
deciding goals occurred in the 90th minute, when Zelenka and Tomas
Kuchar added two more successful shots.
Slavia will meet FC Kaiserslautern of Germany in the UEFA Cup's
next round, which will be played in February. Kaiserslautern is a club
where Czech players are traditionally engaged (including Pavel Kuka, who
left Slavia for Kaiserslautern and returned from Germany to Slavia this
autumn). Petr Gabriel and Vratislav Lokvenc are on the current
Kaiserslautern's squad.
Ales Borovan/Mirek Langer
Hockey Extraleague Lead Shrinks
Pardubice's first-place standing in the hockey extraleague was
threatened after they lost to Znojmo and then tied Slavia in Prague.
Vitkovice and Vsetin reduced Pardubice's lead to one point, but then the
leader managed to imrpve matters by beating Trinec 9-2 and breaking its
six-game winless streak. Ceske Budejovice prolonged its unbeaten run to
eight games after beating Sparta, Havirov and Karlovy Vary.
Vitkovice - a team that faced relegation last year - and Vsetin
moved up, while Litvinov, without injured captain Robert Reichel and
goalkeeper Zdenek Orct, fell from second place to fifth.
Results of the 31st round: Sparta Praha - Ceske Budejovice 0-3,
Vsetin - Trinec 6-2, Litvinov - Vitkovice 3-5, Havirov - Zlin 2-1,
Karlovy Vary - Plzen 4-1, Kladno - Slavia Praha 0-3, Pardubice - Znojmo
1-3.
Results of the 32nd round: Trinec - Sparta Praha 2-2, Plzen -
Vsetin 1-5, Zlin - Litvinov 7-1, Slavia Praha - Pardubice 3-3, Znojmo -
Karlovy Vary 1-6, Ceske Budejovice - Havirov 8-2, Vitkovice - Kladno
4-1.
Results of the 33rd round: Karlovy Vary - Ceske Budejovice 1-2,
Sparta Praha - Znojmo 5-1, Vitkovice - Zlin 1-3, Pardubice - Trinec
9-2, Kladno - Plzen 3-5, Litvinov - Slavia Praha 4-5, Vsetin - Havirov
4-2.
Standings: 1. Pardubice 59, 2. Vsetin 58, 3. Vitkovice 55, 4. Zlin
55, 5. Litvinov 52, 6. Sparta Praha 51, 7. Ceske Budejovice 49, 8.
Znojmo 46, 9. Plzen 44, 10. Slavia Praha 43, 11. Trinec 43, 12. Havirov
38, 13. Kladno 37, 14. Karlovy Vary 36.
The hockey league will continue in January, because the national
team will participate in the Baltika Cup, the third tournament in the
European Hockey Tour.
Zdenek Sloboda/Mirek Langer
SPORTS IN BRIEF
* The autumn portion of the soccer league season ended with
a postponed game from the 8th round, in which Slavia tied Olomouc 2-2.
Olomouc moved ahead of Teplice into second place in the standings, 13
points behind first-place Sparta Praha. Slavia is in the eighth place
(for league standings before this game see Carolina 397).
* Robert Reichel, the Czech national hockey team captain, will miss
the Baltika Cup because of injury. The Baltika Cup is the third
tournament of the European Hockey Tour and will take place in Moscow
December 17-20. Coach Josef Augusta had to make several changes
because
of injuries, while the extraleague's leading scorer Richard Kral excused
himself from the tournament without giving a reason.
* After a win in the opening relay of the World Cup, the Czech
biathlon relay team of Garabik, Masarik, Dostal and Vitek finished
second in the 4 x 7.5km relay in Anterselva/Antholz, 6.6 seconds behind
the winners from Norway.
* Czech skier Katerina Neumannova finished fourth in the 10km
freestyle World Cup race in Santa Catarina, Italy.
Ales Borovan, Petr Adam, Zdenek Sloboda/Mirek Langer
WEATHER
There appears to be a problem with the calendar. Or with the earth.
The eternally gray and rainy autumn in Prague gave way to occasional
blue skies and the warmest temperatures for these days in centuries. The
mercury climbed to between 10 degrees and 12 degrees Celsius/50 degrees
and 54 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. Flocks of pigeons have yet to
leave downtown Prague, and on the bare branches of trees the first buds
of spring have appeared.
Ales Borovan
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.
