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Carolina (English) No 392
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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@cuni.cz
tel: (+4202) 22112252, fax: (+4202) 22112219
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
C A R O L I N A No 392, Friday, November 3, 2000
FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (October 25 - November 1)
Havel Presents State Awards
President Vaclav Havel honored 38 members of the Czech political,
cultural and social scenes with the highest state awards in the
Vladislav Hall of Prague Castle on the occasion of the October 28
anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia. The president distributed
awards for bravery and merit in protecting democracy and human rights,
for developing the state and for saving human life.
The highest award, The Order of the White Lion, granted for
especially extraordinary service to the state, was given posthumously to
air force division General Vilem Stanovsky and to colonel Pravomil L.
Raichl. The Tomas Garrigue Masaryk Award for extraordinary defense of
democracy and human rights was given to eight individuals: the late
former Chairman of the Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's
party (KDU-CSL) Josef Lux, to Chairman Emeritus of the Czech Social
Democrat Party (CSSD) Jiri Horak and to philosopher Milan Machovec. Four
people were given the Medal of Merit, among them actor Radovan Lukavsky,
writer Arnost Lustig, painter and artist Theodor Pistek, playwright and
dissident Milan Uhde, writer and actor Miroslav Hornicek and journalists
Petra Prochazkova and Jaromir Stetina. Four people received the Medal
for Bravery.
The president grants the awards based on proposals made by a group
of deputies, institutions or by individuals. The first post-communist
Czech awards were given out in 1995.
Ales Borovan/Sofia Karakeva
Havel: Citizens Should More Actively Defend Czech Identity
In his speech at the presentation of the state awards in Prague
Castle October 28 (see above), President Vaclav Havel called on Czech
citizens to take a more active attitude in protecting and defending the
Czech identity. "The great number of honest citizens who feel
responsible for this country and are still proud of it, should, in their
own interest, far more sharply stand up to their fellow citizens who in
various ways attack everything that represents the positive side of the
identity of our society and that which is worth love of country," said
Havel.
The president was reacting to those who claim Czech society and
identity are threatened by external influences, foremost by
international institutions such as the EU, NATO, IMF and UN. "I do not
think the world is mainly occupied with the question of how to deprive
the Czechs of their identity and sovereignty. The type of respect for
our uniqueness, the emphasis on its development and the degree to which
we decide about ourselves, are determined foremost by us ourslves. It
depends only upon us, whether we will close ourselves into the Czech
basin between our mountains, whether we will hope that the various gales
of this world will, thanks to these mountains and our bowed backs, will
avoid us and leave us in peace to take care of ourselves alone. Before
us all - and thus before us - there is today one basic dilemma: will we
silently overlook the suicidal self-propelled movement of this
civilization, or will we become active participants in the care of the
worldwide public arena," said Havel.
In connection with this Havel criticized the unresolved cases of
the tunneling of Czech banks, media aggression, the continuing
destruction of the Czech countryside, the degeneration of the Czech
mother tongue and the decline of taste. "The blind and
considerate-of-nothing pursuit of profit is not a Czech invention and it
is immensely contagious, but nobody is forcing it upon us by violence.
If all of us really want, and if we will be willing even to express our
desire in elections and with the right selections, then we will see that
it is in fact the open international society and the mature, democratic
culture of our neighbors, friends and allies, that is the most
appropriate space to develop our own uniqueness," said Havel at the end
of his speech.
Ultra-nationalist movements also celebrated the state holiday.
Almost 100 extremists participated attended a gathering organized in
Prague by the Patriot Front (Vlastenecka fronta). More than 50
anti-fascists demonstrated against them. Sharp speeches were heard
during a neo-Nazi rally in Pribram. The demonstration by fascists and
their rivals in Ostrava passed without conflict.
Ales Borovan, Radim Hladik/Sofia Karakeva
Prince Charles Visits the Czech Republic
Prince Charles arrived in Prague October 30 - with a delay caused
by storms in Britain - for his fourth visit since 1990. The Prince of
Wales dealt mainly with activities connected with the Prague Heritage
Fund, established by Prince Charles and President Vaclav Havel in 1992.
Havel and his wife Dagmar accompanied Prince Charles when he went
to see the Ledeburg and Palffy gardens at Prague Castle, which were
reopened to the public this year and the restoration of which was
financed by the Prague Heritage Fund.
During his three-day stay in the Czech Republic, Prince Charles
also visited the Military Academy in Vyskov, Moravia, where he met with
British military trainers and advisers for Central and Eastern Europe.
On the morning of November 1 Prince Charles departed for Slovakia.
Dana Zlatohlavkova/Milan Smid
Czech and Austrian Leaders Meet on Temelin Power Plant
Talks held October 31between Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman and
Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel led to an agreement to establish
a hotline between the two governments. Schuessel said the flow of
information on the status and possible problems of the Temelin nuclear
power plant should be improved. He said the major information source so
far has been the media. Zeman and Schuessel met in Zidlochovice Castle
in Southern Moravia. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kavan and Austrian
Environmental Minister Wilhelm Molterer took part in the meeting, too.
The atmosphere was tense and the talks dragged on long after midnight.
About 200 Austrian protestors gathered in front of the castle.
Prague refused to delay the start of the plant, but agreed to
Vienna's request that EU commissar Gunter Verheugen serve as
intermediator. The politicians agreed to meet again, in Vienna, to
discuss the environmental aspects of Temelin.
Six hours prior to the meeting, the State Office for Nuclear Safety
approved the first of nine partial steps leading to the full start-up of
the plant. The plant will yield about 5 per cent of maximum capacity at
the end of this one-week phase. A series of tests will be carried out
and the plant is expected to supply its first energy in late December;
maximum capacity should be reached in May.
Stepan Vorlicek/Stepan Vorlicek
Astronauts Honored in Prague
American astronaut James Arthur Lovell came to Prague October 26 as
a guest of Chief of the Army General Staff Jiri Sedivy. Czech astronaut
Vladimir Remek arrived the following day. The third invited spaceman of
Czech origin, American Eugen Cernan, could not come because of health
problems.
The astronauts laid a wreath on the Grave of the Unknown Soldier at
the National Monument on Vitkov Hill in Prague. Defense Minister
Vladimir Vetchy awarded them the third-degree Merit Cross for
significant cooperation with the ministry. They met President Vaclav
Havel in the evening and were awarded the Golden Memorial Medal.
Lovell, 72, flew to space 14 times, with his first trip in 1965.
Five years later, he was the commander of the Apollo 13 mission, which
suffered the worst space accident in which the crew survived. Today he
works in his son's restaurant and lectures on the space program.
Czechoslovakia was the third country (after the US and USSR) to send one
of its citizens to space. Vladimir Remek, 52, took part in the
international expedition Soyuz 28 in 1978. Remek now works in Moscow as
a representative of the CZ Strakonice company.
Marie Sternova/Stepan Vorlicek
NEWS IN BRIEF
* The Senate approved prolonging the validity of the Screening Act
(the Screening Act prohibits the appointment to certain public offices
of former members and collaborators of the secret police [StB],
People's militias, graduates of the KGB academy and communist
officials). The law was originally proposed for a five-year period.
However, it is not clear if President Vaclav Havel will sign the
amendment. When the law was extended for the first time in 1995, Havel
refused to approve its extension, although his veto was made moot by
Parliament.
* Deputies of right-wing parties in the lower Chamber of the Czech
Parliament pushed through amendments to the University Act by a margin
of 8 votes. The amendments would enable all schools at the university
level to enhance their fundraising activities, and should allow for
universities for students who did not pass state-university entrance
exams but would be willing to pay for their education. The leftist
parties - the Social Democrats and the Communists - are against the
amendment, which is disadvantageous for students from poorer families,
according to Education Minister Eduard Zeman.
* Hit man Jiri Kajinek, sentenced last year to life for killing two
people, escaped 29 from the high-security Mirov Prison near Sumperk,
called the Czech Alcatraz. Kajinek is considered a dangerous man who has
been in conflict with law since 1974. His penultimate sentence in 1990
was to 11 years in prison for disarming police officers and stealing
their vehicle. He had tried to escape from prison five times. Mirov
Prison Warden Milan Kohoutek said Kajinek escaped because of errors by
his guards. Despite a massive police search launched immediately after
the escape, Kajinek is still at large.
Katerina Komadova/Pavla Krizkova
FROM SLOVAKIA
Six Die Fighting Forest Fire in National Park
A unique, 12,000-year-old forest in the Slovak Paradise (Slovensky
raj) National Park burned out of control from October 23. The forest is
home to 36 rare and protected species of plant life. The cause of the
fire is not yet known. The blaze was brought under control one week
later, after 75 hectares of land were destroyed. Damages were estimated
at 450 million Slovak crowns.
About 400 firefighters fought the fire, including soldiers and
volunteers. Six firefighters died, two of them younger than 18. The
fight against the fire was chaotic, inept and reflected the complete of
absence of preparation, observers agreed. Helicopters from Poland,
Hungary and the Czech Republic came to help, once it was realized that
the only Slovak helicopter equipped for fighting forest fires was
insufficient. Sharp public debate on the quality of firefighters
continues in Slovakia.
FROM SLOVAKIA IN BRIEF
* The Slovak National Assembly approved membership in the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) October
26. The intended festivities were interrupted by the opposition Movement
for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) with an hourlong debate, in which HZDS
legislators complained about the worsening economy and noted Slovakia
will be one of the poorest countries in the OECD. Nevertheless, all 104
present legislators voted in favor of approving the membership treaty.
* President Rudolf Schuster will probably not be able to vote in the
November 11 referendum on early elections. Between November 9-11 he is
to travel to an Innsbruck hospital for a physical that should be the
official end of treatment for his perforated colon (the same problem
that afflicted Czech President Vaclav Havel last year). Until now
Schuster has been exercising only some of his presidential powers while
in his office in Kosice, where he is undergoing post-operational
rehabilitation.
* The October 28 anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia was
observed quietly and modestly, in its first year as an official Slovak
"memorial and significant day." Historians say the importance of the day
will be completely appreciated only if the day is made a state holiday.
* The Slovak Film and Television Academy chose its candidate for this
year's Oscar in the category of best foreign-language film: director
Martin Sulik's lyrical Slovak-Czech coproduction Countryside (Krajinka).
The film was a clear winner ahead of the four other films made in
Slovakia in the last year.
Zdenek Sloboda/Zdenek Sloboda
ECONOMY IN BRIEF
* Czech National Bank Governor Josef Tosovsky announced he will
resign November 30. President Vaclav Havel accepted his resignation
October 31. The resignation means the end of the 11-year career of one
of the people most influential in the development of the Czech and
Czechoslovak economies during their c transformation. The main
candidates to replace Tosovsky are Vice Governors Zdenek Tuma and
Oldrich Dedek. Tosovsky will take charge of the Institute of Financial
Stability in Basel, Switzerland. Havel and Tosovsky both say the
resignation was timed so that Havel could choose Tosovsky's successor
before January 1, when new legislation limiting Havel's independence to
choose the bank's governor could come into effect.
Petr Adam/Adam Fendrych
* President Vaclav Havel criticized amendments to the Czech National
Bank Act, which he returned to Parliament for further discussion, for
limiting the independence of the Czech National Bank and limiting the
power of the president to appoint the members of the banking council.
The president says he also does not agree with the proposed dual budget
system for the bank, in which the operations budget would have to be
approved by legislators. The International Monetary Fund has raised the
same objectives to the amendments.
Petr Adam/Adam Fendrych
* Parliament October 27 approved a slight reduction in taxes. Thanks
to cooperation between the minority Social Democrat government and the
Civic Democratic Party (ODS), amendments to the Tax Act were passed and
should save each taxpayer an average of 800 crowns annually. The most
important changes are an increase in possible deductions, a shift in
income brackets, tax breaks for life insurance and the method of paying
taxes. Other proposed breaks, such as a fuel tax reduction or
a write-off for purchasing a modem-equipped personal computer, were not
approved because of opposition from the two parties' deputies. The
changes should mean a loss of state-budget income of 8.2 billion crowns
to 8.3 billion crowns, said Petr Pelech of the Finance Ministry.
Adam Fendrych/Adam Fendrych
* Matsushita Communication Industrial, the biggest Japanese
mobile-phone producer, has decided to build a new factory in Pardubice.
The company promised to invest 3.27 billion yens and plans to be
producing 16 million Panasonic phones yearly by 2002; the Czech branch
would become the biggest mobile-phone factory in Europe. Pardubice was
chosen after months of weighing other foreign and Czech locales. "In the
final selection, the prepared industrial zone and the professional
approach of city representatives were decisive," said project manager
Tomas Vohralik. Japanese companies have invested about 1 billion crowns
in the Czech Republic, while 18 other companies are negotiating the
establishment of Czech branches.
Adam Fendrych/Adam Fendrych
Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid November 3)
--------------------------------------------------------------
1 EUR = 34.580
country currency CZK
------------------------------------------
Australia 1 AUD 21.246
Great Britain 1 GBP 58.231
Denmark 1 DKK 4.645
Japan 100 JPY 37.099
Canada 1 CAD 26.221
IMF 1 XDR 51.620
Hungary 100 HUF 13.139
Norway 1 NOK 4.350
New Zealand 1 NZD 16.089
Poland 1 PLN 8.721
Greece 100 GRD 10.172
Slovakia 100 SKK 79.411
Slovenia 100 SIT 16.436
Sweden 1 SEK 4.055
Switzerland 1 CHF 22.646
USA 1 USD 40.158
Exchange Rates of countries participating in the euro
(converted from the euro rate)
country currency CZK
-----------------------------------------
Germany 1 DEM 17.680
Belgium 100 BEF 85.722
Finland 1 FIM 5.816
France 1 FRF 5.272
Ireland 1 IEP 43.908
Italy 1000 ITL 17.859
Luxemburg 100 LUF 85.722
Netherlands 1 NLG 15.692
Portugal 100 PTE 17.248
Austria 1 ATS 2.513
Spain 100 ESP 20.783
CULTURE
Kafka to Have Monument in Prague
Jaroslav Rona, a member of the former art group The Hard Heads
(Tvrdohlavi), won the competition for the Franz Kafka monument.
According to one of the jurors, Rona won thanks to the untraditional
design of his statue - Kafka's figure sits on the shoulders of a huge,
empty suit. The image is, Rona says, symbolic of the writer's work.
The 3.2-meter bronze monument should be installed between the
Spanish synagogue and the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Prague's Jewish
Quarter next year. The place was chosen as a symbol of the religious and
ethnic plurality in Kafka's time, when Czechs, Jews and Germans lived in
Prague together.
Martina Parizkova/Simon Dominik
Actress Lida Baarova Dies
Controversial actress Lida Baarova died October 27 in Salzburg at
the age of 86. Baarova was born September 7, 1914 in Prague. She studied
acting at Prague's conservatory but did not finish the school. At the
beginning of her film career, directors were interested mainly in her
looks. More serious roles came her way in the late 30's with director
Otakar Vavra in movies like Virginity (Panenstvi), The Girl in Blue
(Divka v modrem) and Turbine (Turbina).
During the 30's she had offers from Hollywood but chose to work in
Berlin, where she had an affair with Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph
Goebbels. She had to leave Germany when Goebbels' wife complained to
Adolf Hitler. After the war she was imprisoned for collaboration with
the Nazis. She escaped from Czechoslovakia in 1948.
During her subsequent travels through Europe, Baarova played in
films of various quality and acted on stages in Germany and Austria. She
retired in the 60's and wrote two volumes of memoirs.
Gabriela Pribilova/Simon Dominik
CULTURE IN BRIEF
* The World's Fair EXPO 2000 in Hannover closed its gates after five
months October 31. Vaclav Bartuska, head of the Czech EXPO pavillion,
gave the following evaluation in an interview for the daily MF DNES:
"The Czech pavillion was interesting, the exhibit decent." However,
Bartuska did not conceal his disappointment with the overall response to
the largest world's fair in history, which did not meet the expectations
of organizers.
* The comeback of first lady Dagmar Havlova to the theater has been
put into jeopardy. Management of the Vinohrady Theater decided to stop
work on the staging of Long Live the Queen by Robert Bolt, in which
Havlova was to perform the role of Queen Mary Stuart. Theater Director
Jiri Menzel said the play's director, Juraj Herz, asked for a budget
exceeding 1 million crowns, which was beyond the capacity of the
theater.
* The Czech Center in Paris opened an exhibit of photos taken by Jan
Reich, a prominent Czech photographer in the 60's and 70's. Some 60
works by Reich are dedicated to the city of Paris and will be shown to
the public till the end of November.
Petr Frinta/Milan Smid
SPORTS
Czech Teams with Mixed Results in European Soccer Cups
Champions League:
Arsenal London - Sparta Praha 4:2 (3:1). Goals: Arsenal: Parlour,
Lauren, Dixon, Kanu; Sparta: Labant (penalty kick), Rosicky. Arsenal
leads Group B, followed by Lazio Roma, Shakhtor Doneck, while Sparta is
in last place with no chance to advance to the semifinal.
UEFA Cup:
Liverpool - Liberec 1:0 (0:0). Liberec did suprisingly well in
Liverpool. The winning goal was scored three minutes before the end of
the match.
OFI Crete - Slavia Praha 2:2 (1:1). Slavia brings home a promising
result before the return match in Prague. Goals: Crete: Kolitsidakis,
Mauro; Slavie: Necas, Rada.
Soccer League: Sparta Pads Lead by Defeating Ostrava
Results of the 12th round: Bohemians - Olomouc 2:2, Ostrava
- Sparta 1:5, Plzen - Pribram 1:1, Blsany - C.Budejovice 3:1, Stare
Mesto - Brno 2:1, Drnovice - Zizkov 2:2, Slavia - Jablonec 0:0, Liberec
- Teplice 0:3
Sparta leads the chart with 27 points, Liberec (24) is second,
Teplice (21) third. At the bottom of the chart (which is still
incomplete because of several postponed matches) are Jablonec and Plzen
(both with 8 points), Ceske Budejovice (7), and Brno with 5 points.
Hockey Telecom Extgraleague
Results of the 17th round: Vsetin - Zlin 1:2, Pardubice - Vitkovice
3:1, C.Budejovice - Znojmo 0:3, Havirov - Trinec 4:2, Karlovy Vary
- Kladno 5:2, Litvinov - Plzen 2:1, Sparta - Slavia 2:4
Results of the 18th round: Trinec - Vsetin 4:1, Vitkovice
- Litvinov 5:0, C.Budejovice - Sparta 6:5 (in overtime), Plzen - Karlovy
Vary 4:4, Znojmo - Pardubice 4:3, Zlin - Havirov 6:3, Slavia - Kladno
5:1
Results of the 19th round: Havirov - C.Budejovice 4:2, Vsetin
- Plzen 1:1, Kladno - Vitkovice 3:1, Pardubice - Slavia 4:2, Karlovy
Vary - Znojmo 4:3 PP, Litvinov - Zlin 2:2, Sparta - Trinec 2:5
Standings after 19 rounds: 1. Pardubice 38 points, 2. Litvinov 33,
3. Vsetin 33 , 4. Vitkovice 32, 5. Plzen 32, 6. Trinec 31, 7. Sparta
30, 8. Zlin 28, 9. Slavia 25, 10. Karlovy Vary 23, 11. Havirov 23, 12.
Znojmo 21 , 13. C.Budejovice 17, 14. Kladno 17.
SPORTS IN BRIEF
* Czech athletes left Sydney's 11th Paralympics Games in Sydney with
a medal harvest surpassing the results in Atlanta four years ago. Czech
competitors won 43 medals (15 gold, 15 silver, 13 bronze). The most
successful athlete was Roman Musil, partly paralyzed by brain polio, who
won five medals, a gold and a bronze in cycling competitions class DV2,
a silver medal in the discus and two gold medals in the javelin and
shot-put. The Czech Republic finished in 11th place on the Paralympics
national medal table.
Katerina Komadova/Milan Smid
WEATHER
If the old Czech saying "October green, January cold" is true, then
we can expect a very cold winter after this Christmas. But some people
explain the current mild weather (about 15 degrees Celsius/59 degrees
Fahrenheit) is the result of the greenhouse effect. Who knows. Daylight
savings time ended October 29.
English version edited by Michael Bluhm.
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