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Carolina (English) No 403
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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 ISSN 121-5040
tel: (+4202) 22112252, fax: (+4202) 22112219
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
C A R O L I N A No 403, Friday, January 26, 2001
FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (January 17 - January 24)
Parliament Approves Amendments to Czech TV Act, Strike Continues
The Chamber of Deputies January 23 approved amendments to the Czech
Television (CT) Act for the second time. Deputies of the Civic
Democratic Party (ODS) and the ruling Social Democrats provided
a majority in the chamber. The changes, first approved January 12, were
returned to the chamber by the Senate with new proposals, but the
Chamber of Deputies approved its original changes. President Vaclav
Havel, despite stated reservations, signed the amendments immediately.
The new law raises the number of CT Council members from nine to
15, with one-third of the members rotating every two years. Parliament
keeps the right to approve CT Council members, but candidates will no
longer be nominated by parties but by civic groups. The CT Council will
still elect and recall the station's general director, and will monitor
CT finances, but council meetings will now be open to the public.
The new law temporarily gives Parliament some of the CT Council's
powers. Parliament should elect a provisional CT general director within
14 days. Favorites for the post include CT Chief Producer Karel Kochman
and former Prima TV General Director Katerina Fricova. The Parliament
will also order a forensic audit.
The situation remains critical, with the employees still on
strike (see Carolina 400-402) and talks between the two sides so far
fruitless.
Gabriela Pribilova/Sofia Karakeva
Pilip and Bubenik in Good Condition in Cuban Police Custody
Deputy and former Finance Minister Ivan Pilip and businessman and
1989 student leader Jan Bubenik, arrested in Cuba January 12, met with
their relatives for the first time January 21. Pilip met with his wife
Lucie and Bubenik with his brother Martin in Havana's Villa Marista
jail. Pilip's wife said both men are being treated well and are in good
mental and physical condition. One day earlier Czech charge d'affaires
in Havana Josef Marsicek was allowed to visit the men.
According to the Cuban government, the two Czechs met while on
their private visit to the island with members of counter-revolutionary
groups. The Czechs are accused of having violated the paragraphs of the
Cuban criminal code which forbid "actions against the security of the
state and organizing with others for the purpose of provoking
a counter-revolution." If convicted, the minimum sentence is five years
in prison. They can be held up to 180 days while Cuban authorities
complete an investigation.
Prague has already sent two protest notes to Cuba, but received no
answer. A mission of Czech politicians from across the spectrum is
planning a visit to Cuba. The European Parliament, along with
politicians and groups around the world, has asked Cuba to release the
two.
Gabriela Pribilova/Sofia Karakeva
Zeman Courts Investments in Munich
Prime Minister Milos Zeman met in Bavaria with representatives of
the German automobile concern BMW and discussed a possible investment
of
20 billion crowns in the Czech Republic. BMW might decide to build
a factory in the Czech Republic; plans for the factory call for
production to begin in 2004 with a capacity of up to 200,000 cars per
year. The factory should employ almost 3.000 people. BMW is to decide
from sites in the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary and Spain. Media
outlets say the last two have little chance.
During his one-day visit Zeman became the first Czech prime
minister to meet with Sudeten German representative Johannes Boehm.
Sudeten Germans were also one of the subjects Zeman discussed with his
Bavarian counterpart Edmund Stoiber. Both parties took a step forward by
discussing the problem. Until recently Prague considered the Berlin
federal government its only partner for talks on the matter this problem
and refused to discuss it with Bavaria. Both politicians to
a Czech-Bavarian forum. Zeman said the common forum will not deal with
property settlements, an issue he called closed.
Pavla Reznickova/Sofia Karakeva
Kopriva More Acceptable to ODA as Leader of Four-Party Coalition
Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA) leaders met January 20 with the
candidates for the leader of the Four-Party Coalition and decided that
Jaroslav Kopriva of the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) is more acceptable
than Freedom Union (US) Chairman Karel Kuhnl because Kopriva has
a clearer vision for the coalition and its shadow government.
"I think Mr Kopriva better understood the problems and concerns of
ODA. He has a more plausible vision on how in the Four-Party Coalition
people could advance according to their qualities and not party
affiliation," said ODA Chairman Daniel Kroupa. He is one of the eight
delegates to the coalition organ that will elect the leader January 26
in Zdar nad Sazavou. The Freedom Union and the Christian Democrats each
have three votes in the council, while ODA and the fourth party, the
Democratic Union (DEU), each have one.
Gabriela Pribilova/Ondrej Maly
Jan Palach's Death Commemorated
Dozens of people commemorated the death of Jan Palach in Prague and
in his natal village Vsetaty in the Milevsko region. In 1969 Palach
immolated himself January 16 on Prague's Wenceslas Square and died three
days after. He was protesting against the lethargy of the Czech and
Slovak people after Czechoslovakia's occupation by Warsaw Pact armies in
August 1968. The memorials were not attended by any politicians.
Palach was also remembered in Brussels. Ambassadors and local
politicians agreed that Palach's deed was important for all of Europe
and deserves remembrance in the seat of the EU. A memorial was unveiled
there to recall Palach's deed in French and Flemish texts.
Martina Parizkova/Veronika Hankusova
NEWS IN BRIEF
* Presidents of the Visegrad Four countries met January 19 in Poland.
The highest officials of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and
Hungary discussed mutual cooperation and EU integration. They expressed
satisfaction and readiness for additional intensive cooperation. The
presidents also expressed their sympathies with the two Czechs held in
custody in Cuba.
* Prime Minister Milos Zeman arrived for a two-day visit in Estonia
January 18. Topics of talks were experiences in preparing to join the
EU, extending mutual commercial relations and creating a Prague-Tallin
flight.
* The Prague City Court sentenced former pro tennis player,
businessman and Civic Democratic Party (ODS) sponsor Milan Srejber to
five and a half years in prison. He was convicted of abusing insider
information (see Carolina 402). The defendant immediately appealed.
Veronika Pavlu, Gabriela Pribilova/Ondrej Maly
FROM SLOVAKIA
Slovakia Alarmed by Czechs' Arrest in Cuba, Offers Help
Slovak Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan offered help in connection
with the arrest of Ivan Pilip and Jan Bubenik in Cuba. He offered to
give Cuban diplomats documents after Cuba rejected two protest notes
from the Czech Republic, prompting the Czech Foreign Ministry to ask
surrounding states for help.
Some Slovak politicians responded to the arrests - four members of
the Christian Democratic Movement requested in a letter that Havana free
Pilip and Bubenik. Chairman of the legislature's Committee for Civil and
Ethnic Rights Laszlo Nagy proclaimed his disturbance at the Cuban
embassy in Bratislava.
The Fund for the Support of Independent Thinking in Prievidza
exhorted citizens to overwhelm the Cuban embassy with e-mails demanding
the release of both men.
Veronika Pavlu/Veronika Hankusova
ECONOMY
Government Approves Temelin Environment Study
A team of 10 experts will assess the environmental impact of the
Temelin nuclear power plant. Four of the experts will be selected by the
government, the other six will be from abroad. The government approved
the plan January 17, fulfilling a promise given to Austria at talks held
in Melk, Austria. The commission is to produce the final report by the
end of May.
Jiri Hanzlicek of the Trade Ministry said this is not a common
practice in Europe, as with the project to be assessed already
completed. Reviewing the impact of the plant on the environment is
a standard task, Temelin was tested in 1986 and checks have been made
continuously since then. The deal is a certain compromise; the audit
will cost between 5 million crowns and 10 million crowns. The EU,
Austria and the Czech Republic are to participate in financing.
One reactor of the power plant has been out of order since January
17 to remove vibrations of the intake piping. The faults are to be
remedied by February 5, when the plant's operations should be pushed to
45 per cent of capacity.
Globopolis.com Down
Globopolis.com, a Central-European lifestyle, leisure and tourism
web page, is ceasing its business activity. One of the reasons is that
American investors are now facing consequences of the steep fall of tech
stocks at home. The future of the company, founded in 1999 by two
Americans living in Prague, is not yet clear; possibilities include sale
to a new strategic partner. The web pages are going to shut down by the
end of January. Globopolis.com provided culture and social service for
Prague, Bratislava, Budapest, Warsaw, Vienna, Berlin, Lublana, Cracow,
Munich and Zagreb.
ECONOMY IN BRIEF
* The deficit between imports and exports in the Czech Republic
surprisingly rose at the end of last year. In December, imports were up
by 24 billion crowns, which made a total of 126.8 billion in 2000
imports, compared to 64.4 billion in 1999. Ladislav Pistora of the Czech
Statistics Office presented the figures January 22. The increase was
mainly brought about by rising prices of oil, other raw materials and
chemical products and by the strengthening of the crown against the US
dollar.
* Almost 54,000 took early retirement in 2000, while about 39,000
people retired according to state regulations. This discrepancy was not
as marked in 1999, yet there were more people who retired sooner than
the state wishes. These early retirees are mostly people who lost their
job or do not want to search for a new one anymore. They are
considerably more expensive for the state, which is why the government
intends to make later retirement more financially advantageous.
* The Czech Republic banned imports of cattle and beef foodstuffs and
feed from EU countries, except for Greece, Finland and Sweden, but
almost no such products come from these countries. Agriculture Minister
Jan Fencl said there is only one goal for the precaution: to keep the
country free of the disease BSE. In 1994 the Czech Republic banned
imports of beef from Great Britain and Switzerland, which is not an EU
member.
Economic news by Stepan Vorlicek/Stepan Vorlicek
Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid January 26)
--------------------------------------------------------------
1 EUR = 34.890
country currency CZK
------------------------------------------
Australia 1 AUD 20.668
Great Britain 1 GBP 55.288
Denmark 1 DKK 4.673
Japan 100 JPY 32.330
Canada 1 CAD 25.105
IMF 1 XDR 49.225
Hungary 100 HUF 13.156
Norway 1 NOK 4.244
New Zealand 1 NZD 16.504
Poland 1 PLN 9.163
Slovakia 100 SKK 79.986
Slovenia 100 SIT 16.239
Sweden 1 SEK 3.907
Switzerland 1 CHF 22.852
USA 1 USD 37.996
Exchange Rates of countries participating in the euro
(converted from the euro rate)
country currency CZK
-----------------------------------------
Germany 1 DEM 17.839
Belgium 100 BEF 86.490
Finland 1 FIM 5.868
France 1 FRF 5.319
Ireland 1 IEP 44.301
Italy 1000 ITL 18.019
Luxemburg 100 LUF 86.490
Netherlands 1 NLG 15.832
Portugal 100 PTE 17.403
Austria 1 ATS 2.536
Greece 100 GRD 10.239
Spain 100 ESP 17.839
CULTURE
Best Graphic Arts at Old Town Hall
The yearly awards for graphic arts were presented in Prague's Old
Town Hall January 18. A record 300 artists took part in the seventh year
of the Graphic of the Year competition, Ladislav Cepelak, who died in
October, was chosen as the winner. The Vladimir Boudnik Award has been
given annually to a living Czech artist for lifetime contribution to
graphic art. This year the winner was Jan Mericka, known especially for
works with the light effects of shining diodes.
The contest's accompanying exhibit, displaying current Czech
graphic art, enables comparison of the authors and gives a chance to
beginning artists. The exhibit will be open at the Old Town Hall until
the end of February.
Project 100 Touring Film Festival Returns to Czech Cinemas
The seventh year of the traveling festival featuring the world's
best movies begins January 18. Project 100 will presents 12 films never
seen in theaters before here in 85 cities. The films are chestnuts that
most people have heard of but never seen. Current entries include
Citizen Kane, Dr. Strangelove and The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Some of the movies will be presented at the International Film,
Television and Video Festival Febiofest 2001, which starts January 24 in
Prague and will continue to 11 other Czech and seven Slovak cities,
featuring more than 460 movies from 44 countries, with every continent
represented.
Culture news by Martina Parizkova/Adam Fendrych
SPORTS
Loprais Crowned King of Sahara Desert for Sixth Time
Karel Loprais, the Tatra truck driver, recorded his sixth win in
the Paris-Dakar Rally. He was accompanied by navigator Josef Kalina and
mechanic Petr Hamerla. The 23rd edition of the traditional desert
marathon finished January 21.
Loprais' Tatra won the rally by the biggest margin in the history
of truck competitions, beating its opponents by more then eight hours.
The win was not so easy, Loprais said to Lidove noviny: "In the first
stage in Morocco we blew one tire and the next day we blew the radiator.
That was the most difficult moment of the competition." According to
Loprais, the organizers decided to return to a difficult terrain, which
poses serious obstacles for truck drivers. "In a truck, you cannot go
over the dunes like in a car and jump at a speed of 100 mph. Whoever
doesn't control his racing juices, damages his truck quickly," said
Loprais. Loprais' biggest opponents, Russians Kabirov and Chaguin, broke
their Kamazs. Also the other Czech truck driver Tomas Tomecek (racing
with Tatra for Brazil's team) withdrew due to mechanic problems. Both
Czech motorcycle riders, Oldrich Brazina and Josef Machacek, finished
the rally in 28th and 43rd places, respectively.
Plzen Loses to Ceske Budejovice in Hockey Extraleague
In the hockey extraleague's 39th and 40th rounds, Plzen's loss to
Ceske Budejovice at home was the biggest surprise. Budejovice broke
a seven-year streak of losses on Plzen's ice. It led 3-0, Plzen tied it
at 3-3 but then made decisive mistakes at the end of the game. Vitkovice
also lost 2-3 to Trinec at home. On the contrary, Zlin defeated reigning
champion Sparta and moved to the top of the standings. Vsetin lost at
Slavia Praha and is behind Zlin on goal differential.
Results of the 39th round: Slavia Praha - Znojmo 3-2, Pardubice
- Sparta Praha 2-3, Plzen - Trinec 6-2, Kladno - Ceske Budejovice 0-3,
Vitkovice - Havirov 2-5, Zlin - Karlovy Vary 5:2.
Results of the 40th round: Plzen - Ceske Budejovice 3-5, Kladno
- Pardubice 2-1, Znojmo - Havirov 3-2, Slavia Praha - Vsetin 2-1, Zlin
- Sparta Praha 4-1, Vitkovice - Trinec 2:3.
Litvinov's games against Vsetin and Karlovy Vary were postponed due to
the flu epidemic in Litvinov.
Standings: 1. Zlin 71 points, 2. Vsetin 71, 3. Pardubice 67, 4.
Ceske Budejovice 61, 5. Sparta Praha 61, 6. Vitkovice 60, 7. Znojmo 58,
8. Litvinov 58, 9. Slavia Praha 54, 10. Plzen 54, 11. Trinec 54, 12.
Kladno 47, 13. Havirov 44, 14. Karlovy Vary 43.
SPORTS IN BRIEF
* The Czech men's handball team lost 19-29 to Portugal in the opening
game of the World Championships in Montpelier, France.
* Colorado Avalanche forward Milan Hejduk reached first place in the
NHL goal-scoring statistics, scoring his 28th goal in Anaheim January
21.
* Tennis player Daniela Bedanova was eliminated from the Australian
Open in the fourth round, losing to the United States' Serena Williams.
Michal Tabara and Denisa Chladkova lost in the third round, Slava
Dosedel and Bohdan Ulihrach finished in the second round, Jiri Vanek,
Ota Fukarek and Adriana Gersi in the first round.
Sports news by Ales Borovan/Mirek Langer
WEATHER
A slight warming of both day and night temperatures to near
freezing have created almost ideal conditions for a flu epidemic, which
has begun torturing Northern Bohemia (see postponed ice hockey match).
English version edited by Michael Bluhm.
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