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Carolina (English) No 402
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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 402, Friday, January 19, 2001
FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (January 10 - January 17)
Hodac Resigns, CT Council Recalled, Strike Continues
Czech Television (CT) General Director Jiri Hodac resigned because
of health problems January 11. Tens of thousands of people gathered in
Prague's Wenceslas Square and in other places throughout the country to
support the rebelling CT employees the same day. The Strike Committee
welcomed Hodac's resignation but refused to call off the strike, because
their other demands - the resignation of Hodac's management and the
cancellation of all firings made by his people - were not fulfilled.
The employees who refused to accept Hodac, chosen by the
party-nominated CT Council, went on strike January 1 (see Carolina 399
- 401). The nine-member Council, nominated and approved by the Chamber
of Deputies last spring, recalled General Director Dusan Chmelicek
December 12 and appointed Hodac December 20. Hodac was
unacceptable to
CT employees for his alleged contacts with the Civic Democratic Party
(ODS). Even though council members denied allegations that they acted as
instructed by politicians, their close contacts between council members
and politicians were proved by phone records of the council members
published by CT employees January 14. For example, CT Council Chairman
Miroslav Mares (nominated by ODS) phoned the Chairman of the Chamber of
Deputies' Media Commission Ivan Langer (ODS) 138 times in December.
Unlike other council members, those two had earlier admitted their
frequent contact.
Talks between CT union leaders and Hodac's management began January
15 under the auspices of the Council of Trade and Social Agreement (Rada
hospodarske a socialni dohody). Negotiations continued during the
following days but did not bring any resolution.
Vera Vonavkova/Simon Dominik
After deadline: The situation again became dramatic January 17, when
patrols of striking employees began taking over the management
department and former Financial Director Ladislav Paluska, fired by
Hodac, tried to take control of the station. Each side claims the move
was financially motivated and that the other side is embezzling or
embezzled money from the station. The take-over was criticized by most
politicians who had been on the employees' side till this point.
Deputies Approve Amendments to CT Act
The Chamber of Deputies assembled January 12 for their second
extraordinary meeting this year. The Deputies recalled the six remaining
members of the Czech Television (CT) Council in an attempt to resolve
the crisis in the public-service broadcaster. Milos Rejchrt, a council
member nominated by the Freedom Union (Unie svobody) left the council,
which is supposed to represent the interests of the public, in December
because he did not agree with the way the council was selecting the new
general director. Two more council members, nominated by ruling Social
Democrats (CSSD), resigned last week after the council refused to
respect the appeal of the Chamber of Deputies to recall General Director
Jiri Hodac if he did not resign himself.
After stormy discussion, Social Democrat and Civic Democratic Party
(ODS) deputies approved changes to the Czech Television Act at 3 a.m.
January 13. According to the amendments, political parties lose the
right to nominate members of the CT Council. The council members will
still be approved by the Chamber of Deputies but the candidates will be
nominated by various civic and social organizations. The Chamber refused
the Four-Party Coalition's proposal to divide the election between the
Chamber and the Senate or between the Chamber, the Senate and the
president. The amendment also deals with the current crisis. When the
law comes into effect, the Chamber of Deputies will elect a provisional
general director who will manage CT until a new council can choose
a permanent director.
The Senate returned the amendments to the Chamber of Deputies
January 17. This decision was expected because the Four-Party Coalition
(which holds 39 of 81 seats in the Senate) did not approve of the
changes. It is uncertain when the Chamber of Deputies will discuss the
amendments again, but it is expected that the Social Democrats and ODS
will approve the bill without any of the changes requested by the
Senate.
Vera Vonavkova/Simon Dominik
Pilip and Bubenik Arrested in Cuba
The Cuban Foreign Police January 12 arrested deputy and former
Finance Minister Ivan Pilip (Freedom Union) and businessman and 1989
student leader Jan Bubenik. Both were in Cuba as tourists. On January
15 it seemed Pilip and Bubenik would be expelled from the country for
having violated their tourist status by contacting Cuban dissidents in
Ciego de Avila. But the next day the Cuban government labelled them
agents of the US-based Freedom House foundation who came to Cuba in
order to meet with members of counter-revolutionary groups. It now
appears Pilip and Bubenik will stand trial.
The Czech Foreign Ministry received the news of the arrest from
Czech charge d'affaires in Havana Josef Marsicek and reacted with two
protest notes. The ministry protested against the arrests and demands
their immediate release and an explanation from the Cuban government.
According to Simon Panek from the Czech foundation Clovek v Tisni
there are two possibilities: "Either they will be deported from Cuba on
the basis of a court verdict or the Cubans will really put them in
jail." Panek said he considers the second possibility unlikely. Czech
media noted that five Cubans were being tried in the US for espionage
and speculated that the Czechs might be used for an exchange.
Relations between Prague and Havana have gradually soured since the
fall of communism in 1989. The Czech Republic decreased its
representation in Cuba to the level of charge d'affaires in 1993 after
Havana refused on political grounds to repay its debt to the former
Czechoslovakia. Relations worsened last April when the Czech Republic
and Poland sponsored a resolution on human rights violations in Cuba
that was submitted to the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva.
Pavla Krizkova/Sofia Karakeva
Peter Mach Sentenced to Five Years in Jail
Former President of the Sparta Praha soccer team Petr Mach will go
to jail for five years for tax evasion, decided the High Court January
17. Eight years ago Mach did not clear his 1.3-million-crown BMW 850
through customs. Mach said it was a test car that he did not own and the
whole case is politically motivated. Mach was in the past a sponsor of
the Civic Democratic Party (ODS). The judges ruled that Mach did in fact
purchase the car, as confirmed by the German seller. Mach's attorney
said he will appeal to the Supreme Court.
Martina Oplatkova/Sofia Karakeva
NEWS IN BRIEF
* The government January 10 rejected deputies' proposals concerning
dogs. The bill would significantly modify rules for raising breeds
regarded as dangerous. During the last month several cases of severe
injuries caused by dogs occurred in the Czech Republic. The government
said it rejected the bill because the existing laws suffice and the
changes were not systemic.
* Former tennis player and businessman Milan Srejber, charged with
unjust enrichment, will be held in police custody even though he paid
the requested bail of 5 million crowns (see Carolina 401). The public
prosecutor lodged a complaint against court's granting of bail, and such
a complaint means Srejber cannot be released until a decision is made on
the complaint. The prosecutor considers the bail too low and suspects
Srejber could go into hiding and avoid the court as he did in the past.
If convicted, Srejber would receive a sentence of five to 12 years.
Martina Oplatkova/Sofia Karakeva
FROM SLOVAKIA
Austria's Erste Bank Buys Slovak Savings Bank
Finance Minister Brigita Schmognerova January 11 signed a contract
with Erste Bank General Director Andreas Treichl for the sale of
Slovakia's largest bank. Erste Bank will pay 425 million euros for
87.16 per cent of the Slovak Savings Bank (Slovenska sporitel'na).
Tender committee member Vladimir Tvarosky said Erste Bank offered better
conditions than the other finalists, Unicredito and Creditanstalt/Bank
Austria. The Slovak government had already removed most of the bad loans
from the bank, which holds 28 per cent of all deposits in Slovakia.
Erste Bank continued building a strong network in Central Europe - it
owns banks in the Czech Republic and Hungary.
Pavla Krizkova/Michael Bluhm
ECONOMY
Budget Deficit Increases
Last year's state-budget deficit was 10 billion crowns more than it
planned. The government estimated the deficit would be 35.2 billion
crowns, the final amount is about 46 billion crowns. There are several
reasons why the deficit is bigger. Foremost, welfare payments were
higher while less money was collected in excise taxes and VAT due to
higher fuel prices. Drivers bought much less diesel oil and gasoline
because of the record price increase. Exceeding the planned deficit will
probably influence the Opposition Contract, signed by the Civic
Democratic Party (ODS) to allow the minority Social Democrat government
to rule.
Parliamentary Budget Committee Chairman Vlastimil Tlusty said he is
not going to tolerate any more deficit increases by Prime Minister Milos
Zeman's government. ODS will not approve issuing state bonds that exceed
the approved deficit and will probably require that the 2002 budget
deficit be reduced by the overrun on the 2000 budget. The overrun was no
surprise to representatives of the Four-Party Coalition, who called the
overrun the joint work of the Social Democrats (CSSD) and ODS.
Pavla Reznickova/Stepan Vorlicek
ECONOMY IN BRIEF
* The Temelin nuclear power plant encountered its worst technical
problems since the launch of the nuclear reaction last October. The
intake piping of the turbine vibrates too much. The reactor will be out
of order from January 17 to February 5 and it might be necessary to take
apart the entire device. The final launch of the power plant may be
delayed up to several months. The problem is said to have appeared
because the turbine could not be tested previous and flaws were detected
only after operations began. The non-nuclear section of the power plant
has been suffering technical troubles since last fall. Experts are not
worried about that, they say most power plants had to overcome similar
obstacles and now operate without problems.
* Copying will be more expensive. All copy centers in the Czech
Republic will now have to pay copyright fees for all reproduction
services, as required by changes to the Copyright Act effective since
December 1. The amendment concerns purchases of recording electronics,
and people who buy a new VCR or get a document copied will make
a contribution to copyright associations. The charges are about 10
hellers for a photocopy, but several hundred crowns when buying
electronics. Everybody will have to pay, including schools, libraries
and post offices, no matter if they copy a book or their own materials.
Citizens and owners of copy centers strongly disagree with the new law,
some of them say they are considering filing a complaint with the
Constitutional Court.
Pavla Reznickova/Stepan Vorlicek
Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid January 19)
--------------------------------------------------------------
1 EUR = 35.330
country currency CZK
------------------------------------------
Australia 1 AUD 20.852
Great Britain 1 GBP 55.269
Denmark 1 DKK 4.732
Japan 100 JPY 35.527
Canada 1 CAD 24.812
IMF 1 XDR 48.731
Hungary 100 HUF 13.328
Norway 1 NOK 4.305
New Zealand 1 NZD 16.799
Poland 1 PLN 9.140
Greece 100 GRD 10.368
Slovakia 100 SKK 80.799
Slovenia 100 SIT 16.476
Sweden 1 SEK 3.965
Switzerland 1 CHF 23.108
USA 1 USD 37.493
Exchange Rates of countries participating in the euro
(converted from the euro rate)
country currency CZK
-----------------------------------------
Germany 1 DEM 18.064
Belgium 100 BEF 87.581
Finland 1 FIM 5.942
France 1 FRF 5.386
Ireland 1 IEP 44.860
Italy 1000 ITL 18.246
Luxemburg 100 LUF 87.581
Netherlands 1 NLG 16.032
Portugal 100 PTE 17.623
Austria 1 ATS 2.568
Spain 100 ESP 21.234
CULTURE
Shostakovich's Opera Wins Production of the Year
Dmitri Shostakovich's opera Lady Macbeth of Mcensky Ujezd (Lady
Macbeth Mcenskeho ujezdu), directed by David Radok at the National
Theater in Prague, won the eighth Production of the Year award presented
by the Theater News (Divadelni noviny) 2000.
Ninety-three theater critics and journalists chose from 47 various
productions and projects that had their premieres in Czech theaters last
year. Lady Macbeth received 33 votes, second place belonged to Hamlet of
the Klicpera Theater in Hradec Kralove, directed by Vladimir Moravek.
Third place was won by the Prague's Divadlo v Dlouhe and its production
of How I Got Lost, a Ludvik Askenazy story adapted by director Jan
Borna.
Zuzana Boleslavova/Adam Fendrych
Historian Josef Polisensky Dies
Josef Polisensky, born December 16, 1915 in Prostejov, a history
professor at Charles University and one of the most important modern
Czech historians, died January 11.
He wrote more than 100 books covering Czech history in European
context (such as Dutch policy and the Battle of White Mountain, England
and the Battle of White Mountain). He also taught at Palack University
in Olomouc. He examined the history and culture of Latin America,
founding the Institute of Ibero-American Studies in 1967, and he also
paid special attention to the history of Great Britain and the
Netherlands. He began lecturing again at Charles University after 1989,
after not being able to work there from the 70's.
Zuzana Boleslavova/Adam Fendrych
SPORTS
Goalkeepers Rule Hockey Extraleague - Six Shutouts in Three Rounds
Vsetin managed to win its sixth game in a row. It defeated
Pardubice easily at home, while Pardubice has not won in six away games.
Vsetin's streak ended in Karlovy Vary, which won 1-0 thanks particularly
to goalkeeper Franek and his second shutout this season.
Pardubice almost created a stir in the 37th round. They were losing
at home five minutes before the final whistle 1-2 to last-place Havirov.
Pardubice managed to wake up and turn the game around, with Janecky
scoring the winning goal.
Vsetin got back on track after an easy win against Vitkovice,
Stantien scored a hat trick in the game. Sparta defeated Litvinov, with
goalkeeper Briza recording a shutout in a tight game.
Results of the 36th round: Plzen - Slavia Praha 2-1, Sparta Praha
- Karlovy Vary 2:0, Vsetin - Pardubice 6-2, Ceske Budejovice - Vitkovice
3-0, Znojmo - Zlin 1-2, Trinec - Kladno 3-1, Havirov - Litvinov 1-3.
Results of the 37th round: Pardubice - Havirov 3-2, Karlovy Vary
- Vsetin 1-0, Zlin - Plzen 0-0, Vitovice - Znojmo 1-4, Litvinov
- Budejovice 3-5, Slavia Praha - Trinec 2-1, Kladno - Sparta Praha 2-1.
Results of the 38th round: Havirov - Kladno 1-2, Znojmo - Plzen
6-3, Ceske Budejovice - Slavia Praha 3-5, Karlovy Vary - Pardubice 3-3,
Trinec - Zlin 3-1, Vsetin - Vitkovice 8-1, Sparta Praha - Litvinov 2-0.
Standings: 1. Vsetin 70, 2. Pardubice 67, 3. Zlin 65, 4. Vitkovice
59, 5. Sparta Praha 58, 6. Litvinov 58, 7. Znojmo 56, 8. Ceske
Budejovice 55, 9. Trinec 52, 10. Plzen 51, 11. Slavia Praha 49, 12.
Kladno 44, 13. Karlovy Vary 43, 14. Havirov 40.
SPORTS IN BRIEF
* Five-time Paris-Dakar Rally winner Karel Loprais (Tatra) won three
stages in a row and leads the trucks category by a margin of seven and
half hours.
* Czech cross-country skier Katerina Neumannova won a World Cup race
for the first time in two years. She won the 5km classic and 5km
freestyle combination. In the 5km classic she finished in second place.
* Two Czech tennis players - Daniela Bedanova and Denisa Chladkova
- advanced in the Australian Open. Michal Tabara is the only Czech male
to advance to the third round.
Jana Niklova/Mirek Langer
WEATHER
Forget global warming. From the Arctic point of view, temperatures
of up to minus 10 degrees Celsius/14 degrees Fahrenheit could be
considered mild, but for us it is a cold, cold winter. Roads turned into
icy skating rinks, while going out without a warm sweater, thick coat
and woollen cap means asking for the flu or pneumonia. Nevertheless we
should not complain, because we all wanted to have a white winter. The
problem is that a thick layer of snow is still missing. Nobody's
perfect.
Jana Niklova
English version edited by Michael Bluhm.
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