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Carolina (English) No 421
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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 421, Friday, June 1, 2001.
FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (May 23 - May 30)
Czech and Slovak Leaders Discuss Kasarna Border Dispute
During the meeting of Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman and Slovak
Premier Mikulas Dzurinda, the highest priority was the dispute over the
recreation area of Kasarna on the Czech-Slovak borders. After the
division of the former Czechoslovakia in 1993 this territory was given
to Slovakia, but the immovables remained the property of the Moravians.
The dispute started when Slovak officials decided to sell pieces of land
without informing the owners of the immovables. They argued that the
territory was given to the Slovak community of Makov, which has the
right to dispose of the area. Both politicians stated at a press
conference that they do not wish to enter the conflict before both
countries try to reach a solution. Representatives of both parties will
meet May 31. Zeman and Dzurinda discussed the situation in Prague May
28. Earlier that day they opened a new border crossing in
Breclav-Brodske.
Apart from the Kasarna case, Zeman and Dzurinda discussed the
possibility of employment opportunities for Slovak citizens living in
the Czech Republic, the possibility of a common military unit within
KFOR forces in Kosovo and also the support of a common television
broadcast. The Czech Press Agency reported that Zeman said Czech
Television is considering renewing the so-called Slovak Mondays.
Marie Valaskova/Sofia Karakeva
Svoboda New Christian Democrat Chairman
Cyril Svoboda became the new chairman of the Christian Democratic
Party-Czechoslovak People's Party (KDU-CSL) at the party congress May
26. Svoboda defeated incumbent Chairman Jan Kasal in the final vote by
a margin of 162-145. Party vice chairs are Milan Simonovsky (first vice
chairman), Kasal, Tomas Kvapil, Zuzana Roithova and Miloslav Vyborny.
After being elected, Svoboda stated that KDU-CSL's main goal will
be to reach a larger spectrum of voters. "I might anger many party
members, but the Christian Democrats can no longer reach out only to
those voters who go home Sunday from church. I will gladly help Cyril
Svoboda with that," said former Environment Minister Martin Bursik to
the daily Lidove Noviny May 28.
Svoboda also discussed to the political structure of the Czech
Republic. "It is necessary to strengthen elements such as the direct
election of the country's president. We also must have a serious debate
whether mayors, and county executives should be elected directly. It is
necessary to strengthen the right to petition and not to fear
referendums. Its existence is a challenge for politicians to change
their behavior," said Svoboda.
Svoboda's election's should change the party's stance on the future
of the Four-Party Coalition, of which it is a member. While Kasal
favored the gradual unification of the coalition into one party, Svoboda
rejects closer integration. "If there were complete accord between us,
only then would a coalition not make sense," said Svoboda.
Ales Borovan/Sofia Karakeva
Deputies Elect New Czech Television Council
The Chamber of Deputies May 25 elected a new Czech Television
Council, the supervisory body of the public-service broadcaster Czech
Television (CT). The CT Council consists of 15 representatives of the
public, selected from more than 200 candidates nominated by civic groups
in accordance with the new Czech TV Act, amended in January (see
Carolina 403).
The old nine-member CT Council was recalled in January after the
Czech Television strike evolved into a serious political crisis (see
Carolina 400-402).
The civic groups, among them Czech TV - A Public Matter and the
Citizens League, accepted the CT Council election, but objected to the
fact that the only Romany candidate was not among the final group of
candidates.
The CT Council shall elect within three months a new general
director, who will succeed interim General Director Jiri Balvin,
appointed by the Chamber of Deputies February 6 as a temporary solution
to the crisis.
Ales Borovan/Milan Smid
Amended Criminal Procedure Act Should Make Courts Faster
Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act was approved May 25 by the
Chamber of Deputies after numerous attempts to reform the judiciary. If
it is approved by the Senate and the president signs it, the amendments
will come into force at the beginning of 2002.
According to the bill, easily provable crimes with sentences of up
to three years will not need a full trial and will be closed with
a court order. The perpetrators and victims of less serious crimes will
not have to go to court at all if they agree on compensation through
a state prosecutor. Former Justice Minister Otakar Motejl tried to enact
this change, but deputies had previously rejected it.
Only police, providing all needed evidence, should be involved in
investigating less serious crimes. The court would be responsible for
the rest. The current system requires the involvement of investigators,
who are not part of the police force, and state prosecutors.
"The time from arresting, for example, a thief in a supermarket to
trying him in court should be counted in hours and days," said Justice
Minister Jaroslav Bures in the daily Lidove Noviny. Judges and attorneys
are to undergo an extensive education campaign starting in a few weeks.
Marie Valaskova/Stepan Vorlicek
All But One Finalist Abandon Tender for Fighter Planes
There is one participant left in the tender for 36 new supersonic
fighter planes for the Czech Army, worth an expected 100 billion crowns
- the British-Swedish consortium BAe-Systems, which produces Grippen
aircraft. America's Lockheed Martin and Boeing withdrew May 23 and one
day later the European consortium Eurofighter/Typhoon and France's
Dassault Aviation did likewise. The daily MF DNES says the main reason
for the collapse of the tender was that the other companies found the
tender non-transparent and custom-made for BAe-Systems. According to the
same daily, Prime Minister Milos Zeman confirmed last November that
British Prime Minister Tony Blair sent him a letter favoring the
BAe-Systems.
Opposition politicians say the government should cancel the tender.
"The withdrawal of four renowned weapons makers from the tender means
one thing - an indirect accusation for the Czech government of
manipulation of the tender," said for MF DNES Chairman of the Senate
Committee for Security and Foreign Affairs Michael Zantovsky. "We have
been saying for a long time that it would be best to cancel the tender,
and recent developments only confirm that. The reputation of our country
is threatened by the withdrawal of four renowned producers," said shadow
defense minister Petr Necas of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS).
Defense Minister Jaroslav Tvrdik said the withdrawals are
unpleasant, but do not prevent the government from continuing with the
tender. "If we want to have an army comparable to those of NATO
countries, we should have supersonic fighters," said Tvrdik.
Ales Borovan/Stepan Vorlicek
NEWS IN BRIEF
* The Chamber of Deputies May 23 approved amendments to the State
Welfare Act, which should increase subsidies for giving birth. The
subsidy should rise from 6,400 crowns to 8,000 crowns for the birth of
one child. Also, the amount of money a parent taking care of a child
will be allowed to earn should increase from 2,000 crowns monthly to
3,000 crowns.
Zuzana Boleslavova/Stepan Vorlicek
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Kavan Meets Powell at NATO Summit in Budapest
Foreign ministers of NATO member states met in Budapest May 29.
After U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell did not find support for the
American anti-ballistic-missile umbrella among his European allies, the
meeting focused on strengthening the defense capacity of the alliance.
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kavan met with Powell, they discussed
the withdrawal of American firms from the Czech tender for new
supersonic fighters (see above). Powell expressed his fear that the
large investment into supersonic fighters might endanger the
modernization of ground forces.
Kavan asked Powell for the American stance on the sensitive issue
of the Czech exports to Syria, which needs spare parts for the
Czech-made L-139 airplanes and which is under an American embargo for
the import of airplane technology. Another topic of the meeting
concerned the proposed export of 36 L-159 planes to India.
Radim Hladik/Milan Smid
European Union Sets Limits for Newcomers
Fifteen EU member states agreed May 23 on the list of services
which in Austria and Germany will not be able to be performed by
citizens of prospective EU members, among them the Czech Republic. It is
still not decided whether the ban will be applied in the entirety of the
countries or only in selected border regions. The agreement is
a supplement to regulations on the free movement of labor, and should be
governed by the same provisions, i.e., it may be applied for at least
seven years after new members join, with the stipulation that the
regulation can be re-evaluated after two years.
Radim Hladik/Milan Smid
FROM SLOVAKIA IN BRIEF
* Slovak Deputy Premier for Economy Ivan Miklos remains in his post.
The opposition did not succeed in a vote of no confidence in the
legislature May 23 (see Carolina 420).
* The Slovak government received May 22 a loan of 200 million euro
from the World Bank. The 14-year loan, for restructuring companies and
the banking sector, is conditional to Slovakia continuing in bank
privatization and maintaining macroeconomic stability.
Roman Hladik/Sofia Karakeva
ECONOMY
Three Prospective Buyers for Commerce Bank
There are three prospective buyers for the state's 60-per-cent
share in the Commerce Bank (Komercni banka): Societe Generale of France,
UniCredito of Italy and HypoVereinsbank from Germany. A fourth finalist,
Credit Agricole of France, withdrew from the tender May 29.
Commerce Bank is the last large Czech bank to be privatized. The
main criterion should be price, which is expected to be about 40 billion
crowns. Goldman Sachs is analyzing offers in London, the final decision
rests with the government.
Chamber of Deputies Rejects State Land Grabs
The Chamber of Deputies rejected amendments to the Construction Act
May 24, primarily the government's proposal to allow state confiscation
of private land for the construction of new industrial zones. The
government wanted to allow for a simple solution to the fight between
the town of Hranice and Marketa Regecova, whose refusal to sell her land
has prevented Philips from finishing a new factory there.
On the other hand, Parliament permitted the unblocking of land
under buildings owned by cooperative housing associations. All
cooperatives owning buildings on state land would get their land for
free. The amendment still has to be passed by the Senate and signed by
the president.
Economy by Zuzana Boleslavova/Adam Fendrych
Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid June 1)
--------------------------------------------------------------
1 EUR = 34.120
country currency CZK
------------------------------------------
Australia 1 AUD 20.414
Great Britain 1 GBP 57.013
Denmark 1 DKK 4.577
Japan 100 JPY 33.824
Canada 1 CAD 25.994
IMF 1 XDR 50.491
Hungary 100 HUF 13.482
Norway 1 NOK 4.302
New Zealand 1 NZD 16.526
Poland 1 PLN 10.037
Slovakia 100 SKK 79.668
Slovenia 100 SIT 15.676
Sweden 1 SEK 3.738
Switzerland 1 CHF 22.431
USA 1 USD 40.205
Exchange Rates of countries participating in the euro
(converted from the euro rate)
country currency CZK
-----------------------------------------
Germany 1 DEM 17.445
Belgium 100 BEF 84.581
Finland 1 FIM 5.739
France 1 FRF 5.202
Ireland 1 IEP 43.323
Italy 1000 ITL 17.622
Luxemburg 100 LUF 84.581
Netherlands 1 NLG 15.483
Portugal 100 PTE 17.019
Austria 1 ATS 2.480
Greece 100 GRD 10.013
Spain 100 ESP 20.507
CULTURE
Private Collection of Contemporary American Art in Rudolfinum
May 24 saw the public opening of an overview of current American
art in the Rudolfinum Gallery. The collection is the result of decades
of work by Ingvild Goetz, whose collection is not only one of the most
famous in Germany, but is known throughout the world. There are 100
artists presented in the Rudolfinum, making this exhibit the largest
presentation of American art created from the collection. The curator is
a Czech woman living in Bonn, Noemi Smolik.
The exhibition presents American art of the 80's and 90's, when old
concepts were abandoned and artists looked for new positions in the
mass-media world. The director of the Rudolfinum Gallery, Petr Nedoma,
said he hopes that through the exhibit, which will last till September
2, people will become more interested in private collectors and the
collecting of art and will debate the role of the private collector in
connection with the present situation in art.
From the Rudolfinum Katerina Kunovska/Veronika Hankusova
Dancing Between the Fences
The theater and music festival Between the Fences (Mezi ploty) was
held for the 10th time within the fences of the Prague Psychiatric
Hospital in Bohnice. The festival, which took place May 26-27, tries to
bring closer together the world of physically and mentally handicapped
people with the world of "the others."
The civic association NedomYsleno organizes the festival in three
cities - Pilsen, Brno and Prague. At the Prague festival were three
winners of the Czech Music Academy 2001 awards - the ethnic group Rale,
singers Lenka Dusilova and Dan Barta. Among the other artists were Jiri
Schmitzer, Pavel Fajt, and the groups Vltava, Krausberry, Priessnitz, Ty
sycaci and Dunaj.
From Bohnice Zuzana Boleslavova/Veronika Hankusova
CULTURE IN BRIEF
* Australian singer Nick Cave presented his new album No More Shall
We Part to a Prague audience May 26. The concert took place in the Expo
Palace (Veletrzni palac) and met with a favorable response, in spite of
the hall's bad sound. Cave is a frequent visitor to Prague.
* The 41st year of the International Festival of Films for Children
and the Youth is taking place in Zlin from May 27-June 1. More than 80
movies are competing in four categories. The festival's grand prize, the
Golden Shoe, will be awarded on the International Children's Day live on
Czech Television.
Katerina Kunovska/Adam Fendrych
SPORTS
Roman Sebrle Breaks 9,000-Point Barrier in Decathlon
The decathlon crowned a new king May 27. In a meet in Goetzis,
Austria, Roman Sebrle break the world record with 9,026 points. The
indoor world champion and Olympic silver medalist was the first athlete
to earn 9,000 points. His training teammate Tomas Dvorak was the
previous world record holder, with 8,994 points tallied in Prague two
years ago.
Sebrle started the competition well - he tied his 100m personal
best and added a great long jump of more than eight meters. It was clear
that neither Dvorak nor Estonia's Erki Nool - the Sydney Olympics
champion - could compete with Sebrle.
One small disappointment in the pole vault (480cm) was overcome
with a javelin throw of more than 70 meters. In the final 1,500m, with
a vision of a new world record, he broke his personal best by more than
seven seconds.
"I'm happy, I fulfilled my life's goal and no one will take 9,000
points away from me," said Sebrle.
Goetzis decathlon results: 1. Roman Sebrle 9,026 points (100m
- 10.64 seconds, long jump - 8.11m, shot put - 15.33m, high jump
- 2.12m, 400m - 47.79 seconds, 110m hurdles - 13.92 seconds, discus
- 47.92m, pole vault - 4.80m, javelin - 70.16m, 1,500m - 4:21.98
minutes), 2. Erki Nool (Estonia) 8,604, 3. Tomas Dvorak (Czech Republic)
8,527.
Slavia to Accompany Sparta in Champions League
The 30th and final round of the Czech soccer league decided the
second team advance to the Champions League. Slavia Praha will try its
luck in the third qualification round after its 2-1 win in Drnovice.
Sparta Praha, this year's champion, advanced directly to the Champions
League first-phase group.
The fight for second place was dramatic. Besides Slavia, Olomouc
and Pribram were also in the running for the last qualification spot.
All three teams played May 25.
Slavia led in Drnovice after Ivo Ulich (who is leaving Slavia for
Borussia Moenchengladbach after this season) scored in the 27th minute.
Pribram also took a lead after Marek Kulic's goal, while Olomouc was
tied with Sparta Praha. The game in Drnovice was a mystery in the 71st
minute as Tomas Randa tied the score - Pribram was then in second place.
Slavia coach Karel Jarolim immediatelly sent forward Ludek Zelenka onto
the field, and he scored with his first contact with the ball - Slavia
led 2-1. Olomouc won its game in Prague, Stanislav Vlcek scored the
winner two minutes before the end of the game. All three visiting teams
won, but only Slavia celebrated.
Vitezslav Tuma of Drnovice scored 15 goals in the season and was
the league's top scorer, one goal ahead of Pavel Hapal of Olomouc and
Pavel Kuka of Slavia. Michal Spit of Pribram was the best goalkeeper, as
he played 12 games without allowing a goal.
Results of the 30th round: Drnovice - Slavia Praha 1-2, Sparta
Praha - Olomouc 0-1, Ostrava - Pribram 0-1, Bohemians Praha - Zizkov
1-0, Blsany - Teplice 3-1, Liberec - Brno 0-0, Stare Mesto - Ceske
Budejovice 2-0, Plzen - Jablonec 2-1.
Final standings of the league (the numbers indicate games won, games
tied, games lost, goals scored, goals allowed and points):
1. Sparta Praha 21 5 4 71:31 68
2. Slavia Praha 14 10 6 46:32 52
3. Sigma Olomouc 14 10 6 47:33 52
4. Marila Pribram 14 9 7 40:26 51
5. Viktoria Zizkov 12 10 8 45:40 46
6. Slovan Liberec 12 9 9 39:31 45
7. FK Drnovice 11 8 11 35:36 41
8. Bohemians Praha 10 10 10 33:34 40
9. FK Teplice 12 4 14 45:39 40
10. Chmel Blsany 10 10 10 35:35 40
11. FC Synot 9 10 11 37:35 37
12. FK Jablonec 8 8 14 26:40 32
13. Stavo-Artikel Brno 7 9 14 24:35 30
14. Banik Ostrava 7 9 14 28:45 30
15. Ceske Budejovice 6 8 16 32:56 26
16. Viktoria Plzen 4 9 17 30:65 21
The order of teams with the same number of points was decided
according to their head-to-head matches. Sparta and Slavia advanced to
the Champions League, Olomouc, Pribram, Zizkov (Czech Cup winner) and
Liberec will play in the UEFA Cup. Ceske Budejovice and Plzen were
relegated to the second league, Hradec Kralove and Opava were promoted
from the second league.
SPORTS IN BRIEF
* Czech national soccer team forward Jan Koller will play for the
German Bundesliga's Borussia Dortmund next year. He signed a four-year
contract and will play with Tomas Rosicky, the most expensive Czech
player ever. Rumors of his being traded to Fullham were not confirmed
(see Carolina 420).
* Viktoria Zizkov defeated Sparta Praha 2-1 in overtime to win the
Sport-1 Cup May 28. Ludek Straceny scored in the 14th minute, Jiri
Jarosik tied the game in the 30th minute. Ales Pikl scored the winning
goal in the 8th minute of overtime.
* Dusan Uhrin, Slovak coach of the Euro 96 Czech silver-medalist
soccer team, is returning to the Czech Republic; after engagements in
the United Arab Emirates, Israel and Kuwait and he will lead Teplice.
Jiri Kotrba signed a new contract of an unusual 10-year length with his
club, Marila Pribram. League Champion Sparta Praha's coach Ivan Hasek
will lead Racing Strasburg, a team relegated to the second French league
but will participate in the UEFA Cup as a Cup winner.
* The Czech team of Jakub Strakos, David Holzer and Vladimir Valouch
won gold medals in the aerobic World Championships in Agadir, Morocco
May 27. Martina Fulinova finished second and Tomas Krmicek third in the
individual competition.
Sports by Petr Adam/Mirek Langer
WEATHER
If Czechs had something to complain about last week, it wasn't the
weather. Sunny, but not too hot, rain from time to time but not too
heavy or long, and all the while a pleasant breeze that cleared up
Prague's polluted air. Daily temperatures were 20-25 degrees
Celsius/68-77 degrees Fahrenheit.
English version edited by Michael Bluhm.
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