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Carolina (English) No 414
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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 414, Thursday, April 12, 2001
FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (March 4 - April 11)
Finance Minister Mertlik Resigns
Finance Minster and Deputy Prime Minister Pavel Mertlik
unexpectedly resigned his posts April 10. That day he sent his
resignation letter to Prime Minister Milos Zeman, who will officially
submit the resignation to President Vaclav Havel. Mertlik wrote that he
was resigning because he had "little possibility to influence certain
key government decisions."
Mertlik had twice previously offered Zeman his resignation, but
Zeman had talked him out of it. Zeman said this time he did not try,
and, when asked who will succeed Mertlik, answered, "It definitely
won't be Donald Duck." Zeman said April 11 he had chosen a replacement,
speculation centers on Labor Minister and new Social Democrat Chairman
Vladimir Spidla and Deputy Labor Minister Jiri Rusnok.
Response to Mertlik's resignation varied - many credited him with
being a new-labor counterbalance to the socialist leanings of Spidla and
Trade Minister Miroslav Gregr, while others have never forgiven Mertlik
his role in the forced administration and immediate sale of the
Investment and Postal Bank (IPB) to the Czechoslovak Trade Bank (CSOB).
Mertlik, who will turn 40 in May, had lost a number of battles in the
Cabinet against Gregr and Spidla, most recently April 9 regarding
privatization in the energy sector. Mertlik favors immediate
privatization, but Gregr's postponement was supported by the government.
Mertlik held a press conference April 11, at which he said a key
factor in his decision to resign was the loss of support from Zeman. He
also mentioned delays in energy-sector privatization as well as the
privatization of Unipetrol. He labeled these government decisions as
mistakes he could not correct. He said his failure to be elected vice
chairman at the Social Democrats' weekend congress (see below) was not
a factor in his resignation. Mertlik thanked the media for their
cooperation, and the press applauded Mertlik at the close of the
conference. Martin Roubal/Michael Bluhm
Spidla New Social Democrat Chairman
As expected, Vladimir Spidla was elected chairman of the Social
Democrats at the party congress April 7-8 in Prague. Spidla, labor
minister and deputy prime minister and incumbent party first vice
chairman, replaced Prime Minister Milos Zeman, who had been party
chairman for eight years. Spidla recived 87.5 per cent of the votes of
the congress' nearly 600 delegates. Zeman remains prime minister, with
general elections shceduled for next summer.
Zeman's farewell speech, as expected, placed the government's work
in a most favorable light. Zeman said he will not influence the new
party leadership, and he convinced the congress not to elect him party
chairman emeritus or to the party leadership.
Spidla made it clear that his Social Democrats will be decidedly
left of center; he proclaimed his belief in the caretaker state. "The
market itself has no vision ... It will never take care of full
employment, the environment or social justice ... There is no other way
to law and social justice than to entrust power to the people, allow
democracy to function, regulate market forces and redistribute profits,"
Spidla said. Spidla advocated raising taxes, especially for the rich.
Spidla's favorites were elected to the party's top functions
- First Vice Chairman and Interior Minister Stanislav Gross ran
unopposed. Executive Vice Chairman Karel Kobes was re-elected, other
vice chairs include Zdenek Skromach and Marie Souckova. The last vice
chair to win election was incumbent Petr Lachnit, one of Zeman's biggest
supporters, who defeated Foreign Minister Jan Kavan and then-Finance
Minister Pavel Mertlik.
Voter-preference polls give the Social Democrats about 13-per-cent
support. Katerina Komadova/Michael Bluhm
Prodi in Prague, Encourages Czechs
According to European Commission Chairman Romano Prodi, there is no
reason why the Czech Republic should not be among the first group of
countries to join the European Union. Prodi made the statement during
his two-day visit April 5-6 to Prague, accompanied by EU Commissar for
Expansion Gunter Verheugen.
Prodi assured Czech politicians that if they continue in their
efforts to close the necessary chapters in membership negotiations, the
Czech Republic should join the EU in 2004. Czech President Vaclav Havel,
after meeting with the EU delegation, said he is positive the Czech
Republic will close membership negotiations by the middle of next year.
Prodi also pointed out familiar stumbling blocks for the Czech
Republic, such as the insufficient fight against corruption, industrial
restructuring and reform of the state administration and court system.
On the other hand he praised recent successes in attracting foreign
investment.
One key issue yet to be resolved is the ability of Czechs, once in
the EU, to work in other EU countries. Austria and Germany have
requested a seven-year ban on Czech laborers. Prodi said he opposes that
proposal, but he does suggest a two-year ban, after which the question
can be reconsidered.
The EU delegation expressed disappointment over the rising Czech
state debt. Czech politicians expressed their disapproval of the Czech
Republic being included on the list of countries where BSE (mad-cow
disease) exists (see Carolina 413).
The delegation April 6 visited Decin in order to inspect
a water-treatment plant, the construction of which was supported by
4.75 million euro from the EU's PHARE program.
Pavla Krizkova/Sofia Karakeva
Broadcasting Act Amendments: 200 Million Crowns to Renew License
The Chamber of Deputies April 10 approved amendments to the
Broadcasting Act to reflect EU requirements, as well as incorporating
a new fee for license renewal. Current television-license holders can
request the extension of their licenses for 12 years, radio-license
holders for eight. But not for free - renewing a commercial-television
license will cost 200 million crowns (the previous administrative fee
was 50,000 crowns). The license-holder can sell the license in two years
(the existing act required the license be sold in a public tender).
Licenses can be withdrawn for gross violations of the act.
One amendment allows cross ownership of broadcast and print media,
while owning two nationwide television or radio stations is still
forbidden. Television stations will have to fulfill EU norms requiring
a majority of programming orginate in EU member countries. A star in the
corner of the screen will indicate that a program is not suitable for
children.
Culture Minister Pavel Dostal (Social Democrat) said he is not
quite satisfied with the amendments. Dostal foremost criticized the
automatic extension of broadcasting licenses. "It's discrimination
against new potential broadcasters," he said. Chamber Media Commission
Chairman Ivan Langer (Civic Democratic Party, ODS) said the high renewal
fees discriminated against smaller stations.
Marie Valaskova/Sofia Karakeva
Prague Plaque Commemeorates Milan Hodza
Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman and Slovak Premier Mikulas
Dzurinda March 30 unveiled a commemorative plaque on the Prague villa of
Milan Hodza, the first Slovak prime minister of Czechoslovakia. Hodza
was a legislator in the first Czechoslovak National Assembly in 1918, he
became prime minister in 1935. He resigned in 1938 to protest the Munich
Agreement. He emigrated at the end of the year and founded in Paris the
Slovak National Council. In 1941 he emigrated to the USA. He died June
27, 1944 in Clearwater, Florida and his remains are buried in the
Czechoslovak National Cemetery in Chicago. "I think that without false
humility we can place the personality and work of Milan Hodza amomg the
spiritual fathers of the process of contemporary European integration,
of which both countries are, thank god, a strong part," said Dzurinda.
Veronika Pavlu/Michael Bluhm
NEWS IN BRIEF
* Police did not interfere with the concert given by racist groups
(Celitc Warrior from Great Britain and Juden Mord from Slovakia) April 7
in Senohraby, just outside Prague. Some 400 neo-Nazis attened the
concert, held in a private restaurant. The law allowed police to stop
the concert on the basis of the racist symbols worn by concertgoers.
Police inactivity was the target of criticism; Interior Minister
Stanislav Gross reacted by saying, "I will personally try to make the
police's approach much more vigorous in the future." Anti-fascist
activist Jakub Polak filed a criminal complaint against the police
president and his subordinates. Radim Hladik/Michael Bluhm
FROM SLOVAKIA IN BRIEF
* One hundred experts from 31 EU member and candidate countries met
in Bratislava April 5-6 to discuss the standards of the Schengen
Treaties. Making the movement of people within the expanded EU easier,
preventing crime and a better border control were among the main topics.
Lubomir Hanus, director of the European Integration Department of the
Slovak Interior Ministry, said the conference helped members and
candidates understand Schengen problems better and will accelerate
implementation of European standards.
* Author of horse-related detective stories Dick Francis returned to
Slovakia after six years. He April 9 met Culture Minister Milan Knazko,
representatives of British institutions and his readers at an autograph
session. His three-day visit finished April 10, when he left for the
Czech Republic (see below).
* The HKm Zvolen hockey team won the league championship by defeating
Dukla Trencin in the finals three games to one (6:0, 3:1, 1:2 and 6:3).
It was Zvolen's first championship; Slovan Bratislava finished in third
place. News from Slovakia by Veronika Pavlu/Stepan Vorlicek
ECONOMY IN BRIEF
* The Prague Stock Exchange witnessed the rapid fall of share prices
April 4, as part of the worldwide trend. The exchange's index fell to
a two-year low. Czech Telecom was down more than 5 per cent. The
long-term dive of Czech Radiocommunications has made its upcoming
privatization less profitable for the state. The stock market staggered
April 10 again; Finance Minister Pavel Mertlik's resignation had
a negative influence on government bonds.
* The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs April 9 reported that the
unemployment rate fell from 9 per cent to 8.7 per cent in March. All of
the labor offices in the Czech Republic registered less people looking
for a job. The pro-government daily Pravo called the decline a revival
of the economy, because the unemployment rate has fallen for three
months in a row. However, some regions (northern Bohemia and northern
Moravia, for example) still face high unemployment. The statistics show
there are 451,516 jobless people in the country.
Radim Hladik/Stepan Vorlicek
* The Zetor tractor-making factory in Brno, which owes almost 6
billion crowns to its creditors, has avoided bankruptcy. Creditors
decided April 4 to give preference to court debt settlements. Zetor will
continue restructuring, with the chance to attract a foreign investor,
who should be selected by the end of this year.
Katerina Kunovska/Stepan Vorlicek
Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid April 12)
--------------------------------------------------------------
1 EUR = 34.770
country currency CZK
------------------------------------------
Australia 1 AUD 19 660
Great Britain 1 GBP 56.141
Denmark 1 DKK 4.659
Japan 100 JPY 31.497
Canada 1 CAD 25.108
IMF 1 XDR 49.582
Hungary 100 HUF 13.029
Norway 1 NOK 4.294
New Zealand 1 NZD 15.835
Poland 1 PLN 9.688
Slovakia 100 SKK 80.050
Slovenia 100 SIT 16.077
Sweden 1 SEK 3.862
Switzerland 1 CHF 22.771
USA 1 USD 39.065
Exchange Rates of countries participating in the euro
(converted from the euro rate)
country currency CZK
-----------------------------------------
Germany 1 DEM 17.778
Belgium 100 BEF 86.193
Finland 1 FIM 5.848
France 1 FRF 5.301
Ireland 1 IEP 44.149
Italy 1000 ITL 17.957
Luxemburg 100 LUF 86.193
Netherlands 1 NLG 15.778
Portugal 100 PTE 17.343
Austria 1 ATS 2.527
Greece 100 GRD 10.204
Spain 100 ESP 20.897
CULTURE
Agnes Varda's Film Wins at One World Festival
April 10 was the last day of the Prague section of the third year
of the One World film festival, dedicated to documentaries concerning
human rights (see Carolina 413). First prize went to the film The
Gleaners and I from popular French director Agnes Varda. The movie tells
the story of people who pick through rubbish. "It's a movie about
serious things, but there's humor in it," said the director when she
received the prize in the Archa Theater.
The best director award went to Russian Andrej Osip, whose movie Et
Cetera blends archive shots of the gory conflicts in Russia during the
past hundred years with quotes from Reflections on War by Antoine
Saint-Exupery. Special acknowledgments were given to the Latvian film
New Times at the Crossroad Street, which describes life in a suburb of
Riga, and the Italian movie Jung (War) in the Land of the Mudjaheddins,
which chronicles the birth and life of an Afghanistan hospital for
military and civilian. The film Why Did They Kill Their Neighbors by
Japanese director Kumiko Igarashi, about the grisly slaughter in Rwanda,
received a special award fro the president of the Czech Republic, given
to movies which contribute to the protection of human rights. The Prague
Mayor's Award for the most powerful film (chosen by a jury of victims of
racially motivated assaults in Prague) went to Philippe Diaz's
documentary about Sierra Leone entitled New World Order:Somewhere in
Africa. The Rudolf Vrba Award was given to the Australian film The
Diplomat by Tom Zybrycki, a portrayal of Jose Ramos Horta, fighter for
the independence of East Timor and winner of the Nobel peace prize.
Films from the festival will visit nine more towns in the Czech
Republic, then will continue to Bratislava, Warsaw, Belgrade, Pristina
and Nuremburg. Martina Oplatkova/Stepan Vorlicek
Dick Francis Meets Vaclav Havel in Eastern Bohemia
British writer Dick Francis paid a visit to the Czech Republic
April 11-14. He was invited by the Olympia publishing house, which
publishes his books here. During his second visit to the Czech Republic,
Francis - apart from sightseeing in Prague - will visit Pardubice.
Accompanied by his regular translator Jaroslava Moserova, he is to see
the renowned local horseracing course. Francis gave autographs to his
fans April 13 in the Franz Kafka Center on Old Town Square in Prague.
Katerina Komadova/Stepan Vorlicek
SPORTS
Sparta Turns Second Finals Game around, Final Series Tied 1-1
The first two games of the hockey extraleague finals between Vsetin
and Sparta Praha brought drama, fast hockey, good play and a boxing
fight.
Vsetin was better in the first game. Fans were excited by the fight
between Vsetin captain Jiri Dopita and Sparta defender Libor Zabransky.
Dopita, Vsetin's best player in this game, scored the first goal in the
second period, but Sparta answered with Michal Bros' goal three minutes
later. Three minutes before the end of the second period Jan Lipiansky
put Vsetin one goal ahead, but Zelenka tied the score in the second
period. In the eighth minute of overtime Dopita pushed his way in front
of the goal, got the puck under goalkeeper Petr Briza and decided the
game for Vsetin 3-2.
The beginning of the second game belonged to Vsetin. Sparta was
down 0-3 at the midpoint of the game, but it managed to do the
impossible. Thanks to Zelenka, Sivek, Vujtek and Kasparik's goals,
Sparta defeated Vsetin 4-3. Kasparik's winning goal was scored 30
seconds before the end of the game. The series will continue with two
games in Prague. Jana Niklova/Mirek Langer
Soccer League: Pribram Moves into Second Place after 23rd Round
Slavia Praha defeated second place Olomouc 5-1 in a game between
the top two teams of the soccer league, allowing Pribram to jump Olomouc
into second place in the standings. Pribram beat Ceske Budejovice 1-0
and will meet Slavia in the next round.
Fourth-place Viktoria Zizkov helped itself with a win over Blsany,
while sixth-place Teplice fell in the standings after a loss to
Drnovice. Reigning champion Sparta Praha awoke from its winter
hibernation, beating FC Synot after three games without a win.
Results of the postponed 18th round: Ceske Budejovice - Liberec
0-0, Brno - Teplice 2-0, Blsany - Synot 2-2, Jablonec - Ostrava 2-1,
Zizkov - Sparta Praha 2-1, Drnovice - Plzen 3-1.
Results of the 23rd round: Zizkov - Blsany 1-0, Brno - Jablonec
1-0, Liberec - Bohemians Praha 3-0, Pribram - Ceske Budejovice 1-0,
Drnovice - Teplice 1-0, Ostrava - Plzen 3-0, Sparta Praha - Synot 2-0,
Olomouc - Slavia Praha 1-5.
Standings: 1. Sparta Praha 54 points, 2. Pribram 39, 3. Olomouc
38, 4. Zizkov 37, 5. Slavia Praha 36, 6. Liberec 35, 7. Teplice 33, 8.
Drnovice 33, 9. Synot 30, 10. Jablonec 28, 11. Bohemians Praha 27, 12.
Brno 26, 13. Ostrava 26, 14. Blsany 23, 15. Ceske Budejovice 19, 16.
Plzen 15. Martina Oplatkova/Mirek Langer
SPORTS IN BRIEF
* Czech hockey player Jaromir Jagr won the NHL's Art Ross Trophy for
the fifth time. The trophy is awarded to the top scorer in the regular
season. Jagr, of the Pittsburgh Penguins, recorded 121 points on 52
goals and 69 assists, three points ahead of Colorado's Joe Sakic.
Another Czech, Patrik Elias of the New Jersey Devils, finished third
with 96 points. Dominik Hasek, the Buffalo Sabres goalkeeper, won the
Jennings Trophy for the second time, as a goalie on the team with the
least number of goals allowed. Zuzana Boleslavova/Mirek Langer
WEATHER
Capricious spring weather: no sight of the sun, the next day
a cloudless sky; rain over the weekend, with the beginning of the week
clear and warm weather. Rain is predicted for the coming days, even snow
in the highlands, but predictions of rain for this week have so far been
almost entirely without merit - thank goodness.
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