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Carolina (English) No 412
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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 412, Friday, March 30, 2001.
FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (March 21 - March 28)
Return of the Pink Tank?
Prime Minister Milos Zeman March 21 severely criticized the plan of
the Smichov Town Hall (Prague's 5th district) and sculptor David Cerny
to return the torso of the famous pink tank to Kinsky Square in front of
the Town Hall.
Soviet tank no. 23 was placed in Kinsky Square after World War II
in memory of the Soviet soldiers who died while liberating part of the
former Czechoslovakia. In 1991 Cerny painted the tank pink, an act that
became a symbol of the changes in the former communist Europe. The tank
was moved to the Military Museum in Prague Castle. On the occasion of
the 10th anniversary the tank turning pink, Cerny wanted to install the
tank on the square again, but with the front part sunk into the ground.
Zeman said the project is an old joke that is no longer funny, and
is not, unlike 10 years ago, a political happening provoking discussion
of the meaning of May 1945 and August 1968. Zeman said the project is an
arrogant, thoughtless expression of the mentality of the graffiti
generation, which lacks any empathy for historical context."
The first protest against the project came from the Russian Embassy
March 15. Embassy authorities said the project devalues the Soviet
soldiers killed during the liberation of Czechoslovakia. The day after
Zeman's criticism, Prague 5 officials changed their verdict and rejected
the project. The final decision, however, rests with Prague City Hall,
which owns the land.
Zuzana Boleslavova/Sofia Karakeva
Karel Srba Takes Responsibility for Czech House Hotel Contract
Foreign Ministry General Secretary Karel Srba resigned because of
the dubious rental contract with the Czech House Hotel company in Moscow
(see Carolina 411). Just before the ministry's special press conference
March 27, Srba took responsibility for errors in the contract.
According to the Czech daily Pravo, Srba wrote Foreign Minister Jan
Kavan in his resignation letter, "Considering my position I am
responsible for these mistakes, even though these mistakes were in no
way deliberate." Kavan called Srba's resignation an exemplary step,
which raised the bar unusually high for state officials. Kavan says he
is not considering resigning.
Radim Hladik/Sofia Karakeva
NEWS IN BRIEF
* Jaroslav Kopriva March 24 became first vice-chairman of the
Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL). He succeeded Cyril Svoboda, who was in
January voted election leader of the Four-Party Coalition, of which the
Christian Democrats are a member. Kopriva, the official KDU-CSL
candidate for this post, was passed over in the election.
* Provisional Czech Television General Director Jiri Balvin appointed
Zbynek Honys news director at the public-service broadcaster March 22.
Honys has a radio background, he began working at Czechoslovak Radio in
1985. In 1990 he participated in the transformation of the station and
was cofounder of the station affiliate Radiojournal. Honys worked in the
news departments of private television broadcasters TV Premiera and TV
Nova. Honys will fill a position which has been for practical purposes
empty since December, when Jiri Vondracek stepped down after the
appointment of Jiri Hodac as Czech Television general director December
20.
* The Czech Academy of Sciences has a new leader as of March 27. For
the first time a woman was chosen - Helena Illnerova, biologist and
current Academy vice chairwoman. Illnerova said she does not intend to
change the Academy's course but plans to bring in new people and foreign
researchers. She also said she will try to improve cooperation between
the Academy and universities.
Pavla Reznickova, Martina Oplatkova/Sofia Karakeva
FROM SLOVAKIA
Kavan in Bratislava
Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kavan March 22 opened the new Czech
embassy building in Bratislava. During his official visit to Slovakia,
Kavan met Slovak Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan and President Rudolf
Schuster. They talked about the border procedures between the countries
should the Czech Republic enter the EU before Slovakia.
Schuster said he is convinced that will not happen: "We should now
begin creating an atmosphere in the European Parliament that it is very
important for us to enter the EU together with the Czech Republic," said
Schuster according to the daily SME. Kavan said he is convinced Slovakia
will be among the first countries to be invited to join NATO. He also
promised the support of the Czech Republic at the conference in
Bratislava where prime ministers of the countries aspiring to join NATO
will meet.
Katerina Kunovska/Stepan Vorlicek
FROM SLOVAKIA IN BRIEF
* Beginning February 25, Slovakia and Denmark have visa-free travel.
Bratislava welcomed the step and said it hopes Belgium will also decide
likewise. Slovakia was added to the list of countries, the citizens of
which should not need a visa when traveling to the EU, effective April
10.
Veronika Pavlu/Stepan Vorlicek
ECONOMY
Czech Recession over, 2000 GDP up 3.1 Per Cent
The Czech Republic's gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 3.1 per
cent in 2000. This unexpected result, which is close to the growth rates
of EU countries, was announced March 22. Prime Minister Milos Zeman gave
credit for the figure to his Social Democrat (CSSD) government, while
opposition Civic Democratic Party (ODS) Chairman Vaclav Klaus expressed
satisfaction but said he sees no healthy basis for the growth.
Economists estimated growth of 2.7 per cent, Finance Minister Pavel
Mertlik expected 3 per cent. The reality is even brighter; economists
and politicians consider the figure as proof the economic recession has
ended. Yet the GDP growth has its problems. Analysts point out the
unfavorable structure of the growth, which is propelled by foreign
investments but also by surprisingly large stores of goods. On the other
hand, household spending was not high enough to support the growth.
Also, the rising trade-balance deficit had a negative influence.
Martin Roubal/Stepan Vorlicek
World Bank Recommends Czech Government Clamp down on Public Spending
World Bank Director for Eastern Europe Bernard Funck announced
March 23 the results of a yearlong analysis: to get the Czech state debt
under control the government must make significant cuts in spending.
The bank gave suggestions how to reduce the various budget
deficits. These suggestions, however, are not acceptable to the Social
Democrat government. Labor Minister Vladimir Spidla said he does not
agree with the pension reform recommended by the bank. Health Minister
Bohumil Fiser said he opposes the bank proposal to increase the patient
participation in the costs of healthcare. The bank advised the Education
Ministry to increase the number of university students by charging
tuition and by expanding private education. This recommendation was also
rejected by the Education Minister Eduard Zeman. Other bank
recommendations were full deregulation of rents and an end to subsidies
for building new state flats. To increase income from rail transport the
bank advised increasing ticket prices.
The bank suggested the cabinet present its budget proposal together
with budget estimates for the next three years, which would make the
government maintain a limit on expenditures.
Funck said the analysis is a merely the bank's opinion, a call for
discussion, and he said the principles included are simply common
practice worldwide. Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies and the Civic
Democratic Party (ODS) Vaclav Klaus said "the significance of such
analyses is approximately zero."
Pavla Krizkova/Pavla Krizkova
Israeli Firm to Build 82km of Freeway in Northern Moravia
The government March 21 decided that the Israeli firm Housing &
Construction would be the first private company to build freeways in the
Czech Republic. A new freeway from Lipnik to Ostrava is to be finished
in five years and should cost about 40 billion crowns. A state project
would be more expensive and take longer; no tolls will be required. The
state plans to pay for construction in yearly installments of 2 to 2.5
billion crowns over 25 years, during which the Israeli company will
provide the maintenance. The decision was marked by controversy, as the
government chose the firm without holding a public tender.
Radim Hladik/Stepan Vorlicek
Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid March 30)
--------------------------------------------------------------
1 EUR = 34.470
country currency CZK
------------------------------------------
Australia 1 AUD 19 188
Great Britain 1 GBP 55.908
Denmark 1 DKK 4.620
Japan 100 JPY 31.482
Canada 1 CAD 24.770
IMF 1 XDR 49.247
Hungary 100 HUF 12.925
Norway 1 NOK 4.267
New Zealand 1 NZD 15.985
Poland 1 PLN 9.503
Slovakia 100 SKK 79.023
Slovenia 100 SIT 15.946
Sweden 1 SEK 3.736
Switzerland 1 CHF 22.538
USA 1 USD 38.837
Exchange Rates of countries participating in the euro
(converted from the euro rate)
country currency CZK
-----------------------------------------
Germany 1 DEM 17.624
Belgium 100 BEF 85.449
Finland 1 FIM 5.797
France 1 FRF 5.255
Ireland 1 IEP 43.768
Italy 1000 ITL 17.802
Luxemburg 100 LUF 85.449
Netherlands 1 NLG 15.642
Portugal 100 PTE 17.194
Austria 1 ATS 2.505
Greece 100 GRD 10.116
Spain 100 ESP 20.717
CULTURE
Thalia Awards Presented
The 2000 Thalia Awards for outstanding stage performances were
presented in Prague's National Theater March 24. Performers received the
award - a statuette with a comedy mask - in four categories. The revised
rules of the awards, which are presented by the Actors' Association,
allowed for the first time this year the nomination of foreigners who
act in a play staged and performed in the Czech Republic.
The winners in the opera category were Klaudia Dernerova, who
starred in Shostakovich's Lady MacBeth of Mzensk (National Theater,
Prague), and Valentin Prolat of Belarus for his role in Verdi's Don
Carlos (National Theater, Brno). The winners in the category for
operetta, musical or other musical-dramatic genre were pop singer Lucie
Bila for her part in the musical Joan of Arc (Ta Fantastika Theater,
Prague) and Tomas Cerny, who performed in the operetta The Land of
Smiles (Karlin Music Theater, Prague).
Katerina Benesova-Rejmanova and Jiri Pokorny won in the ballet,
pantomime and other dance-dramatic genre category. Benesova-Rejmanova
won for her role as an atomic bomb in the ballet Hiroshima (Ballet
Prague) and Pokorny for his performance as Norman Bates in an adaptation
of Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. The role of Queen Elizabeth in Schiller's
Mary Stuart (National Theater, Prague) brought the award to Tatjana
Medvecka in the drama category. Ivan Trojan received the award in the
same category for his performance in an adaptation of I. A. Goncharov's
Oblomov.
The council of the Actor's Association also presented five special
awards. Radek Holub received the award for drama actors under 32. Ballet
dancer Marta Drottnerova, opera singer Ivana Mixova, director Otomar
Krejca and actress Stella Zazvorkova were given awards for their
lifetime achievements.
Marketa Bartosova/Simon Dominik
No Oscar for Jan Hrebejk
Director Jan Hrebejk's film Divided We Fall (Musime si pomahat)
lost to Ang Lee's favored Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in the Best
Foreign-Language Film category at the Academy Awards ceremony March 25.
Hrebejk told the Czech daily Pravo: "The main thing is that people back
home aren't disappointed. It's not a win, but it's also not a loss."
Radim Hladik/Simon Dominik
If Not Now, When? - Motto of the Prague Writers' Festival
The 11th Prague Writers' Festival, which will take place April
1-6, is dedicated to Italian humanist Primo Levi, whose lifelong theme
was the manipulation of moral values. This year's festival will also
dedicate days to Israel, Switzerland and Ireland.
The biggest attraction of the festival could be Bombay-born English
writer Salman Rushdie, sentenced to death by Ayatollah Chomeini in 1989
for Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses. Despite the fact that Iran
cancelled the fatwa in 1998, Rushdie will be under constant guard of
Interior Ministry forces. Other guests of the festival include Gore
Vidal, Peter Stephan Jungk, Robert Menasse, Ida Fink, Natan Zach and
Vassilis Vassilikos. Arthur Miller and Zeruya Shalev cancelled their
visits because of illness. The festival will be broadcast on a large
screen in the Czech Cultural Centre in London.
Katerina Kunovska/Simon Dominik
SPORTS
National Soccer Team Wins, Draws in World Cup Qualifiers
The Czech national soccer team in Belfast moved closer to the 2002
World Cup finals. The 1-0 win over Northern Ireland was its third
success in the third qualification group, with the only misstep so far
the unexpected scoreless tie against Malta. The win meant the Czech
Republic leads the group, ahead of Denmark, Bulgaria, Northern Ireland,
Iceland and Malta.
Captain Pavel Nedved's goal led to the win - in the 11th minute he
put the ball in the left corner of the goal. The win was in danger at
the end of the game, but defender Roman Tyce stopped the ball from going
into the empty net after a shot hit the bar.
Coach Jozef Chovanec praised the Czech players' effort and
criticized Irish aggression. "Nobody flinched from contact, that pleased
me," said Chovanec.
Thanks to good defense, the team has not allowed a goal, the only
European team in its group with that distinction.
Marketa Bartosova/Mirek Langer
After deadline: Czech Republic - Denmark 0-0.
Hockey Extraleague Playoffs: Vitkovice Eliminates Pardubice
The teams for the finals will be the winners of the Sparta
Praha-Vitkovice and Vsetin-Slavia Praha series. In the first games,
Vsetin defeated Slavia 4-0 and Sparta beat Vitkovice 3-2.
Vsetin and Sparta were able to advance in six games in their
respective first-round, best-of-seven series. Vsetin defeated Zlin 3-2
in the last game thanks to a goal in the fourth minute of overtime,
while Sparta defeated Litvinov 3-0 in the decisive game.
Znojmo managed to break Slavia goalie Roman Malek's shutout run
after 192 minutes. Znojmo won the sixth game 3-2, but Slavia defeated
its opponent in the seventh game 3-1 and advanced to the semifinals for
the first time ever.
Vitkovice's overtime 2-1 win over Pardubice was a key moment for
Vitkovice, which tied the series. Pardubice then lost on its own ice
3-4 to lose the series, despite finishing third in the league standings
after the regular season. The game ended with conflict between Pardubice
players and the referees (see SPORTS IN BRIEF).
The qualification-round series between Karlovy Vary (the
extraleague's last-place team) and first-league champ Chomutov began
with Karlovy Vary winning both home games and leading the best-of-seven
series 2-0.
Marie Valaskova/Mirek Langer
SPORTS IN BRIEF
* Angry hockey referees called a strike for March 25, but they called
it off March 26. After the seventh game of the Pardubice-Vitkovice
playoff quarterfinals, Ales Pisa of Pardubice insulted the assistant
referee and Pardubice captain Ota Janecky then made obscene comments
about the referees in a television interview. The strike was called off
after the Association of Professional Clubs Director Stanislav Sulc
promised players would not comment on the referees' performances on the
day of the match.
* Figure-skating pair Katerina Berankova and Otto Dlabola ensured
themselves of a spot in the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games.
They finished 12th in the World Championships in Vancouver. Ice-dancing
pair Katerina Kovalova and David Szurman finished 23rd, Lenka Seniglova
finished 17th in the qualification group and missed qualifying in the
short program by two places.
* Kenya's Anthony Korir won the third Prague Half-Marathon March 24,
which took place in Prague's historic downtown. The favorite, Korir's
teammate Elijah Lagat, finished fourth, two seconds ahead of Czech
runner Pavel Faschingbauer. Florence Barsosi of Kenya won the women's
race, Jana Klimesova was the best Czech finisher, in third.
Martina Oplatkova, Pavla Reznickova, Radim Hladik/Mirek Langer
WEATHER
The rains of the past week abated Saturday to give the Czech
Republic arguably its finest day of 2001. The price, however, was high -
Praguers awoke Monday morning to snowfall, and temperatures have been
below zero in the morning and evening. Daytime highs by midweek reached
10 degrees Celsius/50 degrees Fahrenheit, and warmer temperatures are
supposedly on the way. Daylight savings time also began over the
weekend.
English version edited by Michael Bluhm.
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