CCCCC AA RRRRR OOOO LL II NN N AA CC AA A RR R OO O LL II NNN N AA A CC AA A RRRRR OO O LL II NN N N AA A CC AAAAAA RR R OO O LL II NN NN AAAAAA CCCCC AA A RR R OOOO LLLLLL II NN N AA A STUDENT'S E-MAIL NEWS FROM CZECHOSLOVAKIA Faculty of Social Science of Charles University Smetanovo nabr. 6 110 01 Prague 1 C.S.F.R. e-mail: FSVUKA@CSEARN.BITNET *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* C A R O L I N A No 3, Friday, November 15, 1991. The E-mail News from Czechoslovakia This news may be published only with the "CAROLINA" designation. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* LAST WEEK's EVENTS There will be no referendum! This is the result of the Wednesday debate in the Czechoslovakian Parliament. The joint meeting of both houses of the Federal Assembly debated on the 13th of November 6 variously phrazed proposals of the question that would be put to the population of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic if referendum passed. The question was meant to determine the public will concerning their will to remain in one state or split. The law concerning referendum was passed in the Parliament last summer and the law concerning its form last week.In the floor debate broadcast live on TV the representatives of the majority of Slovak parties opposed the referendum. Among them were the following parties : The Movement for Democratic Slovakia, tje Party of the Democratic Left, the Christian Democratic Movement and the Slovak National Party. On the Czech side it was the representantives of the Czechoslovak Peoples 's Party and the communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia. Not one of the six proposals received the necessary 3/5 majority of votes. COURSE FOR FOREIGN STUDENTS A course for fifty foreign students, organised by the american non-governmental organization council on international educational exchange, founded in 1947 in new york, is being held until the end of december at the philosophy faculty of Charles University in Prague. The course is being held within the framework of the east and central european studies programme. Over the course of the semester the students, who are mostly from the United States, and some of them of Czech origin, will complete an intensive course in Czech language and will become familiar with czech literature, art and history in the context of central Europe. They are also learning about the condition of the czechoslovak economy, the country s ecological situation, as well as religion in the country. They are receiving information that is difficult to get when one is far from our republic. The section leader from ciee in Czechoslovakia, professor R. Kneeley, told us that the programme, which is similar to programmes in other countries such as Poland, Hungary, The Soviet Union, and Great Britain, will be continued in following years. The programme is sponsored by universitites in Pennsylvania, Colorado, Washington d. c., and other states. CENTRAL EUROPE TODAY The well-known Czech-French political scientist Jacques Rupnik, who lectures on the problems of central and east Europe at many of Europe s universities, presented to our faculty a lecture entitled Central Europe Today. (More information on our faculty can be found under number two.) He explained that a common feature of all post-communist countries is that their societies persistently are trying to come to terms with their recent past. Everything that in any way is connected with the old regime is to be erased from memory or renamed. People yearn to put communism in mental brackets, as if to put in behind them, he said. At the same time, the revolution is an attempt to restore as much as possible from what preceeded communism - both the negative and the positive In Czechoslovakia the traditions of the pre-war republic are returning, while in the Balkans and in Soviet Russia, where communism directly replaced monarchies, monarchism is on the rise. "Historians are today the psychoanalysts of their people," Rupnik said. People want to know who is guilty for the current state of affairs and who is responsible for the tragedy of Central Europe. The discussion will still be long and painful and will be accompanied by a number of injustices. Jacques Rupnik also analysed the results of Poland s recent parliamentary elections. He calles them "catastrophic", as deputies from 20 different political parties were elected, while no single party received more than 12 percent of the vote. The elections, he said, were the result of political developments after the overthrow of the communist regime. The same tendency can be observed in the other post-communist countries. The broad-based movements of all the opponents of the old regimes, who formerly consolidated their forces, (i.e. Civic Forum in Czechoslovakia, Solidarity in Poland) have now fragmented into groups apread across the political spectrum. Czechoslovakia, he said, is threatened with the same sort of results in its June parliamentary elections as those in the Polish elections. Answering questions, Rupnik said one of the main ways in which this could be avoided is by implementing a better election system. PANTOMIME IN OUR THEATRE The Branick Pantomime Theatre Mimos from November 9 to 25. The gala opening was held in the Vinohrad Theatre, led by a presentation by the French artistic group "Roc In Lichen" another group of French performers, Theatre du Mouvement, will conclude the festival. Poland is represented at the festival by the ensembles "Iota" and "Akademia Ruchu", and Russia by the group "Human Material". Czechoslovak pantomime is represented by the artistic group " 2 + 2 " with their presentation, "Male Modre Nic" /Little Blue Nothing/. A very interesting addition to the festival will be a theatre groupe Derevo /Leningrad/, which will be conducted by the groupe s artistic director, Anton Adasinsky. *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* To subscribe Carolina send the e-mail message with subject text "Subscription" on our e-mail address. The subscription is free. Comments and remarks are appreciated.