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 School of Social Science of Charles University Smetanovo nabr. 6 110 01 Prague 1 C.S.F.R. e-mail address: CAROLINA@CSEARN.BITNET *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* C A R O L I N A No 16, Friday, February 28, 1992. LAST WEEK_S EVENTS (February 19th - 26th ) Czechoslovak Contingent Ready To Go The Czechoslovak Ministry of Defence states that a contingent of 500 men can be dispatched to Croatia on two weeks notice as part of the U.N. peacekeeping troops. The Czechoslovak unit consists of volunteers, half being men presently enlisted for military service. The contingent is preparing for their mission in the Southern Bohemian town of Cesky Krumlov. The United Nations have not asked Czechoslovakia officially to participate in the peacekeeping mission, because the Czechoslovak parliament has not approved the participation as yet. Without parliamentary approval Czechoslovakia cannot join the peacekeeping troops which are being dispatched to Yugoslavia to monitor the ceasefire there. As the Czechoslovak daily Mlada Fronta Dnes stated (February 24) the task of the peacekeepers will be to separate the two enemy forces. The Czechoslovak soldiers will therefore be equipped only with personal self-defense weapons - submachine guns and pistols and the contingent will use armoured carries for surveillance. Teachers Will Not Strike, They Will Get Payraises This is the final result of a weekend meeting between representatives of the Czech Ministry of Education and directors of school administrations and unions. As of April 1st, 1992, all employees of the educational sector will get a payraise of a minimum of 31 per cent. The Ministry of Education will pick up the bill. Salaries were supposed to be adjusted according to the new law of employees payed by the state. However, based on a proposal by the federal government, this law will not be coming into effect until May 1st, and not April 1st as was expected. Salaries in the educational sector belong to the lowest in Czechoslovakia. Helmut Kohl coming to Prague The Czechoslovak press announced Saturday, that German Chancellor Helmut Kohl will be visiting Czechoslovakia February 27th and 28th. It is expected that during his visit he will be signing the Czechoslovak-German Treaty with President Vaclav Havel at the Prague Castle. Commotion before signing A politically peaceful weekend was disturbed by news broadcast on Czechoslovak T.V. In it the Premier of the Czech Republic Petr Pithart was quoted from an interwiew he granted to the German daily Die Welt. Supposedly the Czech Premier stated that if the Germans annulled the Munich Accord from its very beginning then President Havel would make it possible to the Sudeten Germans to affect their restitutional claims (in Czechoslovakia). Directly following the broadcast of this information, President Havel telephoned Mr. Pithart, who assured him that he had not said anything to that effect. The presidential office iussed a statement on Sunday night saying that the President held talks about the accord last May in Bonn. During the tallks he mentioned the possibility of renewing the Sudeten Germans_Czechoslovak citizenship, if Germany expressly recognized the annullment of the Munich Accord from its very beginning. The reinstatement of citizienship would by law enable (the Sudeten Germans) to participate in the privatization process had not been discussed. This information was also confirmed by the correspondent of Die Welt who had conducted the interview ( with Premier Pithart) at a Monday briefing at the Prague Castle. German Historian Speaks About Jewish Holocaust On February 27th, at the Goethe Institute in Prague, a distingusihed German historian, Professor Jackel (form the Freie University in Berlin), held a lecture about the extermination of Jews in Europe. Based on yers of research Professor Jackel presented his thesis that the chief architect of the Holocaust had been Reinhard Heydrich. The attention of the audience, which consisted of many who themselves had been concentration camp prisoners, was captivated primarily by the Professor_s idea that leading Nazi figures who ordered and directed the extermination of European Jews were not motivated by racism but by career advancement. They wanted to please Hitler and thus gain more power. Even though this thesis became cause of a contraversial discussion, it sounded as a kind of warning in Czechoslovakia_s preelection atmosphere. Especially in Slovakia the motive of power overshadows human rights (issues). J.Cousteau In Prague President Vaclav Havel receivd famous oceanographer Jacque Cousteau on Monday, February 24th. The two disussed political iusses as well as the conversion of the defence industry. Jacque Cousteau_s appeal to protect the environment is currently being signed in Prague. M. Vopenka : I came to complain The Minister of Education M. Vopenka held a lecture on some of the difficulties of his job infront of students of the Mechanical Engineering Faculty of the Technical University in Prague. He stated that there are two main obstacles to improving the present situation in the educational sector, a lack of fiances and unsatisfactory legislation. A large number of unsatisfactory laws are derived from the constitution. Any changes to the constitution are impossible under the existing parliament. Another problem is the question of jurisdiction. This applies to both the law about elementary education and the law pertaining to higher academic institutions, because it is still unclear whether these will be discussed in the federal parliament or in the two national parliaments. The Minister further explained his views on unifying the leading scientific institutions in the country - the Czechoslovak Academy of Science and the Universities which is presently under discussion in the Czechoslovak press. (A new) superior organ - Ministry of Education and Science - should be founded. According to the Minister, this would be a step in the right direction for all concerned. The Academy (of Science) could be financed by the newly estabilished ministry and it would offer, in return, a wide background of expertise and offer job opportunities to top graduates. The Minister presented this idea in relation to the drafting of the new law about the Czech Academy of Arts and Science in the Czech government. Thaks to Vopenka_s initiative the approval the parliament. The Academy disapproves of Vopenka_s concept, and seems to have the parliament_s support on this issue. According to the chairman of the Academy, Professor Wichterle, this is all part of a campaign to liquidate the Academy, according to him the real reason for these efforts is to block the approval of the law which would create a legislative vacuum and would discredit the continuation of the academy_s acitivities. In his opinion it is a totalitarian concept of control where the independence of the Academy and the distinct autonomy of higher educational institutions are being ignored. Asked whether students will have to pay for their higher education the Minister responded that not for the time being but probably in the future. The main reason will not be a lack of finances but the need to objectively evaluate the standards of individual faculties. The students will only be willing to pay for the best ones and those will also be the ones which will receive the most funding. Bronze for the third time Czechoslovak athletes brought home three bronze medals from the Olympic Games in Albertville. The first came from the team of high ski jumpers (Parma, Jez, Goder and Sakala), the second from the ice-skating pair Mr. and Ms. Barna and the third came the hockey team which beat the U.S. 6:1. All winners received the model of the car Skoda Favorit made in Czechoslovakia. CULTURAL SERVICE Eastern Slovakia commemorated the 5th anniversary of the death of Andy Warhol A commemorative mass for Andy Warhol was celebrated on Saturday, Ferbruary 22nd, at a Greek-Catholic churc in the village of Mikove, which lies at the foot of the Carpatian Mountains. On the day of the 5th anniversary of the American artist_s death three more of this graphics were added to the Warhol Family Museum of Modern Art. They are hand coloured and they come from the colection called Flowers, which he created in 1974. They were bought for 115,000 Cz. Crowns each from a Prague collector. Warhol was of Ruthinian origin and is considered to be one of the most significant artists of the 20 century. Cubism still inspires The Crossroads of Cubism was the name of a discussion organized by the Institute for Art History of the Academy of Science, the Central European University and the Goethe Institute in relation to the extensive exhibit of Czech Cubism 1909-1925. It took place Monday, February 24th. A number of foreign as well as local experts took part in the panel discussion. Part of the program was a joint visit of the exhibit which took place at one of the galleries of the Prague Castle. It is a well known fact that Czechoslovakia owns a number of very interesting art pieces and it especially holds its own in Cubist achitecture. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This news may be published only with "CAROLINA" designation. To subscribe Carolina please send the e-mail message with subject "Carolina/Eng: Subscription" for the english version (and "Carolina/Cs: Subscription" for the czech version) on our e-mail address above. To drop sending you replace the word Subscription" by "Unsubscription". The subscription is free. Comments and remarks are appreciated.