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 STUDENTS' E-MAIL NEWS FROM CZECH REPUBLIC School of Social Sciences of Charles University Smetanovo nabr. 6 110 01 Prague 1 Czech Republic E-mail address: carolina@n.fsv.cuni.cz Fax: (+422) 24810987 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* C A R O L I N A No 106, Friday, February 18, 1994. EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (February 9 - 16) Committee on Foreign Affairs to Discuss Bosnia Position The coalition is set to discuss the situation in Bosnia-Hercegovina in an attempt to develop a uniform position among Czech leaders. While President Vaclav Havel has been clear in his support for the NATO position, Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus had this to say on Thursday: "The way out must take into account the internal situation, because international intervention into this type of civil war, with non-existing fronts and unambiguously positioned forces, with the uncertainity of where the mortar came from where, any kind of global intervention, furthermore, from the air and not the ground, threatens far greater massacres and catastrophes." Foreign Minister Josef Zieleniec said he believes that with the question of NATO intervention in Bosnia, the Czech Republic should lean towards the proposals of alliances to which it wants to belong, presumably meaning NATO, since the Czechs have expressed a strong desire to join the Western alliance. Parliament rejected a proposal February 16 that it discuss the the situation in Bosnia. Parliament Approves New Laws Several new laws were approved this week in Parliament, including a law on arms exports. The government-proposed measure makes it possible to market military material, with the exception of weapons of mass destruction. The government plans to develop a list of exportable weapons. However, dealers will still need to demand a license or permit before each sale. Under an agreement with the foreign, defense and interior departments, the Ministry of Industry and Trade will be dispensing the licenses. According to the new regulations, former agents and collaborators with the secret police cannot obtain licenses. Dealers who break the new law can lose their licence to export military material, and be fined up to 30 million crowns. Those tempted to use their administrative positions to make illegal export possible will face prison sentences of up to 10 years. In other action, Parliament approved a law raising the minimum retirement payments. The increase will be from 100 to 2,040 crowns a month for single retirees, and from 300 to 3,520 crowns for couples. Unemployment on the Rise The number of jobless people registering at work offices in the Czech Republic grew by 13,600 from December to the end of January. Unemployment has grown from 3.52 percent at the end of 1993 to 3.78 percent, the highest rate since February 1992. In regions like Bruntalsko in northern Moravia, or Znojemsko in southern Moravia, unemployment is already 9 percent. As a result, economics ministers commissioned the Ministry of Economics and the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs to work up proposals within two weeks on how the state can aid the most severely affected regions in finding a solution to their job situation. Meanwhile, the ministers expressed satisfaction that from the beginning of 1992, the number of small firms with up to 24 employees, have grown from 39,000 to 150,000. Criticism Laws to Remain The government February 9 rejected President Vaclav Havel's proposal to revoke laws allowing for punishment of those who criticize the president, state symbols or the government. This case was reported in Carolina, issues 95 and 96. The Slovak government wants to eliminate both paragraphs to be in agreement with the Slovak Helsinki Committee and Amnesty Interntional. North Bohemian Village Libkovice Struggles to Stay on the Map Four families now live where more than 200 once did, the last of those who have refused to leave their village as it is slowly eaten away by the brown coal mines of Bohemia. Those families, and other one-time residents of Libkovice, are now in the eighth year of their fight to preserve their 12th Century village. In 1987, the Czechoslovak communist government decided that Libkovice, in northern Bohemia, would be sacrificed to coal-mining interests. Dozens of other villages in the area of Most had already been surrendered to the ever-growing search for coal. The Hlubina Mines concern purchased most of the buildings in the village, and on the basis of a building demolishion order from the regional division of the national committee in Most, started demolition in 1990. But not all of the villagers wanted to put up with forced, though compensated, relocation. First they protested by letter to President Gustav Husak, and after the 1989 revolution to President Vaclav Havel. In 1992, the ecological movements Greenpeace and Duha added their voices to the debate. Together with village Mayor Stanislav Brichacek and those who refused to leave or sought to return, they founded The Libkovice Renewal Society to publicize their fight. Though young activists succeeded in attracting public attention by defending buildings with their own bodies, the demolition firm went on working. Hlubina Mines, owner of most of the buildings, said there was no way to preserve Libkovice because the surroundings of the village had been deeply undermined, damaging buildings. But the claim was challenged by the firm Stavebni Geologie in its study. "Eventual soil decline cannot lead to serious damage of the houses if the mining stops in front of Libkovice," reported the Concrete and Brick Construction Institution of the Technical University in Brno. Minister of Industry and Trade Vladimir Dlouhy called for an end to demolition in February 1993. Hlubina's director, Zdenek Struzka, reacted on television saying the mines would disregard the ministry opinion. While Struzka was dismissed a few days later, his successor Ladislav Funiok favors quick demolition. From May 1993, demolition of the houses continued under the approval of Jiri Kicl, mayor of Marianske Radcice, which Libkovice became a part of that January. During the passive defence of the buildings, activists were assaulted several times by workmen of demolition firm, they said, and two of them, Petr Vozak and Jan Pinos, were injured. Five citizens of Libkovice have entered a lawsuit against Hlubina. Libkovice Renewal Society member, Petr Pakosta, said the court should reverse the actions of the government and Dlouhy, who now maintains there is no way to save the village. But the state firm Diamo offered to Hlubina a method that enables preserving undermined villages, a method that has already been used in Bohemia. A group of Prague residents, meanwhile, offered to pay for the project. Nowadays there are four families left and from original 228 family houses and less than twenty of the original 33 block of flats. Last November 22, the demolishing firm, assisted by a security agency with dogs, destroyed another 25 buildings. But within a week the regional prosecution office in Most found the decision of the previous regional committee in 1990 concerning the destruction of buildings not owned by Hlubina was illegal. The regional prosecutor in Most, Bedrich Koubek, appealed the three-year-old decision. The Duha movement, which initiated the appeal, asked that until a decision on the appeal by the Ministry of Economy there should be no demolition in Libkovice. The fate of Libkovice provoked young artists to produce an unusual photography exhibition, now showing in the center of Prague on Narodni Street under the name "Libkovice - Conscience of the North." "Last Temptation" Scandalizes Religious Circles The Secretary of the Czech Bishops Conference has protested the showing of America-director Martin Scorcese's film "The Last Temptation Of Christ," which aired February 9 on Czech TV. In a letter to Czech TV, the secretary wrote that the plot is historically untrue and offends the religious feelings of believers. Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus said he does not expect a reaction to the film reminiscent of that to Salman Rushdie's "Satanic Verses." "We are not in Iran and I do not have the feeling we would follow their methods", Klaus was quoted as saying. FROM SLOVAKIA Political Crisis In Slovakia Slovakia's political crisis prompted Prague's Mlada Fronta Dnes to cover itself Wednesday with the headlines, "Meciar loses support of the president," and "Michal Kovac recommends changing Premier." The turmoil was touched off by the formation within Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar's Movement For A Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) of the splinter-group Alternative for Political Realism. The Alertnative critisized the ruling strategy and favors creating a broad goverment coalition without the current rulers. Alternative for Political Realism consists of about a dozen members of parliament, including Vice-Premier Roman Kovac and Foreign Minister Josef Moravcik. On Saturday, they were expelled from HZDS. The expulsions were criticized by Slovak President Michal Kovac, who belonged to HZDS until becoming president. He also said HZDS needs to clarify its political orientation, even if that means creating factions. The rebels Roman Kovac and Josef Moravcik were ejected from the meeting of the goverment by Meciar on Tuesday, but the pair said they would resign only after the decision of the president and that they are ready to go on working for the goverment. HZDS wants to resolve the situation of a minority goverment (in Parliament it has about 65 supporters to the opposition's 85) by calling elections this June. That proposal was rejected by Parliament on Tuesday, and the opposition's proposal has yet to be considered. The opposition Left Democratic Party Chairman Peter Weiss suggested a November date to give enough time to develop an alternative program. Frantisek Miklosko, previous chairman of Slovak National Chamber and now an MP for the Christian Democratic Party, called on Wednesday for Meciar's government to resign. He said the government, for a year and a half in the minority, is not able to agree with anybody and it is in permanent conflict with the President. If the Parliament approves the November date of elections, Meciar said he will force a June election by organizing a petition drive, which if it obtained 350,000 signitures would require an election. Collection of signatures could start February 21. WEATHER Temperatures dropped during the last week to minus 15 degrees Celsius, and remained below zero by day. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This news may be published only with "CAROLINA" designation. The subscription is free. 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