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 117, Friday, May 6, 1994. EVENTS FROM THE PAST WEEK (APRIL 27 - MAY 4) Thirty-Year-Old Ivan Pilip -- New Minister of Education President Vaclav Havel appointed Ivan Pilip the new minister of education, youth and sports education on May 2. Pilip replaces Petr Pitha, who resigned last week, citing health reasons. Pilip is the yougest member of Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus's government. He was born August 4, 1963, in Prague. He graduated from the international economics and business section of the University of Economics. Pilip worked at the Academy of Sciences, at the University of Economics and most recently as a deputy minister of the education. He entered political life in November 1989. A year later, he became the member of the Christian-Democratic Party (KDS) and from December 1993 has been chairman of the party. Ivan Pilip is married. His wife, Lucie, had worked as a Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman, but left the position to avoid a conflict of interest when her husband became chairman of KDS. Fatema/Clara No Security Threats Seen for Czech Republic The Ministry of Internal Affairs last week presented the government with an analysis of the security situation of the Czech Republic. "From the analysis of the security situation, no internal or external factor can lead to the conclusion that the CR or its citizens are in immediate danger", said minister of the Internal Affairs Jan Ruml (Civic Democratic Party) at Wednesday's press conference after the negotiations of the cabinet. The greatest possible dangers, Ruml said, were organized crime, uncontrolled migration and conflicts between ethnic groups. Ruml said lesser danger was general and economic crimes, such as tax avoidance, car theft and house burglaries. Clara/Clara Door Opened for Jewish Property Restitution After nearly four year's of discussion, the door to restitution of Jewish property has opened. A law covering the taking of Jewish property passed Parliament April 29. The amendment allows the return of property to Jews who were deprived of it during the Nazi occupation and until the establishment of the communist government in 1948. The state and communities will be obliged to return the properties taken for racial reasons. Properties which have been privatized won't be returned. However, people can ask for financial compensation for up to one year. However, the accepted amendment may be considered by the Constitutional Court. Evzen/Clara State Will Finance Political Parties The Parliament accepted April 29 a law on political parties and associations which will provide the groups with government financing. The organizations will also have the opportunity to gain money from membership fees, profits from sale or rental of properties, profits from lotteries and from gifts. Parties can also accept gifts from abroad but not from state and government organizations. The right to state subsidies of three-to-five million Czech crowns will go to political parties which gain at least 3 percent of the votes in a previous election. Parties seated in Parliament and the Senate are also eligible for contributions of half a million crowns. The state will pay the political parties more than 160 million Czech crowns. (Until now the state provided political parties 70 million Czech crowns.) Because parties will be financed by the state, they won't have the right to function as corporations. Each citizen of the Czech Republic can be a member of only one political party. The law will be valid from June. Pavel B./Sofi May Day Celebrations Take Place Without Major Incidents Several opposing groups assembled May 1 to mark Labor Day and express their discontent with current social policies. Nearly 300 supporters of the anarchist movement met on Strelecky Island in Prague. After introductory speeches denouncing racist and fascist elements in society, government housing policies and the devastation of the environment, a parade of young people set out through the city's streets. The police, prepared for possible conflicts with racist skinheads, watched the entire parade until it ended in the Old Town Square. A few minutes later, several conflicts occured between the anarchists and skinheads, with bottles and cobble stones flying from both sides. Within the hour, 35 people were detained by police. A meeting of sympathizers of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia gathered in Prague at the Dzban pools. Party Chairman Miroslav Grebenicek stepped before about 15,000 people to deliver a sharp critique of the governmental coalition, and what he called its inhumane policies. Actress Jirina Svorcova, former chairwoman of the Union of Czech Dramatic Artists, spoke at the meeting. One-time Minister of Foreign Affairs Bohuslav Chnoupek was there signing his new book on Andy Warhol. The organizers did not allow former First Secretary of the KSC city council in Prague, Miroslav Stepan, to address the public. Several smaller assemblies took place in other places around the country. For example, local organizations of the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia held meetings in Brno, Usti nad Labem, and elsewhere. The Democratic Left Party which recently splintered off from the communist party, met in Prague, at Zizkov. The Social Democratic Party met in Trmice in Usti nad Labem. Filip,Viktor/Andrea Demonstration Protests Completion of Temelin Nuclear Power Plant Nearly a thousand people protested April 30 at the building site of the Temelin nuclear power plant. Opponents of the plant claimed that the Czech Republic doesn't need electricity from Temelin, because it doesn't rationally use all other sources. A model of the Trojan horse, brought by ecological activists mainly from Austria and Germany, was said to symbolize the entrance of American Westinghouse into the Eastern Market. Ecologists say that Westinghouse would like to prepare land at Temelin for further orders, or gain ground in the former Soviet Union, where 28 similar reactors are functioning. 100 days for Nova TV May 4 marked the first hundred days since the independent Czech television group TV Nova began broadcasting. It is the first private commercial television network in the Czech Republic. General director of TV Nova, Vladimir Zelezny, said at a press conference that in spite of all the unfavorable prognoses, Nova is capable of broadcasting 20 hours daily. At the same time, he presented results of media research that give the first glance at TV Nova's influence. The agencies AISA Media and GFK Praha carried out investigations in March and April. The results show that TV Nova has the most viewers in the age group of 14 to 49, the most among high-school educated people. Zelezny said that a special success is high rating of the news program, Television News. Their share of viewship in the time slot grew from 1:3 to 1:2 in March, and in April was already practicly even. TV Nova has the highest rate of viewers in northern Bohemia, and northern Moravia. This is influenced by the fact that viewers in Prague and central Bohemia can also watch Premiera's regional broadcasting. Zelezny said more telling data will come with research results on viewership for the whole quarter of the year. Katerina/Andrea Syndicate of Journalists Didn't Pay Taxes Properly On Friday, April 29, Mlada Fronta Dnes reported on the unclear financial situation of The Syndicate of Journalists of the Czech Republic stemming from its failure to pay state taxes for income gained by renting an attractive building on Parizska street in the center of Prague. The newspaper reports that the taxes owed total 1.8 million crowns, and that the syndicate is being investigated by the Finance Office of Prague 1. A spokeswoman of Finance Ministry, Ludmila Nutilova, said the Finance Office has frozen the syndicate's account at Komercni Banka. The Finance Office made this step, as well as imposing a more than 1 million crown fine, after the journalistic organization did not react to appeals to pay the debts. The article in "MF Dnes" deals with the finance issues of the syndicate and includes reports of dissatisfaction among the members. The Monday issue of another important daily - Rude pravo - contained an article in which a member of the syndicate, Rudolf Zeman, rejected the charges. He said the syndicate had merely "incorrectly calculated the income tax as a consequence of not calculating the income from renting" the building. He said there are negotiations to decide how to transfer the money and the tax returns. Honza New Echo on the Medium Waves The Radio and TV Broadcast Board gave a license to the private radio Echo. This board, elected by the Parliament and representing the public in negotiations about audiovisual media, simultaneously took away the frequencies of the public Czech radio (CRo). This is the result of the law which came into existence in December 1992, giving CRo just one nationwide set of frequences on the medium waves. The second AM network had been allocated to CRo only temporarily, until the September, till a private operator will apply for it. The decision provoked controversy because CRo would like to use this set of frequencies for the station Radiojournal for the longer period. Radim CULTURE Spanish Opera Stars in Prague Stars of the Spanish opera, Josef Carrera (his second performance in Prague) and Montserrat Caballe performed, May 1, in Prague's Rudolfinum. They were accompanied by the Czech philharmony orchestra, conducted by Enrique Riccim. Enrique Riccim comes from Buenos Aires, and have been working in Spain for many years in the Gran Teatro del Liceo. Caballe and Carrera have the long history of professional and personal contacts. Carrera performed with M. Caballe in 1970 in Barcelona already. The concert by Carrera and Caballe was performed live and "unplugged". Natalie/Sofi Prague's Spring - 49th year The musical festival Prague's Spring will begins on May 12 at 8 p.m. in the Dvorak's concert hall of Rudolfinum with the performance of Bedrich Smetana's symphony poem "My Fatherland". The festival ends June 2, traditionally with Beethoven's 9th symphony, also in Dvorak's hall. Concerts are to be performed also in other places such as the Spanish hall of Prague's Castle or in the gothic cathedral of St. Vitus. Informations and tickets can be arranged either at the TIKETPRO company (phone 0422-2311828, fax 0422-24811566) or at the box-office in Hellichova Street 18, Prague 1 (phone 0422-530 293.) Adam/Sofi FROM SLOVAKIA Czech Republic Main Trade Partner of Slovakia According to a statement of the Slovak Statistical Office, the Czech Republic is the major trading partner of Slovakia, receiving 37.6 percent of Slovak exports and sending 30.4 percent of Slovak imports in the first quarter. The second heaviest trading partner is Germany, followed by Russia, Hungary and the Ukraine. The Czech share of Slovak food imports is 50 percent, and 45 percent of Slovak food exports went to the Czech Republic. ECONOMICS Deposits in Banka Bohemia To Be Released Clients of the privately-owned Banka Bohemia will be able to transfer their frozen deposits from Banka Bohemia (BB) to Czechoslovak Commercial Bank. The deposits were frozen at the beginning of April when BB was put under the government-control. We reported on the bank's problems in a previous issue under the title Banka Bohemia in Trouble. Lida News from the Stock Exchange The slow decline on the Prague Stock Exchange continued through the last week. The decline, which began April 7, slowed in Thursday's trading, so that a price increase was expected. But the fall continued Monday. The Thursday, April 28, respite showed up best on the shares market. Ceska Sporitelna improved its position 10 percent, the maximum allowed in one day's trading, to 7,700 crowns. The rates of Seliko Olomouc, Cokoladovny and IPS Prague also rose slightly, with BVV, CEZ, Fatra and Kavalier Glassworks holding steady in trading of 261.5 million crowns. On the central market, 14.2 million crowns of CEZ shares were traded. Monday's session saw a decrease even on shares with long-term growth. The shares of Ceva Kraluv dvur dropped nearly 10 percent, halting almost continuous growth from February 3's price of 63 crowns, to April 28's 1,070 crowns. The total amount of Monday trading was 234 million crowns. More than half of this was created by bonds, mostly due to the direct trade with CEZ 2 obligations in the amount of 121.3 million crowns. The value of the official index of Prague Stock Exchange, the PX 50, dropped just more than half a percent to 849.9. Compared with the beginning of April, when the index stood 1,000 points, the drop is now 15 percent. Tomas Industrial Production Drops Again According to the survey of the Czech Statistical Office, industrial production fell 0.8 percent in first quarter of this year, adjusted for inflation. This was disappointing news, as the first three months were expected to bring a slow rise. Industrial production grew 1.6 percent in terms of common prices. But that doesn't mean a larger amount of goods was produced, but that those goods have higher prices. However, industrial production in the building industry showed long-term growth. It grew by 6.5 percent in the first quarter, higher than last year's first quarter growth of 4.1 percent. The average salary in the machinery industry rose during the quarter to reach 6,789 crowns. The growth is remarkably faster in the construction industry, where the average salary reached 7,318 crowns. The foreign trade balance was favorable during the quarter, despite the fact that imports grew faster than exports. Total imports to the Czech Republic reached 83.2 billion crowns, with exports at 84.9 billion. Moravian Factory Supplies American Boeing A precision tooling machine produced by the the firm ZPS in Zlin is being used in production of the prototype of the Boeing 777, an "super jumbo" craft called the airplane for 21st century. The tool, which shapes production parts, is used in a factory in Kansas that specializes in constructing of plane fuselages. It is a special prototype modified for producing parts of the fuselage as long as ten meters. ZPS spokeswoman Vojteska Kupcova said representatives of Boeing have shown the interest in buying other shaping machines in Zlin. EXCHAGE RATES OF THE CZECH NATIONAL BANK (valid from April 28) CHECKS CASH country Buy Sell Middle Buy Sell ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Australia 1 AUD 20.470 20.676 20.573 19.50 21.64 Belgium 100 BEF 85.356 86.214 85.785 83.09 88.49 Great Britain 1 GBP 43.657 44.095 43.876 42.46 45.30 Denmark 1 DKK 4.489 4.535 4.512 4.31 4.71 Finland 1 FIM 5.418 5.472 5.445 4.95 5.95 France 1 FRF 5.131 5.183 5.157 4.96 5.36 Ireland 1 IEP 42.565 42.993 42.779 40.78 44.78 Italy 1000 ITL 18.216 18.400 18.308 17.54 19.08 Japan 100 JPY 28.575 28.863 28.719 27.42 30.02 Canada 1 CAD 20.877 21.087 20.982 20.09 21.87 Luxemburg 100 LUF 85.356 86.214 85.785 82.79 88.79 Netherlands 1 NLG 15.641 15.799 15.720 15.24 16.20 Norway 1 NOK 4.049 4.089 4.069 3.92 4.22 New Zealand 1 NZD 16.678 16.846 16.762 16.01 17.51 Portugal 100 PTE 17.080 17.252 17.166 15.99 18.35 Austria 1 ATS 2.497 2.523 2.510 2.45 2.57 Greece 100 GRD 11.939 12.059 11.999 11.29 12.71 Germany 1 DEM 17.566 17.742 17.654 17.19 18.11 Spain 100 ESP 21.439 21.655 21.547 20.55 22.55 Sweden 1 SEK 3.800 3.838 3.819 3.66 3.98 Switzerland 1 CHF 20.634 20.842 20.738 20.24 21.24 USA 1 USD 28.951 29.241 29.096 28.40 29.80 EC-ECU 1 XEU 33.863 34.203 34.033 -- -- IMF-SDR 1 XDR 41.295 41.711 41.503 -- -- Slovakia 1 XCU -- -- 34.033 -- -- WEATHER The sun at last! The last days of April brought the bright sky and the sun. Unfortunately May 1 came in with cold winds and temperatures from 10 to 14 Celsius degrees. On Tuesday the clouds vanished and the sun started shining again. Daily temperatures were from 14 to 18 and from 6 to 2 Celsius degrees by night. Dear readers, We apologize for the difficulties in distribution of Carolina issues 115 and 116). We were preparing them regularly, in time, and only from your queries did we find out something was wrong. We will work even harder to ensure that Carolina is sent at the regular time through the end of May, when the spring semester is over. From then until the end of the June, we will transmit weekly. A slimmer summer version during the summer holidays (July and August) we will come out every two weeks. Times will be announced in advance. We apologize once again and hope your inconvenience was limited. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This news may be published only with "CAROLINA" designation. The subscription is free. Comments and remarks are appreciated. Send them please to the address: carolina@n.fsv.cuni.cz To subscribe to CAROLINA you send an e-mail message to the address LISTSERV@CSEARN.BITNET or to the address: LISTSERV@EARN.CVUT.CZ The text of the message is: SUBSCRIBE CAR-ENG First name Last name for the English version or SUBSCRIBE CAR-CS First name Last name for the Czech version. To delete your subscription from the list you send the following message to LISTSERV@EARN.CVUT.CZ: SIGNOFF CAR-ENG or SIGNOFF CAR-CS Please, don't send automatic replies to our list. You can temporalily stop receiving of Carolna by sending the command: SET CAR-ENG NOMAIL The command should be sent to the address LISTSERV@EARN.CVUT.CZ