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 132, Friday, October 7, 1994. FROM EVENTS OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS (September 21-October 5) Czech Polititians React to Slovak Elections Slovak parliamentary election results did not surprise Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus. (See election article below, in From Slovakia section.) "A stable government fit for action is needed both in Slovakia and in the Czech Republic," Klaus said. The party led by former prime minister Vladimir Meciar won the most seats in the election, paving the way for a return to power by Meciar, who was toppled last March when his party split. Czech Foreign Minister Josef Zieleniec said the election results should not considerably affect relations between the Czech and Slovak republics. Ivan Masek, head of the Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA) parliamentarians, said he doubts the new Slovak parliament will survive its whole term. ODA Deputy Chairman Daniel Kroupa said the failure of the Slovak right will result in difficulties forming a coalition government that could lead the country towards membership in the European Union. The leader Christian Democratic Party (KDS), Ivan Pilip, said the elections confirmed a difference between Czech and Slovak orientations and further transformation of the societies. KDS Vice-Chairman Vaclav Benda described the result as sad. "I am afraid very much afraid that it will be most difficult to form any stable government with the combination of parties that have managed to get into the Parliament," he said. The opposite view is expressed by the chairman of the non-parliamentary Moravian National Party, Ivan Drimal, who thinks that Meciar's victory will bring Slovakia stability. According to the Czech Social Democratic Party chairman Milos Zeman, there is a risk of authoritarian government in Slovakia. "It is obvious that the election outcome is one thing and the other is how the government will be completed," said President Vaclav Havel in reports October 2 from Connecticut. Havel had been in the United States since September 27. Martina/Jirka Baudys Didn't Leave Defense Without a Fight As Antonin Baudys was being withdrawn from the post of defence minister two weeks ago, he appeared with serious accusations at the address of his own party. The presidium of the Christian and Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party (KDU-CSL) allegedly reproached him for not taking part in building the party's treasury. Baudys said he always had a principled attitude to such practices, which may have played a role in his withdrawal. Jiri Hanak in Lidove Noviny wrote that if these words are not true, it is the most disgusting slander that has been made about a political party in the post-November period. Two days later, Baudys distanced himself from the statements and said that KDU-CSL chairman Josef Lux rebuked him several times for not being interested in party's financial situation. He said that other statements were misquotations and inventions. Following this, the board of KDU-CSL recomended that he file suit against the concerned media. But Baudys has not done so to date and probably won't in the future, according to an interview published in Mlada Fronta Dnes. Jakub a Martin/Jirka New Defense Minister Delivers First Address "Military service should be a friendly and just matter," said new Defense Minister Vilem Holan in his inaugural speech. "Mothers of soldiers should not worry anymore." Holan, who replaced Antonin Baudys after the former minister was dismissed, said one of his top goals is renewal of the military's reputation. Tomas Fejfar, deputy chairman of the Security Committee in the Czech Parliament, said "nothing can be worse than the term of the former defense minister Antonin Baudys." Jakub a Martin/Vera Czech Government Settled on Privatization of Petrochemical Industry. The Czech government will allow the foreign industrial group IOC to take part in the privatization of petrochemical refineries of Chemapol Litvinov and Kaucuk Kralupy. IOC is a consortium of oil giants Agip, Conoco, Shell and Total. A contract establishing a shared company of the refineries is expected to be signed in January. Under the terms of the agreement 51 percent of the shares, worth as much as 180 million dollars, will be state-owned. Domestic investors may purchase shares from this stake in the coming years. The refinery issue has been under discussion for three years. This May, government economic ministers recommended refinery privatization under the Czech company of Chemapol. Yet, after Interior Minister Jan Ruml indicated that the director of Chemapol had been an agent of the secret police under the communist regime, the government postponed its decision until Wednesday. Officials of Chemapol are publically silent, but negotiations with the government are on-going. Jirka/Vera Trade Unions Seek Parliament Seats Trade union representatives have begun negotiations with political parties, including the Christian and Democratic Union-Czech People's Party (KDU-CSL) and the Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA) with an eye toward gaining seats in Parliament. Speculation in the press focused on whether trade union officials want to end the independence they have had until now. Richard Falbr, head of the trade unions, later confirmed that his organization wants to have six to eight representatives in Parliament. Vladimir Dlouhy, the ODA minister of trade and industry, said he would not mind having these names on the ballots of his party. However, ODA head Jan Kalvoda said he has not yet thought about putting the names on his party's ballot. Kalvoda also said he appreciates that the unions do not intend to set up their own party. Civic Democratic Party Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Jindrich Vodicka also did not rule out union officials appearing on his party's ballot, provided the candidates were party members. Stepanka/Vera Entrepreneur Miroslav Svarc Arrested Benesov police detained well-known entrepreneur Miroslav Svarc on September 29 on suspicion of embezzling 8 million Czech crowns. Police also said they were detaining Svarc to deny him the chance to influence witnesses, obstruct the investigation or continue criminal activity. According to police, Svarc tried to solve his financial problems by not paying taxes and insurance on his employees to the state. If guilty, his debt to the state, including penalties, could reach more than 25 million Czech crowns. The police action was strongly criticized by Rudolf Beranek, head of the Union of Entrepreneurs, Rudolf Baranek. He accussed the Benesov officials of concocting a plot, a move he said indicates official's negative attitudes toward small- and middle-sized business. Svarc could be set free as soon as charges are brought against him. Besides other possible effects, the case endangers the existence of the Svarc Benesov soccer club. The rise of Svarc Benesov, a novice in the first league, was in large part caused by Svarc's involvement. The team could face the loss of its main sponsor. From reports in Lidove noviny Michal/Vera FROM SLOVAKIA Meciar's Movement for Democratic Slovakia Tops Elections A stronger than expected election showing put former prime minister Vladimir Meciar back in the driver's seat in Slovakia, as his party, the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), picked up just under 35 percent of the vote in weekend elections. The showing will give HZDS 61 of the 150 seats in the Slovak parliament. Early parliamentary elections were called after HZDS split in March, depriving the Meciar government of a majority. Polls leading up to the election had shown HZDS getting only 26 to 29 percent of the vote. Analysts suggested that people were embarrassed to admit they were planning to vote for Meciar, who, while popular at home, is widely known to be viewed skeptically abroad. The left-leaning coalition Common Choice finished a surprisingly distant second, with 10.4 percent of the vote, enough for 18 seats. Peter Weiss, chairman of the Democratic Left Party, the strongest part of the coalition, did not hide his disappointment with the results, and resigned from his post. The Hungarian Coalition, with 10.2 percent of the vote, also gained 18 seats, and the Christian Democratic Movement, led by Jan Carnogursky, picked up 10.1 percent of the vote and will have 17 seats. Prime Minister Jozef Moravcik's Democratic Union will have 15 seats based on its 8.6 percent showing. The Worker's Front Union in Slovakia, a far-left party led by Jan Luptak, received 7.34 percent and will have 13 seats. The final party to clear the 5 percent hurdle for entry to parliament was Jan Slotov's Right Party and the Slovak National Party, with 5.4 percent and 9 seats. Seven of the 17 parties contesting the election will be in the parliament. Election turnout was 76 percent. Lukas/Eftychia Meciar, Election Winner, Had Trouble Voting The quiet of the first day of the Slovak election was interrupted when former prime minister Vladimir Meciar, whose party would go on to win the election, was barred from voting. Meciar and the members of his family were prohibited from voting because they were not registered in the list of electors at the Evangelic School in Hluboka Street in Bratislava, near where Meciar lives. The local election office said the incident was caused by an administrative mistake, which prevented 50 others from voting at the school during the first hour of the elections. The voters were invited back to the election room when the local office fixed the list of the electors. However, Meciar rejected the explanation, along with the excuses of the chairman of the electing commission, and threatened to complain about his voting rights. Meciar also denied allegations that he had staged incident to build sympathy for HZDS. "The Slovak election commission is working independently on us, and from this, please do not be suspicious of me," Meciar said. "It is obvious that I did not create it alone against myself. Do not give me such absurdities." he told journalists. Current Slovak Prime Minister Jozef Moravcik expressed regret for the events. He said he will express his view after the end of the incident. He rejected allegationns that the intent of the affair was to question the results of elections. According to President Michal Kovac, he learned of the affair from journalists waiting for him in the election room in Bratislava. He said he hoped the whole thing would be resolved. According to television reports, the same trouble voting happened to Chairman of the Democratic Left Party Petr Weiss and his wife. Although they were not in the list of electors, after certifying where they lived, they added their names to the list and voted. Tereza/Eftychia President Kovac Asks Vladimir Meciar to Form New Goverment Slovak President Michal Kovac on Tuesday authorized Vladimir Meciar, head of the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia, to try to assemble a government. Negotiations on assembling a coalition with the six other parties represented in parliament will be headed by HZDS representatives Olga Keltosova, Sergej Kozlik and Ivan Lexa, said party spokesman Dusan Kleiman. Although Meciar was given a letter by Kovac authorizing him to form a goverment, Meciar has refused to comment on developments. In a sign of on-going strain between Meciar and Kovac, During the first post-election meeting of parliamentary party representatives with Kovac, HZDS's Lexa demanded that the president step down. Kovac replied that he would agree to the formation of a government, but stopped Lexa from talking further, at which point Lexa and Keltosova walked out of the meeting. Jan Slota, chairman of the Slovak National Party, and Jan Carnogursky, chairman of the Christian Democratic Party, left the assembly hall as well. HZDS would need 90 percent of the votes in Parliament to remove Kovac from office. Representatives of the governing coalition and Hungarian political groups said that they would not participate in an attempt to remove Kovac from office. Karolina/Martina CULTURE New Film by Svankmajer Debuts On September 29, a new full-length film, "Lekce Faust," by Jan Svankmajer was shown for the first time. It features the last performance of Petr Cepek, the recently deceased actor. Director Svankmajer is a major representative of surrealism who first came to the spotlight with "Something From Alenka" in 1988. "Lecke Faust" is a version of the Faust legend of dealing with the Devil. Ludek/Martina World Press Photos Again in Prague From September 16 to October 10 visitors to the Prague Karolinum can see nearly 200 winning photos from 93 countries, which competed in the 37th year of the World Press Photo competition. The show began April 26 in Amsterdam this year and the exibition is being shown in 39 countries. The winner of Photo Of Year is the Canadian Larry Towell, who took a picture of boys in the occupied Gaza Strip. Roman Sejkot, an adjunct photo teacher at the Faculty of Social Science in Prague, won third prize in the sport category for the Czech Republic. His photos captured the story of a mentally retared, who overcame a fear from water, and was nominated to the Special Olympics in Madrid, where he set a new Czech record in the 200m breaststroke. Jana and Andrea, Martina ECONOMICS Exchange rates of the Czech national bank (valid from October 7) CHECKS CASH country buy sell middle buy sell Great Britain 1 GBP 44,002 44,444 44,223 42,80 45,64 France 1 FRF 5,258 5,310 5,284 5,08 5,48 Canada 1 CAD 20,584 20,790 20,687 19,80 21,58 Austria 1 ATS 2,553 2,579 2,566 2,51 2,63 Germany 1 DEM 17,962 18,142 18,052 17,59 18,51 Switzerland 1 CHF 21,666 21,884 21,775 21,28 22,28 USA 1 USD 27,755 28,033 27,894 27,19 28,59 Slovakia 1 XCU -- -- 34,502 -- -- SPORT European Cup Will Go On Without Czechs European football cups continued with return matches from the first round, and both Czech representatives failed to advance. Prague Slavia led twice over its Swedish rivals in the UEFA Cup, but after a 2:2 draw, AIK Stockholm goes to the next round. Because the first match also ended in a draw (0:0), it was the higher number of goals scored on the away field that sent Sweden on to the next round. Similarly, Viktoria Zizkov also ended with a draw (0:0) in its match with the English FC Chelsea London in the Cup Winners' Cup, losing out on a two-game score of 2:4. By their performance, Slovak teams surely brought more pleasure to their fans. Slovan Bratislava proceeded to the second round of the UEFA Cup, beating FC Copenhagen 1:0, 1:1. Tatran Presov achieved success over Dundee United in the Cup Winners' Cup, winning 2:3, 3:1. Rudolf/Jirka Hockey Extraleague Full of Surprises Hockey's biggest surprise come from Prague Slavia, which after good results is among the first five teams. Pavel Richter's players have shown they can win against strong opponents. Meanwhile, Sparta is not showing results in keeping with the team's powerhouse tradition. 3 round: Zlin - Ceske Budejovice 4:3, Olomouc Kladno 6:3, Jihlava - Sparta 5:2, Litvinov - Plzen 5:1, Pardubice - Vitkovice 5:4, Slavia - Vsetin 2:1. 4 round: Sparta - Litvinov 0:3, Vitkovice - Slavia 3:4, Zlin - Jihlava 2:2, Ceske Budejovice - Vsetin 1:1, Kladno - Pardubice 4:3, Plzen - Olomouc 0:2. 5 round: Olomouc - Sparta 4:2, Litvinov - Zlin 6:4, Vsetin - Vitkovice 3:3, Jihlava - Ceske Budejovice 3:1, Pardubice - Plzen 2:2, Slavia - Kladno 4:3. Tomas/Eftychia >From Six-Days medal after six years In the 69th International Motorcycle Six-Days in the United States the Czech team won the bronze medal. The team, Vaclav Fojtik, Zdenek Gottwald ml., Frantisek Hrobsky, Martin Macek, Libor Podmol and Lubomir Vojkuvka, stood on the victory rostrum together with first-place Italy and second-place Sweden. Slovak Team II won the competition of teams, the Team I finished fourth. WEATHER The first week of autumn has brought not only change of time (summer to central European), but also considerable change of weather, with the first frost and first snow. In the mountains in north and northwest Bohemia there was snow, as in northern Moravia. Temperatures at night range from -2 to 2 degrees Celsius, and during the day from 7 to 11 degrees. Martina, Petr/Martina ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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