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 Czech Republic e-mail: CAROLINA@cuni.cz tel: (+42 2) 24810804, ext. 252, fax: (+42 2) 24810987 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* C A R O L I N A No 156, Friday, April 21, 1995. EVENTS FOR THE WEEK APRIL 12-19 More and More Czechs Trust President Havel Public trust in Vaclav Havel is the highest it has been since 1993, when Havel became the Czech president. In an April opinion poll by the Center for Empirical Research, 78 percent of the Czechs surveyed said they had trust in their president, whose popularity has risen 12 percent since June of last year. Their trust in the other major Vaclav in Czech politics - Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus - is falling, however. Only 54 percent of those polled in April said they had confidence in the premier, a decrease of 17 percent over last February. In the survey, Czechs said they valued Havel's honesty, openness and democratic attitudes but that he lacked political foresight. As for Klaus, they praised his knowledge of economics and his ability to get what he wants, though they criticized him for his lack of sensitivity to the democratic process. While Havel's popularity is the same among all groups of the Czech population, including the less affluent, Klaus' supporters are mainly Czechs with a higher education and income, aged 18 to 44. Blue-collar workers tended to have less trust in him. Martin Kupka/Andrea Snyder Surprising Criticism From U.S. Congress on Jewish Property Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus and Minister Igor Nemec are refusing to acknowlege a letter from the U.S. Congress criticizing the approach of post-Communist countries to the restitution of Jewish property. In a letter to Secretary of State Warren Christopher, the members of the U.S. Congress said relations between the U.S. and 13 East European countries, including the Czech Republic, could suffer unless the East Europeans solve the issue of Jewish property restitution. The letter went on to describe this issue as a test of the East Europeans' respect for basic human rights. Klaus said he was extremely surprised by the letter, signed by both Senate leader Robert Dole and Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Nemec said that the congresspeople's view of the problem was oversimplified. "It seems a bit to me as if someone in Czech Parliament were to start concerning themselves with the question of restitution for Indian tribes in the U.S.," he said. Last year the Czech government pledged to return to the Jewish Community all of its former property currently held by the state. In the event, however, it returned only half of what was promised. Jana Maruskova/Andrea Snyder Investigation Goes on into Prison Death of Brutal Murderer Frantisek Kahanek died Saturday, April 8, in a prison cell in Horni Slavkovo, where he was in custody awaiting trial for the brutal sex murder of 10-year-old Tomas Belice, the son of a Prison Service employee. Following Kahanek's autopsy, Antonin Prekop, spokesperson for the Sokolov Police, ruled out the possibility of foul play, saying Kahanek had slipped on the wet floor and cut himself on the bars. This week, however, a new version of the story reached the public, based on the complete results of the autopsy, stating that Kahanek in fact suffered numerous wounds. And according to the Czech press, police investigators are now leaning more towards the idea that Kahanek was killed by another prisoner. At the root of the controversy is the fact that Kahanek was placed in a cell with nine other prisoners. According to some public officials, including Parliament Chairman Milan Uhde, Kahanek's fate was determined the moment he stepped into the cell. While the investigation has not yet been closed, Czech Police Chief Oldrich Tomasek has already dismissed Antonin Prekop and punished the superiors of the spokespersons for the Sokolov Police. Kahanek's case has brought the issue of overcrowded prisons back into the spotlight here. According to Prison Administration spokesperson Eduard Vacek, there was no reason to place Kahanek in an individual cell. Generally, he said, the only prisoners who get their own cells are those with a contagious illness or a mental illness, or those who are much thinner than the other prisoners. Jakub Knezu/Andrea Snyder Mortgages to Become a Part of Czech Life Czech Parliament approved April 19 legislative amendments enabling individuals to take out mortgage loans, and that for up to 70 percent of the price of the building. While the government had proposed 60 percent, two members of Parliament - one from the opposition Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia and the other from the Civic Democratic Party, a member of the government coalition - demanded 70 percent, arguing that only then would Czechs be able to purchase homes without exhausting their savings or other financial sources. Under the amendments, however, anyone who wants to build their own home will have to start construction with their own funds from special accounts for that purpose offered by Czech banks. To raise funds to cover the loans, banks will be allowed to issue mortgage certificates, the income from which will not be taxed, making it possible for the banks to offer them at a lower rate of interest without making them any less attractive for holders. While the amendments do not address the question of state support for mortgage loans, it is assumed the state will cover part of the interest for those who take out loans. Jiri Schneider/Andrea Snyder Ex-Marklap Owner Released From Custody Former Marklap owner Adolf Klapka, charged in December 1994 with falsifying his company's books, was released from custody on March 11. State attorney Augustin Hrboticky confirmed this Tuesday for Carolina. Klapka and his commercial lawyer Michael Macek have been accused of illegally raising Marklap's basic assets from 100,000 to 52 million crowns in 1992. "The reasons for keeping Mr. Klapka in custody no longer applied, and at the present time there is no danger of him influencing witnesses," Hrboticky said Tuesday. "Therefore at his request I decided to release him." The Marklap affair became public as the result of a 51.86 million crown debt incurred by the Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA) during its 1992 parliamentary election campaign. Antonin Moravec, owner of the Kreditni a prumyslova banka (Bank of Credit and Industry), provided the loan to ODA on the basis of a guarantee from Marklap, which was allowed to increase its basic assets just a few days prior to the loan thanks to a favorable audit from Deputy Finance Minister Miroslav Tera, a member of ODA. Later, under circumstances that remain unclear, ODA had its debt erased and KPB assumed ownership of Marklap. However, the nearly 52 million crown bill of loan, signed by ODA secretariat chief Josef Reichman and payable in 1996, still exists. Reichman is now being charged with falsifying business data as his signature on the bill was intended to damage the bank's creditors. Since the charges were filed against Reichman on March 17, he has been hospitalized for treatment at a psychiatric clinic in Prague, though there has been speculation that he returned home before Easter. Tuesday the doctor in charge of Reichman's case declined to say whether or not his patient had been released, though Carolina did confirm that Reichman's name is not in the release register. Moravec, who is being prosecuted for large-scale fraud during his tenor at KPB, has been in custody since Dec. 17 of last year. Jiri Chvojka/J.C. French Bus of Students Ends in Tragedy A French bus carrying students aged 15 to 18 crashed at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday in Prague, killing the driver, one passenger and injuring another 27 passengers. The bus went off the road on a curve in the D5 highway in Prague 5, first hitting a street sign and then a lamppost, which sliced off the left side of the bus. Police said seven students were seriously injured while another 20 escaped with only slight injuries. The accident occurred on a sharply curving exit ramp, where the speed limit gradually drops from 100 km/h (60 mph) to 40 km/h (25 mph). The initial investigation found no brake marks at the scene of the accident. From Mlada fronta Dnes by Muhammad Shah/Jiri Chvojka FROM SLOVAKIA Slovak Secret Service Gets New Director Ivan Lexa, a member of Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar's Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), has been named the new director of the Slovak Information Service (SIS) by the Slovak government. Preceding his appointment was the resignation of the former SIS chief, Vladimir Mitra, and Parliament's adoption of a revision of the law governing the operations of the agency. The new legislation stripped the president - currently Michal Kovac, the prime minister's archrival - of the power to appoint the SIS director and gave it to the government. President Kovac had already voiced his disapproval of Lexa as the intelligence chief on several occasions in the past. Mitra said the organ that oversees the SIS had flagrantly overstepped its powers and that Lexa's appointment was a political move on the part of the HZDS. He also rejected Meciar's charges that President Kovac was using the SIS to monitor the prime minister. While Kovac has in turn accused Meciar of building parallel intelligence networks for his own personal use, Ivan Mjartan, Slovakia's ambassador to the Czech Republic, told students at Charles University's Faculty of Social Sciences that the conflict between the president and the prime minister was exaggerated. Michal Vynohradnyk/Eftychia Damianidou Possible Assassination Attempt on Slovak Parliamentarian Arpad Matejka, a member of Slovak Parliament for the HZDS, was apparently targeted for assassination, when a bomb exploded beneath his car Friday morning. Matejka was not in his car at the time of the explosion and nobody was injured. According to reports in the Czech press, the Slovak police have yet to disclose any details of the incident. Michal Vynohradnyk/Eftychia Damianidou CULTURE Umberto Eco to Visit Prague Umberto Eco, the famous Italian writer known for his novels "The Name of the Rose" and "Foucault's Pendulum" will visit Prague to take part in the Book World 95 book fair in May. Eco plans to present his latest book, titled "Skeptics and Comforters," to published in Czech by the Svoboda publishing house. Karolina Polakova/Tomas Kopecny Too Loud a Solitude Tops Czech Movie Rankings The film adaptation of Bohumil Hrabal's novel "Prilis hlucna samota" ("Too Loud a Solitude," see Carolina no. 153), was the most sought-out movie in Czech cinemas last week. Though Vera Caisova's work beat out many of Hollywood's top motion pictures, it was the only Czech movie to make last week's Top 10. Tomas Kopecny/T.K. American Filmmakers Disenchanted With Prague Paul Hitchcock, chief producer of the motion picture "Mission: Impossible," filmed in Prague in March, expressed disillusionment with his Czech partners in an interview with a reporter for the Czech News Agency (CTK), describing the American film crew's stay here as a disaster full of problems. Hitchcock's main criticism was greed on the part of the Czech government, who he said had promised to rent the filmmakers the Liechtenstein Palace for 80,000 crowns a day and then raised the price to 500,000 crowns three days before the film crew was to use the building. Of Tom Cruise, who besides starring in the movie is one of its producers, Hitchcock said he was obviously frustrated by this fact. He said they received promise after promise none of which were kept, and that it was easier for him to work here under the Communists, who were more accommodating. A fax sent to Hitchcock by the Czechs prior to the film crew's arrival in Prague does in fact contain a price lower than the one the Americans were actually charged, though the fax came from a company called Prague International Films (PIF) and not from the Czech government. Igor Nemec, head of the Office of the Government, said the rent for the palace was determined according to standard procedures and that he knew nothing about a smaller sum. Said Ivan Spevak, deputy mayor of the Prague 1 district: "Originally we considered not permitting the filming at all because of the impact it would have on life in the city center. Apparently the Americans assumed we would open the whole city for them if they brought along Tom Cruise. I guess they thought they were going somewhere in the Balkans." Ludek S. Stanek/Eftychia Damianidou SPORTS Sparta Praha Atop Soccer League - But Only Briefly Sparta had themselves a happy Easter, defeating Liberec 7-1 on Friday, which moved them to the top of the standings. Only temporarily, however, as two days later Slavia Praha moved back into the no. 1 spot with a 2-0 win in Jablonec. After 22 rounds, then, Slavia remain two points ahead of Sparta. An important moment occurred during the Cheb-Drnovice match, as Drnovice striker Radek Drulak scored a hat trick, the second goal being his 100th in the first league. Drnovice have picked up all 18 points in their last six matches, while Ceske Budejovice also continued their string of successes. Viktoria Zizkov picked up their first win of the spring on Sunday against the eternal cellar-dwellers of Benesov. Round 22 results: Sparta Praha - Slovan Liberec 7:1, FK Jablonec - Slavia Praha 0:2, Petra Drnovice - Union Cheb 5:0, Ceske Budejovice - Viktoria Zizkov 0:2, Bohemians Praha - Boby Brno 1:2, Hradec Kralove - Svit Zlin 2:0, Banik Ostrava - Sigma Olomouc 0:1. Rudolf Cernik/Mirek Langer Great Showing for Czech Under-18s in Italy The Czech Republic's under-18 kickers came out of the Trofeo Paolo Valenti tournament in Ravenna, Italy, with flying colors, tieing the Italians 1-1, then beating both Russia (1-0) and Austria (5-0). In the semifinals the Czechs disposed of Norway 1-0, but then lost the final to Greece, 1-0, to take home the silver medal. Rudolf Cernik/Mirek Langer Indoor Ball Sports Leagues Finish for the Season The women's volleyballers of Mora Olomouc won the championship again this year, for the third time in a row defeating the Olymp Praha squad in the final, with Stepancikova and Janackova leading the way. KP Brno picked up the bronze, triumphing over Slavia Praha. In the men's volleyball league, last year's champion Aero Odolena Voda lost to Setuza Usti nad Labem 3-1, with Starobrno Brno finishing a surprising third over Liberec. In women's basketball, USK Praha took five matches to take the league championship over IMOS Zabovresky, with USK's center Vodickova sinking 30 points in the last match. Prerov won the bronze, defeating Repros Brno. Meanwhile, the men's basketball final has only just begun. Jelinek scored 42 points to lead Chan Vysehrad to victory in the first match, though the second time round with Harasek of Bioveta Brno covering him closely his squad fell, to even the final at 1:1. In the series for the bronze, USK Trident Praha is leading 2:0 over Tonak Novy Jicin. Team handball is moving more slowly. After the first matches in the final group, the women of Zlin have moved into the lead over Slavia Praha, but the playoffs do not begin until after the group matches finish. Meanwhile, the men have played half of their 10 matches in the true final group. Dukla Praha needs just three points to win the league but will have to wait until May or June, after the world championships, to pick them up. Mirek Langer/M.L. Hockey Players Go to World Championships Any ice hockey fan looking at this year's results expects the Czech skaters under coach Ludek Bukac to be a favorite in the world championships, which start Sunday, April 23, for the Czechs with a match against Finland. The Czechs gave further evidence of their readiness in preliminary matches against Canada and Sweden. Bukac's men dominated in Friday's contest with the Canadian squad. In the very first minute they took the lead on a goal by Kucera, and while Czech goalie Turek turned in a shutout, his Canadian counterpart Hirsch surrendered three more goals, to Janku, Ujcik and Alinc. Tuesday in Litvinov the Czechs moved out quickly again versus Sweden. Alinc finished off a nice play in the fourth minute, followed by a score from Vejvoda at the start of the second period, giving the Czechs a two-goal lead. The Swedes struck back, however, with goals from Dackell, also in the second period, and then from both Alfredsson and Eklund in the space of 90 seconds towards the end of the match, proving that the Czech squad cannot yet claim to be the sole favorite. On Wednesday in Prague the Czech skaters turned the tables on the Swedes, coming back from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2. Mirek Langer/M.L. A SPECIAL LOOK AT PUBLIC OPINION IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC Praguers Say Journalists Should Have Right to Information Asked whether officials should be required by law to provide information to journalists, 36 percent of Praguers polled said absolutely yes, 32 percent replied probably yes, 13 percent said probably no, and 6 percent said definitely not. Thirteen percent of the respondents had no opinion on the matter. The DEMA public opinion firm conducted the survey of 411 residents of the Czech capital, aged 18 or older. Tomas Kopecny/T.K. Popularity of Marriage on the Decline A March poll by the Institute for Public Opinion Research (IVVM) showed that young Czechs in increasing numbers are rejecting the possibility that their current partner might one day become their husband or wife. Almost two thirds of those surveyed said they were certain they would marry; 15 percent said they were certain they would live only with their partner; 10 percent would not even consider marriage; and 12 percent had yet to make up their minds. The Czech Statistics Institute's annual report on population trends talks of a steep decrease in the number of weddings here. In 1990, for example, 90,000 couples tied the knot, while in 1993 only 66,000 did so. Andrea Rihova/Katerina Rus Czechs Early to Bed More than half of all Czechs go to bed before 10 o'clock in the evening, according to a poll by the AISA public opinion firm. By 11 p.m. 86 percent of the respondents, aged 14 and up, said they were in bed. Apparently Czechs are not big on nightlife, as a mere 5 percent of those surveyed said they went to sleep at midnight while 15 percent admitted to hitting the hay before 9 on weekdays. On weekends, one out of 20 respondents said they went to bed before 9, one out of five before 10, and slightly less than one out of five at midnight. From Mlada fronta Dnes by Karolina Polakova/Katarina Rus Minimum Cost of Living - Czechs Can't Figure It Almost no one in the country knows how to calculate their minimum cost of living on which welfare benefits are based, according to a poll conducted by the Institute for Public Opinion Research. A full one-fifth of the respondents said they had no idea how to figure out their minimum cost of living. Two percent said they had never even heard of the concept before. As of January 1995, for example, it is 1,230 crowns for children under the age of 6, 1,360 crowns for children aged 6 to 10, 1,620 crowns for children from 10 to 15, 1,780 crowns for dependents aged 15 to 26, and 1,680 crowns for an adult. In addition there is a household provision depending on the number of people per household, ranging from 760 to 1,400 crowns. From Mlada fronta Dnes by Martina Krizkova/Katarina Rus WEATHER Hats, scarfs, coats, snowmen and sweaters, all this now belongs to the past. Bohemian spring has conquered all, the temperature in the sun is between 17 and 21 degrees Celsius, the wind is mild, the flowers are blooming, and the political situation is favorable. Martina Krizkova/Katerina Rus WHO'S WHO ON THE CAROLINA STAFF (PART III, CONCLUSION) I was conceived more than 19 years ago. Since that time I've been able to get through the elementary school in my hometown of Uvaly, the gymnasium in Cesky Brod, and to start studying political science and English translation and interpreting at the Charles University Faculty of Liberal Arts as well as jouralism at the Faculty of Social Studies the year after. I speak Czech German and British English. Besides my major, I am also interested in psychology, life and all kinds of music. My favorite radio stations are BBC, Radiozurnal and Kiss. In order to maintain a healthy state of mind I don't watch TV, if possible. Yet I must admit I adore the Simpsons. I like people of good will, including the Carolina readers, and Norway. I hate ambitious idiots. And ... when I retire, I'd like to become Mr. President. Jirka Schneider I'm 21 plus a few weeks. Before that I just didn't exist. Joined by a bond more than spiritual to the town on the Vltava, I have never lived anywhere else, unless I count the short time when my home was gray Brussels. I have the number of parents that is most in fashion these days (2) and the number of siblings that never causes problems (0). I'm interested in modern music and hermetic teachings, which I study at home. At the moment I'm trying to find the money for my own computer so I can hook up to the Internet and not run all over the place trying to get information. I'm a vegetarian and I can pretty well do without politics and organized tours. Ludek S. Stanek/Alex Zucker I lived for 19 years in Klatovy, a town in the foothills of the Sumava mountains. At 17, I was fortunate to get a scholarship for a high school in Northern California, where, besides other terrific experiences, I got to taste journalism for the first time, which eventually became one of my grad classes. With the American graduation certificate I returned to the Gymnasium in Klatovy where I graduated for the second time. At this moment, I am studying journalism at the Faculty of Social Studies (where I am trying to work on the English version of Carolina) and at the Faculty of Liberal Arts, majoring in English and American Studies as well as Dutch. I go crazy about languages (English, French, German and Dutch), extraordinary experience (which I get from journalism and travel), skiing, hiking and edible mushrooming (so far I have survived). To me, the most beautiful regions on the Earth are the Sumava mountains, Northern California and all the other places where I find giving and open people. Vera Vitkova I was born in the end of July 1974. Having finished elementary school, I decided to study at the graphics high school, majoring in photography. This activity has been the source of entertainment as well as of numerous nervous breakdowns. After graduating from this school, I thought that I would finally start a real job, but then eventually I settled into the schoolbenches of the National Institute of Education, majoring in enterprise and management. At this moment, I am studying at the Faculty of Social Studies with a major in journalism. Besides taking photos, literature and art, I am deeply interested in music. I am open to all music styles with the exception of brass band music. Martina Vojtechovska What I enjoy doing is music (blues, rock and roll), beer, interesting books, football (soccer) and volleyball. I live in the town of Benesov (40 km from Prague) with my sister and parents. Moreover, I play piano and occasionally guitar. I enjoy studying journalism (so far we haven't taken the finals). I am really happy to have the opportunity of writing for this "newspaper." I am 18. Michal Vynohradnyk I was born on March 3, 1976. That's the same day when the great Czech scholar, Jan Amos Komensky, was born. Now I am living my best years. My friends call me "Zumpa." I like mountain climbing. Yet, as a sportsman, I am shaped more through my mind than through my body. To me, the greatest entertainment is the news service coming from Slovakia. I have two sisters and great parents. On a regular basis I visit rock concerts. Generally, I love to listen to music. As well, I enjoy to take and develop photos. Lukas Zentel I was born April 16, 1958 (the same day as Charlie Chaplin but a different year). I am a translator, a linguist and a young-minded old bachelor. The most surprising thing that ever happened to me was that I translated John Updike's "Witches of Eastwick" into Czech, and he didn't come to Prague to crack my head open. I enjoy working for Carolina because I consider it one of our school's best projects - it's the best opportunity the students have to learn and also to find out what they still don't know. I enjoy listening to Tom Waits, and I believe that good food is the best thing when you need a lift. I am a firm believer in the saying, "Take what you want, and pay for it." I view the world as a complex mechanism controlled predominantly by dwarves. Jan Jirak I know copying is a no-no, but since not much has changed since last year (except that Carolina and all of us are one year older), I think I can use my business card from last year with only slight changes. I am married and have three sons (Jiri-22, Michal-18, and Ondrej-11). I was born under the sign of Leo (August 15 in Prostejov), but am an owl. My specialization here at the school is wire service journalism, and among other things I lead the seminar on Basic Journalism, which includes this attempt of ours at a news service. At this point I consider the nearly 4-year-old Carolina to be a part of the family (we gave it a name in October 1991), and there are times when I have the feeling I spend more time with Carolina than I do at home. I would like to thank everyone we have not yet thanked personally for their responses to our project, as most of your comments are like salve for the soul. Thanks. Ludmila (Lida) Truneckova Greetings. My name is Alex and I'm following in the footsteps of my friend Ross Daly as the Carolina editor. I'm 30 years old and I've been in Prague for four and a half years now, first as a translator/editor at the Czechoslovak News Agency (CTK), then as an editor at Prognosis, the country's first English-language newspaper (though now defunct), and I now earn my living here as a free-lance translator, doing everything from articles on the design and construction of rigid airships and the history of the Laurin & Klement motorcycle and automobile factory to Jachym Topol's first novel, the 480-page monster "Sister." Alex Zucker ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This news may be published only with "CAROLINA" designation. The subscription is free. Comments and remarks are appreciated. 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