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 CZECH REPUBLIC 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 161, Friday, May 26, 1995. EVENTS FOR THE WEEK MAY 17-24 Pope John Paul II Canonizes Two on Second Trip to Czech Republic On Saturday the Pope was greeted at the Prague airport by President Vaclav Havel and other Czech politicians. This visit to the Czech Republic - for the purpose of canonizing family patron Zdislava of Lemberk and priest Jan Sarkander - was John Paul II's second as Pope, his first trip coming shortly after the 1989 fall of communism. Saturday afternoon the president, Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus and other Czech government officials took part in a mass celebrated by the Pope at Strahov stadium in Prague. John Paul II spent his second day at the seat of the Moravian bishopric in Olomouc, northern Moravia, proclaiming both Zdislava and Sarkander saints in a ceremony at the specially reconstructed airfield in Olomouc-Neredina. According to the old Czech chronicles, Zdislava was renowned in the 13th century for her kindness, charity, and Christian acts of love, providing shelter to the poor and the sick. Jan Sarkander was born in 1576 in the Polish town of Skoczov, and began to study God's word after the death of his wife. He then went on to serve as the parish priest in Holesov, among other places, in what was then a predominantly Protestant Moravia. After the Protestant administrators charged Sarkander with treason and tortured him, he died. Sarkander's canonization drew protests from non-Catholic church officials in the Czech Republic, including the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, the Unity of Brethren, and the Methodist Church. In their eyes, Sarkander was a representative of the violent re-Catholicization that took place in Moravia. The Brethren Church maintains that he took part in the liquidation of Brethren congregations in Moravia and that he was condemned as a traitor. Pavel Smetana, chairman of the Ecumenical Church Council in the Czech Republic, refused to meet with the Pope as well. In Olomouc, John Paul II appealed for improved relations between churches and begged, in the name of all Catholics, forgiveness for the wrongs committed against non-Catholics. Approximately 100,000 people turned out for the mass in Prague and 250,000 for the Olomouc service, according to reports in the Czech press, a markedly lower turnout than the Pope attracted on his last visit here five years ago. Monday the Pope went on to Poland, and he returned to the Vatican Monday evening from the Ostrava airport after a final goodbye with Prime Minister Klaus. Martin Kupka/Andrea Snyder Hussites in Prague The restaging of Master Jan Hus' legendary pilgrimage to Konstanz, Germany, where he was burned at the stake July 6, 1415, began last Friday in Tabor, southern Bohemia, with the procession reaching Prague the next day. The prolog to the event, which concludes June 2 in Konstanz, drew the attention of both the media and the public, as spectators on Prague's Old Town Square came to marvel at the horses, period costumes, and mock Hussite carts. In the course of the 15-day journey, the 70 procession participants will stop in the same seven Czech towns and eight German towns where Hus rested on his way, according to historians. The main goals of the event are to express friendship between the towns of Tabor and Konstanz - the two places that played the most important roles in Hus' life - and to recall the importance of Hus in the history of the Czech nation. Michal Vynohradnyk/Andrea Snyder Zielenec in Germany for Mysterious Private Meeting Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs Josef Zieleniec met with top German politicians during a two-day visit to Bonn this week. All of the minister's talks, including his meeting with German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel, were referred to as "private." Zieleniec admitted that his talks touched on Czech-German relations, saying he felt from the Germans "the conviction and will to do something quickly about the issue of Czech-German relations, and to turn them in the direction of the future." He said one of the discussion topics was the possibility of creating a joint Czech-German foundation for compensating Czech victims of Nazism during World War II. Mirek Langer/Andrea Snyder Havel Balks at Signing Anti-smoking Legislation President Havel returned to Parliament Tuesday a revision of the controversial law on protection against alcoholism and other drug abuse (see Carolina no. 157). Ladislav Spacek, the president's spokesman, said the fact that Havel is a smoker had nothing to do with his decision and that in fact he was in full agreement with the main idea of the legislation, namely, to protect the health of nonsmokers. Havel's main reservations concern the inflexibility of the new law in the changes it requires of tobacco producers, which he fears would lead to the law's being ignored. "This approach is unthinkable in a rule of law," he said. After several rounds of voting, Parliament did not adopt the law at its session on Wednesday. Lukas Zentel/Andrea Snyder Klaus: State Will Not Stop Flow of Money to Universities An event planned as a discussion between Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus and the students of Ostrava University Monday turned into a lecture by the premier to the university professors, touched off by an introduction from Rector Jiri Mockor, who said the government was working for democracy and supporting a market economy, but ignoring education. Addressing the audience, half composed of professors, Klaus said there was no reason for the state to spend taxpayers' money on studies, since whether or not to study is an individual choice. He said that while students should pay from 5 to 20 percent of the universities' expenses, apart from investments, that did not mean the state would stop the flow of funds to college education. The prime minister also said that the level of pay for professors was not as far below the average Czech salary as they so often claimed. Jana Maruskova/Eftychia Damianidou Nearly 5,000 Apply to School of Agriculture For the 1995-96 school year the Agricultural University in Prague will accept about 1,200 students out of 4,560 applicants. Roughly 500 out of 3,000 applicants for the Faculty of Economic Administration will be accepted, 300 out of 700 for the Faculty of Agronomics, and 350 of 1,100 for the Forestry School. Karolina Polakova and Tereza Hadravova/Eftychia Damianidou FROM SLOVAKIA Tension Between Meciar and Kovac Comes to a Peak Prime Minister Vladimir Meciar last week insisted that President Michal Kovac's conflict was with Parliament rather than the government, but said there was a possibility the government might yet intervene. This was Meciar's response to a demonstration of some 20,000 people in support of President Kovac (reported in last week's Carolina). Meciar rejected the idea of early elections, saying the cleanest way to solve the problem now would be for Kovac to resign. He did not, however, rule out the possibility of a referendum on the matter, saying, "The battle has begun, and it shows no signs of waning - just the opposite, it will only get more intense." Lukas Zentel/Katerina Rus BUSINESS/ECONOMICS Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (May 26) Checks Cash country buy sell middle buy sell Great Britain 1 GPB 41.675 42.093 41.884 40.46 43.30 France 1 FRF 5.186 5.238 5.212 5.01 5.41 Japan 100 JPY 30.585 30.893 30.739 29.44 32.04 Canada 1 CAD 19.316 19.510 19.413 18.52 20.30 Austria 1 ATS 2.618 2.644 2.631 2.57 2.69 Germany 1 DEM 18.426 18.612 18.519 18.06 18.98 Switzerland 1 CHF 22.177 22.399 22.288 21.79 22.79 USA 1 USD 26.367 26.633 26.500 25.80 27.20 Slovakia 1 XCU -- -- 34.154 -- -- CULTURE Prefab Building in Shape of Dancing Couple Shops, a restaurants with terrace, a snack bar with terrace, and six floors of office space - these are to be the contents of the "Dancing Building," the construction of which started one year ago on Prague's Rasin Embankment (Rasinovo nabrezi). While the project, financed by a Dutch banking consortium, is composed entirely of nontraditional shapes and lines, it will be constructed from prefabricated panels. "However, in the dancing building, each one of the 99 panels is an original, produced from a special mold," Vlado Milunic, one of the building's designers, told the Czech daily "Lidove noviny." Milunic collaborated on the project with American architect Frank Gehry. The "Fred and Ginger" building should be completed by the end of this year. Jana Maruskova/Eftychia Damianidou Carmina Burana The Mechelens Theater Company appeared in Prague's Divadlo Minor (Theater Minor) Tuesday evening with their interpretation of "Carmina Burana," the Mechelens Staat Poppet Theater setting Orff's fascinating music to a partial performance of his tryptych of cantatas. In their performance the Belgian actors used a variety of forms, from modern dance and multicolored fabrics for the depiction of fields and meadows, to wood and iron sets for the portrayal of characters from this world and beyond, and wooden puppet versions of Adam and Eve. Working with the Belgians were Czech director Karel Brozek and choreographer Jiri Ourada. Jakub Knezu/Katerina Rus SPORTS Soccer - Top Teams Win, Bottom Teams Lose Sparta Praha held on to first place in the first soccer league last week, defeating Hradec Kralove with the help of a controversial penalty kick early on in the match. Slavia's job was more difficult, but they, too, picked up a win, beating under the Zizkov TV tower, mainly thanks to their goalkeeper Stejskal. Cellar-dwellers Benesov and Bohemians Praha both lost. Round 26 results: Sparta Praha - Hradec Kralove 3:0, Viktoria Zizkov - Slavia Praha 0:1, Sigma Olomouc - Slovan Liberec 1:1, Petra Drnovice - Boby Brno 3:3, Ceske Budejovice - Bohemians Praha 2:0, FK Jablonec - Svit Zlin 0:0, Svarc Benesov - Viktoria Plzen 0:3. Round 27 results (Wednesday, May 25): Slavia Praha - Union Cheb 1:0, Bohemians Praha - Sparta Praha 1:2, Boby Brno - Svarc Benesov 4:0, Viktoria Plzen - Sigma Olomouc 2:0, Slovan Liberec - Viktoria Zizkov 2:1, Ceske Budejovice - Banik Ostrava 0:0, Hradec Kralove - FK Jablonec 1:1, Svit Zlin - Petra Drnovice 0:1. Mirek Langer/M.L. Handball Players Fail to Advance to Olympics From Iceland Despite a good opening, the world championships in Iceland did not bring success for the Czech national team handball side. After their win against Korea, one more would have been enough to qualify the Czechs for the Olympics. In the quarterfinals, the Czech Republic humbled Sweden 21-17, but, worn out from that match, the Czechs were lacking strength against Egypt, falling 25-21. Their final match, against Switzerland, did not pan out well either, as the Czechs could manage only to keep the score close (23-21). After a hopeful beginning, then, the eighth-place finish was a disappointment. Assuming they manage to qualify, now the Czechs will have to fight at the European championships for an Olympic bid. Mirek Langer/M.L. Problems With Transfer of Roman Turek Roman Turek, the Czech national hockey team's no. 1 goalkeeper, is at the center of the biggest stir these days in Czech hockey. After Turek's contract with Ceske Budejovice expired, he signed on with Slavia Praha. Budejovice still has option rights on Turek through the end of the season, but since management's agreement with him was made orally, now Slavia is claiming it's invalid. Budejovice's management also prepared a contract for Turek with German EHC Nurnberg, which he signed too. Slavia is now calling for an arbitration commission and is even considering taking the case to court. Mirek Langer/M.L. SPORTS IN BRIEF * Daniela Bartova, the former Czech gymnast, set a new women's world record in the pole vault in Lubljana, Slovenia, clearing the bar at 4.10 meters. * Last weekend's congress of the Czech Sokol Community elected Jiri Janos their new "mayor," saddling him, among other things, with the responsibility of finding a way for the Sokols to repay debts of 81 million crowns. * Ludmila Richterova, the 18-year-old tennis player, won her first WTA Tour title in Bournemouth. * Three crews driving Skoda 1100 MBs won their class and finished in the first half of the field in a veteran rally from London to Mexico. Mirek Langer/M.L. Carolina Takes the Playing Field on Rector's Day The rector of Charles University Karel Maly announced this year's Rector's Day on Wednesday, May 17, as a day off for all Charles University students. As per tradition, the Faculty of Physical Education and Sports organized for the occasion sporting events ranging from a track and field meet to a basketball tournament. Some of Carolina's editors (Mirek Langer, Ruda Cernik, Petr Hosek and this reporter) decided to give it a go in the soccer competition. Soccer, of course, is the most popular sport in the Czech Republic, which makes it one of the most prestigious and competitive events of Rector's Day. The Carolina squad, featuring a goalkeeper from the U.S., entered the first match with enthusiasm. The law students, however, showed why they were the favorites of the tournament, with a 5-0 win over Carolina. Facing the theologians in the second round, the journalists did not fare much better, despite an improved performance, falling 6-1, with the lone goal scored by Hosek. This brought the double-elimination tournament to an end for them. And as the defeated team burrowed into a local buffet to take cover from the rain (and the embarrassment), they came to the conclusion that their name - the No-Hopers - had been chosen rightfully. Michal Vynohradnyk/Eftychia Damianidou WEATHER Short sleeves are out and about, a sure sign that summer will not wait for the calendar this year. Eftychia Damianidou ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This news may be published only with "CAROLINA" designation. The subscription is free. Comments and remarks are appreciated. 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