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 181, Friday, December 1, 1995. FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (November 22-29) Czech Politicians React to Bosnian Peace Treaty President Vaclav Havel, government officials and opposition Parliament members welcomed the Bosnian peace treaty. "I firmly believe that peace has returned to Bosnia for good... It seems to me that although the treaty isn't ideal and presents many risks, especially in the issue of creating a united Bosnia and Hercegovina, this is the highest goal that is possible to attain," said Havel November 23. Minister of Foreign Affairs Josef Zieleniec said that the Czech Republic will support the proposal to gradually end the weapons embargo to the former Yugoslavia. A Czech unit made up of 700-800 men will probably participate in the peace operation. Military participation in Bosnia should cost approximately 1.25 billion crowns annually. Livia Savelkova/Andrea Snyder Czech Republic to be 26th OECD Member Czech Minister of Foreign Affairs Josef Zieleniec and OECD General Secretary Jean Claude Pay signed a pact in Paris November 28. After ratification by Parliament and signing by President Vaclav Havel, the pact will make the Czech Republic the first post-communist country to join the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. The Czech Republic applied for membership to the "club of the world's most advanced countries" in January 1994. The Czechs were officially invited to join November 24, when the OECD Advisory Board stated that the main conditions were fulfilled. Currently, 25 of the world's most economically powerful countries make up the OECD. Its goals include reaching maximum economic growth, raising employment and raising the standard of living for member countries, mainly by breaking down the barriers to free trade. Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and South Korea have also applied for membership. Jaromir Vicari/Andrea Snyder Latvian Premier Visits Czech Republic The Czech Republic will support Latvia to join the Central European Free Trade Association (CEFTA). The two prime ministers - Vaclav Klaus and Adolfas Shledzevichius - agreed on it Novemeber 23 in Prague. They have also confirmed their readiness to sign the Czech-Latvian free trade zone agreement. A several-minute pause before meeting the press was used by the statesmen for a basketball "shoot-out;" Klaus won, draining eight of 10 shots in the first round and seven in the second round. Livia Savelkova/Arsen Kochiarian State Prosecutor Ends Prosecution of Zdenek Mlynar State prosecutors in Prague stopped the prosecution of Zdenek Mlynar and dropped treason charges as being unreasonable November 24. The Bureau for Documentation and Investigation of Communist Crimes (UDV), led by Vaclav Benda, lodged an appeal against the state prosecutor's decision. "Mlynar's crime is proved by irrefutable evidence. If Kredba (the state prosecutor) is serious about this, we can only file an appeal," said Deputy Head of UDV Pavel Bret in the November 25 edition of the daily Lidove Noviny. On the other hand, the daily Pravo published on the same day Mlynar's remarks that he was not suprised, because "nothing shows I committed any crime. On the contrary, I tried to prevent it". According to Attorney General Libor Grygarek, the procedure of investigators is very unusual and lacks a legal basis. The investigators cannot, according to law, express their disagreement with state attorney's decision, and an appeal can only be filed by the Minister of Justice to the Supreme Court. Matej Husek/Katerina Zachovalova Duha Movement Blames Shell The Duha (Rainbow) ecological movement has accused the Shell company of indirect relations with executions in Nigeria. Forty members of Duha invaded and occupied Shell's Brno headquarters for 20 minutes November 23. The environmentalists drew particular attention to Nigerian writer Ken Saro-Wiwy, who had accused his government and Shell of ecological warfare and exterminating the Ogoni tribe. The writer, with eight other activists, was executed November 10. Barbora Spevakova/Arsen Kochiarian Senate Confusion Continues A public opinion poll conducted in early November showed 53 per cent of voters would vote in a potential Senate election. The number has risen by five percent in the past two years. Seventy-one per cent of the voting public plan to vote in Parliamentary elections. Nearly half of those questioned say a second chamber of Parliament is unnecessary. Roughly 50 percent was unable to name a person they would like to see in the new Senate. Leaders of the coalition parties have not yet decided whether Senate elections should be held the same day as elections to Parliament. Parliament should decide the 1996 Senate budget at its December meeting, based on the proposal of 407 million crowns. Olga Huderova/Andrea Snyder Dlouhy More and More Popular, Havel's Popularity Declines According to research of the Empirical Research Center STEM, the most popular political trio is formed by Minister of Trade and Industry Vladimir Dlouhy, Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA), with 83 per cent, Free Democrats (SD) Chairman Jiri Dienstsbier with 74 per cent and Foreign Minister Josef Zieleniec, Civic Democratic Party (ODS), with 68 per cent. After them rank Petra Buzkova, Social Democrats (CSSD), 63 per cent, Minister of Health Jan Strasky (ODS), 60 per cent, ODA Chairman Jan Kalvoda, 60 per cent, CSSD Chairman Milos Zeman, 57 per cent, Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus and Finance Minister Ivan Kocarnik (both ODS and both at 56 per cent). Minister of Agriculture Josef Lux of the Christian Democratic Union - Czechoslovak People's Party (KDU-CSL) ranks 10th with 52 per cent, a 12-per-cent improvement from September. In a break from the recent trend, the popularity of all politicians has slightly increased, only Education Minister Ivan Pilip, Christian Democratic Party (KDS), lost 3 percent. President Vaclav Havel's popularity is evaluated separately by STEM. His popularity fell from September's 69 per cent to 67 per cent. In April, Havel had won the sympathy of 78 per cent of the people. Zbynek Vicar/Maria Tripoliti Government Approves Plans of Only Five Health Insurance Companies. Less than one-fifth of 27 health insurance companies were supported and approved by the government November 22. The Cabinet agreed to next year's plans from only five health insurance companies: VZP General Health Insurance Company, Skoda Insurance, Metal-Alliance Insurance, Hutnicka Insurance Company and National Czech Insurance Copmany, which together insure 80 per cent of the population. The other 22 insurance copmanies failed for different reasons - indebtedness, high costs or a small number of clients. Among them is Hornicka Insurance Company, which has begun bankruptcy proceedings. The fact that the Cabinet did not supported them does not mean the end for the failed applicants. The final decision depends on Parliament and if their plans fail there, they can still correct them and submit them once again. Proof of the fear of clients of the unapproved companies is VZP's daily tally of 1,000 applications (VZP is the biggest Czech insurer, with about 7 million clients). If an insurance company goes bankrupt, its clients automatically become clients of VZP, if they haven't chosen any other insurance company. Livia Savelkova/Maria Tripoliti Viewers' Opinion: Public TV News More Objective The main news program on the private TV station Nova attracts more viewers (39 per cent) than the news on public television CT1 (15 per cent), even though people think Nova's news to be less objective. The Institute of Public Opinion Polls and Mediaprojekt published a report that 45 per cent of citizens trust CT1 more and consider its news undistorted and reflecting reality. Only 39 per cent think the same about TV Nova. One-tenth of viewers are convinced of Nova's complete subjectivity, while only 4 per cent believe so in CT1's case. Nova's news is never watched by 4 per cent of the people, while CT1's news is never seen by 5 per cent. Lucie Dvorakova/Katerina Zachovalova Chief of Poldi Kladno Buys Daily Prace Vladimir Stehlik, general director of Poldi Kladno steelworks, bought the unprofitable unionist daily Prace (Work) November 23. Stehlik, who at Poldi grapples with debts in the hundreds of millions, acquired 51 per cent of Prace's shares through a contract with former majority owner GEN, to whom he paid a deposit of 10 million crowns. The new owner plans to change the newspaper's name - he is said to be considering the name Ceska Prace (Czech Work). The whole transaction took place without the knowledge of Czecho-Moravian Chamber of Unions Chairman Richard Falbr, who was disturbed upon learning of the deal. Matej Bartosek/Klara Schirova Czech Students Match Well with the World. Czech children aged 9 and 14 took part in tests from the International Association for Evaluating Education, along with pupils from 31 countries. Written tests checked so-called "readers' literacy", i.e. ability to comprehend a written text, to remember the content and to orient themselves in given facts. Nine-year-old children finished in 14th place, after Belgian students, and the 14-year-olds in 17th place, after Germany. Finnish students topped both age categories. The results showed that Czech pupils rank among the best in choosing correct answers, but they had problems with completing the tests in time. The Education Research Institute explains the slowness of pupils by the atypical test procedure. Czech students among the worst in the simplest parts of the tests, but in orientation in given facts they were among the 10 best. Part of the research was also a comparison of abilities between children from villages and from towns, and between boys and girls. Czech results were related to the place of residence - the cities had the best result. In Netherlands the results were the opposite and in few countries the difference were insignificant. It is not surprising that the girls generally had better scores without exception among nine-year-olds, while 14-year-old boys were more successful in France, Portugal and Zimbabwe. Zbynek Vicar/Jitka Hejtmanova Army Food below Standard The food that the central warehouse has been dispensing to the army since July does not meet hygienic standards. Hygiene inspectors and army personnel found meat products to be of expiration-date quality. The central food supply program is becomming more and more the focal point of complaints. Ordinary soldiers say they only eat the spoiled food, because otherwise they would go without. Vice-Chairman of Parliament's Military and Security Committee Tomas Fejfar was quoted in Czech daily MF DNES as saying that in creating the central food supply program, a monopoly that has caught the army in a vise and dictated prices was born. The program was incorporated to save the state 60 million crowns per year, which, Fejfar insinuates darkly, "wander into someone else's pockets." David Vozdecky/Andrea Snyder Heroin Addiction on the Rise Heroin sells for one-fifth less in the Czech Repulic than in neighboring countries, said Jiri Komorous, head of the anti-drug center, at Parliament's November 28 seminar on drugs. It is estimated that the heroin consumption has outpaced that of pervitin, the drug that had been used most in the Czech Republic. Barbora Spevakova/Andrea Snyder Ring Rates the Best Dressed of the Year According to a poll conducted by the weekly Ring, Premier Vaclav Klaus is the best dressed man of the year - elegance for every occasion, they say. Ten fashion experts awarded the second-place prize for shocking oufits to singer Jiri Korn. For sexy lounge-wear, Jiri Hanak from the Sklep (Cellar) theater group won third place. President Vaclav Havel placed fourth with his classic tailoring. Olga Huderova/Andrea Snyder FROM SLOVAKIA Slovak President Signs Language Law Slovak President Michal Kovac singed the official language law November 28 on the condition that a minority-language law will soon be accepted. If it is not accepted, Kovac will submit the language law to the Constitutional Court. Hungarian minority leaders immediately responded to the President desicion, confirming that together with Jan Carnogursky's Christian Ddemocrats they will lodge an appeal against the law to the Constitutional Court. Barbora Spevakova/Kassymova Alida Karel Gott Performs in Bratislava. Legendary Czech singer Karel Gott gave his only Christmas concert this year in Bratislava's Slovak National Theatre (SND) November 26. The artist sang "Silent Night" with SND soloists Eva Jenisova, Denisa Slepkovska and Dalibor Jenisa. Then he performed arias from Mozart and Puccini operas and songs from his latest album, Zazrak vanocni (The Christmas Miracle). Gott's special guest, Lucie Bila, the Czech version of Madonna, performed with Gott the duet Navrat se k ruzim (Return To The Roses). Lucie Dvorakova/Kassymova Alida ECONOMY Majority Thinks Czech Standard of Living Is Rather Good According to an poll taken by the Institute for Investigation of Public Opinion of 2,029 respondents over 15 years of age, a majority of Czech citizens (60 per cent) considers its household living standard rather good. Five per cent consider their situation to be very good. "Rather bad" was declared by 30 per cent, and according to 3 per cent the standard is very bad. More than half of the respondents (54 per cent) think their living standard will not change in the next year, 22 per cent of gainfully employed and university-educated people are convinced it will improve, 16 per cent state it will become worse and 8 per cent are not sure. Matej Husek/Klara Schirova Higher Cost of Heat Next July The cost of heat should increase about 10 per cent in July 1996. The rise was not planned until September 1996, but because rents will increase from July 1996, the Ministry of Finance decided to merge costs connected with living to one date. Ministry plans on an annual 10 per cent rise of the heat costs for households. By the end of the century the heat prices should equal the approximate price of production and distribution. The price of heat for households should rise on July 1, 1996 from 163 crowns per gigajoul to 180 crowns per gJ. Marketa Skodova/Klara Schirova Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid from Dec. 1) country currency ------------------------------------------ Australia 1 AUD 19.936 Belgium 100 BEF 89.978 Great Britain 1 GBP 40.776 Danemark 1 DKK 4.779 Finland 1 FIM 6.221 France 1 FRF 5.399 Ireland 1 IEP 42.143 Italy 1000 ITL 16.626 Japan 100 JPY 26.214 Canada 1 CAD 19.588 Luxemburg 100 LUF 89.978 Netherland 1 NLG 16.518 Norway 1 NOK 4.196 New Zealand 1 NZD 17.423 Portugal 100 PTE 17.721 Austria 1 ATS 2.629 Greece 100 GRD 11.268 Slovakia 100 SKK 89.584 Germany 1 DEM 18.505 Spain 100 ESP 21.731 Sweden 1 SEK 4.082 Switzerland 1 CHF 22.860 USA 1 USD 26.588 ECU 1 XEU 34.283 IMF 1 XDR 39.622 CULTURE Sergej Machonin Died Critic, writer and translator Sergej Machonin, one of the most important personalities in Czech postwar theatre, died from long-term lung illness November 24. He was born in Moscow at the end of 1918 and as a child moved to Czechoslovakia with his parents. After graduating from high school he attended the Charles University College of Humanities, which closed during his studies (during World War II he was imprisoned in Sachsenhausen concentration camp). He served as an editor at Literarni noviny (The Literary News) in the 1950's and 1960's. Machonin dedicated himself mainly to theater criticism. Later he abandoned his belief in socialism and was among the first Charter 77 signatories. He translated works from Russian, German, French, Serbian, Polish, Bulgarian and Italian. Brno's Atlantis publishing house released Machonin's memoirs, Pribeh se zavorkami (A Story in Parentheses), this summer. The daily MF DNES published a quote from Machonin characterizing the life of a Czech 20th-century intellectual: "The heroes of stories similar to mine understood, like me, too late, and then tried as they could to correct their blindness - even through open protest against the totalitarian regime. Their blindness does not excuse them and they will not get rid of the feeling of old guilt." Viktorie Reschova/Katerina Zachovalova Czech Film Premiere The latest film by renowned director Karel Kachyna celebtrated its premiere at Prague's Blanik theater November 29. The picture, entitled Fany, was produced by Czech Television and the KF film production company. The story flows from the conflict of two heterogeneouus personalities - a successful head nurse temporarily must care for her mentally retarded sister. The lead roles were given to Jirina Jiraskova and Jirina Bohdalova, whose role as the retarded sister is already being considered the performance of her life. The script was written by Jiri Hubac. Matej Bartosek/Jitka Motejzikova The Innocent Ferocity of Tono Stano's Photographs Visitors at Prague's National Technical Museum can admire about 50 photographs by Slovak photographer Tono Stano till the end of the year. Female nudes and body parts make up the majority of the black-and-white works. They surprise with their simplicity and play of shadows, innocence and fineness mix with rapaciousness and animality, which simultaneously shock and attract the viewers' eyes. The Prague exhibit contains photographs made in the last four years by Stano, one of the country's most successful commercial photographers. Jitka Motejzikova/Jitka Motejzikova Pure Gold from the Bottom of the Mnaga a Zdorp Well The Moravian band Mnaga a Zdorp perfomed at Prague's Belmondo rock club November 22, with a set list dominated by compositions from their latest album, Ryzi zlato (Pure gold). The six musicians, particularly lead singer Petr Fiala, charged the atmosphere in the hall, also adding songs from previous albums. Traditionally, the songs were full of pessimism, irony and cynicism. Fans chanted the two encores along with the band, which played in their traditional sailor's attire. Jitka Motejzikova/Jitka Motejzikova SPORT Sparta Praha Loses in Milan 2-0 In 3rd Round of U.E.F.A. Cup After the loss, Sparta Praha's soccer players have only a small chance to continue in the U.E.F.A. Cup, considering Milan's better record on the road than at home. AC Milan - Sparta Prague 2-0, goals: 32. and 77. Weah. Adam Kotalik/Jan Palicka Zlin at Bottom of Soccer Standings after Half of Season Slavia defeated Liberec in the 15th round of first league, ruining Liberec's chance to take over first place in the league standings. In the first Silesian derby match, Opava beat Ostrava in Bazaly 2:1. Zlin collapsed in Drnovice and fell into last place. Results of 15th round: Jablonec-Brno 3-0, Uherske Hradiste-Zizkov 1-0, Ceske Budejovice-Cheb 3-3, Ostrava-Opava 1-2, Drnovice-Zlin 3-0, Hradec Kralove-Olomouc 1-3, Slavia-Liberec 2-1. David Sprincl/Jan Palicka Tresl Chalks up Four Goals in Hockey Extraleague The center of Brno's third line scored four times in the 24th round against Zlin. However, none of his teammates could find the net, and instead gave up seven goals to Zlin. Results of 24th round: Slavia-Trinec 5-1, Pardubice-Litvinov 2-4, Kladno-Olomouc 1-2, Zlin-Brno 7-4, Plzen-Jihlava 4-4, C. Budejovice-Vsetin 1-1, Vitkovice-Sparta 2-4 Results of 25th round: Brno-Slavia 4-6, Vsetin-Pardubice 5-0, Trinec-Vitkovice 4-4, Jihlava-Zlin 8-2, Plzen-Kladno 4-3, Litvinov-Olomouc 6-2, Sparta-C. Budejovice postponed until December 3. Adam Kotalik/Jan Palicka Ladies of World Tennis in Prague The Commerce Bank Open exhibition tennis tournament has been going on in Prague since November 24th. Fans at the Sport Hall have seen eight of the top women in world tennis - Sanchez-Vicario, Pierce, M. J. Fernandez, Majoli, Hingis, Huber and two Czech representatives. But Novotna and Sukova lost their matches in first round. Results of the first round: Hingis-Novotna 6-4, 6-2, Huber-Majoli 6-4, 6-4, Sanchez-Sukova 6-4, 6-3, Fernandez-Pierce 6-2, 6-1. Semifinal: Fernandez-Hingins 6-7 (1-7), 6-4, 7-5, Huber-Sanchez 6-3, 6-4. Final match (after deadline on Thursday evening): Fernandez-Huber 7:5, 7:6 (7:5). Karel Bartek/Jan Palicka More Sparta Players in Jail Hockey players Pavel Taborsky and Jiri Krocak were accused November 28 of sexual abuse, with the state recommending prison time for both men. Krocak still plays for Sparta Praha, while his former teammate Taborsky now plays for Vsetin. Sparta Praha's second-team goalie, Ivan Vasilev, was arrested and convicted to a jail term in October (see Carolina 175). He and four other people were accused of possesion of a weapon without a permit, theft, accessory to a crime, sexual abuse, rape, pimping, and illegal possesion of drugs and poisons. Jan Palicka/Andrea Snyder WEATHER Winter weather has finally arrived, with the last week in November. Temperatures fell to -10 degrees Celsius at night, and in the mountains to -18. Meteorologists say that the cold weather is not out of the ordinary. Drivers flail their brakes on slippery streets, and, at Ruzyne Airport, even the pilots of a Cessna 340 found themselves having slipped off the runway. Winter has made itself known throughout Europe - the mercury in Moravian fell to -2 during the day November 29, and in Berlin to -1. London, however, saw the last of autumn, at 12 degrees Celsius. David Vozdecky/Andrea Snyder Edited by Michael Bluhm. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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@cuni.cz To subscribe to CAROLINA news you send an e-mail message to the address LISTSERV@earn.cvut.cz The text of message for subscription of the English version must be: SUBSCRIBE CAR-ENG First name Last name or for the Czech version SUBSCRIBE CAR-CS First name Last name To delete your subscription from the list of subscribers you send the following message to the address LISTSERV@earn.cvut.cz: SIGNOFF CAR-ENG or SIGNOFF CAR-CS We ask you not to send automatic replies to our list. You can temporalily stop receiving of Carolina by sending the command: SET CAR-ENG NOMAIL All Listserve commands should be sent to the address: LISTSERV@earn.cvut.cz Please, don't send commands SUB, SIGNOFF, NOMAIL etc to the address CAR-CS@earn.cvut.cz or CAR-ENG@earn.cvut.cz! Miroslav Bucko Department of Computers Faculty of Social Sciences Charles University at Prague e-mail: bucko@mbox.fsv.cuni.cz phone : +42 2 24 81 08 04 ext. 271