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 186, Friday, January 19, 1996. FROM THE EVENTS OF LAST WEEK (JANUARY 10 THROUGH 17) Israeli President Ezer Weizman Visits Czech Republic Israeli President Ezer Weizman, as an act of gratefulness to the former Czechoslovakia, chose the Czech Republic as the destination of his first official journey. As an army pilot, Weizman participated in 1948 in a few-week long training in Ceske Budejovice and in Zatec, from where he flew airplanes bought here to Israel, the Czech daily Pravo reminded its readers. The first negotiations of Weizman and Czech President Vaclav Havel and Ezer Weizman January 10 concerned relations between the countries and economic cooperation. Other negotiations followed between ministers of agriculture Josef Lux and Jaakov Cur and central bank governors Jaakov Frankel and Josef Tosovsky. Havel honoured Weizman with the highest Czech decoration - The Order of White Lion with The Order Chain for merit in development of relations between both countries. In the afternoon Weizman toured Prague's Charles Bridge and in the Old Town Hall received a Memorial Medal from Charles University and his name was recorded in the Golden Book of the city. January 11 the presidents traveled together to attend the funeral of former French President Francois Mitterrand in Paris. The program of Weizman's interrupted visit continued January 12 with an official breakfast with Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus. They talked about the situation in the Middle East and bilateral trade cooperation. In the afternoon, Weizman and Havel visited the Theresienstadt (Terezin) ghetto, from which the Nazis sent 150,000 Jews to concentration camps, and participated in a memorial service on the bank of the Ohre River, into which the Nazis in 1944 threw the ashes of 22,000 prisoners murdered in Terezin. The last official act of the January 12 program was the presence of both presidents at the signing of a Czech-Israeli agreement about agricultural cooperation. Weizman had a private program January 13 and left January 14 for an official visit of Germany. Jitka Hejtmanova/JH Zieleniec and Kinkel Cannot Agree Five-hour-long negotiations January 12 between Czech and German foreign ministers Josef Zieleniec and Klaus Kinkel failed again to agree on the long-awaited Czech-German Declaration of Mutual Relations. The declaration has been prepared since spring and should reconcile the controversy concerning Hitler's occupation of the Sudetenland and the post-war expulsion of Sudeten Germans. Czech politicians see the declaration as a final resolution to these historical questions. The negotiations have now moved from the hands of deputy ministers directly to the ministers. Zieleniec, at a January 16 press conference, indirectly accused Germany of escalating demands to prohibit the signing of the declaration. Kinkel returned to an already agreed-upon passage with a demand the Czechs morally distance themselves from the injustice of the expulsion, according to Czech daily MF DNES. According to the Lidove noviny stays Zieleniec remains optimistic, and in this issue the Czech public and political authorities are in accord. Jitka Hejtmanova/JH Czech IFOR Battalion Deserted by 26 Soldiers before Leaving for Bosnia Twenty-six members of the Czech mechanized division headed for Bosnia refused this week to sign on to the mission. Fifteen refused for family reasons or were expelled because of past crimes and 11 were not satisfied with the pay. The average salary is, according to published information, 1,500 USD and 1,200 Czech crowns. Czech Minister of Defense Vilem Holan denied some soldiers' charge that insurance covers only fatalities, in a January 14 television program. It also includes injury and permanent disability, he said. Jitka Hejtmanova/JH Government Proposes Contractual Salaries for Doctors The government decided January 12 to end the health industry's tariff salary system, on the basis of Health Minister Jan Strasky's proposal. The decision, which Parliament must approve, means greater freedom for the managers of state health establishments in budgetary and salary matters. Hospital managers welcome contractual salaries, though they realize the suggested changes may lead to fiscal shortages. "If there were increased tariffs instead of introducing contractual pay, I would have to take away money from good employees in order to pay the less good," , said Dalibor Stejskal of the Association of Czech and Moravian Hospitals. Unions refuse the government proposal; Health and Social Care Union Chairman Jiri Schlanger plans to try to convince parliamentary deputies to vote down the proposal, according to media sources. The Physicians' Union Club also stands by its demand to raise tarifffs by 40 per cent. If Parliament approves the contractual salaries, Union Club representatives will negotiate with hospital managers to determine minimum salaries. Zora Kasikova/Jitka Hejtmanova First Lady Havlova's Health Condition is Serious The health condition of Czech President Vaclav Havel's wife Olga has deteriorated such that she requires a long-term hospital stay, said Ladislav Spacek, the president's spokesman. Havlova last appeared in public in the fall. She spent the Christmas holidays at home, and during that time recorded several interviews for radio and TV. Zora Kasikova/Alida Kassymova Several Medicines Should Be Sold Not Only in Pharmacies On January 10, after a government meeting, Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus announced that accoding to a proposed law several medicines will be sold outside of pharmacies. Although the list is not ready, at issue are pain killers today available without prescription. According to Klaus, the reason for the change is to demonopolize pharmaceuticals, as it common in other countries. Maria Tripoliti/Alida Kassymova FROM SLOVAKIA Radio Free Europe Given Ultimatum The Slovak Federal Assembly for Radio and Television Broadcasting approved a court ruling stating that Radio Free Europe has 30 days to modify their broadcasting under threat of Slovak license confisation. The ruling especially hits on RFE's main news and publicity program, "Topical events, Circumstances, Argument" ("Aktuality souvislosti, argumenty"). Counsel Chairman Peter Juras announced that the station systematically violates objetivity and is based on a minimal evaluation of the situation in Slovakia. The assembly has lodged complaints about the work of journalists Petr Gabal, Stefan Hrib, Ivan Stulajter and Marian Bednar. The Slovak Syndicate of Journalists sharply opposes the ruling. They have declared that to stop the broadcasting of the Slovak RFE is technically impossible and that it is not realistic to think that the Congess USA will stop financing it in response to threats. The Slovak Syndicate of Journalists says that the real issue is not RFE, but to frighten the Slovak independant media. Livia Savelkova/Alida Kassymova Biggest Bank Robbery in Slovak History The biggest bank robbery in Slovak history took place this weekend January 5-7. 130 million Slovak crowns and 43 million in hard currency disappeared from the internal branch of the General Savings and Loan Bank (Vseobecna uverova banka - VUB). The robbery is being investigatd by a special team, made up of 30 experienced criminologists, investigators and experts. Much speculation of the possibility that someone in the management may have turned off, and then back on, the security system surrounds the case. Livia Savelkova/Alida Kassymova Slovakia Will Request More Memorials The Slovak side is going to raise other requests, in addition to exchange of Bojnice Altar for 10 Gothic paintings, which should have finished conflicts between the Czech and Slovak republics. The new claims regard other memorial taken to Bohemia between the wars or during World War II. According to the list of the Slovak minister of culture, it includes The remains of the skull of a Neanderthal from Ganovce, which is part of the Prague National Museum collection, said a Slovak newspaper January 11. The Czech side has not yet officially received the Slovak request. "When it happens, we will react," said a spokesman for the Czech minister of culture, according to Czech daily MF DNES. The Slovak government established a commission for solving questions of the dividing of cultural heritage between the republics. The Slovak commission has nobody to negotiate with, because the joint commission was abolished by Czech Minister of Culture Pavel Tigrid after finishing an official agreement in 1992-3. Zora Kasikova/Jitka Motejzikova Research on Slovak entrance into NATO: More Support and Opposition During the last six months, the number of those who think Slovakia shoud enter NATO increased, from 38.6 per cent in June to 42.5 per cent. However, at the same time the percentage opposed increased from 19.2 per cent to 21.9 per cent. Livia Savelkova/Arsen Kocarjan ECONOMICS Annual Czech Inflation Rate Is Lowest since 1989 The inflation rate has decreased by nearly 1 per cent from 1994 and reached 9.1 per cent in 1995. The decrease is mainly due to July and August, when the monthly inflation rate was zero. In 1996 inflation should fall by 0.5 per cent or 1 per cent, according to expert forecasts, but it probably won't fall under 8 per cent. In following years, the rate should continously decline. These forecasts were confirmed also by Czech Prime Minister Klaus, who called the rate expected and a trend which will continue in 1996. Chairman of the opposition Social Democrats Milos Zeman welcomed the decline, but also expresed fears that inflation will climb this year. Such favorable developments could be threatened by rising prices in 1996, for example the January rise in milk and dairy products prices. Despite the Czech Republic sharing with Slovakia the lowest inflation rates of the post-communist countries, the rate is still rather high in comparison with that of members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Alice Ticha/Arsen Kocarjan Tourism Profits Climb In comparison to 1994, profits from tourism rose 27 per cent. The Ministry of the Economy estimates 2.5 billion USD. The number of visitors to the Czech Republic dropped, however, by 3 per cent, to 98.1 million. Almost 2 per cent less Czechs are traveling abroad - in 1994, 44.9 million Czechs left the country. Alida Kassymova/Andrea Snyder Budget Surplus Although final reports of the Czech Republic's budget for last year show a surplus, state finances ended up with a slight deficit. Last year, Parliament used the money from the 1994 budget surplus - 9.3 billion crowns - mainly to increase pensions, as well as wages for teachers and railway workers. Otherwise the state would have had to have made these payments from 1995's income. In order for the state's bottom line to reach zero, the amount that parliament divides into additional expenses must remain in the account. Because final accounting of taxes continues, the final surplus could still attain the expected 9.3 billion crowns. Finance Minister Ivan Kocarnik says any surplus should be used to pay off the national debt. This solution would drastically aid the central bank in the fight against inflation, said bank spokesman Martin Svehla and Parliament Budget Committee Chairman Tomas Jezek. Alice Ticha/Andrea Snyder Increase in Natural Gas Prices Complicates Other Fuel Prices The tax increase on unleaded gas to the level of less ecological kinds, which came into effect January 1, immediately had an impact on prices at big gas stations. The Czech company Benzina immediately raised prices, as did branches of big foreign firms such as Shell, Agip, Aral and others. The increase was spread by Benzina to all types of fuels, and other distributors followed suit. Prices are not yet fixed. Th expected increase in prices did not precipitate an increased demand at the end of last year. Experts are not expecting an increased demand for gas in Slovakia even though the VAT on fuels was lowered there. After the New Year, newspapers still wrote about "gas tourism" in the border areas around Poland and Slovakia, where it was possible to save three to five crowns per liter. Alice Ticha/Katarina Rus Ekoagrabanka Surviving Crisis Ekoagrobanka is the fifth Czech financial institution to have a crisis, as reserves and capital have been lower than potential losses for some time. Mobs of people gathered at Ekoagrobanka's door after a January 10 news report of the the bank's poor state of affairs. Ekoagrobanka reacted by closing all Czech branches January 11. Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus was quoted by Czech daily Denni telegraf as saying, "Ekoagrobanka became the victim of a group of journalists who decided to use the media to announce that the bank is threatened by bankruptcy." The Czech National Bank's (CNB) advisory board decided January 16 to initiate forced administration at Ekoagrobanka. Although bank customers will not lose their deposits, stock prices will plummet, decreasing its basic capital from 600 million crowns to 1.2 million crowns. The banking law grants CNB this authority. Because the state-owned Konsolidacni Bank is to become the new investor, newspapers have labeled the case the first state repossesion since 1989. Marketa Hudkova/Andrea Snyder CULTURE Opera Singer Eduard Haken Dies Eduard Haken, a well-known Czech opera singer, died January 12 at the age of 85. He had been singing solos for the National Theater since 1941. His name brings back memories of characters not to be forgotten - Kecal in Smetana's "The Bartered Bride," and the Water Man in Dvorak's "Rusalka" ("The Water Nymph"). Following his departure from the National Theater, Haken continued to work with the Prague theater Divadlo na zabradli late into 1995. Marketa Hudkova/Andrea Snyder "First Lady of Film" Ester Krumbachova Exits Forever On January 13, film designer, scriptwriter and director Ester Krumbachova died after a long illness at the age of 72. She belonged to the so-called Czech New Wave of the 1960's, and she was forbidden to work by the regime in the 1970's and 1980's. She acted with her husband Jan Nemec in the films Demanty noci (The Diamonds of The Night), Mucednici lasky (The Martyrs Of Love) and O slavnosti a hostech (Of A Celebration And Guests). She cooperated with the director Vera Chytilova in producing the films Sedmikrasky (Daisies) and Ovoce stromu rajskych jime (We Eat The Fruits Of Trees Of Paradise). Her name is connected with the popular film Kdyby tisic klarinetu (If a Thousand Clarinets) as well. She devoted herself to direction after 1989. She shot the portrait of Jan Nemec for the Gen film series, portrait of Vala's sisters and of Ota Ornest for the Genus film seriers. Her book of prose Prvni knizka Ester (The First Book Of Ester) was published last year. Ester Krumbachova was known for her optimism, as she confessed: "It is sometimes difficult for me to control my vitality." Jitka Motejzikova/JM Jiri Nemecek Dies The popular actor Jiri Nemecek died January 15 at age 72 after a long illness. Nemecek began his career in the Theater of S.K. Neumann in Prague, then he played on Prague's stages of the Theater of E. F. Burian and of the Laterna magika (Magic Lantern). In spite of nearly losing his voice to cancer, he did not give up acting and played supporting roles in theater and film. He performed in Medea, The Cloud And The Waltz, and The Wild Duck in the National Theater. He became popular not only thanks to his roles in Prague, but also performed a role in the play The Three Sisters in Usti nad Labem. Jitka Motejzikova/JM Culture Minister Tigrid Publishes New Statute for Czech Philharmonic Czech Minister of Culture Pavel Tigrid authorized the new statute of the Czech Philharmonic (CP) January 15. One article, which makes a general conductor directly subordinate to the minister, was changed to place a general director in such a position. Now, the general director will appoint and recall the general conductor, who is responsible for the artistic activity of orchestra. Responsibility for the orchestra's artistic standard and repertoire choice and realization become the duties of the general conductor. The new Art Council will not be under the conductor's control, but under the general director. Tigrid decided to set aside the Council from the philharmonic's organizational structure, and delegated it his consultative authority. With this solution, long-time crisis inside of the orchestra culminated. It started when representatives of the philharmonic voted the German conductor Gerd Albrecht head of the orchestra. Relations worsened when the former general director announced Albrecht had refused an offer to play in the Vatican. Albrecht began hearing accusations that he harmed the orchestra's reputation. Tensions further increased after the recal of the general director, who was supported by the administrative council, which instead wanted to recall the conductor. Articles in German magazines quoting Albrecht showed the conductor as the victim of Czech nationalism. Albrecht protested but did not deny his quotes. The German press still describes this case as a political business. Albert refused to comment on the statute before returning from a concert tour of Spain. Jitka Motejzikova/JM SPORT Vjalbeova and Smirnov Win Golden Skis The biggest sport event of the past week in the Czech Republic was the World Cup ski-sprinting competition; it was the 58th year of the Golden Skis competition, which this year took place in Nove Mesto in Morava. In front of 25,000 spectators, the Russian Vjalbeova won the 10 km classic sprint for women (second was the Italian di Centaova, third the Russian Lazutinova). The best Czech female finisher was Neumannova, who took 16th place. In the men's 15 km classic sprint, Kazach Smirnov won (in second Isometsa and third Myllyla, both of Finland). From the Czechs, Lubomir Buchta surprisingly finished 8th. In the relay (4x5 km classic), the Russian women were the best, followed by Norway and Italy. Among the men the team from Finland came in first, followed by Norway and Italy. World Cup Leader Dahlie of Norway had bad luck, finishing fourth in the individual competition, while in the relay, his fall near the finish moved him to second place. Jiri Trunecka/Katarina Rus ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This news may be published only with "CAROLINA" designation. The subscription is free. Comments and remarks are appreciated. 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