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 191, Friday, February 23, 1996. FROM THE EVENTS OF THE LAST WEEK (February 14-21) Klaus Kinkel and the Potsdam Treaty Again German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel was reported by Reuters February 19 as saying that the Potsdam Treaty of 1945 was not a legal basis on which to expel Germans from Eastern Europe. "In accord with German legal science, all preceeding German governments and the current government have judged the expulsion of the Germans after the war as an illegal act," Kinkel said. Kinkel's statements are from an analysis, published by the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs, claiming the conclusions reached at the Potsdam Conference are not binding for Germany, because the country never recognized their legal validity. The analysis also says that, according to the basic principles of international law, no country is bound by an agreement in which they did not participate. However, Czech legal experts say Germany unconditionally surrendered May 8, 1945 its highest authority to the victorious powers, and thus was represented at the closing of the agreement. They say that the validity of the Potsdam Treaty is also confirmed in the United Nations Charter. The Potsdam Conference took place from July 17 to August 2, 1945 in the town of Potsdam, near Berlin. Three powers were represented: the USSR, the USA and the UK. The decision to expel German residents orderly and humanely from Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary was made there, and France also agreed to the final Potsdam Declaration. In the past few days, the USA, Russia and Great Britain confirmed the legal validity of the Potsdam Treaty. The US Embassy in Prague released a statement saying, "the conclusions of the Potsdam Conference are historical fact, and the United States is confident that no country wishes to call them into question." Petr Pabian/Andrea Snyder Polish and Czech Presidents to Meet in March Because of Czech President Vaclav Havel's state of health, the date of his meeting with Polish President Aleksandr Kwasniewski, scheduled for February 22 in Nachod, has been changed. Presidential spokesman Ladislav Spacek said Havel is still recuperating at home after the February 13 removal of a benign polyp from his mouth. Viktorie Reschova/Andrea Snyder More than 40 Czech Political Parties and Movements Of the 55 political parties registered at the Czech Ministry of the Interior by January 31, seven are now inactive and five have dissolved, according to the February 17 edition of Czech daily Denni Telegraf. The Supreme Court, which dissolves or deactivates parties at the government's suggestion, has the right to stop party activity, should the party fail to make its stuate comply with the law. The court said that dissolved parties had first been given a deadline to harmonize the statutes that had caused the parties' activities to be stopped. The proposal to remove a party from the ministry's list is submitted by either the proper party organ or a liquidator. The list of dissolved parties includes the Political Party of Women and Mothers of Czechoslovakia and the Permanent Opposition for Democracy, while the Christian and Democratic Party of Romanies are listed as inactive. On the active list, however, some total unknowns remain, such as the Party of Natural Law. Katerina Zachovalova/Andrea Snyder Changes in Television Broadcasting Precede Elections From May 15 to 29, during the official election campaign, the public Czech Television and the private TV Nova will make changes in their broadcasting. Although Czech Television will no longer broadcast "Debata," where guests polemicize over issues, it will retain "Arena," during which one guest combats the opinions of a quintet of opponents, though the participants will no longer be politicians. Each political party will have the opportunity to present themselves in short spots. Something new for Czech TV is the weekly show "Karantena," where 12 heads of various political parties will present themselves in the order of their pre-election standing. Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus from the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) will be last. TV Nova is not planning on any great changes. The discussion show "7 or Seven Days" ("7 cili Sedm dni") will not be canceled, and we may even see the faces of political candidates there in the pre-election period. However, "Five Minutes with the Prime Minister" ("Pet minut s Premierem"), where Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus attempts to answer viewers' questions will be canceled. Both television stations agreed to raise their awareness of objectivity in pre-election news coverage. Natasa Hajkova/Andrea Snyder Czech Students Abroad Feel Damaged by Current Government Social Policy The Carolina staff recently received a request from Czech students studying at the University of Pennsylvania in the USA to publish their declaration. In it they express their disagreement with the new system of public aid, which they say discriminates against those studying abroad and their families. "After graduating from high school we too decided to test our luck and came to study at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia...This is not a short-term stay to perfect our English, it is a four-year daily study at one of America's most prestigious universities. Expenses for these four years come to approximately 4 million crowns, which easily exceeds our parents' whole life's incomes. We come from average Czech families, and therefore we received scholarships from the university. But this scholarship does not include living costs, health insurance and travel costs...It is necessary to emphasize that, unlike other European countries, our country does not contribute in any way to our studies. Till December, the state at least paid our health insurance and social security as somewhat regular university students... "According to the newest laws, students studying abroad are not considered to be students by the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. According to the Ministry of Education, however, we are 'studying at a school on a level of university study corresponding to that in the Czech Republic' (quote from an official ministry document)." They consider the situation, in which they are students for one ministry and not for another, unbearable. "It is a tragedy that a country like the United States, where we do not even have long-term residency, invests more in our education than our homeland, to which we intend to return...", is written at the end of the declaration, signed by Robert Zeithammer and Michael Zeltkevic. The fact the Czech students abroad do not have the status of dependent children, and therefore their families stop receiving typical family aid payments and not even public transit discounts, is also discussed in the Czech media. For example, the daily Lidove noviny wrote February 19 about the plan of Labor and Social Affairs Minister Jindrich Vodicka to propose further welfare reforms to the government in spring, which should address the law's shortcomings. Carolina will return to this topic with a special story. Marketa Hudkova/Katerina Zachovalova Almost One-Third of Czech Residents Satisfied with Work and Salary According to the Institute for Public Opinion Research, 31 per cent of Czech citizens are satisfied with their job and their financial compensation, while 51 per cent are satisfied with their job. Eight per cent of citizens do not like their job but are satisfied by their salary, while the same percentage of people complain about both. Two per cent of respondents gave other replies. The most satisfied are managers (93 per cent), college graduates and businessmen (92 per cent) and white-collar workers (91 per cent), while the least satisfied are those with only grade-school educations (36 per cent) and laborers (25 per cent). Lucie Chytrackova/Katerina Zachovalova Citizens' Petitions to Parliament According to the February 19 edition of the daily Svobodne Slovo, the parliamentary Petition Committee received 400 petitions with 48,250 signatures in the past six months against the registration of the "abortion pill" RU-486. Two other petitions requested a constitutional amendment for a public referendum on the entry of the Czech Republic to NATO and the EU. These petitions were signed by 36,529 citizens. A petition with 15,873 signatures was mailed to promote the return of tank #23 from the depository of the Army Museum to its original location - in front of the Palace of Justice on Prague's Kinsky Square (the tank, originally symbolizing the liberation of Prague by the Red Army in May 1945, was painted pink by local artist David Cerny after November 1989 and remained a topic of political debate until its removal some years later). Seven petitions protested against public expressions of racism and anti-Semitism in the Czech Republic. The petition mailed by the Sumava Citizens' union was against gold mining in the Kasper Mountains. Other petitions addressed to Parliament requested the criminal code be made more strict and the return of capital punishment, some of them were against the introduction of tuition, etc. One of the petitions dealt with the sale of pornography and the status of homosexual couples. Olga Huderova/Petra Rubesova Nuclear Fuel Transport across the Czech Republic without Problems A train with 235 partly burned fuel cells destined for the Hungarian Paks nuclear power plant crossed the Czech-German border February 19. More than 100 policemen accompanied the transport train and the whole route was strictly confidential. The train was not supposed to spend more than 20 hours on Czech territory. A 30-minute blackout at Rajhrad near Brno caused the only delay, which the train quickly made up and crossed the Slovak border at Breclav the morning of February 20. Czech environmental activists denounced the transport again February 20, but no action was taken. According to the activists, the Hungarian nuclear plant does not comply with western safety standards. Czech Railways was to earn about 1 million crowns for the transport operation. Zbynek Vicar/Petra Rubesova Youngest Parliamentary Club Chairman Gets Married Social Democratic (CSSD) parliamentary club Chairman Stanislav Gross was married February 16 in Prague. He met his wife Sarka Bobysudova (both 26) in the Parliament cafeteria, where she works as assistant manager. CSSD Chairman Milos Zeman attended the ceremony as the best man. Although Mrs. Gross is said to share her husband's political sympathies, the wedding did not have a political character. The newly married couple also agrees on the number of children they wish to have - a minimum of two. Stanislav Gross, a student at Charles University's Law School, used to work as a train engineer. Jitka Hejtmanova, Alice Ticha/Petra Rubesova Interior Minister Jan Ruml Has a Son New father and Interior Minister Jan Ruml took his wife Marie and their first-born son Frantisek home from Prague's Podoli Maternity Hospital February 19. Frantisek was born February 8, measuring 52 cm tall (about 20 inches) and weighed 3.9 kg (about 8.8 lbs.). According to the press, the happy father finds his son gorgeous, big and beautiful. He also said the birth of his son adds a whole new dimension to his life and a role he looks forward to. Jitka Hejtmanova, Alice Ticha/Petra Rubesova NEWS IN BRIEF * Minister of Defense Vilem Holan visited the Czech IFOR military base in Bosanska Krupa February 18. * Thai Princess Macha Cakri Sirindchor arrived last weekend for a private visit of Prague. * The number of the acute respiratory illnesses has recently risen considerably, and the country is probably going to suffer a new flu epidemic. Michaela Vysoudilova, Darina Coufalova/Petra Rubesova FROM SLOVAKIA Michal Kovac Jr. Not to Be Extradited to Germany Michal Kovac Jr., son of the Slovak president, was released February 20 by the Vienna High Court after neary six months in jail. The Austrian court, headed by Senate Chairman Friedrich Novotny, decided that Kovac will not be extraditedto Germany, as requested by the German prosecutor's office. Among the main reasons are the fact that the Slovak government did not demand the return of their citizen, and did not protest his arrest, and that, according to the confession of Oskar F., a former Slovak Information Service (SIS) agent, the secret service took part in Kovac's kidnapping as well. In spite of this, the newly released Kovac is planning a trip to Munich. "After a short rest, which I will spend at home, I want to go voluntarily to Munich to close the Technopol case, so that it can no longer be abused on the Slovak political scene against the the head of the Slovak state," Kovac told Czech daily Lidove noviny immediately after the decision was announced. Kovac Jr. will be able to use the president's bodyguards upon his return to Slovakia. Katerina Zachovalova/Andrea Snyder ECONOMY/BUSINESS Kladno's Poldi to Bankruptcy Proceedings The Fund of National Property (FNM) and the Ministry of Industry and Trade ended negotiations about the consolidation of Kladno's Poldi steel works February 15, and agreed on a proposal for bankruptcy proceedings. The FNM has also lodged a criminal complaint against Vladimir Stehlik, owner of Bohemia Art (which holds 54.8 per cent stake in Poldi), for breaching the public bid rules and for tampering with the bid process, said FNM Chairman Roman Ceska. Major responsibility for the bad contract selling Poldi to Bohemia Art falls to the former management of the FNM, which did not ensure sufficient control of the whole action. Because the privatization was negotiated also by the ministry, part of the blame falls to them, as well. The FNM signed a third version of the purchase contract with Vladimir Stehlik's Bohemia Art February 25, 1994, which allowed Stehlik to gain a bigger share than he paid for. Jaromir Vicari, Arsen Kocarjan/Petra Sevcikova Government Allows Rent Increases The government cabinet agreed February 14 that rents may rise, while Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus said the possible increase will be "at the lower border of the possible," and is a reaction to the need for rent deregulation and the social conditions in the country. The government agreement set the maximum rent increase at 19 per cent, though the exact increase will be decided by individual localities according to local conditions. The new rents will be valid from July 1 till June 30, 1997. Higher rents will follow. Jitka Motejzikova/Petra Sevcikova Parliament Approves Law against Money Laundering Parliamentary deputies February 15 unanimously approved the government's proposed law to attack money laundering - the legaliztion of earnings from criminal activity. A minimum of 500,000 crowns was set to mark off transactions which will subject to new regulations. The law requires the identification of all participants in transactions exceeding this amount. The transactions subject to registration also include opening a bank account, currency exchanges, rental of a safe deposit box or closing a deposit agreement. The law applies not only for all financial institutions - banks, investment companies and funds, savings and loans, but also for people running videogame parlors, casinos or betting parlors. Financial institutions will also be forced to inform the Ministry of Finance of all "unusual transactions" within five days. For not fulfilling the requirements, a fine of 2 million crowns may be imposed. If the offense is repeated, the penalty may reach 10 million crowns. The law takes effect July 1. Petr Mrzena/Petra Sevcikova Experts and Laymen Differ on Car of '96 In a survey of Czech automotive journalists, in search of the Car of '96, the Audi A4 won. The result of the voting was announced by its sponsor, The Union of Automobile Importers (SDA) February 18 in Prague's Hilton Hotel. Together with the professional vote, the SDA also organized a open survey, to which 230,000 readers of selected magazines contributed. Here the victor was the Peugeot 406 STDT sedan, which cannot use the slogan Car of the Year '96 in the Czech Republic for advertising, according to the SDA. Jakub Konecny/Petra Sevcikova Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid from February 23) country currency ------------------------------------------ Great Britain 1 GBP 41.549 France 1 FRF 5.374 Japan 100 JPY 25.518 Canada 1 CAD 19.477 Austria 1 ATS 2.636 Slovakia 100 SKK 90.372 Germany 1 DEM 18.539 Switzerland 1 CHF 22.734 USA 1 USD 26.928 ECU 1 XEU 34.006 SDR 1 XDR 39.624 CULTURE Actor Milos Kopecky Departs Popular theater, film and television actor Milos Kopecky died at the age 73 February 16 in Prague. Although he was trained as a furrier, at the age of 19 he was lured in by the theater. After World War II, he went to work in Prague's Vetrnik ensemble, at first as a technician. He went on to play a pantheon of roles on the stages of the Semafor Theater, the ABC Theater, at the National Theater and mainly in the Vinohrady Theater. Czech film took advantage of his acting talent: he created several character types from seducers, baddies and intellectuals to doctors. Among others, he excelled in The Good Soldier Svejk, in the classic 1964 western parody Lemonade Joe as the villainous Horac Hogofogo, and he furrowed the depths of the oceans and the universe in the film Baron Prasil. He impressed himself on the public memory particularly in the role of Dr. Strosmajer in Jaroslav Dietl's TV serial Hospital on the Outskirts which is being rerun on Czech Television. Kopecky complained that Strosmajer the surgeon had become more famous than Kopecky. People started to stop him on the street and tell him: "Doctor, help me, I've had rheumatism for five years and don't know what to do with it...". David Vozdecky/Alice Ticha Slovak "Garden" Wins Premiere Film Critics Prize The Film Critics Prize for the best film of 1995 was presented to the Slovak-Czech co-production of Slovak director Martin Sulik Garden (Zahrada) February 15 at Prague's Lucerna Theater. A jury of 44 eminent specialists decided the winner. Nominations for the prestigious Czech Lion awards were also announced during the evening's festivities. The most nominations - 11 out of 12 categories - were carried off by Garden. Also the creators of the Dance Teacher (Ucitel tance), directed by Jaromil Jires, received six nominations. The other serious competitors are Sasa Gedeon's debut, Indian Summer (Indianske leto), with five nominations and Golet in The Valley (Golet v udoli), directed by the recently deceased Zeno Dostal, with four nominations. The prizes, decided on the basis of voting of the Czech Film and TV Academy members, will be awarded March 2 in Lucerna. The academy chose from 22 films released in 1995. The year's best film will be either Garden, Indian Summer or Karel Kachyna's film Fany. The title of top directors will be carried off by Gedeon, Sulik or Jires. Nominees for the best actor in a leading role includey Martin Dejdar (Dance Teacher), Roman Luknar (Garden) and Ondrej Vetchy (Golet in the Valley), in the women's category the winner will be among Klara Issova (Indian Summer), Jirina Bohdalova (Fany) or Zuzana Sulajova (Garden), daughter of one of the film's screenwriter. An interesting coincidence popped up in the screenplay category, where Jiri Hubac is nominated twice - for the screenplays of Fany and Dance Teacher. His competitors are the creators of Garden's screenplay. Matej Bartosek/Alice Ticha SPORTS Bad Fields Delay Start of Soccer League Three of the eight matches in the opening round of the spring part of the top league (Slavia - Olomouc, Ostrava - Zizkov, Brno - Liberec) were postponed because of the bad condition of the turf during the weekend of February 17-18. The thaw affected the surface of other fields, which caused a few surprises. The first-place team Sparta Praha lost its game, thanks to snow in Ceske Budejovice. 16th round: C. Budejovice - Sparta 2:0, Hradec Kralove - Zlin 0:2, Uherske Hradiste - Cheb 0:0, Plzen - Jablonec 0:1, Drnovice - Opava 3:1. Karel Bartek/Jitka Motejzikova Quarterfinals in Hockey Extraleague The February 22 quarterfinals of this year's hockey extraleague saw Sparta beat Jihlava 2:1, Vsetin shutout Kladno 3:0, Ceske Budejovice best Slavie 5:3, and Litvinov stomp Zlin 6:3. For the first time, the quarterfinals will be best-of-seven, modeled on the NHL. Adam Kotalik/Jitka Motejzikova THE WEATHER We were blessed by a rich distribution of snow last week. The snow lasted only for a few days in lowlands and cities (it then began to rain). The snow then became a disgusting but harmless slush. It caused calamity in the mountains, cars cannot make it through roads and pupils, who went to the mountains for their spring school vacations, froze in long columns on the snow-covered roads. Matej Husek/Jitka Motejzikova ----------------------------------------------------------------------- WHO IS WHO IN CAROLINA (Part One) My name is Matej, and this year I will be 20. I come from Prague, where after I successfully finished grade school I studied also at secondary school. Now I am adding to my knowledge at this university. Among my main interests are film and music. I like Louis Bunuel and John Cale. I am the oldest of three brothers. With my brothers and with two parents we make a nearly perfect family. Matej Bartosek Nobody talked about it, but the year 1976 was a successful year for Czech soccer. This is for two reasons: We won the European title, and I was born. Some friends claim that I am humble (but only when they are drunk). I am Wallachian born in the beautiful Moravian village of Tecovice (near the town of Zlin). After finishing secondary school in the town of Otrokovice, I found myself heading toward the nation's capital, Prague, where I am in the middle of a struggle with the Faculty of Social Sciences professors now. I am good at soccer, tennis, skiing, therefore I would like to be a sports journalist. My only bad quality (again I show my humbleness) is that I like to sleep and I'm always late for appointments and functions (Professor Truneckova could tell you a story or two). Karel Bartek My name is Lucka, I come from Prague, and I am 20 years old. I study journalism and I also work at the Sociological Institute. I enjoy good music, quality literature, kind people, a good sense of humour, sincerity and brevity Lucie Chytrackova I was born in Brno. I forget the exact date of my birth, but I remember that on February 2, 1978 I celebrated my first birthday. After I celebrated my sixth birthday, I began grade school. There I was taught that my name is written "Darina Coufalova." After eight years in elementary school, I decided that I needed a change and therefore decided to study at a secondary school in Brno. Petr Bezruc, Karel Capek, Jiri Orten, myself, and other literati are among some of the alumni of this fine institution. Secondary school began to bore me, so then I left Brno with my sights set on studying journalism in Prague. What will come next? We shall see. Darina Coufalova My family name, Dvorak, is certainly not an uncommon name in the Czech tradition, as well as my first name, Lucka. However, my distinct personality will never let anyone mistake me for someone else. My life is now divided into two equally long stages. My first nine years were spent in northern Bohemia, in Chomutov, where I was born. For the second half of my life I lived in Hluboka nad Vltavou in southern Bohemia, near the famous local castle. Now I am spending my first year in Prague studying journalism at Charles University. Because some miracle has happened, I have been admitted to the school on my first attempt to get in. Who knows, maybe I will spend another nine years here. Lucie Dvorakova Hi! I am a 19-year-old faithful near-journalist from the beautiful south Moravia town of Trebic. Originally, I had wanted to be a surgeon. But two years ago I began thinking about the possibility of becoming a journalist. My dreams encompass three things: long sleeps, good meals, and the ever-present sounds of classical music (especially Beethoven). I like children (someday I hope to have five of them), doctors, and my family, which consists of my devoted mother, humorous father and tacitrun brother. I speak German, French and a little English. In the future I would like to dedicate myself mainly to polictical reporting. Natasa Hajkova In the begining, I was born a child without much hair. My parents scared me into thinking that I would be bald forever, and I then broke down. People stopped to tell me that even though I had little hair, it was beautiful and curly nonetheless. Today I have enough hair, but I will always remember the hypocrisy of my family. When I was young, my cousin once threw me on the bed and made me lose my breath. Evidently, he was a sadist. >From my early days, I have always been afraid of dogs. But whenever I get a postcard from my friends, there is always a picture of a dog on the front. I never learned to turn to the left while skiing. I am allergic to pollen. Even in the summer I have a cold. Should I go on? Jitka Hejtmanova My name is Olga Huderova. I have two eyes, two ears, one nose, one mouth, a lot of hair, two legs, two arms and 10 fingers (five on the left hand, five on the right). I have one mother, one father, one brother, one grandmother, three aunts, one uncle, four cousins, and friends. What more could I want? Olga Huderova Dark-haired 18-year-old with a slim body (perhaps) is looking for... a job? No. I am too busy. I study at two universities, journalism and business. Maybe I could have been looking for a flat. No, again you missed the point. I have a flat in Ceske Budjovice and I like that place (maybe too much). Am I looking for a boyfriend? I am happy that my boyfriend did not hear this question. What I am actually looking for is hard to tell, now, but maybe I will find something in the future. Marketa Hudkova I was born about 20 years ago somewhere in Prague. I attended a not-so-well-known grade school, but a more recognized secondary school. Last year I studied natural science at the university. But now, some miracle has brought me here. Journalism has always attracted me because I enjoy being in contact with people, and for me it is an introspective experience. My hobbies are primarily music. I listen to jazz and blues guitarists and I play the guitar myself in my own band. Matej Husek For nearly 20 years I have been wandering around this world, meeting people who either like me or dislike me. But mostly they all take me for who I am. I am stubborn, moody, and loving (to good people and all kinds of animals). I try to direct my life according to my heart, however a little reason wouldn't be a bad idea. I like beautiful music, close friends, chocolate, and wandering nature's bounty. I may never become an aggressive journalist, but I would like to make something visible to the world. When you read or hear of the name Zora Kasikova in the media in the future, you will know that it's me. Zora Kasikova WHO IS WHO translated by Michael Wagner English version 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!