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 STUDENTS' 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 202, Friday, May 10, 1996. FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (May 1-8) Czech Hockey Players Are World Champions The 60th anniversary of the World Hockey Championships, which took place in Vienna April 21 through May 5, reached its peak in the Czech Republic-Canada final. The Czech hockey squad won by a score of 4-2 and thus became world champions for the first time since 1985. The Czechs also received the Fair Play Cup for the most politely play of the championship. More detailes about hockey follow in the sports section. Jan Palicka/Jitka Motejzikova Klaus and Havel Congratulate Hockey World Champions Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus was the first Czech politician to congratulate the Czech hockey squad on their victory in the World Championships. The prime minister attended the final against Canada in Vienna and awarded the players their gold medals. After the on-ice formalities, Klaus welcomed the team into the locker-room, thanking them for excellent performance in the championships. The players sang the team's hymn for him (the locker-room rang with the roar adapted from the Czech rock group Kabat's song "Vasek, you are a great guy," according to the Czech daily Lidove noviny). The statesman did not avoid a champagne shower, as well. President Vaclav Havel sent a telegram to the team immediately after the final had finished: "Dear friends, I congratulate you from my heart on your excellent victory. Thanks to you we are world champions again after 11 years. I thank you for a dignified representation of the Czech Republic." Jan Palicka/Jitka Motejzikova PRE-ELECTION SERVICE (Czech Parliamentary elections will take place May 31-June 1) *** STEM: ODS Moves Farther Ahead of Social Democrats One month before elections, 29.1 per cent of voters have decided to vote for Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus's Civic Democratic Party (ODS). Only 20.4 per cent say they wil vote for the Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD), according to a pre-election poll conducted May 4-5 by the Center for Empirical Research. In Early April, a similar poll showed ODS leading with a much smaller margin - 26.7 per cent as opposed to CSSD's 20.5 per cent. Vice-Prime Minister Jan Kalvoda's Civic Democratic Alliance lost voters, going from 8.5 per cent to 7 per cent during the last month. However, the Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party, lead by Josef Lux, has risen in favor from 8.2 per cent to 9 per cent. Lux holds the positions of vice-prime minister and minister of agriculture. The other opposition parties have gained more popularity as well; the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia is up from 7.8 per cent to 10.6 per cent, and the Association for the Republic-Czechoslovak Republican Party has leaped from 6.6 per cent to 8.8 per cent support. Thus, six political parties would meet the condition of gaining more than 5 per cent of voter preference. Petra Rubesova/Andrea Snyder ODS Holds Last Pre-Election Conference Civic Democratic Party (ODS) Chairman Vaclav Klaus accused Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD) Chairman Milos Zeman of attempting to "return our country to the irresponsible world of state control, deficit financing (and) industrial and agricultural regulation," at ODS' last pre-election conference, in Ostrava May 4. He called the Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party's slogans about honorable pensions in return for honorable work empty. In response to the Civic Democratic Alliance's accusation that ODS is defending state centralization, Klaus said that no party wants to liberalize, deregulate and privatize as much as ODS. Neither Klaus nor Zeman named coalition partners in their speeches. ODS Vice-Chairman and Foreign Minister Josef Zieleniec joined the prime minister in criticizing CSSD. He is quoted by the Czech daily Pravo as saying "Chaos and lack of order, in which everything would come to a head, is then the ideal fertile soil for the seeds of the the most varied political extreme." ODS' Executive Board is displeased with the small impact that the pre-election campaign has had so for. To amend the situation, the board decided that former ODS Vice-Chairman Miroslav Macek and another member of the council, Petr Hapala, will share responsibility for the campaign with current Vice-Chairman Libor Novak. Zeman reacted to Klaus's speech by saying that he views it as "a mere expression of nervousness, due to the fact that government confidence has, for the fist time, fallen below the 50 per cent line." Petra Rubesova/Andrea Snyder ***** Remembering the Prague Uprising Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus, Prague Mayor Jan Koukal and Czech Radio Director Vlastimil Jezek honored the anniversary of the 1945 Prague Uprising. They laid wreaths at the entrance of the Czech Radio building, where the uprising began more than 50 years ago. In a speech remembering the victims, the prime minister said "the radio building is a monument to all Czech patriots, whose longing for the freedom of man and country was stronger than fear of the terror of the occupiers." Petra Rubesova/Andrea Snyder Czechs' Trust in the Government Subsides Only 48 per cent of the Czech population has confidence in the government, according to an April poll taken by the Institute for the Research of Public Opinion (IVVM). This rate, compared to 55 per cent in March and 50 per cent in February, is the lowest since the government was officially founded four years ago. The confidence loss infects Parliament as well, with a decrease of 7 per cent, to 24 per cent of those polled. IVVM employee Jiri Cesala says the election campaign implemented by opposition parties and the increase of discontent with government policies may be the reason for both institutions' loss of favor. Trust in the president is stable, however. During the course of the year, it has stayed between 71 per cent and 80 per cent. The last public opinion poll conducted shows 76 per cent believing in their president. Jitka Hejtmanova/Andrea Snyder Political Party Sponsors Commerce Bank (Komercni banka) spokeswoman Irena Satavova announced May 3 it is possible to determine the origins of the Civic Democratic Party's (ODS) sponsor donations, the two largest of which came from a dead man and a pauper (see Carolina 201). ODS Parliamentary Club Chair Jiri Honajzer said that the party had not known of the possibility. However, the Civic Democratic Alliance has obtained permission from their sponsor, the Trade Management Company Ltd., to make the documents recording the donation public. TMC, based on the British Easter Islands, is, among other activities, a consulting company. Petra Rubesova/Andrea Snyder Tuition This Fall at Technical Colleges An annual tuition of 2,500 crowns to 5,000 crowns will be paid from September 1 by students at the public Technical Colleges (VOS). The move was announced May 2 by Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus after the cabinet's usual Wednesday meeting. The highest tuition will be charged to students in applied arts fields, while the lowest fees belong to students of library studies, healthcare and social work. Those already studying at the schools will also pay. The governement is planning on offering long-term student loans, Klaus said. Studies at the schools last two to three years, and build on similar high school programs, but the college graduates do not recieve a university diploma. Michal Kubal/Petra Sevcikova Stehlik Calls for Dismissal of Ministers Poldi Kladno steelworks owner Vladimir Stehlik called an employees' meeting for May 2, where participants (several thousand, according to press reports - Poldi has more than 6,000 employees) supported Stehlik's request for the dismissal of Privatization Minister Jiri Skalicky, Trade and Industry Minister Vladimir Dlouhy and National Property Fund Chairman Roman Ceska (all members of the Civic Democratic Alliance). Spontaneusly, the recall of Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus was also proposed. As the main guilty parties in the crisis at Poldi (see Carolina 190-1, 199) Stehlik singled out the fund, Commerce Bank and the aforementioned ministries. Stehlik, who received a vote of confidence from the employees, announced he will transform Poldi into a public corporation and offer part of his 54.8-per-cent share to the management of certain Czech firms. Michal Kubal/Petra Sevcikova Explosion Kills A methane explosion in the area of the former OKD Salma mines in Ostrava May 2 killed one person and injured nine. The cause of the expolsion was a gas leak from the former Hugo mine. The corpse was found under the debris three hours after the explosion. The injured were taken to local hospitals, and three of them have been released. Jitka Hejtmanova/Petra Sevcikova Former Prime Minister Calfa Celebrates The members of the first post-1989 federal government got together May 4 in the Harmony Hotel in Spindler's Mill in the Giant Mountains (Krkonose) for their traditional meeting. The program did not consist only of memories of collective work at the fore of the former Czechoslovakia but also celebration of former prime minister Marian Calfa's 50th birthday. President Vaclav Havel also stopped by and gave Calfa a vase from the Prague castle's architect Borek Sipek and three rare Spanish wines. His former collegues gave the Slovak Calfa a mountain bike, wishing him "a lot of movement and sports, so he might at least become a real man after 50." Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus, who worked as finance minister in Calfa's government, apologized for not coming to the party because of the pre-election conference of Klaus' Civic Democratic Party. Alice Ticha/Petra Sevcikova FROM SLOVAKIA First Political Murder in Slovakia? Former Slovak policeman Robert Remias died in the explosion of his automobile on the evening of April 29 in a Bratislava neighborhood. Remias had been questioned concerning the kidnapping of Michal Kovac Jr., and he had also remained in contact with former Slovak Information Service (SIS) officer Oskar Fegyveres, who has testified the SIS participated in the kidnapping. Remias died less than an hour after an appointment with the editor of Slovak daily SME Peter Toth, who has intensively investigated the Kovac Jr. case. "All the indications are that it is a case of premeditated murder. It is the first political murder in Slovakia since November 1989," said opposition Christian Democratic Movement Vice-Chairman Frantisek Miklosko. The Slovak police responded with a statement saying the Ministry of the Interior consideres Milosko's words as impertinent and shocking. Ministry spokesman Ondera said "the true cause of the explosion was a defect of the fuel system of the propane-butane engine of the BMW." Experts almost entirely rule out such an explanation. Alice Ticha/Alice Ticha Meciar 10th Worst Enemy of the Press Falling into company with the world's top dictators, Slovak Premier Vladimir Meciar concludes the Top 10 of "the worst enemies of the press." The Committee for the Protection of Journalists published the list in New York May 2, and the Czech press picked up the story the next day. In first place is Islam Armed Group chief Jamal Zituni of Algeria, known as abu Abdarrahman Amin, who is responsible for the deaths of 58 journalists killed in Algeria since 1993. In second place is Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping. The black list finishes with Meciar, "who, by his laws and wanton firing of journalists represses the press and other mass media," according to Czech press quotes from the list. The daily Slovak Republic labeled Meciar's placement among the the biggest enemies of press as an "anti-Slovak campaign." Alice Ticha/Jitka Hejtmanova Attempt on Bela Bugar's Life? A grenade attack on the car of Bela Bugar, National Assembly deputy of the Hungarian Christian Democratic Movement, left no injury or material damage. The assault ocurred on the night of May 4 near Bugar's house in the village of Samorin. Unknown culprits threw the grenade out of a running car. Bugar expressed his conviction that the attack had been carried out on the instructions of the "local mafia," which meant it as a clear warning. Bugar, a former member of the Security Committee, often referred to the increase of crime and organized crime in southern Slovakia. Alice Ticha/Alice Ticha ECONOMY Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid from May 10) country currency ------------------------------------------ Australia 1 AUD 22.017 Belgium 100 BEF 88.528 Great Britain 1 GBP 41.972 Denmark 1 DKK 4.714 Finland 1 FIM 5.822 France 1 FRF 5.376 Ireland 1 IEP 43.419 Italy 1000 ITL 17.683 Japan 100 JPY 26.334 Canada 1 CAD 20.205 Luxemburg 100 LUF 88.528 Netherlands 1 NLG 16.289 Norway 1 NOK 4.229 New Zealand 1 NZD 18.983 Portugal 100 PTE 17.683 Austria 1 ATS 2.588 Greece 100 GRD 11.416 Slovakia 100 SKK 89.729 Germany 1 DEM 18.204 Spain 100 ESP 21.775 Sweden 1 SEK 4.063 Switzerland 1 CHF 22.389 USA 1 USD 27.585 ECU 1 XEU 34.111 SDR 1 XDR 39.983 CULTURE Film about Carolina Awarded The undergraduate project Carolina, made by Pavel Benes of the Faculty of Social Sciences of Charles University, won the Josef, Marie and Zdenka Hlavka Talent Prize at the 31st annual Olomouc Academia Film Festival May 1. The prize was awarded by an international jury including astronomer Jiri Grygar, a member of the Physics Institute of the Czech Academy of Sciences and chairman of the Czech Television Council, and film historian Pavel Taussig. This international festival of scientific, popular-scientific and didactic films, TV programs and videos accepted more than 180 films from 13 countries this year. Slightly less than one-third of them were chosen for the competition. The prize is dedicated to promising and beginning artists. Benes, who wrote and directed the award-wining 11-minute documentary on preparation of electronic news service from the Czech Republic, confessed to Carolina after his arrival from Olomouc: "I did not consider it as just my award, but mainly as the award of the school. I have the impression they were convinced not only by the work, but also were awarding Carolina itself." The succesful 22-year-old student will defend his bachelor's degree project at the school in early June. We can also betray that as a freshman he used to be on the Carolina staff, and you can find his bio in Carolina 111. Michal Kubal/Katerina Zachovalova SPORT World Champions after Eleven Years The Czech Republic, as the official successor to the former Czechoslovakia, was credited a 7th gold medal in the 1996 Hockey World Championship. Czechoslovakia dominated in Prague in 1947 and two years later in Stockholm. A 23-year-long fast followed and Czechoslovakia won again in Prague in the year 1972. It took another title in Poland's Katowice in 1976 and concluded the superb 70's a year later in Vienna. Czechoslovakia gained its sixth title, in another championship in Prague, in 1985. Jan Palicka/Klara Schirova The Road to the Gold The wards of Coach Ludek Bukac graduated at the top of a strong group B (in front of the last year's finalists - Sweden and Finland), losing only one point (to Norway). Therefore, the team from Germany became their oponent in the quarterfinal duel. The Czechs won 6-1, thanks especially to the work of first line of center Jiri Dopita. After the match, Dopita's appendix had to be removed, so he spent the rest of the championships in the Army Hospital in Brno. The Czechs then encountered the US team in the semifinal and once more showed some excellent hockey, winning 5-0. The match began with a heretofore unseen entrance by the Czech hockey players, who scored twice in the third minute with their own man in the penalty box. Goalie Roman Turek presented as usual fantastic performance and did not give up a goal for the first time in the championship. The final oponent, Canada, which passed by Russia only after a sudden-death shootout in the semifinal, began in better form and forged ahead in the sixth minute. Their goal was equaled in less than two minutes by Lang. The same player brought the Czech team a one-goal lead in the second period, but the players from overseas tied it again. The end was approaching in the third period when Patera found Prochazka in the last minute and Prochazka beat the Canadian goalie 19 seconds before the end, to go up 3-2. Play continued without the Canadian goalie, and Kucera concluded the beautiful work of the Czech representation. Jan Palicka/Klara Schirova World Champions: Goalies: Roman Turek, Roman Cechmanek, Petr Franek Defensemen: Antonin Stavjana, Jiri Veber, Michal Sykora, Stanislav Neckar, Drahomir Kadlec, Frantisek Kaberle, Jiri Vykoukal Forwards: Radek Bonk, Radek Belohlav, David Vyborny, Robert Kysela, Robert Reichel, Robert Lang, Otakar Vejvoda, Pavel Patera, Martin Prochazka, Viktor Ujcik, Jiri Kucera, Roman Meluzin, Jiri Dopita Coaches: Ludek Bukac, Slavomir Lener, Zdenek Lener Statistics from the 60th Ice Hockey World Championships Final standings: 1. Czech Republic 2. Canada, 3. USA, 4. Russia, 5. Finland, 6. Sweden, 7. Italy, 8. Germany, 9. Norway, 10. Slovakia, 11. France, 12. Austria. Top Scorers: 1. Perreault (Canada) 6 goals, 2. Green (Canada), Selanne (Finland), Dube (France), Tancill (USA), Kucera a Lang (CR) 5 goals, 8. Kariya (Canada), Zarillo (Italy), Stevens (USA), Nurminen, Nieminen (both Finland), Bergvist (Sweden), Pouget, Bozon, Rozenthal (all France), Berezin, Jasin, Kvartalnov (all Russia), Vejvoda a Reichel (both Czech Republic). Best players: goalie - Roman Turek (CR), defender - Alexej Zitnik (Russia), forward - Paul Kariya (Canada). All stars, 1st team: Roman Turek (CR) - Michal Sykora (CR), Alexej Zitnik (Russia) - Otakar Vejvoda (CR), Robert Reichel (CR), Paul Kariya (Canada). Slavia Confirms Championship by Defeating Hradec After the 1996 soccer league championship was assured in the 27th round when Olomouc lost its race with Slavia, new champion Slavia celebrated the title fully on its home field in Prague with a victorious match against Hradec Kralove May 5. The results of the remaining three rounds will decide who will participate in the European Cups and who will lose their membership in the top soccer league (in the May 8 quarterfinal of the Czech-Moravian Football Union Cup Sparta defeated Slavia 2-0). Results of the 28th round: Slavia - Hradec 2-1, Brno - Sparta 1-0, Liberec - Drnovice 4-0, Cheb - Jablonec 2-0, Zlin - Hradiste 2-0, Opava - Budejovice 2-1, Olomouc - Ostrava 1-0, Zizkov - Plzen 2-0. Make-up from 23rd round: Ostrava - Brno 0-2. Make-up from 24th round: Liberec - Plzen 1-0. Standings after 28 rounds: 1. Slavia 64; 2. Olomouc 55; 3. Jablonec 50; 4. Drnovice 48; 5. Sparta 46; 6. Liberec 43; 7. Opava 40; 8. Brno 40; 9. Plzen 36; 10. Zizkov 35; 11. Ceske Budejovice 35; 12. Ostrava 32; 13. Cheb 32; 14. Hradec Kralove 28; 15. Zlin 24; 16. Uherske Hradiste 16. David Sprincl/Milan Smid WEATHER The huge chestnut tree in front of our windows is in bloom and grass in the park is poison green. Jitka Hejtmanova It is nice and now it will stay that way. Petra Rubesova It rains sometimes and mornings are cold. Alice Ticha Translated by Jituse Hejtmanova 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@listserv.cesnet.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@listserv.cesnet.cz: SIGNOFF CAR-ENG or SIGNOFF CAR-CS We ask you not to send automatic replies to our list. 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