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 216, Friday, September 27, 1996. FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS (September 12-25) Havel in South America Czech President Vaclav Havel has commenced a two-week trip to Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina September 15. Among the members of President's delegation is Vladimir Dlouhy, Minister of Industry and Trade, and a group of the Czech entrepreneurs. In Brazil Havel visited, among other sites, the village of Lidice, which got its name from the Czech village burned to ruins by Nazis during the Second World War as retribution for the assassination of Reinhard Heydrich, Nazi head of the Czech protectorate. The local school is named after the second president of Czechoslovakia, Edvard Benes. In Rio de Janeiro the delegation was joined by Czech National Bank Governor Josef Tosovsky. In Chile, where the first agreement with any Latin American country was signed on eliminating entry visas, Minister of Finance Ivan Kocarnik also joined the delegation. Agrobanka under Forced Administration of Czech National Bank Forced administration was introduced September 17 in Agrobanka, the fifth-largest bank in the Czech Republic. The decision was made by the Bank Council of the central Czech National Bank (CNB) after a joint session with the Czech cabinet on the night of September 16. This step was taken shortly after Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus and CNB Governor Josef Tosovsky publicly declared that the Czech banking sector is healthy and safe. The CNB provided a guarantee that all obligations of Agrobanka will be met. The daily MF DNES highlighted the fact that since the 1992 process of dividing the former Czechoslovakia and meetings between Klaus and Slovak Premier Vladimir Meciar, this was the first time cabinet members have been in session the whole night. Causes of the forced administration are interpreted differently: Agrobanka's cash-flow problems, its inability to keep reserves at the prescribed level, or the government intention to push out of Agrobanka the Motoinvest financial group, which took control of the bank in 1995 and whose representative on the bank's supervisory board is in jail in connection with the Kreditni banka Plzen collapse (see Carolina 213, 215 and below). Motoinvest might have owned about 15 per cent of Agrobanka and 20 per cent of Czech Savings, one of the four largest financial institutions in the Czech Republic, according to press reports. Among the biggest clients of Agrobanka are the Fund of National Property, General Health Insurance, the Farmer Aid Fund and the Land Fund. Tosovsky said big Czech banks will deposit about 6 billion crowns in Agrobanka to strengthen its liquidity. Livia Savelkova Klaus Meets Zeman on Banks Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus and Parliament Chairman and leader of the opposition Social Democrat Party Milos Zeman declared their common intention to contribute to calming the public in the wake of recent banking crises. They made their announcement after their September 17 meeting, which was initiated by the Prime Minister. Klaus, who has opposed establishing a parliamentary investigative commission before, changed his mind after this meeting, and voiced his support for setting up a special commission for investigating the causes of the collapse of Kreditni banka Plzen. On September 19 Zeman and Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party Chairman Josef Lux came to an agreement that the parliamentary commission should be chaired by the representative of the Social Democrats. Zeman would like to see a Social Democrat and former Communist deputy Michal Kraus at the head of the commission. The process for establishing the commission is to start at the October Parliament session. Police Investigation in Kreditni Banka Crash Beside the news on the Czech National Bank's forced administration of Agrobanka (see above), the police investigation in the Kreditni banka Plzen case was the dominant media event of the last two weeks. The press reported September 14 about the first arrests and legal charges posed against several persons suspected of embezzlement and damaging creditors in the case. The criminal activity of the charged persons may deprive bank clients and creditors of about 3 billion crowns and could be punished by sentences ranging from 5 years to 12 years in prison. Two of six charged are former high-level managers of the bank, while another two are leading members in the Motoinvest financial group. Pavel Tykac, president of Motoinvest, fled the country September 17 after declaring at a press conference the innocence of his employees and making hints about the true culprits in the bank crash. One day later, he surprisingly returned to Prague and stated that his company will soon leave the banking sector in the Czech Republic. Livie Savelkova Milos Zeman Asks for Finance Minister's Head The Executive Council of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) declared, after its weekend meeting (September 21-22) in Loucen, unanimous definitive backing for Minister of Finance Ivan Kocarnik, attacked by Social Democrat Chairman Milos Zeman, who asked for Kocarnik's resignation. Zeman put the blame on Kocarnik for not preventing the loss of about 2 billion crowns deposited by the Czech Customs Administration in the collapsed Kreditni banka Plzen, not to speak of general responsibility for the banking sector. The September 23 issue of the daily Pravo quoted Prime Minister and ODS Chairman Vaclav Klaus, saying the Council "rejected the politically motivated attacks on Minister Ivan Kocarnik." The Council entrusted the Minister of Finance with drawing up amendments which should enable more strict control in banks and on the capital market. Actual responsibility is - according to the ODS - on the side of the inspectors of the Czech National Bank. However, the removal of the CNB governor Josef Tosovsky has not been discussed, as Klaus was cited in Pravo. Kocarnik said the top management and organs of the Czech National Bank are politically unrecallable and they possess exclusive jurisdiction over bank supervision. Livia Savelkova, Arsen Kocarjan ODS and CSSD Election Preferences Even The Social Democrats (CSSD) surpassed for the first time the strongest government party, the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), in the voter-preference opinion poll conducted by the Center for Empirical Research (STEM) even though the difference is minimal and in the range of "statistical error" (CSSD 26.3 per cent, ODS 26.2 per cent). According to another agency, the Public Opinion Research Institute (IVVM), ODS still maintains its leading position (ODS 25 per cent, CSSD 24 per cent). Both institutes did the research in the first half of September, before the bank bankrupcty scandal emerged. The Czech press, which published the above-mentioned results (STEM research September 20, IVVM research September 23) noted the statistical error in such opinion polls is about 2 per cent. Both studies registered the decline of election preferences for the neo-fascist Republican party, which fell under the 5 per cent limit necessary for entry into Parliament. Senat Election - ODS Wants to Expel Members on Independent Ballots The very first Senate election in the Czech Republic will take place November 15-16. Unlike the recent Parliament election (May 31 - June 1) with its proportional system in 8 election regions, the Senate election will use the majority system in 81 district constituencies. The Civic Democratic Party (ODS) Executive Council called for the expulsion of several ODS members on independent ballots thus competing with nominees on the official ODS ballots. One of the independents is Ludek Rubas, co-founder of the ODS and former Minister of Health. The neo-fascist Republicans are the only of the six parties in Parliament not running for Senate seats because of their opposition to the upper house's existence. Czechs Lead the Europe Statistic in Beer Consumption The Czech Republic, with a consumption of 159 liters per inhabitant per year, places at the top of Europe beer drinking statistics, the Czech press reported September 16. Data refer to the year 1995 and were published by the Confederation of EU Breweries. According to this source, Germans are second best, with 138 liters per capita, and Danes place third with 124 liters of beer per capita. At the bottom of the table are the French, with a consumption of 39 liters per capita, and Italians, with 25 liters per person per year. FROM SLOVAKIA Klaus and Meciar Met at the CEFTA Meeting Vaclav Klaus and Vladimir Meciar, executive leaders of the Czech and Slovak Republics, declared their interest in maintaining a common customs union, and in intensifying relations, during the course of their meeting at the summit of CEFTA (Central European Free Trade Agreement) held in Jasna in the Low Tatra Mountains September 13. Meciar complained about Czech media, which, according to him, have been running an anti-Slovak campaign. Klaus rejected the complaint, explaining that the Czech government has no possibility to influence the content of the free media. Klaus also rejected Meciar's proposal to end definitively the process of federal property division. ECONOMY Cabinet Approves 1997 State Budget The final draft of the 1997 state budget was approved September 18 by the Czech government. The Czech state budget plans for an even balance of incomes and expenditures at 549.1 billion crowns. Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid from September 27) country currency ------------------------------------------ Australia 1 AUD 21.355 Belgium 100 BEF 86.179 Great Britain 1 GBP 42.037 Denmark 1 DKK 4.621 Finland 1 FIM 5.916 France 1 FRF 5.250 Ireland 1 IEP 43.198 Italy 1000 ITL 17.760 Japan 100 JPY 24.373 Canada 1 CAD 19.719 Luxemburg 100 LUF 86.179 Netherlands 1 NLG 15.826 Norway 1 NOK 4.161 New Zealand 1 NZD 18.909 Portugal 100 PTE 17.454 Austria 1 ATS 2.524 Greece 100 GRD 11.273 Slovakia 100 SKK 87.391 Germany 1 DEM 17.748 Spain 100 ESP 21.119 Sweden 1 SEK 4.071 Switzerland 1 CHF 21.676 USA 1 USD 26.965 ECU 1 XEU 33.940 SDR 1 XDR 39.068 CULTURE Prague's German Theater Festival Great shows performed by excellent German-speaking theater companies are being held in the Vinohrady Theater between September 13-28. At the opening host-company performance (The Old Lady's Visit by Friedrich Durrenmatt) were present the presidents of the Czech Republic and Germany - Vaclav Havel and Roman Herzog. Participating companies include Wien Burgtheater, Berlin Deutsches Theater, Hamburg Thalia Theater, Munchner Kammerspiele and Zurich Schauspielhaus. According to organizers, the festival should be maintaining Prague's multicultural traditions from the times before the Second World War and also be an encouraging sign of new European cultural coexistence. To Be an Actor at a Private School Until recently the only possibility to study acting was to get accepted to a public acting conservatory at the high school level, or, on the university level, to the public Theater Academy of Musical Arts in Prague or the public Janacek Academy of Musical Arts in Brno. But now there have been four private schools opened, which aim to bring up new generations of actors. Three of them are located in Moravia, while one has functioned for about two years in Prague. Its principal, theater journalist and historian Vera Kmochova, is leading a staff including famous names from Czech theater and film history: actors Petr Kostka, Libuse Svormova, Eliska Balzerova, Oldrich Vizner or theater director Pavel Krobot. The nearly 60 students there do not dedicate themselves for three years only to the stage but also to learning public speaking and radio broadcasting. After successful entrance exams (talent and psychology) they attend movement, theater history and aesthetic courses, among others. They learn to work with a microphone and the proper usage of the Czech language, often abused by announcers and actors. Annual tuition is 23,000 crowns (1995 average monthly salary in the Czech Republic was 8,400 crowns). Zora Kasikova Muzika - an International Music Trade Fair The second annual international trade fair named Muzika took place in Prague's Vystaviste Fairgrounds between September 19-22. It was organized by Incheba Praha and the Muzikus publishing house. There were a majority of stands presenting foreign music instruments, studio and PA equipment imported to the Czech Republic. Visitors could also see Czech nusic instrument production from Petrof (pianos) or Varhany Krnov (organ factory). One stand was offering any music scores to buy or to order, another ones were offering wide choice of CD's. Many other events, such as presentations, seminars and concerts were put on too. The program was really rich - 27 concerts, two of them taking place at popular rock clubs - Akropolis and Rock Cafe. The trade fair seemed modest. The instrument and music market in the Czech Republic does not reach the level of computer or cosmetics sales. The biggest trade fair of this kind is annually organized in Frankfurt. On several floors of the Musikmesse Frankfurt exhibition premises the hottest music technology news is introduced. Jaromir Vicari SPORT Qualification for World Cup in France 1998 Begins The Czech national soccer team won the first World Cup qualification game against Malta 6-0 in Teplice September 18. Goals scored: Patrik Berger 2, Pavel Nedved, Lubos Kubik, Vladimir Smicer and Martin Frydek. The Slovak national soccer team, which played Malta September 22, achieved the same 6-0 result. SPORT IN BRIEF * The Czech Davis Cup team was defeated by Sweden in Prague September 20-22 by a final match result of 4-1. * Slavia Praha advanced into the next round of the UEFA Cup after victory in the return match with the Swedish soccer team Malmo FF 3-1 in Prague September 24. * Sparta Praha advanced the next round of the European Cup Winners Cup when playing Austrian Sturm Graz 1-1 in Prague September 26. The first match in Austria resulted also in a draw 2-2. * The Soccer League finished its 6th round. On the top of the standings is Boby Brno. Result of Slavia Praha - Sparta Praha match: 1-1. * Kladno and Pardubice are on the top of the standings (7 points apiece and undefeated) after the 4th round of the Hockey Extraleague. The last-place Jihlava hockey team has not scored a point in four matches. WEATHER Indian Summer is still a dream. The mid-September temperatures are fluctuating around the 10 degrees Celsius/50 degrees Fahrenheit level. Dark, cloudy, rainy weather, people in winter jackets making the impression of November in Prague. Czech version edited by Lida Truneckova (author of all not signed stories). Translation by Katerina Zachovalova, Milan Smid, Michael Bluhm. English version edited by Michael Bluhm. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This news may be published only with "CAROLINA" designation. The subscription is free. 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