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 225, Friday, November 29, 1996. FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (November 20-27) 81 Senators Elected in Historic Vote Only 30.36 per cent of registered voters decided the victory of the ruling coalition in the second round of Czech Senate elections November 22-3. Of the four whose chairs were assured in the first round, three were Civic Democratic Party (ODS) candidates. Although ODS took 32 seats of the 81-member Senate, more had been expected following the party's success in the first round. The disappointing follow-up is frequently interpreted as a united move against ODS. "A certain informal front was created in the attempt to prevent ODS from getting a marked Senate majority," political scientist Petr Fiala told Czech daily MF DNES November 25. The smaller coalition parties will hold approximately 20 seats. All seven of the Civic Democratic Alliance's (ODA) candidates were elected, a victory for ODA against ODS. Thirteen of the Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak Peoples' Party's (KDU-CSL) candidates were elected from the 17 districts in which they were campaigning. The Social Democrats (CSSD) maintained their status as opposition leaders, with 25 of 48 remaining candidates elected. The Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM) placed two of four candidates in the Senate. Union leader Richard Falbr, who ran as an independent on the Social Democrats' ballot, and Trebic Mayor Pavel Hermann of the Democratic Union (a party not represented in Parliament) were also elected. Some formerly well-known faces thus returned to the Czech political scene - Czech Prime Minister from 1990-92 Petr Pithart (KDU-CSL) and Czech Ambassador to the US Michal Zantovsky for (ODA) were elected. Other personalities including post-revolution Czech National Council Parliament Dagmar Buresova and Tomas Jezek, the first privatization minister, were not. The lowest voter participation in the Senate elections was registered at 17.5 per cent in Karvina, with the highest rate of 46 per cent in the Prague 10 district. CSSD continued its tradition of voter favor in eastern Bohemia and southern Moravia, while the only non-ODS candidate elected in the capital was Zantovsky. Only nine seats are held by women. Jitka Seitlova of ODA showed the second round's highest voter preference, garnering 73 per cent of her district's votes. A more detailed account of election results can be found at http://www.volby.cz. Karolina Cebrovska/Andrea Snyder We're All Winners Here President Vaclav Havel told Czech daily Pravo November 25 that the Senate composition reassures him that "it can truly be a stabilizing element of our constitutional system." Of the lesser coalition partners, KDU-CSL broke out the champagne and ODA began playing Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" when election results were announced. Political scientist Jiri Pehe attributes the greatest victory to KDU-CSL, to Chairman Josef Lux and his tactics. ODS Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus said "the victor is clearly ODS, and another is the government coalition. Another topic of discussion is of who improved (relatively) the most." ODS representatives most often attribute their weaker second-round showing to warnings from Social Democrats and ODS' coalition partners against a one-party Senate. The Social Democrats, with their embarrassing 25-seat tally, were still relatively satisfied, because their prospects had looked even dimmer after the first round. Matej Cerny/Andrea Snyder Who Will Chair Senate? Now that the second round of Senate elections is complete, everyone is talking about who will lead the Czech Parliament's second chamber. Christian Democrat Chairman Josef Lux says the Senate chairman should be an independent, which points in the direction of former prime minister Petr Pithart, who ran on Lux's party's ballot. ODS boss Vaclav Klaus announced his party's nomination as Deputy Mayor of Zlin Irena Ondrova. ODA responded to the bid by saying that it would make its own proposal. Ambassador to the US Michal Zantovsky presents a generally favored possibility, should ODS's proposal not pass. The Social Democrats will not nominate any of the their members for the position. "When the head of the government is a member of ODS and the head of Parliament is a member of the Social Democrats, KDU-CSL should have the Senate leader's seat," said Social Democrat Chairman Milos Zeman. Bohdana Rambouskova/Andrea Snyder President Vaclav Havel Will Undergo Lung Surgery President Vaclav Havel was hospitalized due to his protracted lung inflammation at the Third Surgery Clinic of the General Faculty Hospital in Prague November 25. This move was decided by a group of physicians. Next week Havel should undergo lung surgery, which should help doctors find out why, with the help of a biopsy, his lung inflammation has not improved. Chief Surgeon Pavel Pafko refused to divulge any information regarding the president's condition. The biopsy should determine whether Havel is merely suffering the after-effects of an infection or from a circulatory disease or a tumor. Although Havel said he is "disgusted and tired of the evil and ugly virus coursing through his body," and was required to cancel all his plans, he remains in contact with his office and the country's leaders. Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus and Foreign Minister Josef Zieleniec visited Havel November 26. They said Havel appeared to be in good spirits. Lenka Javurkova/Milan Smid Fire in Litvinov Refinery An extensive and destructive fire broke out shortly after midnight November 22 in an oil refinery in Zaluzi u Litvinova. The flames, which in the end were extinguished by 35 firefighting units from northern and central Bohemia, reached heights of 100 yards (80 meters) and their glare was visible dozens of miles/kilometers away. It took firefighters until midnight November 23 to get the blaze under control. The fire had threatened the refinery's massive gasoline stores, which had to be constantly cooled. At noon November 24, when the fire seemed to be out, another explosion of leaking gasoline occurred, and the following fire took some hours to extinguish. No lives were lost in the fires, though almost 20 firefighters were injured, mostly with minor burns and smoke inhalation. Thanks to timely intervention, local residents were not threatened and thus evacuation was not necessary. Damages likely totaling hundreds of millions of crowns were caused, and in addition to marked losses of equipment, 1,500 tons of gasoline burned. Because of the transfer of fuel production to Kralupy nad Vltavou, the fire will result in shortages of or a rise in the price of heating fuels. Jaroslav Schovanec/Michael Bluhm Ludvik Kalma Dies in Accident of Skoda Octavia Test Model Ludvik Kalma, Chairman of the Board of the Mlada Boleslav car factory, died November 24 in the newest Skoda car model, the Octavia SLX. He became the first man who lost his life in the car, which had been put on the market only two weeks before. Kalma's car collided with a Scania truck on the E-55 highway near Horusice. The truck was entering the highway from a side road and probably its trailer brakes malfunctioned, leaving the truck standing across the highway. The Octavia driven by Kalma crashed into the truck and then a Peugeot 406, in which the driver was not hurt, ran into the Octavia. The 55-year-old Kalma, the father of three children, died immediately. According to daily Lidove noviny, Kalma was only testing the Octavia and for test cars the speed limit is not valid. TV Nova and TV Premiera said Kalma was going at a speed of 100 mph/160 kmph. The police are investigating the cause of the accident. Lucie Vackova/Mirek Langer Stehlik And Son Arrested Vladimir Stehlik, General Director of Poldi Kladno Steel, and his son Marko, Managing Director of the firm, were arrested November 26. State investigators charged them with misuse of business information connected with the privatization of Poldi Kladno. They face a maximum of 12 years in jail. Vladimir Stehlik denied the charges on a videotape recorded in advance, and their lawyer, Milan Hulik, is going to file a proposal to stop prosecution. Stehlik's Bohemia Art won the 1993 public tender for a two-thirds share in Poldi Kladno and promised to pay 1.75 billion crowns for the position. However, at the end of 1995, it did not make the final payment of 750 million crowns, and National Property Fund reacted with legal proceedings to cancel the privatization contract. Shortly after this, some creditors suggested to put Poldi Kladno and Bohemia Art into bankruptcy. Vladimir Stehlik established a new company with the English-language name Poldi Steel and transferred most of the steelworks' property to it. "During the time of the Stehliks' activity in Poldi (Kladno), they were transferring finances to Bohemia Art as non-interest-bearing loans," Jaromir Flegel of the Office of Investigation said for Czech Television. Bohemia Art owed Poldi Steel 780 million crowns at the end of last year and saved about 650 million crowns by not paying the interest. Poldi Kladno also guaranteed payment of Bohemia Art's billion-crown loan. The investigator also stated the transfer of 8.5 billion of Poldi Kladno property to Poldi Steel was illegal. Jiri Fremuth/Magdalena Vanova Charges against Former Antidrug Committee Chief Not Confirmed Recently removed General Secretary of the Inter-ministerial Antidrug Committee Zdenek Poslusny is innocent. Experts of the Office of Government made the announcement after investigating Poslusny's part in the doping affair among top Czech athletes in the 80's (see Carolina 221, 223). Poslusny is only a member of the committee today and the post of chief has been temporarily occupied by Tomas Tesar of the Health Ministry. A new competition for the office of general secretary will be arranged and Poslusny could return if successful in the competition. Michal Schindler/Magdalena Vanova Worldwide Study Brings Out Knowledge of Czech Pupils Thirteen-year-old pupils from schools chosen at random for TIMSS research from the entire Czech Republic placed sixth in mathematics and second in science. Only the math scores of pupils equal in age from Singapore, Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and Belgium were better. Seventh place, just after Czech children, was taken by Slovaks. Many western nations fell behind, e.g. French (13th), German (23rd), English (25th) and American (28th). The results of the study were published in the Czech press. In science, only pupils from Singapore surpassed the Czechs. Slovaks placed 13th. As regards like and dislike for these subjects, Czech children hate them more than do any other students polled. Half of Czech pupils do not like math and 56 per cent of them do not like science. In both cases it was the highest percentage. According to Ivan Pilip, Czech Minister of Education, the results prove that there is no need for radical changes in these subjects, but it is necessary to ask ourselves whether education is overloaded with facts. Libuse Kolouchova/Jan Majer Explosion in Ostrava Hospital Kills Two Women On November 26 two cleaning women were killed and a third seriously hurt in the explosion of a still unidentified material in the Fifejdy Hospital in Ostrava. The explosion shook the basement of the dermatology section of the hospital. The police are investigating a variety of scenarios (incorrect handling of some material, an intentionally placed explosive). According to another version, the explosive was hidden in a plastic bag one of the women found in the hospital and brought to her cloakroom. There the bag would then have fallen and exploded. President Vaclav Havel and Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus expressed their profound grief. According to them, it is not out of the question that the explosion was a terrorist attack. Michaela Klevisova/Denisa Vitkova Czech-Slovak Customs Union Commission Fails to Reach Agreement On November 25 negotiations of the Customs Union Commission broke down in Prague, though they were to discuss Bratislava's scheme to introduce quotas on important agricultural products and foodstuffs imported from the Czech Republic. An extraordinary session was therefore called for December 20. Experts claim that by introducing quotas on margarine, beer, sugar, non-alcoholic beverages, cigarettes and other goods, Slovakia is preparing for the elimination of import duties, which will be dropped as of January 1. According to the Agrarian Chamber, Bratislava wants to protect its own goods, which are more costly to produce. Neither did the November 25 meeting come to any decision on a new agreement concerning mutual recognition of regulatory certificates. Slovakia insists on applying the regulations in effect in the importer's country, while the Czech side wants to allow on the market automatically any product which has already been approved for the market in the other country. Jana Wiesnerova/Andy Faust FROM SLOVAKIA Government Office Returns Accreditation to Journalists The press department of the Slovak Government Office returned accreditations to four journalists November 22. These accreditations had been taken away from them three days before that (see Carolina 224), because they did not confirm the statements of Premier Vladimir Meciar that they had discussed his health with President Michal Kovac at a May 29 meeting. The Slovak Syndicate of Journalists recalled its boycott of Slovak government press conferences after the return of the accreditations. Jan Potucek/Katerina Zachovalova Students from Presov Prepared to Strike Students of Presov's P.J. Safarik University (UPJS) expressed their disagreement with the amendment of the University Law with a one-day strike. According to the amendments, university departments were supposed to become independent the next year. About 1,000 students met in the auditorium of the Presov College Complex. Students are afraid of losing advantages in comparison to their colleagues from Kosice, because they will now graduate from a school which has no name in the world. Students from Presov are also supported by their colleagues from Trnava University (TU). According to student representative in the Academic Senate of TU J. Macharik, Trnava students will enter strike readiness in case the strike in Presov does not change anything. Strike emergency at UPJS lasts until December 6. According to dailies Praca and SME Jan Potucek/Katerina Zachovalova Carnogursky Still Christian Democratic Movement Chairman Jan Carnogursky was elected for another term as chairman position of the opposition Christian Democratic Movement (KDH) at the annual party congress in Banska Bystrica November 23. Fighting economical specialist Mikulas Dzurinda, Carnogursky gained 214 of 344 votes. Dzurinda was elected economic vice-president. KDH, which had gained 10.1 per cent of votes in the 1994 elections, plans to establish a coalition in the framework of the recently founded Blue Alliance (KDH, Democratic Party, Democratic Union) and together enter the 1998 elections. Jan Potucek/Katerina Zachovalova ONE-SENTENCE NEWS * The opening of the play And After That Behind the Fence (A potom za plotom) by Stano Radic and directed by Jaroslov Filip was successfully opened in Bratislava's Studio S (President Michal Kovac was also present). * Protesting against the participation of German conglomerate Siemens in finishing the Mochovce power plant, a boycott of Siemens, Bosch and Osram products started in 22 countries November 26 (until now 590 organizations have joined the boycott it written form). Jan Potucek/Katerina Zachovalova ECONOMY MARKETS AND COMPANIES * While the Senate elections did stimulate a share-price rise on the Prague Stock Exchange, on November 26 the index already began to show signs of stagnation. After that session the PX 50 stood at 514.6. The daily trading volumes on the central market recorded no improvement, as they remained steady at an outrageously low 80 million crowns, indicating that the lion's share of transactions continue to take place outside the public markets. * An aggressive group connected to Ostrava's Union Bank (Union banka), one of the country's few solvent private financial institutions, is not content with merely absorbing less successful domestic competitors (see Carolina 221), but it is also planning to expand into the Polish markets through the Industrial Bank of Lodz (Bank Przemyslowy Lodz), which it took over following privatization by the Polish Central Bank. Union Bank is controlled by the Chemapol Group. * The Commerce Bank (Komercni banka) and its investment fund IPF KB gained control of a well-known carp hatchery - the Trebon Fishery (Rybarstvi Trebon). Major changes in ownership of fisheries were reported in Carolina 219 in October. * The initially low-profile Eastern Bohemian company Opatovice Power Station (Elektrarny Opatovice) is evidently setting out for the top of the Czech energy industry. Following the take-over of a controlling share of Prague Heating Corporation (Prazska teplarenska) it also obtained shares in Eastern Bohemian Energy (Vychodoceska energetika), in which it will attempt to gain substantial influence. Entrance into other companies in the field is obviously in the works. The Opatovice Power Station is the largest independent producer of electricity in the national power grid of CEZ. The company, controlled by the investment funds of Czech Savings Bank (Ceska sporitelna) and the Commerce Bank, earned 660 million crowns of pre-tax profit in the first three quarters of this year on earnings of 1.8 billion. Martin Cermak/Andy Faust Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid from November 29) country currency ------------------------------------------ Great Britain 1 GBP 45.378 France 1 FRF 5.198 Japan 100 JPY 23.814 Canada 1 CAD 20.075 Austria 1 ATS 2.508 Slovakia 100 SKK 86.800 Germany 1 DEM 17.640 Switzerland 1 CHF 20.849 USA 1 USD 27.048 ECU 1 XEU 34.038 SDR 1 XDR 39.169 CULTURE Pianist Dyemidyenko Performs Thanks to the invitation of the FOK Prague Symphony Orchestra, Russian pianist Nikolai Dyemidyenko gave three performances in the Rudolfinum Hall November 21-3. In his first two concerts, Dyemidyenko performed with the accompaniment of the FOK orchestra, the Ecstatic Poem and Fis-moll Concert of Alexander Skriabin, who, according to FOK Conductor-in-Chief Gaetano Delogu, belongs among the founders of 20th-century modern classical music. Besides these works, the second symphony of Jean Sibelius was also on the program. The final night was reserved for only the Russian artist, who introduced in his soloist recital the significant but not-often-played composer John Field, as well as Franz Schubert and remarkable variations of Robert Schumann. Nikolai Dyemidyenko, who has been living in Great Britain since 1990, ranks among the world's top pianists. He has received awards and had been invited to perform all over the world. Dyemidyenko recorded for the Hyperion company the works of Chopin, Liszt and Rachmaninov. For recording Tchaikovsky's and Skriabin's piano concerts with the BBC orchestra, he received the Classic CD Award in 1994. Ondrej Slavik/Denisa Vitkova Exhibition of Felix Jenewein at St. Agnes' Convent Works of Felix Jenewein, an important but often overlooked Czech painter of the second half of 19th century, are on view at the National Gallery in the St. Agnes of Bohemia Convent from November 13 to January 9. The exposition is part of a cycle celebrating the anniversary of 200 years from the founding of the National Gallery. This is an enlarged version of Jenewein's exposition in Kutna Hora, where the painter was born. Jenewein studied at academies in Prague and Vienna, and his teachers were representatives of the Rubens and Nazarens schools of historical painting. The style of Nazarens influenced Jenewein most in his early years, though later his works became closer to the contemporary Art Nouveau style. His monumental composition reached its height in the Plague cycle, an apocalyptic social metaphor transposed into a medieval epidemic. The exposition is unique - Jenewein's works cannot be seen elsewhere, not at any permanent exposition of the National Gallery. The paintings must be placed in a dark place at depository because they were made using techniques that could be damaged by light. Jaroslav Schovanec/Jan Majer SPORT Czech Hockey Extraleague Results of the 22th round: Vitkovice - Trinec 6-0, Slavia - Plzen 3-6, Jihlava - Olomouc 2-3, Zlin - Opava 5-1, Litvinov - Vsetin 4-3, Ceske Budejovice - Kladno 2-3, Pardubice - Sparta 2-4. Results of the 23rd round: Sparta - Slavia 3-6, Opava - Vitkovice 3-3, Trinec - Olomouc 3-1, Plzen - Zlin 1-2, Ceske Budejovice - Jihlava 3-1, Kladno - Litvinov 2-2, Vsetin - Pardubice 4-3. Standings after the 23rd round (not complete because of postponed Sparta matches - see Carolina 220) : 1. Vitkovice 31, 2. Vsetin (-1) 28, 3. Trinec (-1) 27, 4. Pardubice 26, 5. Kladno (-1) 24, 6 Budejovice 23, 7. Litvinov 23, 8. Sparta (-4) 22, 9. Zlin 22 10. Slavia 21, 11. Plzen (-1) 20, 12. Opava (-1) 16, 13. Olomouc (-1) 16, 14. Jihlava 13. Czech Soccer League Results of the 14th round (November 22-4): Olomouc - Sparta 0-0, Plzen - Zizkov 1-1, Brno - Teplice 0-0, Drnovice - Budejovice - O-3, Bohemians - Opava 1-2, Ostrava - Hradec 2-0, Slavia - Jablonec 2-1, Liberec - Karvina 1-0. Standings after the 14th round: 1. Liberec 28, 2. Slavia 25, 3. Drnovice 24, 4. Budejovice 23, 5. Ostrava 22, 6 Sparta 21, 7. Brno 21, 8. Opava 21, 9. Olomouc 19, 10. Jablonec (-1) 18, 11. Teplice 16, 12. Plzen 15, 13. Hradec Kralove 12, 14. Karvina 12, 15. Zizkov 10, 16. Bohemians (-1) 8. WEATHER During the last week, the sun shone for probably the last time this year. A few clear but cold days showed fall in a different way than the customary clouds and rain. On November 25-6, winter started to approach and snow fell in several places in the Czech Republic. The fresh snow caused a few problems on the roads and surprised drivers. The weather forcast says the snowy weather will last a few more days. Ondra Provaznik/Magdalena Vanova English version edited by Michael Bluhm xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ANNOUNCING: The International Study Program of the Faculty of Social Sciences. Beginning in February 1997, a one-semester English-language program will be offered twice a year in Central and Eastern European Studies, with a selection of courses in modern history and recent political and economic developments in the region. Some courses are also available in German. For further information contact Cyril Simsa at: E-mail-- svoz@mbox.fsv.cuni.cz Phone-- 42/2/2481 0804 Fax-- 42/2/2481 0987 When e-mailing, please include a regular mailing address so an information packet can be sent without delay. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This news may be published only with "CAROLINA" designation. The subscription is free. 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