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 233, Friday, February 7, 1997. FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (January 15-22) Strike on Czech Rails On February 4, two hours after midnight, all service on by Czech Railway came to a halt. This was the start of a 48-hour strike called by the Trade Union Association of Railway Workers (OSZ). According to the OSZ, the main reason for the strike is not salaries, but concerns about the future of the railway, which, according to union officials, is in a critical state. It was mentioned in the press that since 1990 the union has struck twice, in October 1991 and May 1993. Both times an hourlong warning strike was used to back union demands for an overall state transport policy, as well as for a pay raise. In September union chief Jaromir Dusek first brought up the matter of an impending full or partial work stoppage at Czech Railways as a result of its poor technical condition. The OSZ subsequently accused the management of Czech Railways (CD) of incompetence and poor management of rail assets. CD management responded with a study of the state of the railway system, which neither the union officials nor the supervisory board found to be satisfactory, and for that reason the Ministry of Transportation become involved in drafting it. In January discussions took place between the OSZ and the Ministry, but, said Dusek without any kind of results. Union officials put forward several demands to be met for the 48-hour strike to end. Emphasis was placed on replacement of CD management and an end to inefficient use of rail assets. They are also demanding that disciplinary action not be taken against strikers and that a draft transport policy be drawn up which would bring the system up to the standard of EU countries. Because Minister Martin Riman (Civic Democratic Party) refuses to satisfy the demands of the union and negotiations up to now have broken down, on February 5 the union announced the strike would be extended by a further 24 hours. This move was repeated February 6. Even though the feared collapse in passenger transport did not materialize, because buses mostly managed to replace the trains, there is a threat to the operation of several key sectors such as the chemical industry, heating and power plants and ore processing. German Parliament Approves Czech-German Declaration The German Parliament approved the German-Czech Declaration on mutual relations and future development, as signed January 27 by German Federal Chancellor Helmut Kohl, German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel, Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus and Czech Foreign Minister Josef Zieleniec. Of the 621 present, 578 voted for. German Parliament members, with 276 votes, approved the accompanying text proposed by the Social Democratic opposition (read more on Czech Social Democrat leader Milos Zeman's earlier visit to Bonn to promote the bill in Carolina 232). Czech President Vaclav Havel welcomed the text and says that he believes that both houses of the Czech Parliament will approve it. He sees approval of the attachment to be of less importance. Klaus and Zieleniec were pleased as well. Zeman supported the German Social Democrats' gesture of solidarity. The Czech Parliament is to review the Czech-German Declaration at its upcoming February meeting, despite the Communists' proposal to remove this point from the program. Eighty-eight of the 189 members present voted against it. Twenty-two members of the Communist Party and 18 neo-fascist Republicans hold seats in Parliament. Parliament Committee for BIS Investigation Dismisses Accusations The Parliament Committee for Control of the Security and Information Service (BIS) dismissed Social Democrat Chairman Milos Zeman's suspicions of illegal collaboration between the secret police and the Czech Interior Ministry in following politicians. Zeman, also chairman of Parliament, presented the accusations before the November Senate elections. At the time, the BIS affair resulted in the resignation of former provisional BIS director Stanislav Devaty (see Carolina 223, 224, 230 and 231). The Committee examined roughly 50 pages submitted by Zeman, and questioned several witnesses. Jaroslav Basta of the Social Democrats headed the committee. "The Committee agreed that most of the documents are spurious and a few of them are authentic documents on legal activities of the Interior Ministry and BIS," he said, adding "the BIS Act was not broken." The public called for Zeman to take political responsibility and at least to apologize. Zeman responded at a press conference January 31 by saying that if the Social Democrats were found to be the source of the the documentation, he would not only apologize, but would also have to resign from public office. He admitted that he had been the victim of provocation. Parliament Vice-Chairman Jiri Honajzer of the ruling Civic Democratic Party (ODS) said that Zeman could have at least apologized to the citizens of the country, who were harmed by his statements. ODS spokeswoman Jana Petrova says Zeman is embarrassing Parliament with his behavior and the artificially created BIS affair. President Vaclav Havel said on his weekly radio program that he does not consider Zeman's statement that the Czech Republic was becoming a police state sufficient reason for resignation. Havel Criticized for Pardon When Czech President Vaclav Havel granted a pardon to Martin Odlozil, who had been sentenced to four years in prison for causing the death of his father (see Carolina 232), he became the object of sharp criticism. In his weekly radio program Talks from Lany, he said "I knew that I would reap indignation, but in this decision, I cannot take into account the expected reactions of commentators or even polls done on the street." Odlozil is the son of many-time Olympic gold medalist Vera Caslavska. Eva Kanturkova, author and Charter 77 signatory, wrote in an open letter to Eva Odlozilova, who married Josef Odlozil after his divorce from Vera Caslavska, that Havel's pardon was unsubstantiated. "There should be a clear line dividing what is and is not allowed, what deserves sympathy and what deserves judgment," she wrote. Other Charter 77 members signed a petition protesting Martin Odlozil's imprisonment. Jaroslav Lieskovan was sentenced to three months for the role he palyed in the conflict. His mother wants to request a presidential pardon as well. TV NOVA Affair Raises Discussions The private television station TV NOVA began its fourth year of existence February 4. The media have paid a great deal of attention to discussions about planned transactions among TV NOVA's owners and its broadcasting schedule. The majority of NOVA's schedule is made up of foreign (mostly American) serials, while the station got its broadcasting license because of a project which promised many cultural, educational and current affairs programs. Experts say the original plan would lead a commercial station to bankruptcy. Together with breaking of the license conditions, critics attack the company's unclear ownership structure. The Broadcasting Council filed a protest last year against Vladimir Zelezny, the director of Nova TV, who wanted to buy all the shares of Nova from domestic founders, using money from a foreign investor. Zelezny has his own program where he answers questions from viewers, although he also influences public opinion to his advantage. NOVA, owing to its dominant place on the advertising market, has an annual net profit of about 2 billions crowns. Almost all the profit goes abroad, specifically to the multinational Central European Media Enterprises (CME). CME is said to use this money for similar projects in other postcommunist countries, like its TV Markiza in Slovakia. Republican Desperado Arrested At Sladek's Parliament Office Lubomir Votava, a fugitive sought throughout the country, was taken into police custody January 30 after a raid by police at Parliament. He had been hiding in neo-fascist Republican Party Chairman Miroslav Sladek's office. Police had tried to arrest Votava there before but Republican deputies of Parliament insisted Votava, an assistant to Sladek, was not there and never let them enter. Then police observed the building for 10 days before they decided to attack the locked room again. Votava was arrested at 6 a.m., asleep when police entered the room and he put up no resistance. Votava was in his underwear. Votava is accused of assaulting a TV reporter during a Republican demonstration. The Republicans who hid him will probably be prosecuted. The Association for the Republic-Republican Party of Czechoslovakia (SPR-RSC) is a small party leaning to extreme nationalism and racism. In polls it is supported by about 5 per cent of Czech people. Josef Svejcar Died Founding father of Czech pediatrics Josef Svejcar died in Prague's Motol Hospital at the age of 99. Thanks to him, the Pediatrics Faculty at Charles University was founded, as well as the Research Institute of Children's Evolution, where he was appointed the first director. Svejcar authored more than 320 publications, textbooks and articles. He was the first to introduce dried milk into the newborn's menu, later he supported natural childbirth and close cooperation with the father of baby. His research activity was closely connected to his education career. NEWS IN BRIEF * "I do not think Europe will be all rosy in 2007," Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus said at the World Economic Forum in Davos last weekend. Expansion of the European Union is a natural process which should not be artificially quickened, he said. On February 3 the daily Pravo published an interview in which Klaus explained his opinion. According to him, Europe should not try to become a superpower. Individual multinational companies should be competitive, not Europe as a whole, he said. * President Vaclav Havel's second wife Dagmar (they married January 4) announced while visiting Masaryk Oncology Clinic in Brno that she intends to help people treated for cancer. Several weeks ago she stood close by Havel when he had lung surgery to remove a tumor. Her sister also suffered from cancer. * Popular artist and former President of the Prague Academy of Fine Arts Milan Knizak was given an offer to become the head of a similar school in Brno. Recently he had to give up his Academy office under university rules which do not allow anyone to occupy the post for more than two successive terms. He said in January he was planning to work at the Academy as a teacher. He has not responded to the offer from Brno. FROM SLOVAKIA Slansky Seeks Residence in Bratislava New Czech ambassador to Slovakia Rudolf Slansky asked for cooperation in seeking a fitting Czech residence building, during his official visit with Bratislava's mayor. The Czech side is interested in the downtown area or the area surrounding the Castle near Muronovej street. The purchase of a building where City University is located is being negotiated. Mayor Kresanek has virtually excluded the possibility of buying property in the historical part of the city, also due to increasing traffic (the majority of embassies are in this area). Language Act Causing Trouble in Schools The Language Act, which came into force January 1, does not allow for minority languages in public offices. As a result, the most problematic area has become education, especially in schools where Hungarian is the main teaching language. In southern Slovakia, where the majority of such schools lie, it has been the custom to issue report cards in both languages since 1921. That did not happen this year, and teachers received forms only in Slovak. Most students refused to accept their report cards; only 12 students of 242 from Samorin High School accepted them. The Ministry of Education put out a "standpoint on the language problem of report cards," where they say issuing report cards in Slovak does not contradict minority rights and is in agreement with the Constitution of the Slovak Republic. Students' parents have a different opinion - they claim the Language Act says documentation must be in the state language, but it does not prohibit bilingual records. Railway Workers' Strike Affects Slovak Traffic The strike at Czech Railways also reached neighboring countries - particularly Slovakia. The biggest problem was the lack of information. Stationmasters at the largest Slovak stops could not warn their customers. And that despite the fact that thousands of Slovaks travel daily to jobs in the Czech Republic, most of them by trains. The first train returned by Czech Railway employees to Slovakia was the Dukla international express (Moscow - Prague). It had stopped at the Puchov border station shortly after midnight. Another express train, the Excelsior, left Kosice in eastern Slovakia for Frantiskovy Lazne in western Bohemia. It made it only to Pardubice, where it was stopped with all of its 160 passengers at 2 a.m. They were informed about the strike at midnight in the Czech town of Olomouc. Passengers who decided to return to the station of their departure could do so at Slovak Railways' expense. Trains from Poland to Austria and Hungary which usual pass through the Czech Republic are crossing Slovakia now. Problems were also recorded on the so-called first corridor of Berlin-Prague-Vienna (and Budapest), because Czechs refused to take care of Eurocity luxury trains. As a result, one of the main routes in Slovakia, leading from the Czech-Slovak border in Kuty to Sturovo, is almost empty. Bank Privatization Causes Conflicts in Parliament The Slovak Workers' Association (ZRS), a governing coalition party, criticized its fellow coalition member the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) for trying quickly to privatize the biggest banking institutions. They said they will never give their agreement. The government coalition has thus returned to a state of conflict, comparable to that of the summer. In the summer, HZDS forced representatives of the other two coalition parties, the Slovak National Party and ZRS, from the management of the Investment and Development Bank. Experts expect a continuation of the conflict, with HZDS having as usual the final word. HZDS representatives say quick privatization is part of Slovakia's attempt to join the OECD. NEWS IN BRIEF - The Slovak government recalled Finance Minister Jozef Magula. He carries responsibility for the bankruptcies of the First Slovak Investment and Privatization Company. - Foreign Minister Pavol Hamzik continues to ask his German counterpart, Klaus Kinkel, for a meeting to discuss compensation for Slovak victims of Nazism. - President Michal Kovac named eight new rectors to university posts in Bratislava January 31. - The Collegium musicum ensemble played a special concert January 30 in Bratislava. Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid from January 31) country currency ------------------------------------------ Great Britain 1 GBP 45.465 France 1 FRF 4.980 Japan 100 JPY 22.422 Canada 1 CAD 20.610 Austria 1 ATS 2.390 Slovakia 100 SKK 86.019 Germany 1 DEM 16.812 Switzerland 1 CHF 19.460 USA 1 USD 27.756 ECU 1 XEU 32.676 IMF 1 XDR 38.581 CULTURE Bohumil Hrabal Tragically Dies Czech novelist Bohumil Hrabal, 82, died February 2 when he accidentally fell out a window at Prague's Bulovka Hospital, where he had been hospitalized for orthopedic problems. He wanted to feed the pigeons on a ledge outside the window so he climbed onto a table, but then lost his balance. He fell from the fifth floor and died immediately, although doctors tried to resuscitate him. Hrabal's novels, such as Too Loud a Solitude, I Served The King Of England or Closely Watched Trains, are known worldwide. A film by Jiri Menzel based on Closely Watched Trains was awarded the 1968 Oscar for best foreign film. Hrabal's works are inimitable for their poetic language and the author's take on the life of ordinary people. President Vaclav Havel, Czech novelist Milan Kundera, director Jiri Menzel and many more other personalities manifested their grief in media. Though he was 82, Hrabal had still been a regular at the Prague pub U Zlateho Tygra, which had become a place of pilgrimage for many Hrabal fans. Beer had an irreplaceable role in his books. Czech Gramy Nominations Announced The Council of the Czech Academy of Popular Music made public the 1996 Czech Gramy nominations in 16 categories January 31. The best chance for an award belongs to the Ostrava group Buty, nominated in four categories. Three nominations were given to singers Vladimir Misik, Monika Naceva, and to the bands Colorfactory, Chaozz, Lucie, and Wanastowy vjecy. The Academy changed its statute to approximate its structure to foreign models, like the American Grammy Awards or the British Brit Awards. Academy Chairman Karel Knechtl said in the daily Lidove noviny February 1: "It is not possible to award a Gramy to the popular and posthumous just because of certain immortal merits." One of the new essential rules states that only those personalities who released a new album during the most recent last period (for 1996 from August 1995 to November 1996) are eligible to be nominated. The exceptions are in categories Discovery of the Year and Dance Music, where a single will do. Another change pertains to the eight main categories, among them Singer of the Year, Band of the Year, and CD of the year, where no limits as to genres are set. The 1996 Czech Gramy will be awarded at a gala performance in Lucerna March 8 in the presence of Czech Television and Czech Radio. SPORT After 40 Rounds Vsetin Still Leads Hockey Extraleague In Extraleague matches played January 30, Plzen defeated Opava 3-2, Ceske Budejovice Zlin 5-3 and Sparta Praha tied Trinec 5-5. Slavia Praha prepared the biggest January 31 surprise for Litvinov, defeating them 9-2 in their own stadium. The last three results: Vitkovice - Kladno 5-2, Vsetin - Olomouc 6-3, Jihlava - Pardubice 3-6. On February 1, Sparta Praha won a postponed match against Plzen 4-1. Vsetin (57 points) leads the standings ahead of Sparta Praha (50) and Vitkovice (48), while at the bottom languish Olomouc, Plzen (both 34) and Jihlava (30), ahead of last-place Opava (21). Skuhravy Ends Soccer Career The results of last week's medical examination determined that soccer forward Tomas Skuhravy will have to end his career. Troubles with his right knee began two years ago, when he had cartilage removed. Skuhravy was the Czechoslovak team star in the 1990 World Cup in Italy, when he was the championships' second best scorer and helped the team to the quarterfinals. Then he left Sparta Praha for FC Genoa in Italy, where he alternated great moments with problems. In the last few last years he had problems with injuries and did not play either for his country or on any good league teams (his clubs included Sporting Lisbon and Slavia Praha). At the beginning of this year he began to train with Viktoria Zizkov, and team managment announced Skuhravy was ready to enter the league. Czech Cyclocross Blowout in World Championships With no medal and ninth place as the team's best result, Czech cyclocrossers' start in the world championships in Munich was something of a fiasco. They could not cope with a fast, icy and technically extremely hard circuit and their troubles often ended with falls. The trainers expected a medal from the under-23 race, but the best athlete, Mlynar, finished ninth. Daniel Dite finished the juniors' race 11th February 2 after being first for a hopeful while. The Elite category race finished similarly: Radomir Simunek, three-time world champion among juniors, amateurs and professionals, fell near the start and finished 12th, Lukes was 22nd and Pospisil withdrew after his fall. SPORTS IN BRIEF * The West team defeated the East team 10-7 in the hockey Extraleague All-Star Game played February 2 in Liberec. * After a home win over Turkey, the Czech women's handball team tied its world championships qualification return match with the same opponent in Adana. * Petr Korbel, fourth in the Atlanta Olympics, withdrew from the TOP 12 table-tennis tournament in Eindhoven, Netherlands because of injury. * Slovak Karina Habsudova won the women's Nokia Cup tennis tournament in Prostejov. * Two golds and three bronzes were the result of the Czech academic team in the University Games in Mudju, Japan. WEATHER After two weeks of thaw during which snow and melting ice was falling from roofs and onto cars and heads, last week winter temporarily struck again. The mercury fell below zero and it didn't look like it would want to climb back up for the next few days. The mercury lazily hung out at -3 degrees Celsius/27 degrees Fahrenheit, which didn't surprise many, because everyone is lazy by nature, even mercury. It would be nice now to get a bit more snow so skiing in the mountains would be possible. CREDITS Domestic news was translated by Andy Faust, Andrea Snyder, Jan Majer and Magdalena Vanova. News from Slovakia was translated by Snyder and Katerina Zachovalova, Culture by Majer and Milan Smid, and Sports were translated by Mirek Langer. Faust also translated the weather. 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. Comments and remarks are appreciated. 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