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: (+420 2) 24810804, ext. 252, fax: (+420 2) 24810987 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* C A R O L I N A No 253, Friday, July 4, 1997. FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS (June 18 - July 2) Coalition and Social Democrats Support Czech NATO Membership The three government coalition parties and the opposition Social Democrats support the Czech Republic's membership in NATO, announced President Vaclav Havel June 26 after a meeting with the leaders of the four parties. All present at the meeting agreed that entry into NATO is a historic chance for the country. "For the first time in our history, the opportunity is open for our state to share in the active defense of values we share, such as the freedom of citizens and nations, democracy and the legal state," Havel said. NATO membership means, Havel said, not only international guarantees of the Czech Republic's security, but also the obligation of responsibility for the security of other members. "I declare that the Czech Republic is prepared to undertake all acts which are connected with NATO membership and that it will do everything to become a full member of the alliance," Havel said. He added that those present at the meeting intend to explain the importance of NATO membership to the public in the coming months (a majority of Czech poll respondents do not support NATO membership - see Carolina 252). The unity of the stance was, however, broken by comments from Social Democrat and Parliament Chairman Milos Zeman, who through a spokesman said he still wants a referendum on NATO membership. In response, Havel sent Zeman a three-line note expressing his disappointment with Zeman's move. "I wanted to gain an utterly clear political mandate before the trip to Madrid, so there would be no doubt that the Czech Republic wants to get into the alliance, and that if it is offered mebership, it will accept," said Havel. Havel said Zeman's comments called that mandate into question. David Vlk/Michael Bluhm International NATO Conference in Prague The 14th NATO international conference on political and military decision-making took place in Prague from June 23-25. It was the final bigger NATO meeting before the Madrid summit, where membership offers are expected to be announced (American President Bill Clinton recently expressed his support for the membership for the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland - see Carolina 252). At the opneing of the conference Czech President Vaclav Havel expressed his support for the open character of the alliance, and his ideas were supported by Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski, one of the conference's guests. Kwasniewski also implied that further NATO expansion should involve his neighbors - Ukraine and the Baltic states, according to Czech daily Lidove noviny. Ondrej Trunecka/Michael Bluhm Some Patients Paying since July 1 As a result of the inability of doctors and insurers to come to an agreement, some doctors began collecting money from their patients July 1, a first for the Czech Republic. Insurers and doctors could not agree on how much doctors would receive for their services, and thus Czech Physicians Chamber Chairman Bohuslav Svoboda told doctors to collect fees. Health Minister Jan Strasky said he considers the collection of fees legally and morally wrong, and hopes for some resolution by July 10. Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus met June 29 with Svoboda, Strasky and General Health Insurance's Jiri Nemec in an unsuccessful attempt to avert a crisis. Doctors have also threatened to strike. David Vlk, Ondrej Trunecka/Michael Bluhm ODA Denies Failure of Liberal Policies in Declaration The Political Council of the Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA, the smallest of the three government coalition parties) released June 24 a declaration entitled The Road to Trust, which defends liberal economic policies and rejects a social market economy and the concept of socialism. ODA Chairman Michael Zantovsky presented the document to the media. ODA realizes the urgent need for positive political perspectives for Czech citizens, whose trust has been shaken as a result of the erroneous and inconsistent policy of the government in fulfilling its program. "Despite the undeniable successes of transformation and many years of political and economic stabilit, we have paid a high price for these mistakes, in the form of lost time, lost energy, lost means and lost trust," the declaration claims. The Political Council categorically denies the opinion that liberal economic policy has failed in the Czech Republic and has no future. "In spite of liberal rhetoric the state continued to act like a centralized monolith, it consumed half of all financial means which we created by our work, it complicated and worsened life for simple citizens and for those who tried to take advantage of the freedoms declared for independent business or other individual initiative. On the other hand it further propped up unprofitable companies of the socialist type in banking, industry and agriculture, it willingly gave itself up to the influence of strong interest groups consisting mainly of former socialist managers, and it criminally overlooked the theft of property, the privatization of which was supposed to benefit all. The state did what it should not have and did not do what it should have," the declaration continues. The Political Council also rejects efforts to revive socialism under the label of a social market economy. "In the form of the demogogic promises of our opposition, which dangerously approach socialist slogans, such policies would lead to the radical limiting of our freedoms by bureaucratic regulations and administrative police measures against all citizens without differentiation, waste and ineffectiveness, a rise in the domestic and international indebtedness of the country and future generations, subsidies, shortages and poverty," the declaration claims. David Vlk/Michael Bluhm One-Fourth of Respondents Consider Situation Before 1989 Better Under the headline "One-Fourth of the People Recall Socialism with Love," the Czech daily MF DNES published June 24 the results of a poll in which 25 per cent of respondents said they consider conditions before November 1989 better than today's (in 1991 the same answer was given by 14 per cent). Twenty-six per cent prefer today's society (in 1991 it was 37 per cent), and 40 per cent consider things the same. Nine per cent of respondents gave no answer. The poll was conducted among about 1,000 respondents by the Institute for Public Opinion Research, and it showed today's conditions are preferreed by those under the age of 44, while the elderly have the opposite opinion. Among the youngest group of respondents (age 15 to 19), 20 per cent consider today's conditions better. Ondrej Trunecka/Michael Bluhm FROM SLOVAKIA Purge Expected at Schools With Bilinqual Report Cards Principals of Slovak schools where classes are taught in Hungarian who refused to give students report cards only in Slovak, are expected to be fired. One of them has already lost his job in Roznava. Each principal who refused to conform, as he or she let teachers write report cards not only in Slovak - the official state language - will be fired, Minister of Education Eva Slavkovska said. She said the decision will be based on the controversial State Language Act. Leaders of the Slovak Hungarian minority warn officials of massive demonstrations of civil disobedience. One year ago, Hungarian Slovaks successfully defended their rights when officials tried to start the so-called alternative educational system, which would lead in fact to the end of teaching in Hungarian. Lenka Javurkova/Jan Majer New Slovak History Textbook Worsens Country's Relations to EU A new history textbook for Slovak pupils entitled A History of Slovakia and Slovaks has worsened already poor relations between the country and the European Union. The book, written by historian Milan Durica, defends the 1939-45 Fascist puppet regime of Josef Tiso, installed by the Nazis, and its treatment of Jews during the war. The publication was financed from the EU's Phare fund, a support program for eastern European countries. The European Commission demanded the Slovak Ministry of Education either to withdraw the book or return the money they received from the program. Although the ministry claimed the affair was a domestic matter, the book has been withdrawn. Lenka Javurkova/Jan Majer Salaries of Slovak Police to Rise The Slovak government released money in order to allow police salaries to increase by an average of about 15 per cent from July 1. All policemen will be paid 8 per cent more, while the extra 7 per cent will be divided among those who work in the most demanding jobs, Premier Vladimir Meciar said. Police unions disagree with the method of dividing the raise and have announced a protest for July 4. The unions want increases of 15 per cent for all 20,000 Slovak policemen. Lenka Javurkova/Jan Majer ECONOMY Budget Deficit Reaches 15 Billion Crowns The budget deficit rose in June by 2.6 billion crowns and has reached 14.8 billion crowns for the year, said Finance Ministry spokeswoman Ludmila Nutilova July 1. Because of insufficient revenue, the government has twice this year been forced to slash the budget, by a total of 42 billion crowns. To ensure more revenue, taxes on cigarettes and heating fuels will increase at the latest October 1. The government is aiming for a balanced budget this year, while next year's goal is a surplus of 10 million crowns. Parliament's Budget Committee, however, has proposed reducing corporate income taxes from 39 per cent to 33 per cent for next year. David Vlk/Michael Bluhm Government Can Borrow up to 6 Per Cent of Total Budget State employees should never again have their pay delayed as it was in June. The government is going to be able to borrow up to 6 per cent of the total budget, which today would mean 33 billion crowns. In the current state of legislative emergency, these powers were granted the government by Parliament July 1, when it passed proposed changes to laws on government spending. Despite a unified opposition, it was not possible to pass the changes proposed by the Social Democrats, which would have limited borrowing to 27 billion crowns and made any change in the budget exceeding 5 per cent of the total budget subject to Parliament approval. Finance Minister Ivan Pilip promised to resolve the problem in a new set of spending laws, which he intends to submit by the end of the year. Pilip warned that the former limit of 16 billion crowns was set in 1991, when the budget was significantly lower. Raising the limit is necessary because of the budget deficit, Pilip said. David Vlk/Michael Bluhm Households to Feel Cost Increases From July 1 Czechs will pay more for rent, electricity, gas, heat, as well as radio, television and telegrams. For some families it will mean a budget increase of 25 per cent, according to Czech daily MF DNES. "It is an unpopular but necessary step," said Minister for Regional Development Tomas Kvapil (Christian Democrats). The government is making known that within three years it will eliminate all subsidies and controls which have been artificially keeping prices low, the daily wrote. "We want the price of living to correspond to costs," said Kvapil. David Vlk/Michael Bluhm Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid from July 4) country currency ---------------------------------------- Australia 1 AUD 24.562 Belgium 100 BEF 89.876 Great Britain 1 GBP 54.470 Denmark 1 DKK 4.868 Finland 1 FIM 6.218 France 1 FRF 5.501 Ireland 1 IEP 49.564 Italy 1000 ITL 19.030 Japan 100 JPY 28.422 Canada 1 CAD 23.615 Luxemburg 100 LUF 89.876 Hungary 100 HUF 17.262 Netherlands 1 NLG 16.465 Norway 1 NOK 4.432 New Zealand 1 NZD 21.976 Poland 1 PLN 9.861 Portugal 100 PTE 8.374 Austria 1 ATS 2.634 Greece 100 GRD 11.765 Slovakia 100 SKK 96.480 Germany 1 DEM 18.530 Spain 100 ESP 21.939 Sweden 1 SEK 4.180 Switzerland 1 CHF 22.101 USA 1 USD 32.535 CULTURE Film Festival in Carlsbad about to Begin The 32nd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival will be held from July 4-12. The festival regained its A-category status after a two-year hiatus, returning it to the same level as the festivals in Cannes, Venice and Berlin. The event is becoming more and more popular in the Czech Republic, and there are widespread concerns whether the capacity of the western Bohemian spa town of Carlsbad (Karlovy Vary) will be sufficent. "I am afraid it will be worse than last year," said Pavel Melounek, festival public relations director, at the last Prague pre-festival press conference July 1 (last year the number of accredited visitors reached 7,000). The best film in the competition portion of the festival program will be awarded the Crystal Globe, which is accompanied by 20,000 USD. The decision as to which of the 18 films in competition will get the prize rests with the international jury, chaired by Robert Wise, the American director of West Side Story and The Sound of Music. Czech emigre director Milos Forman (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Amadeus) will receive a special award for artistic contribution to world film. Festival guest and American actor Jason Robards came to Prague July 2. The festival will also be attended by American actors Christopher Walken and Steve Buscemi, Maggie Cheung and many more. There will be more than 250 films shown. Matej Cerny/Matej Cerny E.T. Jam Surpasses Expectations An incredible 7,000 people visited Prague's Dzban swimming and recreation area where, for the second year, the E.T. Jam festival took place. Unlike last year, the festival lasted only one day, but, thanks to particularly to lower ticket prices (450 crowns) and sunny weather, it can boast of more spectators. In comparison with last year, when organizers from 10:15 Promotions based the program around hard rock, E.T. Jam 97 visitors could choose from a much more colorful spectrum of music genres - to serve this purpose, the festival featured two stages. At the outdoor stage, the main stars of the festival performed - the Czech bands Tata bojs, Wohnout and United Heads, and foreign bands Transglobal Underground with their singer Natascha Atlas, Erasure, Toy Dolls, Spearhead and Irish singer Sinead O'Connor as the headliner of the festival. The second stage was under a tent and dedicated to alternative music - there Czech and foreign DJs and popular Czech bands Naceva, Colorfactory or Ecstasy Of St. Theresa performed. The action under the tent lasted till the next morning, so dance-crazy visitors did not have to say goodbye to Jam after the midnight fireworks. Lenka Javurkova/Denisa Vitkova Writers Festival Hosts American Novelist E.L. Doctorow American writer Edgar Lawrence Doctorow was the main star of the 7th International Writers Festival, held in Prague's Franz Kafka Center. During his visit to Prague, Doctorow met Czech writer Ivan Klima, dissident-turned-politician Michael Zantovsky and Czech PEN Club President Jiri Stransky, with whom he discussed his book of political essays The Poets and Presidents. The four-day festival, sponsored by Doctorow's countryman, poet Michael March, came to a close June 28. About 30 literati from throughout the world participated in the festival, meeting their readers in numerous discussions, autograph sessions, exhibits and readings. As such, the Czech audience had the chance to meet lesser-known foreign authors. The festival was formally dedicated to the memory of Samuel Beckett. Observers agree that in future years it will not be easy to match the extraordinary representation at this year's festival, with its pedigreed intellectual character. Lenka Javurkova/Denisa Vitkova Urbanova's Soprano Resounds with Met Czech soprano Eva Urbanova's singing resounded through New York's open-air Miller's Park June 28. Urbanova sang in Mascani's opera The Gentleman Farmer, which the Metropolitan Opera performed together with Leoncavallo's opera The Comedians. The Czech performance, directed by Italian conductor Christian Badea, met with large ovations from the public. Lenka Javurkova/Denisa Vitkova WEATHER It's gorgeous, and sometimes it rains. English version edited by Michael Bluhm. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This news may be published only with "CAROLINA" designation. The subscription is free. Comments and remarks are appreciated. 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