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 THE CZECH REPUBLIC Charles University in Prague Faculty of Social Sciences Smetanovo nabr. 6 110 01 Prague 1 Czech Republic e-mail: CAROLINA@mbox.fsv.cuni.cz tel: (+4202) 22112252, fax: (+4202) 24810987 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* C A R O L I N A No 356, Friday, December 17, 1999. FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (December 8 - December 15) Chamber of Deputies Passes Referendum Bill The Chamber of Deputies December 9 passed a constitutional amendment on referendums. The new law was voted for by 121 deputies of the Social Democrats Party, the Communists, the Christian Democrats and some Freedom Union deputies. The Civic Democratic Party and some Freedom Union deputies voted against the bill. To pass a constitutional amendment, 120 votes in the 200-seat chamber are necessary. If the Senate approves the law, Czech citizens will from 2001 have the opportunity to vote on joining the European Union and on constitutional amendments. A referendum will be called by the president on the basis of a request by the government or at least 80 deputies or a petition signed by at least 250,000 citizens. A referendum will be valid if more than half of the eligible voters participate and the bill must be supported by more than half of them of those who vote. Citizens can not vote about questions related to the democratic foundation of the state, human rights, budget matters or personal questions. Iva Potrebova/Jakub Jirovec Havel Talks with Parliament Heads President Vaclav Havel met December 14 with Senate Chairwoman Libuse Benesova and Chamber of Deputies Chairman Vaclav Klaus, both of the Civic Democratic Party, ODS. Klaus asked Havel to change the stance of the talk the smaller parties (the Freedom Union and the Christian Democrats) which do not support the idea of a super-coalition proposed by ODS (see Carolina 355). Havel refused to persuade anybody. Havel also said he can imagine the existence of a super-coalition but all discussions are premature until the Opposition Contract between ODS and the ruling Social Democrats is ended. David Mirejovsky/Jakub Jirovec Russia Criticized over Chechnya by Czech Citizens and Government Czech citizens declared their protest against Russia's actions in Chechnya December 10 during a demonstration in Prague in front of the Russian embassy. "There is a huge massacre of the population going on in Chechnya and we are convinced that it is not possible to remain silent and that we must express our disagreement," said Director of the Human in Need Foundation Tomas Pojar. Parliament deputy Petr Mares of the Freedom Union presented a protest petition signed by 70 deputies to Russian embassy representatives. About 20 demonstrators in Brno put up slogans like Hands off Chechnya in Russian and in Czech on windows belonging to Russian airline Aeroflot. Foreign Minister Jan Kavan said the Czech Republic officially asked Russia to stop the actions. Jan Vedral Jr./Jakub Jirovec Health Minister David Resigns Health Minister Ivan David resigned December 9. President Vaclav Havel accepted David's resignation and gave Labor Minister Vladimir Spidla temporary control of the Health Ministry. David denies any connection between his resignation and the state of healthcare, and says he was forced to resign by pressure from various lobbies and some Social Democrat quarters. David became the third person to leave Prime Minister Milos Zeman's Government after Ivo Svoboda (former finance minister now in jail) and Egon Lansky (former deputy prime minister recently fined for having an illegal foreign bank account). Jaroslav Svelch/Jaroslav Sauer Social Democrats' Popularity Continues to Fall If elections were held today, one poll claims the ruling Social Democrats (CSSD) of Prime Minister Milos Zeman would finish in fourth place. According to a survey taken by the Sofres-Factum agency, the Social Democrats would receive 9.8 per cent of the vote. First place would belong to the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) with 21.8 per cent, with the silver medal going to the Communists (KSCM) with 17.3 per cent and coming in third would be the Freedom Union (US) with 10.1 per cent. The Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL) would finish fifth with 8.6 per cent. The result of the poll is the worst for Zeman's party since the end of 1994. The Social Democrats' popularity has been steadily decreasing since 1998, when the party won the general elections with 32 per cent of the vote. Iva Potrebova/Jaroslav Sauer FOREIGN AFFAIRS Slovaks Might Enter EU with Czech Republic At its Helsinki summit, the European Union set a date of the year 2002 for the accession of new member countries. According to EU Commissar Gunter Verheugen, the new countries will not receive full membership before 2004. At the summit the EU also declared that the former first group of candidate countries now includes countries such as Slovakia, Lithuania, Latvia, Malta, Bulgaria and Romania, which will begin negotiations with EU officials in the coming months. Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman and Foreign Minister Jan Kavan attended the summit. According to the daily Pravo, Zeman said, "I consider it realistic that we shall enter the Union in the year 2003." He also said that all the main political parties want to help the country join the EU as soon as possible. Michal Pospisil/Zuzana Janeckova Zeman Visits China and Vietnam Prime Minister Milos Zeman, accompanied by Finance Minister Pavel Mertlik and the Trade Minister Miroslav Gregr, signed a treaty with the Chinese Sen-tchou power plant December 16 during his visit to China and Vietnam. Zeman left for China aiming to reconquer the Chinese and Vietnamese markets, from which the former Czechoslovakia somewhat withdrew after 1989. Zeman said, "I do not claim the contract is profitable, I am only stating that it will not create a loss." Jaroslav Svelch/Zuzana Janeckova ECONOMY Commerce Bank Discovers Tunnel Under Bank After recent scandals over inaccurate financial results and the decline of its share price, more trouble found Commerce Bank (Komercni banka, KB) last week. From 1996-1999 Commerce Bank granted loans of about 7 billion crowns (KB's share capital is about 9.5 billion crowns) to an unnamed Austrian company, which evidently will never return the money. The Austrian company used the loans for activities different from those in the loan documents, while its new credit line was used for the payment of the old loans. The loan should have been secured by a lien in the form of goods and documents which turned out to be false. The bank filed a criminal complaint and auditors Deloitte and Touche are performing a forensic audit of the transaction. Bank lawyers are negotiating with the Austrian company about repayment of the loan. Jakub Trnka/Milan Smid Czech GDP Grows Slightly According to a December 15 report from the Czech Statistics Office (Cesky statisticky urad, CSU), GDP in the Czech Republic grew by 0.8 per cent in the third quarter of 1999. Analysts consider the report a sign of economic prosperity. Some improvement is noticeable over the second quarter (which showed 0.4 per cent growth), but over the last 12 months the economy decreased by 0.9 per cent. Increased exports were mostly responsible for the third-quarter's favorable development. Export was helped by the general revitalization of EU countries' economies, and the majority of Czech export wound up there. The 12-month trade deficit was down by 9.6 billion crowns. Individual household consumption rose, mainly because of a rise in prices of commodities and transportation. Government spending increased by 0.4 per cent. Additional economic growth is dependent on investment in development, which, however, were down by 4.7 per cent in the third quarter. Information about the GDP growth leaked from the CSU December 14, causing a small scandal. The Bloomberg and Bridge News press agencies and the Czech Press Agency received the data by e-mail, as did analysts in the Czech National Bank and elsewhere. The slip-up could affect money markets and harm investors who did not receive information about the GDP growth. Nothing happened, however, and the official report data and real data were similar. Lubos Kratochvil/Ondrej Maly IPB and Nomura Want Czech Savings Bank The exclusive suitor of the state's 52-per-cent share of the Czech Savings Bank (Ceska sporitelna, CS), Austria's Erste Bank Sparkassen, may have to face competition. The Investment and Postal Bank (Investicni a postovni banka, IPB) and IPB part-owner Nomura also want to bid for the share. IPB spokeswoman Barbora Tacheci said the bank wants to enter the privatization of CS under the same conditions as Erste Bank, but wants to offer a higher price. The Austrian bank began official negotiations on the purchase October 29 as the only bidder, but its exclusive negotiating rights expire January 31. According to the Financial Times, at this time Erste Bank is willing to pay 15 billion crowns. IPB's intentions would have to be approved by the Czech National Bank because of the investment risk. The Government would not rule out the possibility of negotiations with IPB, but at the same time emphasized the exclusivity of the Erste Bank talks and efforts to find a strong partner for CS. Lubos Kratochvil/Ondrej Maly Allianz Wants IPB and Czech Insurance Company The German company Allianz, Europe's biggest insurer, expressed its interest in purchasing the Investment and Postal Bank (Investicni a postovni banka, IPB) and the Czech Insurance Company (Ceska pojistovna). Allianz says the reason for its interest is to improve its of position in the insurance and banking markets in eastern Europe. Allianz representatives met December 13 with Prime Minister Milos Zeman and Finance Minister Pavel Mertlik to discuss Allianz's investment plans for the Czech Republic. The state owns 40 per cent of the Czech Insurance Company through the National Property Fund (FNM) and the Commerce Bank (Komercni banka), while 52 per cent is owned by the Czech financial group PPF and IPB, who are acting in concert. The Government mentioned combining both stakes and offering them to a strategic investor. If Allianz wants IPB, it will have to buy the 43 per cent of IPB owned by Nomura. Lubos Kratochvil/Ondrej Maly Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid December 17) -------------------------------------------------------------- 1 EUR = 35.970 country currency CZK ------------------------------------------ Australia 1 AUD 22.672 Great Britain 1 GBP 57.283 Denmark 1 DKK 4.838 Japan 100 JPY 34.416 Canada 1 CAD 24.910 IMF 1 XDR 48.397 Hungary 100 HUF 14.130 Norway 1 NOK 4.440 New Zealand 1 NZD 17.852 Poland 1 PLN 8.479 Greece 100 GRD 10.899 Slovakia 100 SKK 84.780 Slovenia 100 SIT 18.063 Sweden 1 SEK 4.179 Switzerland 1 CHF 22.475 USA 1 USD 35.428 Exchange Rates of countries participating in the euro (converted from the euro rate) country currency CZK ----------------------------------------- Germany 1 DEM 18.391 Belgium 100 BEF 89.167 Finland 1 FIM 6.050 France 1 FRF 5.484 Ireland 1 IEP 45.672 Italy 1000 ITL 18.577 Luxemburg 100 LUF 89.167 Netherlands 1 NLG 16.322 Portugal 100 PTE 17.942 Austria 1 ATS 2.614 Spain 100 ESP 21.618 CULTURE Prague - European City of Culture 2000 The project designed to define Prague as a European city of culture for the year 2000 was christened in Prague's Municipal House (Obecni dum) with a concert by the Prague FOK Symphonic Orchestra December 14. President Havel and his wife were present, as well as members of the Government and various diplomats. After 18 months of preparations, the concert inaugurated what organizers hope will be the greatest cultural celebration in the history of Prague. According to head dramaturg Ladislav Kantor, 820 performances and projects have been prepared in fields including fine arts, music, literature, theater, dance, film, audio-visual media, multimedia, architecture and history. The planned budget of 1.2 billion crowns will likely be reduced to between 800 million crowns and 1 billion crowns. The money was donated by the city, the Ministry of Culture and various Czech sponsors. Prague wants to be seen as a center of culture, history, education and business. Besides Prague, the EU has given the honor of the title of European City of Culture to eight other cities (Avignon in France, Bergen in Norway, Bologna in Italy, Brussels in Belgium, Helsinki in Finland, Cracow in Poland, Reykjavik in Iceland and Santiago de Compostela in Spain). Iva Potrebova/Daniela Vrbova Czech Nightingale Awards The Karlin Musical Theater hosted the third annual Czech Nightingale (Cesky slavik) awards ceremony December 11 (the contest is the successor to the former Golden Nightingale). Karel Gott, famed pop singer who has been in the limelight since the 60's, was voted male singer of the year, his third Czech Nightingale in addition to 22 previous Golden Nightingales. Daniel Hulka, best known for his role in the musical Dracula, came in second and Janek Ledecky (co-creator of the new musical Hamlet) was third. Lucie Bila's vote total won her not only the female singer category but also represented the largest number of votes well as for the absolute winner one. Second and third places went to Iveta Bartosova and Ilona Csakova, respectively. Lucie was elected the best group of 1999, followed by dinosaurs Olympic and teen phenoms Lunetic (the Czech version of bands like Backstreet Boys and New Kids on the Block). The composition of the year is the song Heaven (Nebe) by Jan P. Muchow and performed by Anna K., while the award for most improved artist went to the duo Damiens. Customarily, part of the music industry protested against the awards, calling it a show of pop stars incapable of writing their own songs. Pavel Korinek/Daniela Vrbova Petr Lebl's Suicide Stuns Theater World Petr Lebl, 34, award-winning art director of the Theater on the Balustrade (Divadlo na Zabradli), committed suicide above the stage of the theater on the night of December 11-12. He hung himself in the rafters and was found a day later while three actresses, having no idea Lebl hung above them, performed Werner Schwab's play Presidents December 12. Lebl left his will and several farewell letters, evidence he had thoroughly prepared this last act of his life. Theater on the Balustrade Director Doubravka Svobodova said, "It was the permanent, long-term condition of his soul." Nevertheless, Lebl's death caught his colleagues by surprise. His works were honored by several prestigious awards, such as the Alfred Radok Prize for the best staging of the year in 1994 and 1997 (Chekhov's The Seagull and Ivanov - see Carolina 281). He was working on a staging of William Matrosimone's Like Totally Weird with star Jiri Bartoska which was to have its premiere January 23. Lebl also had been invited to work with the National Theater in preparing Cyrano de Bergerac. "His talent had to be redeemed by great pain. It's an irreparable loss for all of us," said to the daily Lidove noviny actress Zdena Hadrbolcova, who performed in several of Lebl's plays. Tomas Havlin/Milan Smid SPORTS Czech Republic Will Play Netherlands, France and Denmark in Euro The Czech Republics' soccer team received its opponents for the Euro 2000, which will take place in the Netherlands and Belgium from June 10-July 2. The Czech team, which advanced from the qualification round without losing a point, will meet the host Netherlands (June 11 in Amsterdam), France (June 16 in Brugge) and Denmark (June 21 in Liege) in Group D. Two teams will advance from each group. The Czech team played all the opponents recently, defeating Denmark 1-0 and drawing with the Netherlands 1-1 in friendly matches. In the semifinals of the last Euro the Czechs defeated France, winner of the last World Cup. The Netherlands are considered a favorite of the tournament and should take advantage of the home field. Czech coach Jozef Chovanec said, "Who's the favorite? The tournament will show that. Judging by our recent form, we are among them. We definitely aren't going to be shaking in front of anybody." Slavia Praha Advances in UEFA Cup Slavia Praha soccer players met Steaua Bucharest in the second leg of the UEFA Cup fourth round December 9. In the Prague game they won 4-1 and after a 1-1 tie in Bucharest they advanced to the spring session of the UEFA Cup. Slavia defended well and made fast counterattacks. Steaua was supported by some 22,000 fans, who saw the first goal in the extra time of the first half, when Ciocoiu scored after Vlcek's slip. After the break Slavia played more actively and scored on Richard Dostalek's goal in the 50th minute. Sparta Praha Ends Autumn in Champions League with Two Defeats After two games of the autumn part of the UEFA Champions League's second phase, Sparta Praha is still waiting for its first point and its first goal. In its second game it lost to Barcelona 0-5. The game, against one of the world's best clubs now out of form in the Spanish league, was decided after Martin Hasek was sent off after two yellow cards and Barcelona scored two goals at the end of the first half. After the break the Spanish team was definitelly better and added three more goals. Barcelona managed to defeat Sweden's AIK Solna 5-0 in the first phase. The four remaining games will be played in March. Standings of the group: 1. Porto 6, 2. Barcelona 4, 3. Hertha Berlin 1, 4. Sparta 0. Zelezny Named International Olympic Committee Member After last year's corruption scandal, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided to engage active athletes. Czech javelin thrower Jan Zelezny is among the 10 new athletes and, along with former gymnast Vera Caslavska (seven-time Olympic champion from Tokyo 1964 and Mexico 1968), he is the second Czech representative in the IOC. The Olympic champion and world-record holder Zelezny already was a member of the Athletes' Commission of the IOC. Until the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Zelezny will concentrate on track and field (with IOC recognition), but then he will begin work. SPORTS IN BRIEF * The hockey extraleague did not play because of the national team's participation in the Baltica Cup tournament. The Czech team played two preparation games. Canada replied three times to Czech goals in Brno December 9 but did not manage to reply to Tesarik's goal 57 seconds before the end of the game. The Czechs were then losing to Slovakia 1-3 in Zvolen December 11 before finishing in a 3-3 tie. * Race driver Tomas Enge was the first Czech to test the Jordan formula one car in the Catalunya circuit in Barcelona December 10. He finished 2.52 seconds behind Scotland's David Coulthard. Enge will participate in the Formula 3000 European Championships next season, the league just below the formula one championships. * Hana Cerna finished third in the short-track swimming European Championships in Lisbon. In the 400m individual medley she could not defend last year's title. In the 4x50m medley relay, the Czech team (Nyvltova, Dufkova, Hlavacova and Hlavackova) finished fourth. Sports news prepared by Dita Kristanova/translated by Mirek Langer After deadline: Czech Republic - Sweden 2-0 in the first game of the Baltica Cup hockey tournament. WEATHER Christmas Eve is around the corner and the question is whether we'll enjoy Christmas and New Year in white and frost or in the dark gray of mud and rain. The prospects for a white Christmas are promising. While last week's daily temperatures varied from about 5 degrees to 10 degrees Celsius/41 degrees to 50 degrees Fahrenheit and the unstable weather brought rainstorms to Prague and snowstorms to some mountain regions, the present temperatures are steadily below zero degree Celsius/32 degrees Fahrenheit. Only the snow is still missing. Iva Potrebova/Zuzana Janeckova English version edited by Michael Bluhm xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ADVERTISEMENT Central Europe Review ( http://www.ce-review.org ) is the weekly Internet journal of Central and East European politics, society and culture, with plenty of news and analysis from the Czech Republic every week. xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This news may be published only with attribution to CAROLINA. Subscription is free. Comments and remarks are appreciated. 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