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: (+4202) 24810804, ext. 252, fax: (+4202) 24810987 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* C A R O L I N A No 266, Friday, November 21, 1997. FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (November 12 - 19) November 17 - Eight Years Later The flames of hundreds of candles and continuously gathering groups of commemorators kept the November 17, 1989 memorial plaque company to mark the eighth anniversary of the beginning of the Velvet Revolution on National Avenue (Narodni trida) in Prague. Among the dozens of flowers lay a bouquet dedicated by President Vaclav Havel, who wished students "bravery as an aware and considered courage." The political elite, including Prime Minister and Civic Democratic Party Chairman Vaclav Klaus and Chamber of Deputies and Social Democrat Chairman Milos Zeman came to honor the memory of the violently suppressed student demonstration. Klaus and Zeman, speaking successively, for one of few times agreed on the feelings of unrealized expectations overwhelming the people. Christian Democrat Chairman Josef Lux and Civic Democratic Alliance Chairman Michael Zantovsky said they are not disappointed about post-November developments, though they admit mistakes have happened and it is necessary to remedy them. Senate Chairman Petr Pithart, Prague Mayor Jan Koukal and ministers Ivan Pilip and Jan Strasky also participated in the eighth anniversary celebration. Despite the evidently irritable mood of the sobering citizens, many cultural and social activities held this day did not leave any space for doubt that Czechs still feel sentimental about their November 1989 and are more than willing to celebrate it with pleasure. Jana Ciglerova/Jana Ciglerova Charles University Celebrates 650 Years A select crowd met November 17 at Charles University's Carolinum in Prague to inaugurate celebrations for the university's 650th anniversary. Events, like international symposia, will continue into April 1999. Education Minister Jiri Grusa and Charles University Rector Karel Maly spoke at the proceedings. They held a moment of silence for the Sudanese student recently murdered in a racially motivated crime, spoke of the importance of events in 1939 and 1989 and touched on the problems in Czech schools, stating that furnishings, equipment and teaching tools are not up to standard. Grusa promised to improve Czech schooling through the proposed University Act. Maly and Vice Rector Miloslav Petrusek spent the end of the day with the university's leading students. Erik Tabery/Andrea Snyder Students Talk with Education Minister A meeting of students from Charles University's College of Humanities with Education Minister Jiri Grusa was held in honor of Students' Day November 17. The students met the minister in the school's largest lecture hall, which was filled to capacity. During a very lively discussion the students complained about the lack of libraries, difficulties in gathering information, unsuitable technical equipment and the lack of space in lecture halls, frequently arguing through comparisons with universities abroad. They also discussed the authority of the Academic Senate, academic titles, study abroad and grants. The minister admitted he was surprised that the main point of the discussion was not tuition - the issue did not come up. "I am not planning an attack on students' wallets. The size of the fees in public schools should be socially acceptable. Our intention is not to discourage students but to motivate them," said Grusa. He also added he would be glad if the new University Act were passed by September 1998. Eva Fronkova/Zdenek Janda Majority of Poll Respondents Dissatisfied with Domestic Political Scene Eighty-eight per cent of Czech poll respondents are dissatisfied with the domestic economy, just a shade more than the 87 per cent unhappy with domestic politics. In the same survey published November 17, the Institute for Public Opinion Research also reported that 75 per cent of respondents are not happy with developments in the standard of living, social security (69 per cent), the transformation to a market economy (63 per cent). However, 57 per cent were satisfied with cultural development and 53 per cent were pleased with foreign policy. Approval of domestic policy has fallen 37 per cent in comparison to last year. Seventy-eight per cent of respondents are skeptical about developments in social security and the standard of living. Forty-six per cent of those surveyed were positive about developments in foreign policy and 43 per cent responded favorably to the development of the process of democracy in society. Ludvik Pospisil/Andrea Snyder More Demonstrations against Racism People demonstrated against racism throughout the country last week, protesting the murder of Hassan Elamin Abdelradi, a Sudanese university student killed by two skinheads November 8. Several dozen people, particularly Abdelradi's classmates from the University of Economics, attended his funeral November 14. Of the politicians who spoke at the November 10 demonstration (see Carolina 265), only Sudanese ambassador in Vienna Ahmed Abdal Halim attended the service. Initiated by Slovak activist Fedor Gal, roughly 2,000 young people met at Prague's Old Town Square November 15. Although the it was to be a quiet memorial service, the meeting was gradually taken over by radical groups like anarchists, Social Solidarity and the Humanist Movement. The meeting moved to Wenceslas Square, where a part of the group tried to attack a group of skinheads who were on their way home from Kolesovice. Under the guise of a semi-private party, skinhead bands were to play afterwards in a local pub. in the past, loyalty to the fascist movement had been publicly declared on many occasions, and such manifestations were generally allowed to go on unobstructed. This time, however, in an attempt to crack down on the movement, the police denied the skinheads entrance to Kolesovice and they were sent from the Rakovnice train depot back to Prague. Some of the organizers of the Kolesovice gathering protested. Attorneys Oldrich Chodera and Josef Lzicar were quoted in the Czech press November 7 as saying the preventive steps taken were not entirely legal. Other demonstrations were held in Brno, Ceske Budejovice and Most. About 15,000 people took part in the Brno demonstration November 13. In Most, a group of skinheads tried to stop the demonstration until police intervened. Jakub Svab/Andrea Snyder Havel Released from Hospital President Vaclav Havel was scheduled to leave the hospital November 18, after more than a two-week stay for pneumonia. While recovering at home, he will be preparing a speech to give the members of both chambers of Parliament December 9 in Prague's Rudolfinum. Then he should leave for a recovery stay in the mountains or near the sea. On New Year's Eve he will make his traditional television speech, and will run for re-election at the end of January. Doctors say Havel will continue to have problems with his lungs, as the result of long-term smoking and his stay in prison during Communism. The doctors' advice is clear - Havel should slow his pace of work. Miroslav Cerbak, chief of Havel's team of doctors, told daily MF DNES, "We are not afraid we won't be able to handle the next pneumonia. However, in the future the problems will occur more frequently, and each time the lungs will be more affected. Even antibiotics cannot cure everything, and they are not without blame." Petr Bilek Jr./ Ajla Zinhasovic Social Democrats Would Win Election Today The results of an Institute for Public Opinion Research poll, published November 13, showed 29 per cent of respondents would now vote for the Social Democrats, while 20 per cent would vote for the ruling Civic Democratic Party, which has maintained one-fifth of the population's voting preference since July. The strongest opposition party recorded 28 per cent support in July and has since remained at about 26 per cent. Third place belongs to the Christian Democrats with 11 per cent, next are the Communists and the Civic Democratic Alliance with 5 per cent and then the neo-Fascist Republicans, with 4.5 per cent. Madiyar Magauin/Veronika Machova Zantovsky Will Not Run Again for ODA Chairmanship Chairman Michael Zantovsky of the smallest government coalition party, the Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA), announced he does not want to hold any party office in the future. He made the announcement at ODA's southern Moravia regional conference November 14 (the same day, daily Lidove noviny published an interview with Zantovsky where he acknowledged the possibility of running again for office). His statement came less than a week after Environment Minister and party Vice Chairman Jiri Skalicky declared his intention to apply for the post of party chairman. Zantovsky justified his withdrawal, about which he procrastinated till the last moment, in an interview for the November 15 edition of Lidove noviny by saying he was unable to ensure conditions for asserting the Alliance's goals. Zantovsky said he is also "ready to believe" that Skalicky can ensure these conditions. Skalicky called Zantovsky's step as "a broad-minded gesture". At the same time, he called on the right fraction, operating within the ODA and presenting liberal political attitudes, to conclude its activities. ODA members altogether support Skalicky to be put up as a candidate. However, the right fraction's chairman, Parliament deputy Ivan Masek, said he would welcome one more candidate. Recent information suggests the southern Bohemia ODA recommends Justice Minister Vlasta Parkanova to become ODA chairwoman. However, she refused the candidacy because she is fully occupied with her government duties. Ondrej Drabek/Denisa Vitkova Deputies Start To Save Parliament's Chamber of Deputies November 13 cancelled, by 171 votes of 174, this year's bonuses for deputies, senators, government members, judges, the National Control Office president and the Security Information Service director. The chamber did not support the Communists' proposal not to take away judges' bonuses. The bonus would have been in the amount of the officials' regular salary, and would have been their 14th salary of the year. However, the public has paid much more attention to Social Democrat Parliament Club Chairman Stanislav Gross' proposal to stop the unlimited reimbursement of fuel purchases for official cars of the chamber, its committees, and clubs' chief officials. In connection with this proposal, Budget Committee Chairman Jozef Wagner released the number of kilometers run up in service cars, including average consumption. For 1996, neo-Fascist Republicans' Chairman Miroslav Sladek won, with 148,700 km and an average consumption of 17.9 litres if gasoline per 100 km. According to the automobile factory Skoda's official statement, the consumption of the Felicia model, which Sladek drives, cannot under normal conditions perform so miserably. Ivan Masek (Civic Democratic Alliance) expressed his belief that Sladek also fills other cars with the free gas. The proposal to stop unlimited reimbursement received the support of all present deputies, including the 14 Republican deputies. Jan Kozanek/Denisa Vitkova Czech Information Society (CTI) Closes One of the two national newsgathering agencies, the Czech Information Society (Ceska informacni spolecnost), which distributed its wire service under the trademark CTI came to an end November 14. CTI stopped distributing all its services to customers. Management made the decision to close, and President Martin Steiner said he considers the reasons for the decision to be the poor financial situation caused by low profits from the distribution of the press service, late payments from clients and chilly relationships with some key customers. The Czech News Agency (Ceska tiskova kancelar, CTK) is the only national newsgathering agency working on the Czech media market. Jan Puncochar/Zdenek Janda FOREIGN AFFAIRS Robert Dole Visits Prague Former Republican senator Robert Dole visited Prague on November 17 during a private tour through countries desiring to join NATO. Dole met with ailing Czech President Vaclav Havel in the hospital to talk about the relations between the Czech Republic and NATO. Afterwards he discussed the same issue with Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus, Defense Minister Miloslav Vyborny and also with recently appointed Foreign Minister Jaroslav Sedivy. As for the radiolocator Tamara affair which was instigated recently by the American newspaper the Washington Times (see Carolina 265), Dole said he trusted absolutely the Czech government representatives who had assured him that no such transaction with Iraq existed. He said, however, that similar mysteries in connection with NATO candidates may appear again in American media. Dole, known as a supporter of rapid NATO expansion, assured Czechs of his continuing support of their membership. He emphasized, however, the importance of the whole of society's visible interest in the Alliance as an obvious signal for American senators before their March vote on NATO expansion. Nevertheless, Dole said he was almost sure of at least 90-per-cent support in the Senate. Veronika Machova/Veronika Machova Travel Agencies Cancel Trips to Egypt After foreign tourists were attacked in Luxor, Egypt, the Fischer travel agency cancelled November 17 all trips to Egypt. Also, the Czech Republic's biggest travel agency, Cedok, cancelled all its trips to Egypt until the end of the year. Cedok does not have any clients in Egypt. The Teris 2002 travel agency cancelled its New Year's trip to Egypt. Exim Tours, which is still arranging trips to Egypt, has clients in Hurghad. The agency is watching the situation, but agency management has not stated whether they are going to cancel trips to Egypt. The Czech Republic's Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned citizens that travelling to Egypt is dangerous. According to Vratislav Janda, Czech consul in Cairo, there are from 70 to 100 Czech tourists in Egypt. Pedro Afanador/Sofia Karakeva Dover's Extremists Demonstrate Against Czech Romanies "Gypsies go home. There's no place here for you," and other similar slogans were heard during a demonstration November 18 by the National Front's extremists in Dover, England. The event was not the only to demonstrate hatred for Czech Romanies seeking exile in Great Britain. Czech Romanies arrived in Great Britain by the hundreds in October in search of political asylum. James White, an Evangelical preacher and spokesman for Romanies in London, said to the Czech Press Agency that about 60 Romanies left from Dover to London November 19 because they were scared. Not only did some Dover shops denied service to Romanies, but also people on the streets spat on them. Romanies arriving in London were sent back to Dover the same day. On November 18 members of the League against Nazism demonstrated against the National Front's extremists with slogans like "Nazi garbage go away." The police managed to keep peace between the groups. According to the Czech Press Agency, even though members of the League against Nazism felt the police were with the fascists, Dover Governor Paul Sheldrake condemned the National Front's demonstration. He said, "Racists are not welcome in our town. It's ironic that people from other places gather here in order to disturb the peace. We won't allow a group of racists to tell us what we should do." Lenka Vochocova/Sofi Karakeva FROM SLOVAKIA November 17 in Slovakia One day before the celebrations of November 17 started in Slovakia, an early-evening Sunday on Bratislava's Liberty Square saw a not very massive mass meeting. The participants, mostly students, declared their disappointment not only with the small number of participants but also with the situation in education. November 17 lured more people into the streets, with mass meetings in every larger city; on Bratislava's SNP Square at least 15,000 participants got together. This Monday was a true reminder of November 17, 1989. On the platform appeared significant people from culture and politics like Ladislav Chudik, Milan Lasica, Milan Markovic, Emilia Vasaryova, Milan Knazko, Jan Budaj. Not only memories of the event that occured eight years ago connected them, but also the determination to fight for democracy and order in the country. Therefore, the commemorative act transformed into a demonstration against the government coalition and in favor of Slovak membership in European organizations and NATO. Paula Majorova/Gabriela Pecic ECONOMY Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid from November 21) country currency ------------------------------------------ Australia 1 AUD 22.716 Belgium 100 BEF 92.594 Great Britain 1 GBP 55.984 Denmark 1 DKK 5.017 Finland 1 FIM 6.328 France 1 FRF 5.705 Ireland 1 IEP 49.796 Italy 1000 ITL 19.480 Japan 100 JPY 26.044 Canada 1 CAD 23.300 Luxermburg 100 LUF 92.594 Hungary 100 HUF 16.835 Netherlands 1 NLG 16.949 Norway 1 NOK 4.694 New Zealand 1 NZD 20.487 Poland 1 PLN 9.419 Portugal 100 PTE 18.708 Austria 1 ATS 2.714 Greece 100 GRD 12.176 Slovakia 100 SKK 98.774 Germany 1 DEM 19.100 Spain 100 ESP 22.621 Sweden 1 SEK 4.382 Switzerland 1 CHF 23.550 USA 1 USD 33.019 ECU 1 XEU 37.832 SDR 1 XDR 45.250 CULTURE Slavia Cafe Opens to Public After five years of battles the Slavia Cafe - the mecca of Prague's artists and intellectuals - reopened November 17. Ivan Medek, chief of staff for President Vaclav Havel, then in hospital, read Havel's message about "a small victory of reason over idiocy". The reconstruction lasted nine months and cost 130 million crowns. The neighbouring Parnas restaurant and bar were renovated as well. In the basement, which used to house a boiler, a students' club was opened. The opening party was attended by about 400 celebrities. Among the invited were: Minister of Education Jiri Grusa, film director Vera Chytilova, actors Vlasta Chramostova and Jiri Krampol and Prague Mayor Jan Koukal. Writer and poet Jiri Kolar said that he wanted to move into the cafe. Another writer - journalist, dissident and former culture minister Pavel Tigrid - declared himself a regular with a 50-year break. You could find Slavia from 1881 in the Lazansky Palace on the Smetana Quay just opposite the National Theater. The owner of the cafe - the Academy of Fine Arts - rented Slavia for 50 years to the Boston company HN Gorin in 1992. The cafe was closed and dilapidated. Havel then claimed the situation was a "criminal offense against the city's spiritual life" and challenged HN Gorin to open Slavia quickly (see Carolina 9). In 1995 the contract between Academy and the American firm was ruled void and a new contract between the academy and Parnas company was signed (see Carolina 180). After half a year the Czech company Centrotex joined the project and reconstruction started in January. The cafe now looks as it did in the 1930's. According to Jiri and Jana Spacek, who were in charge of the late Art-Deco interiors, some of the parts are authentic (wall coatings and tables of green marble) and some are new (chairs, booths and lighting). The picture Absinthe Drinker by Victor Oliva is back in its place on the front wall of the cafe. Anna Kadava/Matej Cerny Jara Cimrman Theater Unveils 13th Play, The Plum Prague's Theater of Jara Cimrman, which has been entertaining its spectators with a nearly unchanging cast of performers for 30 years, presented November 14 its 13th play, The Plum (Svestka). It deals with a group of elderly men who meet to strip a plum tree at the Stredoplky railway station. The massively failing memories of the characters provide for an entirely different plot. Zdenek Sverak, one of the authors (the other author, Ladislav Smoljak, is also the play's director), brilliantly creates the character of Hajek, a retired train conductor who posseses not only a huge hole in his memory but also a passion for shaking the hands. Jara Cimrman Theater celebrated its 30th birthday October 4 (see Carolina 260) and has staged 12 productions by the trio of Smoljak, Sverak and Cimrman. It has to be mentioned that none of the titles have been withdrawn from the repertoire and the theater has tallied 7,865 performances to date. The most successful play is probably The Pub in the Clearing (Hospoda Na mytince), with 869 performances. Gabriela Podzimkova/Ivona Pulkrabkova Film Cinderellas - the Prague Indies Festival The final entrants in the six-day marathon of the first Prague Indies international independent film festival, directors Charles Lane (USA), Agnes Agneskirchner (Germany) and Eric Rohmer (France), reached the tape November 18. The festival was organized as the first one of its kind, in support of independent film projects in Central and Eastern Europe. It gave a chance to the creators of low-budget, non-commercial films and documents from around the world. The Czech Republic had to be represented by Oscar-winner Jan Sverak's The Ride (Jizda), however the chance to make their debut was given to a number of young Czech directors. The action also offered a series of seminars and meetings with the filmmakers and was very favorably received by festivalgoers. According to festival Director Jana Kralikova, a competition and a tour of the films through other Czech cities should be part of next year's festival. Ivona Pulkrabkova/Ivona Pulkrabkova SPORTS Vladimir Ruzicka Scores 500th Goal All of hockey's Staropramen Extraleague games of the 23rd (November 14) and 24th (November 16) rounds were overshadowed by the wait for Vladimir Ruzicka's 500th goal, scored either for the national team or in the league. He reached the plateau against Vsetin November 16 and joined Milan Novy and Vaclav Nedomansky as the greatest Czech scorers. Vitkovice again stepped into first place in the standings, while Trinec did not play because of its start in the Continental Cup. Litvinov lost for the first time in its own stadium this year (3-6 to Plzen). Slavia won the match between Prague's teams, defeating Sparta 7-3. Results, 23rd round: Zlin - Pardubice 1-5, Jihlava - Vitkovice 6-2, Karlovy Vary - Kladno 4-4, Slavia Praha - Sparta Praha 7-3, Litvinov - Plzen 3-6, Ceske Budejovice - Vsetin 0-1. 24th round: Karlovy Vary - Vitkovice 2-4, Kladno - Ceske Budejovice 3-5, Vsetin - Slavia Praha 2-2, Sparta Praha - Zlin 7-4, Pardubice - Litvinov 2-2, Plzen - Opava 5-0. Standings: 1. Vitkovice 33 pts., 2. Trinec 33, 3. Litvinov 29, 4. Vsetin 29, 5. Plzen 29, 6. Sparta Praha 28, 7. Zlin 24, 8. Jihlava 23, 9. Slavia Praha 23, 10. Pardubice 23, 11. Ceske Budejovice 21, 12. Kladno 17, 13. Karlovy Vary 13, 14. Opava 11. David Kozohorsky/Mirek Langer Serious Injury Reopens Debate about Dangers of Hockey A match in hockey's second league between Chomutov and Pisek was interrupted by a serious injury to Pisek captain Petr Keller. After contact with an opponent near the boards, Keller lay in a pool of blood on the ice. Thanks to immediate aid, the player's swallowed tongue was released and his breath revived. Keller was taken to Chomutov Hospital, where he later awoke from a coma. Doctors said his spine and spinal cord were undamaged. Keller said he felt better the next day, and he accepted a visitor. Hockey functionaries and fans began arguing again about how dangerous hockey is. Most said hockey is not an extremely dangerous sport, but they do not oppose calls for tightening up the rules penalizing rough fouls. Jaroslav Otevrel was the last Czech player seriously injured during a hockey match. After an accident in 1996 he was partially paralyzed . In 1990 Ludek Cajka from Zlin died after colliding with the boards in Kosice Stadium. Both players suffered spinal injuries . David Kozohorsky/Mirek Langer Soccer League 13th Round with Six Wins for Home Teams One win and one tie are the away-teams' positive statistics from the 13th round of the soccer league. Both Viktorias provided surprises: Viktoria Zizkov defeated Opava 4-1 after breaking out of its scoring funk, and Viktoria Plzen, the next-to-last team in the standings, defeated Brno 3-2. Results: Olomouc - Jablonec 2-0, Sparta Praha - Dukla 2-0, Bohdanec - Ostrava 0-1, Plzen - Brno 3-2, Ceske Budejovice - Drnovice 2-0, Teplice - Hradec Kralove 3-0, Zizkov - Opava 4-1, Liberec - Slavia Praha 1-1. Standings: 1. Sparta Praha 32 pts., 2. Slavia Praha 23, 3. Olomouc 23, 4. Ostrava 22, 5. Drnovice 19, 6. Teplice 18, 7. Brno 18, 8. Liberec 18, 9. Jablonec 17, 10. Zizkov 16, 11. Ceske Budejovice 16, 12. Opava 15, 13. Dukla 15, 14. Hradec Kralove 13, 15. Plzen 11, 16. Bohdanec 6. Jaroslav Mares/Mirek Langer SPORTS IN BRIEF * The Czechs got two silver medals in the indoor cycling world championships in Winterthur (Switzerland), thanks to bicycle acrobat Martina Stepankova and couple Oldrich Groch and Pavel Smid in bicycle-polo. * Hockey's Continental Cup, qualification group in Trinec. Results: Trinec - Klagenfurt (Austria) 10-2, Trinec - Nowy Targ (Poland) 0-5, Trinec - Kosice 1-2. Standings: 1. Kosice 5, 2. Klagenfurt 3, 3. Nowy Targ 2, 4. Trinec 2. * Czech Petr Theuser finished third in the powerlifting world championships in Prague. Mirek Langer/Mirek Langer WEATHER After the deadline of the previous Carolina, the weather was enjoying expressing its hatred for ladies' hairdos for several days. Seriously, whereas November 13-14 not even the stiffest coiffures could resist the wind's intensive attempts to reshaping them into birds' nests, the weekend rains mercilessly plastered all hairstyles, thanks to some sort of strange physical magic even those under umbrellas. Rainfall in some parts of Moravia brought back fears of a possible repeat of flooding, and the eastern and northeastern cold wind did not relieve them at all. It was not that bad, though - not even the eastern stream was strong enough to knock night temperatures down more than a couple degrees below 0 degrees Celsius/32 degrees Fahrenheit. Regardless of some regional snowfalls, daily temperatures bravely defended their position at the point of freezing - finally a little bit of what we call fall. Karolina Kucerova/Jana Ciglerova 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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