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 269, Friday, December 12, 1997. FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (December 3 - 10) Havel Criticizes Klaus in Address to Parliament In an address to Parliamentary deputies and Senators December 9, President Vaclav Havel severly criticized the policies of Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus' government, and identified outstanding problems in Czech society. The president's theme was the "the other face of Czech society." He said one of the reasons for the county's current state of affairs is the "conviction that it pays to lie and steal," and that "political parties are secretly manipulated by suspicious financial groups." Havel said the main mistake was pride, mainly due to privatization, and said "we have behaved like spoiled only children." He accused the ruling political party of enmity towards all that was reminiscent of the civic society. The second part of the speech was "10 commandments," or 10 goals for the Czech Republic. They include becoming "anchored" in the European Union and NATO, and state-administration, self-administration and ecology reforms. Anna Kadava/Andrea Snyder Klaus Decries Havel's Address Although President Vaclav Havel's address to Parliament December 9 was greeted with thunderous applause, Vaclav Klaus, who resigned from the post of prime minister November 30, made a point of not clapping. He was seated in the center of the front row. At a press conference two hours later, he accused the president of being confrontational, which Klaus called a contradiction, in light of the fact that Havel had challenged the nation to be responsible, tolerant and honorable. Klaus said the address showed an extremely different world view from that of the right wing and a lack of understanding of the way market economies and free societies function. Klaus contrasted the content of the speech with the naming of Christian Democrat Chairman Josef Lux to construct the new government. "If the speech was meant seriously, one can hardly imagine that the president can entrust the construction of a new government to someone from the former government coalition," he said. Other ODS party members also expressed dissatisfaction with the address. Former Interior Minister Jan Ruml said, "Surely we are not such criminals. President Havel could have divided the criticism among the other coalition parties, and among the opposition, as well." Havel's speech was heartily approved by Lux and Civic Democratic Alliance Chairman Jiri Skalicky, who was quoted in the daily MF DNES as saying "perhaps some of the individual parts of the criticism were arguable, but, as a whole, I consider it to have been fair and a challenge to further work." Parliament and opposition Social Democrat Chairman Milos Zeman said the speech "adequately identified the state of our society, especially a certain moral decay." Communists were disappointed that the president said that the Czech Republic must wrestle with the post-Communist morass, and the Republicans, as usual, protested. Erik Tabery/Andrea Snyder Bomb Explodes in Ivan Pilip's Garden At 4 a.m. December 6, an explosion rocked the house of Finance Minister Ivan Pilip. No one was injured, and except for a few broken windows and a damaged car there were no larger material damages. The 200-gram charge of TNT, detonated with a short delay practically right after setting, is Czech Army standard equipment and was, according to police specialists, most probably done to intimidate the minister. Military Police have joined the investigation. After publishing information about the explosion in the media, the police noticed a few anonymous phone calls which could show hints of the offender. The police protection accompanying Pilip since attacks by a crowd of Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus supporters on Snemovni Street (see Carolina 268), was extended after the explosion, together with renewed observation of the minister's residence. Pilip said he supposes not his activities in the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) but his intention to publish and inquire into some questionable privatization cases brought on the bombing. However, he said he is most disenchanted by the fact the explosion endangered, besides his family, also his neighbors and their children, who are not at all connected with the resigning minister's activity. Political notables accordingly condemned the explosion as a phenomenon not suitable for a democratic state, and one entirely unprecedented in Czech history. President Vaclav Havel expressed his shock with the words: "I am disgusted." Interior Minister Jindrich Vodicka, in an interview for Czech Television, supported again the theory of the police that the explosion was meant to intimidate Pilip. However, considering the investigation, he refused to comment on the anonymous phone calls. Christian Democrat Jaroslav Orel said, "I am sure that ODS chairman Mr. Klaus has his part of complicity, although not in a criminal but in a political sense. I believe his thanks to those who spat on Ivan Pilip a week ago contributed to the atmosphere of intolerance and violence with results as extreme as those today." Vaclav Klaus sharply protested the statement. Jan Kozanek/Denisa Vitkova Lux Charged with Forming New Government Vice Prime Minister, Agriculture Minister and Christian Democrat Chairman Josef Lux was commissioned by President Vaclav Havel December 8 to form a new government. The choice was accepted by Social Democrat Chairman Milos Zeman and Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA) Chairman Jiri Skalicky, while outgoing Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus - chairman of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) - was "not surprised" by it. The president's wish is "the nomination of a cabinet during the week after the ODS congress (December 13-4), and its appearance in front of the Parliament with a program resolution and a request for a vote of confidence." The Social Democrats demand a temporary Cabinet and insist on early elections, which would require a change in the Constitution and thus enable elections. The Christian Democrats would endorse this scenario only in the case of failure to create a new cabinet. The Communists have made their support conditional to the change in the Constitution as well as the temporary status of the government. ODS is, above all, not even decided yet whether to join the government at all (the verdict will come during the weekend). Havel and Lux agreed on the necessity of the Social Democrats' support for the government. Klaus said the creation of a cabinet which would be stable and tolerated by the Social Democrats is impossible. "That is a very bad assumption, an attempt to make a square out of a circle, a hybrid which cannot exist in our country." Lux plans to replace the confrontational approach of the previous coalition by introducing the "humility phenomenon" into politics and he wants to reinforcement the people's trust by requiring full declarations of assets for politicians. The main concern of the new Cabinet should not be early elections but preparations for integration into NATO and the European Union. Lux said he would also like to try to improve healthcare. Lux said the participation of Education Minister Jiri Grusa and Foreign Minister Jaroslav Sedivy can help retain cabinet continuity. Dagmar Buresova and Jan Sokol, the former Civic Movement (OH) members and Christian Democrat candidates for the Senate, are "names, which are also worth looking at," said Lux for daily Lidove noviny December 9. Ivona Pulkrabkova/Ivona Pulkrabkova Klaus Still Has Chance to Lead Party Party leaders will be elected at the Civic Democratic Party's special convention December 13-14. The party will also make an official decision whether to remain in the coalition. Current Chairman Vaclav Klaus and former Interior Minister Jan Ruml are the candidates for the post of chairman. About 300 delegates, many of which are regional ODS representatives, will vote. The two candidates are running on radically different ballots. Ruml demands that ODS takes responsibility for the state and attempts to remain in the coalition until the planned elections in the year 2000. Klaus supports the party's exit into a "constructive opposition." His idea is to participate in discussions for the construction of a new government, but to quietly support a caretaker government without ODS until early elections, which would take place next spring or fall. Although most of the regional representatives prefer Ruml's plan to remain in the government, they have decided to vote for Klaus. Many of them are nominating Ruml for the post of vice chairman. Other candidates for vice chairman include Finance Minister Ivan Pilip (current ODS vice chairman), Jiri Vlach (Parliament vice chairman), Miroslav Macek (current ODS executive vice chairman), Jiri Payne (Parliament deputy) and Vaclav Benda (senator and head of the Office for Investigation of the Crimes of Communism). Ondrej Drabek/Andrea Snyder Secret Sponsoring, Continued A new wave of events concerning political party financing has arisen around the coalition party the Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA). ODA Chairman Jiri Skalicky announced at a press conference December 9 that two significant foreign sponsors have given the party almost 10 million crowns. He also said he will ask all donors to supply him with all substantial information. He said all sponsors from 1995-97 fulfilled the legal requirements, meaning the party has at its disposal documents identifying the sponsor. "This way of recording donations is politically insufficient," said Skalicky to the daily Pravo December 10. ODA received more than 52 million crowns from sponsors in 1996. Some alleged sponsors publicly declared the money simply traveled from their accounts to ODA, meaning they are not the real sponsors. Two important sponsors is Nathan Landshut, a Swiss state official in Zurich who evidently gave 9.5 million crowns, and Czech emigre Bohumil Jirak, the general director of the Swiss company Nathan Godi's Schiede, with a contribution of 1 million crowns. According to Skalicky, the ODA Political Council will suggest to the party's Central Congress not to accept any sponsor donations not supported by reliable information concerning the donor. In connection with ODA, TV Prima re-opened the story of how the party received two payments of 3 million crowns each from an unknown sponsor. The money transfer was to be mediated by the IN company, which deals in securities. Lenka Jindrlova/Sofia Karakeva Former ODS Member Financially Supported Social Democrats After the Civic Democratic Party's (ODS) sponsoring scandals, the Social Democrats decided to end their six-month silence December 5, and made public the name of the businessman who provided them with a loan of 8 million crowns. The party was pulled out of its financial difficulties in the spring of this year by the Bohemex Trade company belonging to Radim Masny, a former ODS member. The Social Democrats had said it was not possible to release their the lender's name without his consent. Finally, however, the party just informed him of their intentions. The party got into trouble last spring after tax officials blocked its accounts because of unpaid taxes. The party did not have enough money to meet payroll, and banks refused to provide any more loans. Only Masny was willing to offer them a one year loan with 14-per-cent interest. "I supported Milos Zeman's party because I think that no political party should cease its activity due a blocked account," said Masny in the December 6 issue of daily MF DNES. He said that he, as a conservative, does not agree with all Social Democrat policy. The Social Democrats said they were surprised by Masny's membership in ODS. Petr Bilek Jr./Veronika Machova IN BRIEF * President Vaclav Havel cannot count on unanimous support from Civic Democratic Party deputies and senators in the January presidential election, because of his recent comments on the political situation in the country (see above). * Former secret police agent Vaclav Wallis was found innocent December 8 on five-year-old charges of providing secret information to Czech privatization king Viktor Kozeny, founder of the Harvard funds. * Vice Chairman of Parliament's Chamber of Deputies Karel Ledvinka was elected chairman of the Civic Democratic Alliance's Parliament Club by secret vote, after past chairman Ivan Masek's resignation from the party. * The Political Club civic association, which released its founding declaration December 4, wants to become an alternative to present political parties. The declaration's text is signed by 44 public figures, including independent Parliament deputy Jozef Wagner, singer Michael Kocab, the president's brother Ivan Havel and Dagmar Buresova, post-1989 chairwoman of the Czech National Council in the for Federal Parliament. * The Senate passed a constitutional amendment establishing 14 regions, as a step leading to self-administration for the regions and decentralization. The law has to be signed by the president. * The two-day 16th Congress of the Czech-Moravian Chamber of Unions which began December 9 discussed the current situation in the labor movement, politics, and collective bargaining. Gabriela Podzimkova, Jan Puncochar/Veronika Machova FROM SLOVAKIA Meciar's Vulgar Jokes Offend Czech President and Prime Minister Slovak Premier Vladimir Meciar reacted to the Czech government crisis at a meeting of the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), December 4 in the Na Pasienkoch Hall in Bratislava. He expressed his full support of resigning Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus and added: "If some kind of government comes out of this putsch, I'm not going to meet with a putsch prime minister." Meciar entertained the public with vulgar jokes, in which he insulted the Czech presidential couple, Havel's late first wife Olga and Klaus. Meciar said there is going to be a new Czech bank note with the presidential couple in bed on the front and Klaus and the crown getting screwed on the back. Thunderous applause and laughter followed the joke. Meciar received diplomatic notes from the Czech side concerning his impertinent remarks. Deputy Foreign Minister Karel Kovanda presented a note to Slovak ambassador Ivan Mjartan December 5 in which he protested against Meciar's jokes. Czech politicians, including Havel, have refused to comment on the affronts. Many politicians and citizens in Slovakia have expressed their opposition to Meciar's comments. Peter Weiss, a chief representative of the opposition Party of the Democratic Left, said it is not realistic to expect an apology from Meciar. "The vulgarity of the Slovak premier has exceeded all bounds. There is nothing we can do except be quietly ashamed and hope our Czech friends know there are not many people like Meciar in Slovakia." Dozens of Slovaks have called Bratislava's Radio Twist in a panic: "Where do we live, when our Premier is such a primitive. I am not sure whether I can ask for this, but anyway I have to ask the Czechs for forgiveness," said one of radio listeners. Slovak Foreign Ministry spokesman Milan Tokar said Meciar's remarks should not affect relations between the two countries. Nora Novakova/Ajla Zinhasovic SLOVAKIA IN BRIEF * Czech Foreign Minister Jaroslav Sedivy cancelled a meeting with his Slovak counterpart planned for December 12. Although Sedivy did not comment on his decision, it is widely thought the cancellation stems from Slovak Premier Vladimir Meciar's rude statements about the Czech president and prime minister. * According to the press, Slovak Premier Vladimir Meciar cancelled all press conferences after Cabinet meetings December 4 because of journalists' questions about Meciar's new female adviser Blazena Martinkova. The head of the Jurnalists' Syndicate of Slovakia, Jan Fuelle, reminded Meciar that the government is required by law to inform the media. Michal Cerny/Matej Cerny ECONOMY * Czech National Bank (CNB) Governor Josef Tosovsky met his Slovak counterpart Vladimir Masar in Brno December 5. They discussed the problems remaining from the split of Czechoslovakia and the consequent split of the Czechoslovak State Bank. The National Bank of Slovakia (NBS) claims the right to 4.1 tons of Czech gold. The Czechs do not deny Slovakia's right to the gold, but have they have their own claim - 24.7 billion crowns in Slovak debt. The governors did not resolve the issues and agreed to continue the negotiations. The CNB proposed that some issues could be resolved by a third party. * Prices rose by 0.4 per cent in November, leaving 12-month inflation at 10.1 per cent. The sliding scale of inflation grew to 8.8 per cent. The items registering the largest price increases were food and clothing, making for two-thirds of inflation growth. According to new estimates from the Finance Ministry, inflation for 1997 will be between 9.9 per cent and 10.1 per cent. The figures were released by the Czech Statistics Office December 8. * Parliament recommended to the resigning government December 3 to stop the privatization of the three biggest banks: Commerce Bank (Komercni banka), the Czech Savings Bank (Ceska sporitelna) and the Czechoslovak Trade Bank (Ceskoslovenska obchodni banka). * Finance Minister Ivan Pilip asked the chairman of the National Property Fund to stop the privatization of the Investment and Postal Bank (IPB) December 5. The government already agreed on the privatization of IPB. The buyer chosen for the bank - Nomura - is now waiting for the results of an audit, which should set the bank's price. Madyar Magauin, Jaroslav Mares, Ludvik Pospisil/Matej Cerny Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid from December 12) country currency ------------------------------------------ Australia 1 AUD 23.325 Belgium 100 BEF 95.435 Britain 1 GBP 57.931 Denmark 1 DKK 5.167 Finland 1 FIM 6.523 France 1 FRF 5.878 Ireland 1 IEP 50.968 Italy 1000 ITL 20.101 Japan 100 JPY 27.131 Canada 1 CAD 24.548 Luxemburg 100 LUF 95.435 Hungary 100 HUF 17.383 Netherlands 1 NLG 17.464 Norway 1 NOK 4.835 New Zealand 1 NZD 20.962 Poland 1 PLN 9.870 Poretugal 100 PTE 19.267 Austria 1 ATS 2.797 Greece 100 GRD 12.518 Slovakia 100 SKK 101.344 Germany 1 DEM 19.680 Spain 100 ESP 23.288 Sweden 1 SEK 4.497 Switzerland 1 CHF 24.321 USA 1 USD 34.963 ECU 1 XEU 38.957 SDR 1 XDR 47.300 CULTURE "That was life? Well, once more!" One of the most remarkable personalities in Czech intellectual and spiritual life, Catholic priest and Charles University professor Tomas Halik, has released a new book called Tomas Halik - I Asked the Paths. Halik, Czech Christian Academy president and Saint Salvator church rector, is considered a unique mediator of dialogue between believers and atheists in the Czech Republic. A biographical interview with Jan Jandourek, the book is Halik's personal testimony of seeking his own path in his spiritual and social life. It provides a look into all the unusual worlds Halik has been through - his publisher father's close relationship with Karel Capek, pre-World War II Czechoslovakia's most honored writer, the student movement at Prague and British universities in the 60's, the underground church and illegal seminars in apartments, Vatican inner circles, Prague Catholic Theological University, buddhist monasteries in India and American universities. Halik also recalls Czech and foreign celebrities from religious, political and cultural life and meditates about postmodern spirituality, mysticism, interfaith dialogue and global cultural problems. "(The book) means some sort of cleansing before my 50th birthday. It is a dialogue that I would also like to invite my readers into, so they could do some thinking on their own life's path. I often think of Zarathustra, who says at the end of his life:'That was life? Well, once more!'. While thinking about my path to this point I tried to approve of it, with all its complexities and ambiguities," Halik said to Carolina. Jana Ciglerova/Jana Ciglerova Immortal Prague Select After almost 10 years the legendary Czech rock band Prague Select (Prazsky vyber) December 5 released another studio album, called Ber. Music writers and students were invited to vote on various album covers since November 17. Prague Select frontman Michael Kocab said Ber is situated in the band's discography between the album Vyber and a planned opus entitled Er. All 12 new songs are originals, only Vlasta Tresnak, a famous underground songwriter, co-wrote some lyrics and Marta Minarik, from the popular band Lucie, recorded some bass parts. The original line-up, consisting of singer and pianist Kocab, guitarist Michal Pavlicek, bassist and singer Vilem Cok and drummer Klaudius Kryspin, is also planning on some live performances. Kryspin, who emigrated to Australia in the 80's and still resides there, will play in the concerts. Pavel Turek/Jana Ciglerova SPORT Czech Women Handball Players Sent Home by Korea The Czech women's handball national team fulfilled its goal to advance from its basic group in the world championships in Germany. They assured themselves of the advance after their fourth match, defeating Slovenia 31-28 December 6. After they tied with Macedonia 24-24, they finished fourth in the group's standings and advanced to the round of sixteen, facing the winner of group C and 1995 world champions Korea. The Czech gave Korea a good match December 9. At the end of the half they trailed the Asian team 10-16, and although they managed to cut the lead to 20-21, Korea took advantage of its experience and defended its lead. The match finished 26-29. "What can we do, let's go home," Czech team coach Vojtech Mares said. Korean coach Jae-Young Lee said he had not expected such a good opponent. David Kozohorsky/Mirek Langer Trinec Returns to Extraleague Top Spot Trinec Zelezarny's hockey players returned to first place in the extraleague standings after defeating Zlin 5-3 in the league's 32nd round. Forwards Straub and Zima, traded between the teams, did not play in the match, as the teams had agreed. Straub returned to Zlin after two years and revived a previously productive line with Janku and Meluzin. In the 31st round the line scored all five of Zlin's goals against Slavia. Vitkovice lost at Sparta 3-7 and fell into third place, Vsetin is second. At the bottom of the standings is Opava. Results: 30th round: Zlin - Ceske Budejovice 1:1, Trinec - Slavia Praha 3:1, Litvinov - Karlovy Vary 7:2, Opava - Jihlava 3:5, Plzen - Vitkovice 4:0, Pardubice - Kladno 5:2, Sparta Praha - Vsetin 0:2. 31st round: Vsetin - Trinec 2:5, Vitkovice - Pardubice 7:3, Jihlava - Plzen 3:1, Karlovy Vary - Opava 2:2, Ceske Budejovice - Litvinov 2:2, Slavia Praha - Zlin 5:5, Kladno - Sparta Praha 2:4. 32nd round: Trinec - Zlin 5:3, Opava - Ceske Budejovice 1:0, Litvinov - Slavia Praha 1:2, Plzen - Karlovy Vary 8:2, Kladno - Vsetin 2:4, Pardubice - Jihlava 3:3, Sparta Praha - Vitkovice 7:3. Standings: 1. Trinec 44 pts., 2. Vsetin 43, 3. Vitkovice 42, 4. Sparta Praha 36, 5. Plzen 36, 6. Slavia Praha 36, 7. Litvinov 35, 8. Jihlava 34, 9. Pardubice 31, 10. Zlin 28, 11. Ceske Budejovice 26, 12. Kladno 22, 13. Karlovy Vary 18, 14. Opava 17 Jiri Polak/Mirek Langer WEATHER The weather, as well as the current political situation here, did not undergo any significant changes from last week. At least the heavy rains have stopped, but that is the only change. Average night temperatures did not exceed 2 degrees Celsius/35 degrees Fahrenheit, and daytime temperatures were between 2 degrees Celsius and 4 degrees Celsius/35 degrees Fahrenheit and 39 degrees Fahrenheit. It seems the Ice Queen was betrayed by her elves, as she lost control of snow distribution and left the Czech lands barren. The promenade on St. Nicholas' Day did not possess a white atmosphere; nevertheless, the celebration fully ignited the pre-Christmas mood. Gabriela Pecic/Gabriela Pecic English version edited by Michael Bluhm ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This news may be published only with "CAROLINA" designation. The subscription is free. Comments and remarks are appreciated. Send them please to the address: CAROLINA@cuni.cz To subscribe to CAROLINA news you send an e-mail message to the address LISTSERV@listserv.cesnet.cz The text of message for subscription of the English version must be: SUBSCRIBE CAR-ENG First name Last name or for the Czech version SUBSCRIBE CAR-CS First name Last name To delete your subscription from the list of subscribers you send the following message to the address LISTSERV@listserv.cesnet.cz: SIGNOFF CAR-ENG or SIGNOFF CAR-CS We ask you not to send automatic replies to our list. You can temporarily stop receiving of Carolina by sending the command: SET CAR-ENG NOMAIL All Listserv commands should be sent to the address: LISTSERV@listserv.cesnet.cz Please, don't send commands SUB, SIGNOFF, NOMAIL etc to the address CAR-CS@listserv.cesnet.cz or CAR-ENG@listserv.cesnet.cz!