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 274, Friday, January 30, 1998. FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (January 21 - 28) The Government Struggles For Approval of The Parliament After two days of discussion, Prime Minister Josef Tosovsky's government received the confidence of Parliament January 28. The goverment was supported by 123 of 197 present deputies. Support had been assured from the Christian Democrats (18 votes), the Civic Democratic Alliance (11 votes for, two against) and the Freedom Union (32 votes). The 58 Social Democrat votes were decisive, and were gained by Tosovsky's acceptance of the party's conditions for support. The Cabinet was also supported by two independent deputies and two deputies from the Civic Democratic Party. Votes against the government came from the Communists (22), the neo-Fascist Republicans (18) and, aside from three absent deputies, the Civic Democratic Party, which expressed disagreement with the formation of the government and called the government's program vague. Although commentators were giving Tosovsky's government January 26 a good chance to survive the confidence vote - mainly because of the declared support of Social Democrats - soon after discussion in the Chamber of Deputies began it was clear the Cabinet would pass the confidence for free. Even President Vaclav Havel's speech, in which he appealed to the deputies to support the government and defended his role in its formation, did not change the situation. The government program focuses on joining both NATO and EU, improving the legal system, to pass a Higher Education Act and making the financing of political parties more transparent. On an economic level the cabinet intends to support the Czech National Bank and its efforts to keep the inflation low, and to maintain a balanced budget (Tosovsky said the previous government tolerated living on debt and now the time has come to pay the debt). The Cabinet, however, insists on price deregulation, which brought it into conflict with the Social Democrats. Social Democrat Chairman Milos Zeman's party (the strongest in the 200-seat Parliament) decided to make its support conditional: the government will present a detailed schedule of price deregulation and bank privatization and ensures safety nets to soften the impact of deregulation. Veronika Machova/Veronika Machova Tosovsky Holds Popularity Record Prime Minister Josef Tosovsky has in a short time won over an incredible 85 per cent of poll respondents and become the most popular politician in the Czech Republic. The information was provided by both the STEM and Factum agencies. Second place belongs to Social Democrat Vice Chairwoman Petra Buzkova (81 per cent), while party colleagues Stanislav Gross (74 per cent) and Chairman Milos Zeman (53 per cent) are becoming more and more popular. On the other hand, former Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus' position in public opinion fell to one of its lowest levels: only 24 per cent of respondents trust him. Veronika Machova/Veronika Machova Republican Leader Released from Prison The Prague 1 Regional Court pronounced a not guilty verdict on neo-Fascist Republican Chairman Miroslav Sladek January 23. Sladek, who was accused of initiating racial and national hatred in connection with his speech on the day the Czech-German Declaration was signed last year, has spent three weeks in jail and his absence during the presidential election last week (see Carolina 273) led the Republicans to complain to the Constitutional Court, casting doubt upon the legitimacy of the re-election of President Vaclav Havel. Sladek gave his speech while he was on probation for another crime, and could therefore have been sentenced to a penalty of 250,000 crowns or to imprisonment for up to two years. Veronika Machova/Veronika Machova 7.5 Million Crowns More of Secret ODS Funds Revealed The Civic Democratic Party (ODS), which admitted last year it had received 7.5 million crowns from Milan Srejber and covered it under the fictive sponsor names of Bacs and Sinha, received the same amount one month earlier, in December 1995. An employee of the 1st Silas Group, a shareholder in Moravia Steel, which privatized the Trinec Ironworks (Trinecke zelezarny), deposited cash directly into the party's account, ODS leader and finance committee member Ludvik Rosch told Carolina. Rosch said former ODS Deputy Chairman Libor Novak is to speak on the sponsor subject at the second and last meeting of the ODS finance committee, which was formed to investigate the Bacs and Sinha gifts. Rosch could not say why the committee did not know of the other sum. He added that he left the committee because he was not satisfied. Former Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus acknowledged the existence of the 7.5 million crowns January 24. He was not able to explain where the money was accounted for in the required list of contributions of more than 100,000 crowns. Neither the 7.5 million crowns nor the name of Silas is on the list. ODS may not receive state funding because of the incomplete list of sponsors. Party members, including Novak, who are responsible for party finances may be convicted of falsifying trade information or tax evasion. If ODS listed the donation in several smaller donations under several different names, they evaded the tax which increases in proportion to the donation. Ondrej Drabek/Andrea Snyder Freedom Union Registers as Party and Negotiates with ODA The Freedom Union (US), formed by former members of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), was officially registered as a political party at the Interior Ministry January 23. Former Interior Minister Jan Ruml chairs the party, which holds 32 seats in Parliament. The new party is to start talks on forming a coalition with the Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA) next week, after voter preference poll results are known. If the parties separately receive 7 per cent of potential votes, they will run on separate platforms in the Parliament elections expected in June. Should they each receive less than the 7 per cent required of a two-party coalition to enter Parliament, they will unite forces. New Parliament deputy and author Andrej Gjuric took another vote from ODS January 27 and joined the Freedom Union immediately afterwards. Also two Chamber of Deputies vice chairmen, former ODS deputies Jiri Vlach and Jiri Honajzer, joined the Freedom Union. Although ODS Chairman Vaclav Klaus did not insist a week ago that former ODS deputies should returned their Parliament functions to the ODS, at a press conference January 24 he appealed the Freedom Union to return the Parliament offices. Honajzer has already promised to do so. His position as chairman of the ODS Parliament Club has been assumed by Vlastimil Tlusty. Ondrej Drabek/Andrea Snyder Election Law Amendment would Enable Voting from Abroad An amendment to the Election Act would make it possible for Czechs living outside the Czech Republic to vote in the early Parliament elections expected in June. Interior Minister Cyril Svoboda in the daily Slovo January 22 said the amendment can only be passed quickly if a state of legislative emergency would be declared. He added that it would be worth it, to enable expatriates to vote. The proposed amendment would make it possible for Czechs to vote at embassies, which would fax the results to Prague. The Chamber of Deputies election votes would be added to the votes from Prague. The Senate election votes would be valid in three electoral districts in the Czech Republic assigned to three different global regions. Like domestic voters, Czechs abroad would vote once in six years for candidates in their regions. This fall, Czechs in North and South America would choose from candidates in Usti nad Labem, in two years, those living in Africa and Australia would vote for senators in the city of Ostrava and in 2002, Czechs in Asia and Europe would choose Znojmo candidates. The chosen districts have the smallest populations of any electoral districts. There are still several issues to be resolved in the amendment. No one knows how many Czechs are living abroad, and steps would have to be taken to ensure that some do not vote twice. Estimates on the number of expatriate Czechs range from 60,000 to millions, including those who left the country in the 1970's and kept their citizenship. Other alternatives exist. Parliament deputy Jiri Payne of the Civic Democratic Party proposes voting by mail, saying the secrecy of voting may not be ensured with the proposed amendment. Other senators cannot imagine campaigning. Political parties say the only way to reach expatriate voters is over the Internet. Katerina Murlova/Andrea Snyder Future Fund Finally Definite Eight members of the board of directors were named January 26 to lead the Future Fund, established in the Czech-German Declaration. Germany is represented by Sudetenland Regional Association member Volkmar Gaber, Bavarian Provincial Parliament deputy Johann Bohm, Bundestag deputy Max Stadler and German ambassador in Prague Anton Rossbach. The Czech Republic appointed former Czech National Council Chairman Dagmar Buresova, former ambassador to Israel Milos Pojar, Czech Radio Religion section manager Milos Rejchrt and historian Miroslav Kunstat. Compensation to Czech victims of Nazism will be the fund's primary task. Jana Ciglerova/Jana Ciglerova IN BRIEF * Czech police January 22 temporarily detained Petr Mach, enterpreneur and former owner of the soccer club Sparta Praha, while investigating an alleged insurance fraud, which could carry a 12-year prison term. After being released January 23, Mach said the police were also interested in his contacts with former Civic Democratic Party (ODS) Vice Chairman Petr Cermak in connection with the ODS financial scandals. * Social Democrat Senator Jan Kavan drove after drinking January 22 and caused damage to several parked vehicles in Prague's Mala Strana. * The Supreme Court fulfilled the request of the Justice Minister Vlasta Parkanova and annulled its previous resolution to suspend charges against former Communist leaders Milous Jakes and Jozef Lenart, who are accused of high treason for their role in the Soviet occupation in 1968. The investigation will resume. Eva Fronkova, Veronika Machova/Veronika Machova FROM SLOVAKIA Presidential Meeting in Levoca Eleven central European presidents met January 23-24 in Levoca, Slovakia. The fifth such meeting, held several months earlier than usual because of Slovak President Michal Kovac's dwindling time in office, was held to express support for countries not invited to European Union expansion negotiations. The annual presidential meeting of eight European countries - Poland, Hungary, Italy, Slovakia, Austria, Slovenia and the Czech Republic - was enlarged this year to include Bulgaria, Romania and Ukraine. Though originally conceived as a forum for the idea of the civil society, this meeting resulted in an expression of support and appreciation for Kovac, who said the summit was clear evidence of the non-existence of an international conspiracy against Slovakia. After the official gathering, Czech President Vaclav Havel secretly met Slovak opposition politicians. Jana Ciglerova/Jana Ciglerova ECONOMY December Foreign Trade Balance Ends in Record Deficit The balance of Czech foreign trade in December ended with a deficit of 18.3 billion crowns. It is the highest one-month deficit ever, and significantly contributed to the total 1997 trade-balance deficit of 140.8 billion crowns. According to analysts, December's deficit stems from the crown's slide related to political unstability. The Czech National Bank is considering raising interest rates in order to prevent another decrease. Ondrej Drabek/Sofia Karakeva FNM and Nomura Sign IPB Contract Representatives of the National Property Fund (FNM) agreed December 21 on the terms of a contract with the Nomura Japanese banking house on the sale of the FNM's shares in the Investment and Postal Bank (IPB). For 36 per cent of IPB's shares, the FNM will receive 2.9 billion crowns, and there will also be a capital injection of 6 billion crowns and a bond issue in the same amount. The sale price works out to 147 crowns per share. FNM Chairman Roman Ceska said the deal is not closed yet, because the contracts have to be approved by Nomura's headquarters in Japan and by the Czech government. David Kozohorsky/Sofia Karakeva Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid from January 30) country currency ------------------------------------------ Australia 1 AUD 23.590 Belgium 100 BEF 93.797 Great Britain 1 GBP 57.487 Denmark 1 DKK 5.078 Finland 1 FIM 6.390 France 1 FRF 5.776 Ireland 1 IEP 48.471 Italy 1000 ITL 19.606 Japan 100 JPY 27.955 Canada 1 CAD 23.997 Luxemburg 100 LUF 93.797 Hungary 100 HUF 16.950 Netherlands 1 NLG 17.168 Norway 1 NOK 4.646 New Zealand 1 NZD 20.610 Poland 1 PLN 9.937 Portugal 100 PTE 18.901 Austria 1 ATS 2.751 Greece 100 GRD 12.202 Slovakia 100 SKK 99.127 Germany 1 DEM 19.350 Spain 100 ESP 22.808 Sweden 1 SEK 4.350 Switzerland 1 CHF 23.955 USA 1 USD 34.977 ECU 1 XEU 38.155 SDR 1 XDR 47.278 CULTURE Emil Filla Painting Sells for almost 3 Million Crowns Czech cubist Emil Filla's Still Life with Lute, Pitcher and Fruit, an oil on canvas from 1929, was sold for a Czech record 2.9 million crowns January 24 at a Prague art auction. The starting price of 1.17 million crowns was also unusually high. The picture will supposedly stay in a domestic private collection. Also, Antonin Prochazka's Gathering Fruit and Vaclav Spala's Landscape, both from 1928, were sold at the auction - the buyers paid more than 500,000 crowns for each work. Eva Fronkova/Denisa Vitkova Prague Febiofest at Full Speed On January 22 Czech director Pavel Marek's comedy Dead Beetle (Mrtvej brouk) opened the fifth annual Febiofest festival of international film, television and video (see Carolina 273). Since January 23, the festival has been at full speed in six Prague movie theaters; in early February the show of (mostly) non-commercial film and television production will stop at eight Czech and five Slovak cities. First-run Feature films, documentaries and short films from all corners of the world are on the program. Most criticism and argument centers around the satirical Czech Soda (Ceska soda), the first Czech movie first released on video. Since 1993, 16 episodes of Czech Soda have been made, in which the creators tried to create a report on life in the post-velvet Klaus era. From its beginning, the program has been constantly criticized in the press, whereas young people have accepted it enthusiastically. Czech Soda is the original idea of Febiofest Director Fero Fenic. Eva Fronkova/Denisa Vitkova More Information on Charles University Contest In connection with Charles University's 650th anniversary, Rector Karel Maly has announced an international essay contest Universities after the Year 2000, in which students from any college or university in the world can participate (see Carolina 273). The essay can be written in any genre, only the length is limited for 10-25 pages with 1.5 line spacing. The essays, which can be submitted in all world languages, must be handed in by June 30. The Maly will announce the results by the end of August. Parts of bachelor, master's or doctoral work can be sent to the contest, but only if these work as a whole have not been published yet. The three best articles will receive financial awards of 30,000 crowns, 20,000 crowns and 15,000 crowns, respectively, and the winners will also be able to take part in the conference The University and Its Students in September, where they will meet the rector. Eva Fronkova/Denisa Vitkova SPORTS Korda Advances to Australian Open Semifinal Thirty-year-old Petr Korda advanced to his first Grand Slam tournament semifinal in six years, in Melbourne. He will meet Karol Kucera of Slovakia, who defeated world number one Pete Sampras of the United States 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 and 6-3. In the quarterfinals, Korda defeated world number four Jonas Bjorkman of Sweden 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 and 6-2. After his win he said he fought till he heard the umpire say "game, set, match." He said he was happy he won despite not playing too well. Korda defeated Australia's Draper 3 sets to 0, the American Spadea 3-0 and France's Cedric Pioline 3-1 in earlier rounds. David Kozohorsky/Mirek Langer After deadline: Korda defeated Kucera and moved into the final. Junior Ski Relay Wins Gold in World Championships The Czech juniors Pelc, Havlin, Biman and Koukal finished first in the 4x10 kilometers relay in the World Championships in St. Moritz, Switzerland. From the remaining 20 teams, Norway finished second and Italy third. David Kozohorsky/Mirek Langer Vsetin Gets Bronze in European Hockey League Final Petra Vsetin hockey players recorded the greatest club result of the Czech Republic in the 90's. In Feldkirch, Austria, they finished third in the final tournament of the European Hockey League. The team from Moravia lost a semifinal match to the home team 2-3 in overtime. Then they defeated the Russians from Torpedo Yaroslavl 3-1 (goals by Stantien, Srsen and Belohlav). In the final, the Russian team Dynamo Moscow lost to Feldkirch 3-5. David Kozohorsky/Mirek Langer Hockey Extraleague Plays Three More Rounds Sparta Praha goalie Milan Hnilicka's shutout streak ended after 169 minutes when Pardubice's Pacal scored in the 17th minute of the 41st round match. In the next round, Hnilicka let three pucks get past him in the first period and was benched in Trinec, which defeated Sparta 4-2. And in the third big match, Sparta lost to Vsetin, although it was better through all match. But it was Roman Cechmanek who recorded another shutout, just like Prusek from Vitkovice and Barta from Pardubice. Results of the 41st round: Ceske Budejovice - Trinec 7-2, Kladno - Opava 4-2, Karlovy Vary - Slavia Praha 2-2, Sparta Praha - Pardubice 2-1, Jihlava - Zlin 0-1, Vitkovice - Litvinov 1-1. Results of the 42nd round: Vitkovice - Opava 4-2, Litvinov - Jihlava 4-4, Zlin - Karlovy Vary 5-2, Plzen - Kladno 7-1, Slavia Praha - Ceske Budejovice 1-1, Trinec - Sparta Praha 4-2. Results of the 43rd round: Ceske Budejovice - Zlin 6-1, Jihlava - Opava 8-3, Karlovy Vary - Litvinov 3-2, Kladno - Pardubice 0-4, Vitkovice - Plzen 5-0, Vsetin - Sparta Praha 2-0, Slavia Praha - Trinec 5-5. Standings: 1. Vitkovice 57 points, 2. Trinec 57, 3. Vsetin 55, 4. Sparta Praha 52, 5. Slavia Praha 49, 6. Litvinov 47, 7. Plzen 47, 8. Jihlava 44, 9. Zlin 43, 10. Ceske Budejovice 41, 11. Pardubice 38, 12. Kladno 29, 13. Karlovy Vary 24, 14. Opava 19. David Kozohorsky/Mirek Langer WEATHER Winter is here, with daily temperatures around minus 5 degrees Celsius/23 degrees Fahrenheit. A cold wind blows and some snowflakes fall. The mountains are covered by a blanket of snow. In the Czech metropolis, only Prague Castle is under snow. More snowing is expected. Ondrej Drabek/Sofia Karakeva English version edited by Michael Bluhm ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This news may be published only with "CAROLINA" designation. The subscription is free. 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