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 276, Friday, February 13, 1998. FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (February 4-11) Central European Mission in the USA Foreign Minister Jaroslav Sedivy left for an official visit to the United States November 8, and returned February 11. He, Polish Foreign Minister Bronislaw Geremek and Hungarian Foreign Minister Laszlo Kovacs lobbied to support their countries in a political, economic and military effort to meet NATO criteria. The post-Communist countries need a two-thirds majority of U.S. Senate votes on NATO expansion this March to join the alliance. American Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, who met with the three ministers February 9, called on the Senate to ratify expansion. At the same time, she rejected proposals to halt expansion. Certain American senators stated that NATO expansion could create new borders in Europe and threaten relations with Russia. Albright said American business, unions, all former living Secretaries of State and U.S. veterans are for expansion. The Czech foreign minister and his Polish and Hungarian counterparts met with Republican Senate leader Trent Lott, Democratic minority leader Tom Daschel and others. Both Lott and Daschel support the three countries' NATO membership. Analysts expect the 100-member Senate to support the two-thirds vote. Prokop Havel/Andrea Snyder After deadline: The government proposal for the Czech signature of the NATO treaty was passed into a second reading February 12 in Parliament (143 votes for, 39 against), with the Communists and neo-fascist Republicans against. Social Democrats Boycott Czech-German Talks The Social Democrats (CSSD) said February 6 they will boycott the Czech-German Discussion Forum because the German government has nominated Sudeten-German Regional Association Chairman Franz Neubauer for the coordination committee. CSSD Chairman Milos Zeman said he rejects including Neubauer, because Neubauer exclusively concerns himself with the past. Both the Communist and neo-fascist Republican parties are boycotting the forum as well. German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel and Jaroslav Sedivy announced the nominees at a February 5 meeting in Bonn. Church leaders Zdenek Susa and Daniel Herman, academics Jacques Rupnik, Jan Kren and Barbara Kopplova, journalist Lida Rakusanova and representatives of those persecuted by the Nazi regime - Vladimir Hlavaty and Oldrich Stransky - were named to the Czech delegation. Germany is represented by former Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher and Bundestag Vice Chairwoman Antje Vollmerova. Council membership is not compensated and the Czech-German Future Fund will finance activities. The council is to propose and prepare projects and topics for talks between the countries, the ministers said. The forum will officially begin its activities in Prague February 13. Nora Novakova and Prokop Havel/Andrea Snyder ODA Confesses to False Sponsors Such was the headline of an article in the February 7 edition of daily MF DNES dealing with another political-party financing scandal, this time within the Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA). The scandal with fake sponsors from the Virgin Islands is much more serious than the mystery surrounding ODA's dead sponsor, 79-year-old Jan Kotynek of Prague. His small contribution - 70,000 crowns - does not necessitate a gift document or any other more detailed information about the donor. However, ODA does not seem to be willing to reveal the names of other sponsors hiding behind the million-crown gifts. ODA admitted that the TMC company, residing in the Virgin Islands, through which the party received about 6 million crowns, was created only to hide the real sponsors, two Czech and one foreign companies. According to the unofficial sources from ODA, the culprit in the affair is the former Trade Minister Vladimir Dlouhy. Even among ODA members, the number of those who are convinced that the party should reveal not only the real names of the sponsors but also the persons in the party who promised them anonymity is increasing. ODA Vice Chairmen Michael Zantovsky and Miroslav Toser said they would welcome the release of the party sponsors. Vice Chairman Pavel Bratinka is, on the contrary, convinced that "It is better to lose life than honor," and he said the sponsoring companies should reveal themselves. Ivona Pulkrabkova/Ivona Pulkrabkova Parties to Curb Election Campaign Expenses The Czech parliamentary political parties decided February 10 to keep their election campaign expenses below a limit of 30 million crowns per party. Only the neo-fascist Republicans did not join the agreement and asked for an extra week to consider the issue. The gentleman's agreement also includes a ban on the use of billboards for outdoor advertising from April 1 to election day. The broadcasting time reserved for spot advertising on public radio and television should be used for panel discussions or round-table debates. Nora Novakova/Milan Smid Social Democrats Misinformed about Funds The February 9 issue of the weekly Respekt revealed information about irregularities in the accounts of the Czech Social Democratic Party (CSSD). According to Respekt, the report from party management, which the CSSD showed to its members in March, is different from the document the members of Parliament received from the party two weeks later as the required annual report on party finances. According to the first document, the party earned more than 13 million crowns on property rent, while according to the second one it earned 2.5 million crowns. Social Democrat Vice Chairman and Treasurer Ivo Svoboda explains the different data by saying the data in the parliamentary report was reduced by the income from the rent of the People's House (Lidovy dum), which is not yet official Social Democrat property. Discrepancies in the amounts of sponsorship gifts are explained by Svoboda as having been anonymous gifts (about 1 million crowns), which were later added to and taxed as other income. It was also revealed that the Social Democrats received 10 million crowns from the former Czechoslovak Communist Party in 1990. The Communists gave the money for the reconstruction of the People's House, the historic Prague seat of the CSSD where the first Czech Communist Party was established and where the American Culture Center now resides. Nora Novakova/Nora Novakova Freedom Union Records Successful Poll Debut It was just several days ago when former members of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) established a new party, and today the Freedom Union (FU) is the third-most popular political party in the country, according to a new poll taken by the Sofres-Factum agency. The Freedom Union received 10.3 per cent. The Civic Democratic Party (ODS) finished a tad better - 12 per cent - which is, however, the lowest support in its history. The Social Democrats confirmed their leading position with 27.5 per cent. The preferences of the Christian Democrats fell from 9.7 per cent at the beginning of the year to 6.9 per cent. Also the Civic Democratic Alliance has lost poll support - from 6.6 per cent to 5.9 per cent. The recent government crisis and political fights supported the neo-fascist Republicans, which saw preferences rise during two weeks from 6.8 per cent to 8.2 per cent. The Communists recorded a slight decrease - from 10.5 per cent to 9.6 per cent. Czech Television has doubted about the objectivity of the pre-election success of the Freedom Union, informing about the dinner Defense Minister and Freedom Union member Michal Lobkowicz had with the directors of two powerful polling agencies at the ministry January 26. Lobkowicz said he was only talking about the prestige of our army with the bosses of Sofres-Factum and STEM - Jan Herzmann and Jan Hartl. Nora Novakova/Nora Novakova NEWS IN BRIEF * All members of Prime Minister Josef Tosovsky's government will have to provide full statements of their assets, the balance of their bank accounts, the spouses' assets and their securities holdings. It is a voluntary step for Cabinet members, not a legal requirement. The asset statements for ministers and prime minister when they take their oaths and when they leave office should defeat accusations of the use of office for personal gain (information from the daily Lidove noviny, February 10). The statements, as in France and the US, are not available to the public and will be deposited with the chairman of the Senate for three years. * The Prague 1 Financial Office filed a criminal complaint against Libor Novak, former vice chairman of the Civic Democratic Party, last week. The police will investigate whether Novak was deliberately covering party sponsor and former pro tennis player Milan Srejbr, and thus depriving the state of 170,000 crowns in taxes. Taxes are reduced when a large donation from one donor is split and attributed to two people. * Michal Kovac Jr., son of the Slovak president, was arrested February 3 by the Czech police at the Czech-German border in Rozvadov. Kovac said he wants to be extradited to Germany, where a 1994 warrant for his arrest is still pending because of suspicions that he took part in a financial fraud costing the Technopol company 2.3 million dollars (information from the February 5 edition of daily MF DNES). After deadline: Kovac was extradited to Germany February 12. * David Rath, chairman of the Physicians' Union Club, will be working in Prague's Motol Faculty Hospital for the next three years, according to a decision by Health Minister Zuzana Roithova. Thus, the disagreement between the hospital and Rath, which started when the hospital refused to renew Rath's annual contract (it expired at the end of last year), came to an end. Hospital Director Helena Rognerova said the main reason for the disagreement with Rath was to disloyalty to hospital management and his other activities (including the proposed strike last spring) that cost the hospital 4 million crowns. For further information see Carolina 271. Lenka Vochocova/Sofia Karakeva FROM SLOVAKIA Second Presidential Election Round Indecisive Neither of the two presidential candidates, Stefan Markus and Juraj Hrasko, won the necessary three-fifths support of the National Assembly in the Slovak presidential elections. Markus, nominated by the Slovak Democratic Coalition, won 37 votes, and Slovak Democratic Left candidate Hrasko won 24 votes from the 150-member assembly. The candidates for the next round March 5 have not been announced. President Michal Kovac's mandate ends March 2, and experts say Premier Vladimir Meciar will have taken many of the president's powers by that time (see Carolina 275). Some observers are backing Rudolf Schuster, the popular mayor of Kosice, to win the elections. He is also founding a political party called the Party for Civic Understanding. Czech daily MF DNES reported the commercial television Markiza and the left-wing newspaper Pravda have made major contributions to the new party. Prokop Havel/Andrea Snyder ECONOMY January Inflation Higher Than Expected January inflation was up 13.1 per cent from the previous month, higher than even the most pessimistic of experts expected. Real inflation increased 1.5 per cent, which is twice as high as January 1997 inflation. Goods and service prices grew 4 per cent in January. Analysts say deregulation, reflected and perhaps exaggerated by retailers, influenced the jump. The rate of inflation over the past 12 months grew to 8.9 per cent. Housing expenditures have leaped up 35 per cent, and transportation, leisure expenses, and education are up by 10 per cent to 15 per cent. In this light, the Czech National Bank's commitment to decrease net inflation to 6 per cent is unrealistic, and it is not known whether the Czech National Bank will increase rates, which could suffocate already stagnant growth. The state budget was calculated, perhaps optimistically, with expectations of 9 per cent inflation rise. Ondrej Hanzal/Andrea Snyder Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid from February 13) country currency ------------------------------------------ Australia 1 AUD 23.279 Belgium 100 BEF 91.655 Great Britain 1 GBP 56.203 Denmark 1 DKK 4.964 ECU 1 XEU 37.358 Finland 1 FIM 6.234 France 1 FRF 5.644 Ireland 1 IEP 47.468 Italy 1000 ITL 19.163 Japan 100 JPY 27.941 Canada 1 CAD 23.924 Luxemburg 100 LUF 91.655 SDR 1 XDR 46.394 Hungary 100 HUF 16.530 Netherlands 1 NLG 16.791 Norway 1 NOK 4.552 New Zealand 1 NZD 20.086 Poland 1 PLN 9.676 Portugal 100 PTE 18.483 Austria 1 ATS 2.689 Greece 100 GRD 11.967 Germany 1 DEM 18.925 Slovakia 100 SKK 96.917 Slovenia 100 SIT 20.020 Spain 100 ESP 22.323 Sweden 1 SEK 4.235 Switzerland 1 CHF 23.536 USA 1 USD 34.373 CULTURE Buttoners Win in Rotterdam The episodic film from Petr Zelenka, Buttoners (Knoflikari), received one of the three main prizes at the Rotterdam international film festival. The second feature film by the screenwriter and director copied the successful festival campaign of his debut - Mnaga Happy End. Pavel Marek's film Dead Beetle (Mrtvej brouk), was also in the competition. The debut by documentary filmmaker Ivan Vojnar, The Way through the Deserted Woods (Cesta pustym lesem), was presented outside the competition. Other prestigious festivals, such as Toronto, Seattle, Solun and Helsinky, stated their interest in all the Czech films presented in Rotterdam. Their organizers would like to arrange a retrospect of Zelenka's films. Ondrej Hanzal/Ivona Pulkrabkova Ty-Ty TV Awards This year's Ty-Ty television awards once again reflected the conservatism of Czech viewers. The celebration was hosted - like last year - by Marek Eben, whose cultivated humor was the main currency of the ceremony. Nine out of the 11 awards were given to the same people as last year. New winners were this year's best TV show, Don't Hesitate and Shoot (Nevahej a toc) and best writer Karel Pech. In the overall vote count, Lucie Bila moved past last year's winner Karel Gott. Best actress and best actor went respectively to Jirina Bohdalova for the fifth time and Miroslav Donutil. Best singers were Lucie Bila and Karel Gott. Most popular newscaster was Martin Sekera, best public affairs host was Radek John and best sportscaster was Pavel Poulicek. All three, from TV NOVA, won for the second time. Saskia Buresova was named best announcer, and the best entertainer award went to Martin Dejdar. Former Czech Television Director Ivo Mathe, who is going to work as vice chief of staff for President Vaclav Havel from April, received a strong ovation. Ondrej Hanzal/Sofia Karakeva Ferdinand Peroutka Award Goes to Epicentrum Reporters The prize named for famed Czech journalist Ferdinand Peroutka was awarded February 6 to Jindra Klimova from Czech Radio for her lifetime achievement. The team of reporters from the Epicentrum Agency - Petra Prochazkova, Jaromir Stetina and Petr Jancarek - received the second prize. Ondrej Hanzal/Ivona Pulkrabkova SPORT Neumannova Wins First Winter Olympic Medal for Czech Republic Cross-country skier Katerina Neumannova captured the silver medal in her best discipline, the 5-km classic, but in weather she cursed. This is the first medal in a winter Olympics for the independent Czech Republic. Figure skater Petr Barna and teams in hockey and ski-jumping got medals in Albertville in 1992 for the former Czechoslovakia. The race started January 10 in a snowstorm. Neumannova, known for disliking new snow in the tracks, started very fast, losing at the end to Russia's Larissa Lazutina. Norwegian Bente Martinsen finished third. A happy Neumannova said after the race that she "left a part of her life on the track." The classic 5-km race is the first part of the combination. Three other female athletes took part in the competition, Hanusova finishing 22nd, Saldova 28th and Kocumova 59th. In the first race of the 15-km classic, Neumannova finished 9th. The other Czechs: Saldova 30th, Fortova 45th. Masarik Misses Medal by Millimeters A millimeter's mistake in the last round of shooting took a medal from Ivan Masarik in the 20-km biathlon race. His fourth place is, in spite of the gaffe, an unexpectedly good result. The other Czechs finished far behind winner Hanevold of Norway, with Holubec in 34th and Garabik in 56th place. The Czech women evidently had trouble with their wax and finished with these results: Cesnekova 30th, Pelcova 38th, Losmanova 44th and Hakova 53rd. Ski Jumpers Show Good Results Behind the surprising win of Finland's Janni Soininen ahead of the Japanese favorites, the Czech's unexpected good result in the K-90 jumps event was somewhat hidden. Michal Dolezal finished 11th, Frantisek Jez, who scratched on his second attempt, was 24th. Also other two athletes advanced to the second round, Sakala in 26th and Suchacek in 28th. Men's Cross-Country Skiers Cannot Compete with Women In men's cross-country skiing, even with Norwegian phenomenon Bjorn Daehlie losing (in the end he was 20th), the Czechs also disappeared from the top places. Only Jiri Magal managed a 22nd-place finish, Bauer finished 53rd and veteran Lubomir Buchta did not finish. Maxa Does Well in Alpine Skiing Program Marcel Maxa is in the top 10 of the slalom combination. After the first round he was 8th, but after a mistake in the second round he fell to 9th. The combined downhill was postponed several times because of weather conditions. The youngest member of the Czech olympic team, 16-year-old Lucie Hrstkova, finished 35th in the Super-G. Berankova and Dlabola Are 15th-Best Pair Figure skaters Katerina Berankova and Otto Dlabola finished 15th in the pairs competition. The new couple (Berankova competed individually and Dlabola with Joukalova until this season) was 14th after the short program. After the first fall, Berankova's first with her new partner in competition, they fell to 15th. SPORTS IN BRIEF * Biathloner Eva Hakova arrived to Nagano first, figure skater Lenka Kulovana last. * Cross-country skier Lubomir Buchta was the Czech team's flag-bearer during the opening ceremony. * Vladimir Ruzicka, members of the 1985 hockey world champions team, was named captain of the hockey team. AFTER DEADLINE * Katerina Neumannova got another medal. In the 5-km classic and 10-km freestyle combination she finished third, behind Russians Lazutina and Danilova. * First match for the Czech hockey players: Czech Republic - Finland 3-0. Mirek Langer/Mirek Langer WEATHER What was last week a normal winter has this week become abnormal. We are pleased by the suspiciously warm daytime temperatures of 12 degrees Celsius/54 degrees Fahrenheit, which, along with the clear skies and lack of wind are drawing lovers to Petrin Hill before spring has sprung. One cannot sleep out-of-doors yet, however, as temperatures fall below freezing after dark. Ivona Pulkrabkova/Andrea Snyder 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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