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 284, Friday, April 10, 1998. FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (April 1 - April 8) Early Elections at the End of June President Vaclav Havel has officially announced the date for early general elections as June 19-20. This step was preceded by the February approval of a constitutional amendment shortening the term of office of the current Chamber of Deputies. Jana Ciglerova/Jana Ciglerova Definitive Decision on Voting from Abroad Czech citizens living abroad have definitively lost any hope of being allowed to participate in the June early elections. Communists, neo-fascist Republicans and a majority of Social Democrats outvoted the Freedom Union (which authored the bill), Civic Democratic Party (ODS), Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA) and Christian Democrat deputies by 83 votes to 72 votes in the Chamber of Deputies April 1. The relatively high absentee rate of deputies played an important role in the final decision, as, for example, 16 ODS members did not vote (22 voted for, 7 abstained and 6 were absent). Interior Ministry experts' six months of work, the president's request, appeals from the Senate's Foreign Affairs Committee and eight years of petitions from Czechs living abroad were in vain. Many politicians and people living abroad have expressed their disappointment over the vote. "We have been losing the experience and good will of many of our people since 1989. It is a specific Czech thing which I feel ashamed of," said Senate Chairman Petr Pithart to daily MF DNES. He said deputies had succumbed to populism, influenced by polls showing most Czechs do not even want to hear about voting rights for those outside the country. Jana Ciglerova/Jana Ciglerova Chamber of Deputies Approves Security Amendment The Czech Parliament's Chamber of Deputies April 3 approved a bill for a constitutional amendment on security necessary for the Czech Republic's membership in NATO. The proposed law would apply in emergency situations such as natural disasters or a military attack. The Senate will review the proposal. The law would allow for calling a state of emergency or war if there was a threat to the sovereignty of the state, its democratic principles, its internal security, its citizens' lives, property or the environment. Under the proposed law, the government could call a state of emergency for a maximum of 30 days and it could be called for a specific region, while war would apply to the entire country. Laws on defense requirements and the armed forces would follow the amendment. Ludvik Pospisil/Andrea Snyder Charles University Celebrates 650th Anniversary Charles University, founded in 1348 by Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV, celebrated its 650th anniversary April 7. In honor of the occasion, the university's Scientific Council met with government representatives at Prague Castle. President Vaclav Havel said in his speech that science should not only be led by the necessities of career and the demands of society, but should also be faithful to its first mission of general learning. Havel also expressed his doubts on the real internal freedom of Czech society, in which he said many lose awareness of true values. "Nothing keeps society from developing more than the arrogance of the uneducated, their provincial suspicion of everything original - human ignorance," he said. Charles University Rector Karel Maly indirectly continued with the president's line of thinking, saying that universities should find the way to cross borders between the cultures and religious systems which divide the world. "The connector between people cannot be only the market and the economy and a common currency, but a shared spiritual view of the world, a shared cultural tradition," Maly said. The university celebrations, which began November 17, will end in April after 150 special events (the Carolina staff is preparing a special edition on the past and present of Charles University.) Ondrej Hanzal/Andrea Snyder Higher Education Act Says No to Tuition, Yes to Private Schools Parliament's Chamber of Deputies approved the Higher Education Act four years after the original bill was submitted. The law makes it possible to establish private schools both as commercial and public-service institutions. The law also allows for colleges which would not be recognized as universities. Students will still not have to pay for university, but applicants will have to pay about 550 crowns to take entrance exams. Students who do not finish school in the standard length of time will have to pay about 8,000 crowns for each extra year of study. The law goes into effect in July, and fees for extended studies will be paid in the 1999-2000 school year. The Ministry of Education said that all profit from tuition was to have gone to scholarships, and that a certain "ideological element" kept it out of the law. Of the deputies who voted on the law, 94 were against tuition and 79 supported the bill. The Social Democrats, Communists and neo-fascist Republicans voted against the proposal, which the ruling parties and some of the Christian Democrats supported it. Nora Novakova/Andrea Snyder President Havel Vetos Anti-Drug Law On the last of the six days the president has to pass or veto a law, President Vaclav Havel returned the proposed anti-drug law to Parliament. The law would have penalized first-time drug offenders and those who experiment with drugs the same as it would punish dealers of hard drugs. Because Parliament needs only a simple majority to overcome a presidential veto, it is likely that deputies will approve the law again, as 118 voted for the bill rejected by Havel. Presidential spokesman Ladislav Spacek said Havel considers the amendments a severe attack on the system of human rights and is worried victims would be persecuted more than criminals. Tomas Mls/Andrea Snyder Homosexuals Cannot Register Marriages Gays and lesbians will not be able to register as married couples, which would foremost help in solving property disputes. Parliament was short two votes of passing the bill on registered partnership. The neo-fascist Republicans, most Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA) and the Christian Democrats voted against the the proposal. The Communists, Social Democrats and Freedom Union (US) voted for the proposal. Registered partnership, legal in seven countries, would in the Czech Republic enable partners of the same sex to have the same advantages and security the law gives heterosexual married couples, with the exception of adopting children. Those who opposed the law said they were worried about the effect it would have on traditional family values. Republican Josef Krejsa said, "Even a healthy buck does not seek another buck, but a doe, so as to have a fawn," while Jiri Hromada, president of the Association for the Organization for Homosexual Citizens (SOHO) said the group would push the proposal after parliamentary elections in June. Neither Social Democrat Petra Buzkova, who promised SOHO her vote, was present, nor was ODS Chairman Vaclav Klaus. Czech daily MF DNES quoted Klaus as saying, "As conservative as I am in these things, I think we have to go with the times. It is a mistake it didn't make it into the second reading." Anna Kadava/Andrea Snyder Zeman Remains Chairman The Social Democrats' Central Executive Committee confirmed April 5 Chairman Milos Zeman in his position. In a secret ballot, 10 of 150 Social Democrats voted for Zeman's ouster. Zeman offered his resignation April 3 in connection with the Bamberg affair (see Carolina 281-3). He said he "did not want the party to be muddied by suspicions of lies and frauds because of his role in the affair," and he also felt "mortally exhausted." Zeman read his version of the Bamberg case at the Sunday meeting and the Central Executive Committee forgave him without any discussion. Karel Machovec, the former vice chairman who attended the Bamberg meeting with Zeman, was not allowed to speak. Zeman and Machovec have been accused of signing a political-posts-for-money deal with Czech-Swiss entrepreneurs in the German town of Bamberg in 1995. The affair, which has been shaking the Social Democratic party for two weeks, is being investigated by Security Information Service (BIS) on the order of President Vaclav Havel. The Social Democrats are convinced the whole affair is a fiction aimed at discrediting the party before the June elections. Jana Ciglerova/Jana Ciglerova SPR-RSC Evidently Misusing Public Money Until now only the former government coalition parties and the Social Democrats had suffered scandals from their party financing, but it now seems neither the ultranationalist Republicans are free from suspicion. Just after party Chairman Miroslav Sladek was re-elected head of the Association for the Republic-Republican Party of Czechoslovakia (SPR-RSC) at the party's congress in Ostrava (see Carolina 283), Andrea Cerqueriova, a long-time editor of the party weekly Republika and assistant to Parliament deputy Vlasta Hruzova, decided to testify on the machinations which helped the party get financial means. By the end of last week she stepped out of anonymity and is now in hiding, fearing for her life. According to information published in the daily MF DNES April 2-4, the Republicans are extensively abusing public monies. Members of the party are registered as Parliament deputies' assistants, whose 19,000 crowns monthly salary is paid from the state budget. They then have to pay 9,000 crowns of that to party Secretary Jan Vik every month, Cerqueirova said. They also had to sign invoices for services never performed, because the invoices were reimbursed by Parliament and the money then given to party leadership. Cerqueirova also confirmed information according to which all Republican candidates for Parliament had to sign a promissory note for 1 million crowns, given to Sladek, as a guarantee of party obedience. Those earlier forced to leave the party have already made similar claims. Former Republican deputy Pavel Mozga initiated the Interior Ministry re-evaluation of the SPR-RSC's registration, saying "it is not a party, but a corporation." According to Mozga all party financial matters are being controlled by Vik, Sladek and his long-time companion, deputy Laura Rajsiglova. They decide on the establishment and closing of local party organizations and on expelling party members. All facts submitted by Cerqueirova, Mozga and other Republicans are being investigated by the police. Jakub Svab/Sofie Karakeva Fake Sponsors Take ODS by Surprise The Civic Democratic Party (ODS) leadership was shocked by the revelation that ODS sponsors were not properly checked last November, in the period when the party already faced charges of falsifying sponsors and having a mysterious account in Switzerland (See Carolina 267, 268). The 1997 ODS financial report revealed that two sponsors entered into party accounting in November - Kajetana Kopernicka and Antonin Zeman - with donations of 3.6 million crowns, are unknowing dupes. ODS reacted to the revelations by filing a criminal complaint against the unknown person who tried to damage the party by intentionally defrauding it through falsifying sponsor names. ODS also launched an investigation inside the party and is looking for the person responsible for receiving the money. ODS Vice Chairwoman Libuse Benesova, who oversaw party finances, is not considering resigning, she said. ODS Chairman Vaclav Klaus was shocked by the discovery and he sent his personal apology to the alleged "donors" for the negative consequences of being involuntarily involved in the affair. Erik Tabery/Milan Smid Voting Preferences and the Advent of the Retirees According to the latest pre-election public opinion poll taken by the Sofres-Factum agency, Social Democrats (CSSD) remains to be the most preferred party with voting preferences of 25.8 per cent. However, in comparison with the last month's results, CSSD lost 0.5 per cent. On the other hand, the Freedom Union increased its share by 0.7 per cent to 12.4 per cent of respondents' preferences, and the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) improved its position by 1.4 per cent to 11 per cent. Surprisingly, the Party of Retirees for Life Security (Duchodci za zivotni jistoty, DZJ) has passed the 5-per-cent limit needed for entry into Parliament for the first time since the elections in June 1996. Tomas Mls/Sofie Karakeva FROM SLOVAKIA Michael Kovac Jr. Returns to Slovakia Michael Kovac Jr., son of the former Slovak president, returned to Slovakia April 5 from Germany, where he had been in police custody. Kovac paid bail of 150,000 deutschmarks, and is now waiting for a court date in the financial fraud case involving the Technopol company. Prokop Havel/Michael Bluhm Kosice Mayor Schuster Chairman of SOP Rudolf Schuster, the popular mayor of Kosice, the second-largest city in Slovakia, was elected chairman of the newly formed Party of Civic Understanding. Schuster said the party's goals will be a return toward integration into NATO and the EU, attracting foreign investment and possible cooperation with Hungarian minority parties in the next government coalition. Schuster openly rejected a coalition with Premier Vladimir Meciar's Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS). Schuster said he plans to form a coalition with other opposition parties after the elections planned for the fall. The party already attracts the support of 15 per cent of respondents in voter preference polls, making it the third-most popular party behind the Slovak Democratic Coalition and the HZDS, respectively. Prokop Havel/Michael Bluhm ECONOMY Railways Will Increase Tariffs Fares on the Czech Railways (Ceske drahy, CD) are going to be raised by an average of 22 per cent July 1, according to an April 2 agreement between Minister of Transportation Petr Moos and Minister of Finance Ivan Pilip. They said the new tariffs reflect the rise of energy prices, inflation and the fact that last year the railway tariffs moved up only by 33 per cent instead of the 50 per cent projected by the CD revitalization plan. According to Moos, increases in short-distance fares will be higher than the long distance transport, where new tariffs have yet to be decided. Ales Bartl/Milan Smid IN BRIEF * Minister of Transportation Peter Moos held emergency talks with railway union leader Jaromir Dusek to avert the danger of a railway union strike. Railway unions want to strike because they say Prime Minister Josef Tosovsky did not keep his promise not to privatize any part of Czech Railways before June's early elections. * The state budget finished for the first quarter with a surplus of 7.6 billion crowns. Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid from April 10) country currency ------------------------------------------ Australia 1 AUD 22.446 Belgium 100 BEF 91.091 Great Britain 1 GBP 57.167 Denmark 1 DKK 4.928 ECU 1 XEU 37.260 Finland 1 FIM 6.189 France 1 FRF 5.606 Ireland 1 IEP 47.319 Italy 1000 ITL 19.023 Japan 100 JPY 25.723 Canada 1 CAD 24.042 Luxemburg 100 LUF 91.091 IMF 1 XDR 45.798 Hungary 100 HUF 16.151 Netherlands 1 NLG 16.683 Norway 1 NOK 4.532 New Zealand 1 NZD 18.903 Poland 1 PLN 9.976 Portugal 100 PTE 18.340 Austria 1 ATS 2.671 Greece 100 GRD 10.789 Germany 1 DEM 18.790 Slovakia 100 SKK 97.533 Slovenia 100 SIT 20.067 Spain 100 ESP 22.150 Sweden 1 SEK 4.333 Switzerland 1 CHF 22.600 USA 1 USD 34.242 CULTURE New General Director of Czech Television Sworn in Ivo Mathe, the first general director of Czech Television (CT), left the position April 1 after his six-year term of office expired. The public service broadcaster Czech Television was established in 1992 as a complement to the federal Czechoslovak Television. Czech Television became the sole television broadcaster in January 1993 when Czechoslovakia, as well as its federal television station, ceased to exist. Mathe was replaced by Jakub Puchalsky, 29, the former head of the BBC's Prague branch, who in February won the search process conducted by the Czech Television Council - the nine-member trustee body appointed by the Czech Parliament (see Carolina). Ivo Mathe's six-year record is impressive, as the original CT staff of 4,279 was downsized to 3,105 full-time employees while the broadcasting time of 9,998 hours yearly increased to 15,524 hours of annual broadcasting. Czech Television participated in many successful film productions, among them the 1996 Academy Award winner for best foreign film, Kolya. During last five years Czech Television's income nearly doubled from 2.753 billion crowns in 1992 to 5 billion crowns in 1997; although expenses climbed at about the same pace, the budget of Czech Television is still in the black. On the other hand, Czech Television lost the majority of the domestic television audience to the new commercial channel TV NOVA, launched in February 1994. Puchalsky announced at a press conference that he is ready to bring Czech Television into the 21st century and that immediate changes are to be made in news and current-affairs programming. Since April 1 Ivan Kytka, the former CT correspondent in London, became head of the News Department. New faces are also going to appear in other top positions, such as director of programming, director of production and head of public relations. Erik Tabery/Milan Smid CULTURE IN BRIEF * The exhibit entitled Frantisek Drtikol - photographer, artist, mystic is being held at Prague's Rudolfinum from February 12 to May 31. Drtikol (1883-1961) was probably the most internationally renowned Czech photographer in his era (his photographic career ended in 1935). His work concentrated on portraits and nudes, and shows signs of a painter's approach to photography. * The American film company Miramax, which distributed Czech Academy Award-winner Kolya in the United States, is considering making an American version of the film, originally directed by Jan Sverak. * Pop singer Lucie Bila performed at a charity concert in the Ta Fantastika Theater April 5. The gala show was organized to collect money for surgery on 14-month-old Nikolka Drgova, who suffers from a congenitive liver condition. * The third festival of works by Prague Film Academy (FAMU) students took place at Prague's Archa Theater April 2-4. More than 100 films were shown in 20 hours of screening. The audience reacted most welcomingly toward Jan Bubenicek's animated film Na draka (an untranslatable play on words), which was awarded the Maxim Kinook prize, the students' version of the American Oscar. Pavel Turek/Milan Smid SPORTS Slavia Players Could Not Close Gap after Sparta Loss Slavia demonstrated again that it is not able to take advantage of the possibility to move up in the standings. After Sparta's loss in Ostrava April 3, second-place Slavia could have cut into first-place Sparta's lead, but wound up losing to Olomouc 1:3. In the fight to escape falling out of the top league, Ceske Budejovice sank deeper in the standings as Zizkov's goalkeeper Simurka played great. The results of the 22nd round: Ostrava - Sparta 2-1, Slavia - Olomouc 1-3, Dukla - Brno 2-1, Opava - Hradec Kralove 1-0, Drnovice - Jablonec 0-2, Bohdanec - Plzen 2-2, Liberec - Teplice 0-0, Ceske Budejovice - Zizkov 1-2. Standings: 1. Sparta 52 pts., 2. Slavia 42, 3. Olomouc 37, 4. Ostrava 36, 5. Jablonec 34, 6. Liberec 33, 7. Zizkov 32, 8. Brno 31, 9. Opava 28, 10. Dukla 28, 11. Drnovice 27, 12.Teplice 26, 13. Plzen 25, 14. Hradec Kralove 24, 15. Ceske Budejovice 22, 16. Bohdanec 8. Milan Eisenhammer/Mirek Langer Vsetin Meets Trinec in Hockey Extraleague Final Vsetin, hockey extraleague champion the last three seasons, won its semifinal series against Sparta Praha to advance into the extraleague final. It recorded its first loss in this year's playoffs in the third match, but the next day - April 4 - beat Sparta 5-2 and finished off Sparta in the next game. Trinec started fulfilling its dreams in the second period of the third match by scoring two goals within two minutes. Vitkovice then played perfectly in the fourth game, defeating Trinec 4-1 and moving the series to its home ice. There Vitkovice lost the match and the series 1:4. Complete results of the semifinals: Vsetin - Sparta Praha 4-1, 3-1, 1-4, 5-2; Trinec - Vitkovice 5-6, 4-0, 3-1, 1-4, 4-1. David Kozohorsky/Mirek Langer Battle to Advance to Extraleague Continues A 3:0 lead in the best-of-seven series and the fourth game on its ice was not enough for Znojmo to advance into next year's extraleague. Opava's players got off the mat and tied the series at 3:3 April 7 after Tomek's goal in overtime. The deciding match will be played April 9. David Kozohorsky/Mirek Langer Davis Cup: Czech Team Loses to Switzerland Without Petr Korda, the world's number-three player, the Czech Davis Cup team lost in Switzerland 2-3 and will have to play to stay in the World Group of the Davis Cup in the autumn. Marc Rosset got all the points for home team. David Kozohorsky/Mirek Langer SPORTS IN BRIEF * Dominik Hasek recorded his 13th shut-out this year and received about 50 per cent of the votes for NHL most valuable player in a viewer poll taken by the American sports network ESPN. * Jaromir Jagr is the NHL's top scorer, with the highest number of goals and assists, leading by 10 points over Teemu Selanne. Milan Eisenhammer/Mirek Langer WEATHER The sunny face of the second half of last week could not last forever. While the influx of warm air was not interrupted, the sky became cloudy and an occasional rain has been our daily visitor since. The weather forecast talks about a mild cooling down for the rest of the week, with even some snow for the mountains. Nature might just make us remember that April - and volatile April weather - is still with us. Karolina Kucerova 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. 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