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 293, Friday, June 12, 1998. FROM EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (June 3 - 10) Election Campaign in Full Swing There are only a few days left till June 19-20, when the early parliamentary elections will take place for the first time in Czech Republic history. The biggest campaign event in the Czech Republic was organized by pop singer Lucie Bila to support the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) Chairman Vaclav Klaus, whose government collapsed at the end of 1997. Bila and her friends attracted June 6 more than 30,000 people to the Old Town Square in Prague. Klaus and his wife Livie watched the activity from a raised box. Billboards advertising the concert rippled the political scene because Parliament parties, except the neo-Fascist Republicans, agreed not to use them. Besides the concert billboards, billboard advertisements for Xantypa magazine appeared in the streets as well - the last issue pictures Klaus and his grandson Adalbert (Vojtech) on the cover. Other parties criticized ODS, which defended itself by saying it had nothing to do with the billboards. Great numbers of celebrities are also engaged in ODS election commercials on Czech Television and Czech Radio. Among the main mottos of ODS are: Those Who Believe in Themselves Vote for Klaus; Heads up; To the Left, or with Klaus. The Republicans' campaign has evoked the biggest stir so far. Their billboards, which often become the targets of attacks (e.g. at the Global Street Party) or further artistic creativity, announce mottos like Republicans for Capital Punishment or Republicans against Giving Gypsies (Romanies) Preferential Treatment. An exact copy of the billboards' format appeared as a parody, showing Republican Chairman Miroslav Sladek with the text: Republicans Refuse to Think. Election commercials on television and radio referring to the Romany issue are so provocative that the daily Lidove noviny has filed a suit. One Republican commercial says, "This Gypsy race takes advantage of and is a parasite on our society." The election campaign has had its lighter side. Christian Democrat candidate Jan Kasal was born, according to the election ballot, in 1651. Freedom Union Chairman Jan Ruml, although not on the ballot, rode a water slide with children at a public pool. On a Christian Democrat poster the party's Prague ballot leader and Interior Minister Cyril Svoboda is, with the aid of a computer, pictured without hair and with a promise to have his head shaved if his party receives more than 10 per cent of the vote in Prague. The Civic Coalition, led by Jozef Wagner, attracts voters with a raffle of 20 cars. However, candidates do not experience only happy moments. Social Democrat Parliament deputy Vaclav Svoboda was attacked by an unknown man who punched Svoboda and knocked out one of Svoboda's front teeth. In Vyssi Brod his party colleagues found the party's smaller campaign bus with flat tires. Christian Democrats in Volyne had their expensive magnetic party logos stolen from their car's hood. A pensioner shook a fork at southern Bohemia ODS leader Miroslav Benes in a restaurant, and Benes also sank during a campaign cruise on the Moldau (Vltava) River, but did return to the riverside healthy. "At least put your shoes on when you go to an ODS rally," said Parliament deputy Petr Necas to a homeless man in Ostrava, after the man showed greater interest in the party's free cakes more than in the politicians. Erik Tabery/Denisa Vitkova Havel Says Bamberg Affair Attempt to Destabilize Country The headline in the daily Slovo June 8 published President Vaclav Havel's opinion of the outcome of the investigation of Bamberg affair. Havel said he considers the affair a plot or provocation masterminded by forces interested in destabilizing democratic development in the Czech Republic. He said he became acquainted with information collected by the Security Information Service (BIS) and he requested the agency continue the investigation (for details about the Bamberg affair see Carolina 281-3). Social Democrat Chairman Milos Zeman, who met Havel June 7 at the Lany Chateau told the daily Pravo that "former employees of the (Communist) secret police (StB) and Czech-Swiss entrepreneur Jan Vizek were parts of the network that organized this provocation." Carolina/Milan Smid President Havel to Appear on Television Show Earlier The Central Electoral Committee criticized President Vaclav Havel's intention to appear on a television discussion show one day before the parliamentary elections of June 19-20. Havel is to debate Czech-French political scientist Jacques Rupnik on the NOVA show Seven or 7 Days. The committee said Havel might break the Election Act ban on election campaigns for the 48 hours before the election. Both Nova Director Vladimir Zelezny and Chief News Editor Jan Vavra said the committee was underestimating the president's intelligence and damaging their show. Nova later changed the program to June 16 "to preclude possible speculation on the part of certain political parties and not to expose the president to various attacks." Jan Kozanek/Andrea Snyder Agencies Release May Voter Preference Polls Results of a poll taken by the Sofres-Factum agency, released one day after the IVVM agency released its poll results, show that a minority government is expected to follow elections. The Social Democrats remain solidly in the lead with 27.8 per cent of the vote in Factum and 22.5 per cent in IVVM. The Civic Democratic Party (ODS) is up 2 percentage points to 16.9 per cent (Factum) and 15 per cent (IVVM). The Communists should be in Parliament with 9 per cent (Factum) or 7 pre cent (IVVM), while 7.8 per cent of those polled by Factum and 9 per cent of IVVM respondents support the Retirees for Life Security. The Freedom Union has fallen to 7.2 per cent from 8.7 per cent in April (Factum) and 7 per cent (IVVM). The neo-Facist Republicans are supported by 6 per cent (Factum) and 4 per cent (IVVM) and the Christian Democrats would get 4 per cent (Factum) and 7 per cent (IVVM). Parties unlikely to win seats in Parliament include the Green Party with 1.6 per cent (Factum) and 1 per cent (IVVM). The Democratic Union (DEU) can expect 1.4 per cent (Factum) or 1.5 per cent (IVVM). The Czech National Socialist Party, the Civic Coalition-Political Club, the Independents and the Moravian Democratic Party would receive less than 1 per cent of the vote. The STEM agency is to publish the last pre-election poll June 12. Jan Kozanek/Andrea Snyder Nearly 470,000 Union Members on Strike June 8 for Higher Wages Following unsuccessful talks with Prime Minister Josef Tosovsky, 10 public-sector unions called a strike for June 10 to support raises of 20 per cent by July 1. The strike was called after Tosovsky rejected a May 19 proposal to boost wages and offered union members the chance to help create the 1999 state budget (See Carolina 290). The largest gathering of people since 1989 affected drivers the most, as road workers stopped or slowed traffic for an hour on roads, highways and near border crossings. Only 594 of 4,753 schools did not go on strike. Children at the schools received a free hour under the supervision of school staff. Healthcare employees also went on strike, but patients were cared for. If the demands are not met, union members say they will call more strikes. Tosovsky called the strike unnecessary and said it did not change his decision not to increase wages. Jan Kozanek/Andrea Snyder Railworkers Leave Confederation of Unions Railway workers, the third-largest group in the Czech and Moravian Confederation of Unions (CKMOS), left the confederation June 5. Railway union leader Jaroslav Dusek criticized the confederation's poor business practices and said the confederation's management had too few people. Jan Kozanek/Andrea Snyder Two MiG-21s Crashed in Ceske Budejovice The June 8 plane crash in Ceske Budejovice had a happy end. Two supersonic MiG-21 Czech Army planes, with three men aboard in total, collided and crashed into apartment buildings in the heavily populated Vltava neighborhood. The accident's happy end was that no one died and no serious injuries occurred. All three pilots are in the hospital with broken bones. The planes' black boxes have not shed any light on the accident, but air forces Commander Ladislav Klima has confirmed that one of the pilots caused the crash. The accident occurred as the planes were returning from the aviation show in Pardubice. When the MiGs started flying in a low-visibility area, the pilot of the second MiG lost sight of the first one and announced it. The leader immediately ordered the group to break up. After some 10 seconds, however, the second MiG crashed into the tail of the leader. According to the Chief of the General Staff Jiri Sedivy, the pilot of the second MiG will probably be prosecuted. Damages caused to two apartment buildings are estimated at 10 million crowns. Expenses for reconstruction are going to be covered by the Army. Residents can return to their homes in about one month. David Kozohorsky/Sofia Karakeva FROM SLOVAKIA Slovakia Activates Mochovce Nuclear Power Station Slovakia June 8 activated the fuel cell in the first reactor of the Mochovce nuclear power station, ignoring the request of Austrian Chancellor Viktor Klima to postpone the reactor's activation. Klima accused Slovak Premier Vladimir Meciar of not keeping their agreement to exchange all information. Meciar allegedly promised his Austrian colleague that, before activating the reactor, he would inform Klima of the step. According to information from the Czech media, Austria Expert Commission chief Wolfgang Kromp said there is no immediate danger from the the reactor, but he added that eventually the situation could worsen quickly. The Slovaks have French expert H. Freslon, representative of Framatome, on their side, as he is taking part in completing the station. Freslon said he does not agree with Kromp's opinion on the safety of the reactor. David Kozohorsky/Sofia Karakeva Sparta Praha Played in Presov for HZDS Czech Republic's soccer champions, the players of Sparta Praha, appeared in a friendly match the eastern Slovakia town of Presov last weekend, dressed in the colors of Slovakia's most powerful political party, the Movement for Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) of Premier Vladimir Meciar. According to information from the Czech Press Agency (CTK), Sparta's players were following the instructions of Alexandr Rezes, owner of the club and HZDS campaign manager. They did not wish to comment on the charge that their appearance supported HZDS' election campaign. Sparta lost the game 2:3. Parliament elections in Slovakia will be held in the fall. Carolina/Sofia Karakeva ECONOMY CEZ Will Be Divided into Two Companies The Trade Ministry decided to separate the distribution networks from state-controlled monopoly electricity provider Czech Energy Company (Ceske energeticke zavody, CEZ) into a new subsidiary, Czech Distribution (Ceska prenosova, CP). Letting in another big energy producer into the Czech market is to be the next step to curtail the ongoing monopoly position of CEZ. Trade Minister Karel Kuhnl said, "Increased competition in the production will bring benefits to the energy sector. However, distribution is and will remain a natural monopoly which will always have to be regulated by the state." A positive response to the decision of the Trade Ministry came not only from experts, but also from the operators of small water and wind power stations with the hope that the new distribution company would purchase their electricity at more favorable prices. Jan Kozanek/Milan Smid Skoda Plzen Sells Tatra Koprivnice Carmaker Czech engineering concern Skoda Plzen, the majority owner of northern Moravian truck maker Tatra Koprivnice, signed a letter of intent to sell its 46-per-cent stake in Tatra to little-known American investor SDC International. Skoda Plzen said it decided to sell the stake because of its inability to manage Tatra's 6-billion-crown (about 176 million USD) debt. Jan Kozanek/Milan Smid Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid June 12) country currency ------------------------------------------ Australia 1 AUD 19.969 Belgium 100 BEF 90.895 Great Britain 1 GBP 54.913 Denmark 1 DKK 4.920 ECU 1 XEU 36.985 Finland 1 FIM 6.168 France 1 FRF 5.590 Ireland 1 IEP 47.240 Italy 1000 ITL 19.028 Japan 100 JPY 23.789 Canada 1 CAD 23.011 Luxemburg 100 LUF 90.895 IMF 1 XDR 44.918 Hungary 100 HUF 15.661 Netherlands 1 NLG 16.636 Norway 1 NOK 4.436 New Zealand 1 NZD 16.939 Poland 1 PLN 9.733 Portugal 100 PTE 18.310 Austria 1 ATS 2.665 Greece 100 GRD 11.012 Germany 1 DEM 18.750 Slovakia 100 SKK 96.754 Slovenia 100 SIT 20.005 Spain 100 ESP 22.094 Sweden 1 SEK 4.239 Switzerland 1 CHF 22.654 USA 1 USD 33.699 CULTURE Black Sabbath in Eden More than 20,000 people came June 9 to Prague's Eden track and field stadium to see heavy-metal forefathers Black Sabbath in their original line-up. The wait for the group was filled with shows by Coal Chamber, Helloween and Pantera, respectively. The crowd went wild at about 9 p.m., when Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler took the stage - original drummer Bill Ward took ill at the last minute and was replaced by Vinnie Appice. Osbourne, who has in recent years sold more tickets for his Prague shows than for shows in England, told the crowd he always felt at home in Prague. The 90-minute show was not accompanied by anything more dramatic on stage than Osbourne spraying the crowd with a water pistol, but the closing songs Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, Iron Man and the encore of Paranoid seemed to be enough to send most of the crowd home happy. Jan Sverak May Direct I Served the King of England After several years of quarelling, Bohumil Hrabal's novel I Served the King of England might be filmed at last. Surprisingly, neither of the contesting directors, Karel Kachyna nor Jiri Menzel, but Jan Sverak may be called on to direct the film. The core of the conflict is in two copyrights awarded for filming the story, each given by the late Hrabal. One authorization belongs to TV NOVA, which got it from Menzel's producers, while the other authorization belongs to producers connected with Kachyna. The two sides could not agree for years on a director, but recent discussions with Sverak as the candidate have been progressing. The script would be provided by Sverak's father Zdenek, which would reprise the family team from the Oscar-nominated Elementary School (Obecna skola) and Oscar-winner Kolya. TV NOVA Fined by Maximum Penalty The private national station TV NOVA has been hit with a 2-million-crown fine for broadcasting the segment of its afternoon talk show The A (Acko) about adolescent prostitutes called I Make a Living with My Body. According to the broadcasting authority CRRTV the show was inappropriate for broadcasting in the afternoon and broke the provisions of the Broadcasting Act. TV NOVA strongly objected to the fine and said it is ready to defend itself by appeal. Czechs Gawk Nearly 3.5 Hours Daily Czech TV viewers are in 12th place in the world rankings of the most passionate TV junkies. According to measurements done by peoplemeters, Czechs spend 3.5 hours daily in front of the TV screen. World champs are the Japanese, with four hours daily, one minute ahead of Mexico, with the United States in third. Culture by Erik Tabery/Michael Bluhm SPORTS Czech Hockeyball Team Wins World Championships in Litomerice Czech hockeyball players followed the successful Czech hockey season, in which the Czech Republic won the Olympic gold and World Championships' bronze. The hockeyball national team defeated European champion Slovakia 3-1 in the World Championships final in Litomerice and won the gold. The Czechs defeated Canada 5-2 earlier, and the disappointed Canadians started a fight with spectators at the end. Angelo Folano was punished by international federation with a two-year-long suspension. Petr Kankovsky, ice-hockey forward of the second league's Znojmo squad, was the top scorer in the tournament. Olympic gold medalists Jan Caloun and Richard Kral, the best forward of the Czech hockey extraleague's finals runner-up Trinec, helped the team. Hockeyball is very similar to ice-hockey, so many ice-hockey players diversify their summer training with the new sport. It is played on a rink (without ice, of course), with a tennis ball. A match has three 15-minute periods and there are some differences in the offsides rule. Milan Eisenhammer/Mirek Langer Jablonec Also to Represent Czech Soccer in European Cup FK Jablonec soccer players won the FA Cup for the first time, defeating Petra Drnovice 2-1 in the final in Prague's Evzen Rosicky Stadium June 9. The match finished with Ales Kohout's goal in the 11th minute of overtime. Martin Vejprava directed a long pass to Kohout and his right-footed shot beat goalkeeper Pavel Vaniak's. Drnovice Coach Jan Kocian said, "You can't split the cup, but we deserved part of it today." Jablonec's coach confirmed the opinion and said he had not believed in victory 20 minutes before the end, when Drnovice led 1-0. "Drnovice was not the worse team, we were luckier... I hope Kohout's goal will start a new era of soccer in Jablonec," he said. Milan Eisenhammer/Mirek Langer Odlozil Memorial Games in Prague Czech track and field athletes had a good opportunity to fulfill the qualification minimums for the European Championships, to be held in Budapest, in the Josef Odlozil Memorial Games in Prague's Strahov Stadium. Algeria's Noureddine Morceli was the top star of the event and Czech runner Jan Pesava broke his national record in the 10,000 meters June 8. Hammer thrower Sedlacek qualified for the European Championships (76.43 meters), just like high jumper Zuzana Kovacikova (1.93 meters), who tried to break the Czech record. Jiri Muzik showed good form, winning the 400-meter hurdles in 48.91 seconds. Pesava then finished second in the 10,000 meters behind Kenya's Bett, but he broke the Czech record by 20 seconds, finishing in 27:47:90. The 2,000 meters was the most anticipated discipline, as Morceli wanted to attack the world record. He did not break it, but his finish in 4:58:08 is the best 2,000-meter time recorded in Czech territory. Odlozil held this record before. Odlozil was among the best Czech track and field athletes in the 60's. He won a silver Olympic medal in the 1,500 meters in Tokyo in 1964. He was killed by Martin Odlozil, his son from the dramatic 1968 Mexico City marriage to Vera Caslavska, the most famed Czech gymnast ever, winner of four gold medals at those Olympics. David Kozohorsky/Mirek Langer SPORTS IN BRIEF * Czech handball players finished 10th in the European Championships in Bolzano, Italy, defeating Macedonia 38-18 and losing to Lithuania in their last two matches. WEATHER The weather is racing towards its summer idleness and the thermometer mercury occasionally jumps over 30 degrees Celsius/86 degrees Fahrenheit. People drag themselves along in the shadows of buildings and more than one longs for only a frosty mug of good beer. Not even the leaves are moving and the deadly stuffy air can be survived only at swimming pools or lakes. Flies are falling from the heat, sometimes even planes... The first June week overwhelmed the almost 200-year-old temperature record for those days. June 6 saw 34 degrees Celsius/93 degrees Fahrenheit in Prague's Clementinum, and in Plzen 36.6 degrees Celsius/97.9 degrees Fahrenheit. On June 7 the temperature was also over 30 degrees Celsius/86 degrees Fahrenheit, so the atmosphere had to be cooled down by a storm. Nobody seemed to care that the rain came on Medard's Day. June 9's sunny weather proved wrong the old saying that rain on Medard's Day means rain for 40 days, but every other day this week has been visited by squalls. Milan Eisenhammer/Ivona Pulkrabkova 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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