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) 22112252, ext. 252, fax: (+4202) 24810987 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* C A R O L I N A No 300, Friday, August 28, 1998. FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS (August 13 - August 26) Zeman's Minority Government Wins Confidence Vote The Czech Parliament's Chamber of Deputies August 19 gave a vote of confidence to the new Social Democrat (CSSD) minority government, after 63 Civic Democratic Party (ODS) deputies left the hall (for more on the Opposition Contract see Carolina 297). Their absence enabled the 73 Social Democrat deputies to outvote easily the deputies of the remaining political parties. The Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL, 20 deputies) and Freedom Union (US, 19 deputies) voted against Prime Minister Milos Zeman's cabinet . The 24 Communist (KSCM) deputies abstained. Zeman did not present Parliament the entire 45-page government program statement (see Carolina 298, 299), and confined his speech to the Social Democrats' vision of government. Zeman said that his government "wants to serve citizens, not to exert arrogantly its power upon them, and has only one ambition - to hand over the Czech Republic to its successor in better shape than it was inherited from its predecessor." Chairman of Parliament and ODS leader Vaclav Klaus said the ODS will not "tolerate the CSSD government because of its policy, but in spite of its policy." Klaus called the program statement "a stylish propaganda composition," its authors do not believe in its possible realization and are using and exploiting the fact that their government is a minority government with a limited power. A big response was drawn by the comments of US deputy Vladimir Mlynar, a member of former Prime Minister Josef Tosovsky's Cabinet, who changed the famous Zeman bon mot according to which "a government which tolerates thieves becomes objectively a government of thieves" and finished his speech with a shot at Klaus' ODS: "Whoever tolerates a socialist government becomes objectively a socialist himself." 30th Anniversary of August 1968 Occupation Ceremonies commemorating the 30th anniversary of the August 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia and paying tribute to the victims of the occupation armies took place in Prague and other towns of the Czech Republic. Prime Minister Milos Zeman addressed a gathering of several hundred citizens in front of the Czech Broadcasting building. The commemoration at Czech Broadcasting was attended also by the chief of President Vaclav Havel's staff Ivan Medek, the president's wife Dagmar, Senator Jaroslava Moserova and members of the Czech Union of Freedom Fighters. Nearly all the political parties and high-ranking politicians expressed their opinions on the anniversary. In contrast to representatives of conservative parties like Vaclav Klaus' Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and the Freedom Union (US), which see the Prague Spring events as a futile and virtually hopeless attempt to reform the Communist regime, the mainstream Czech media have presented mostly a positive and nostalgic picture of the Prague Spring. The extra supplements of print media as well as the radio and TV specials about the events of 1968 brought to light previously unpublished facts and documents about the Prague Spring and the Soviet-led invasion. Havel told Czech Broadcasting Radio that "this week-long resistance of the general public and the entire society against the occupation in August 1968, the absolutely united resistance, was a remarkable phenomenon." Havel stressed that "the Prague Spring had a great international importance" and "unmasked the totalitarian nature of the system." Havel Records Talks in Lany with Zeman Prime Minister Milos Zeman visited President Vaclav Havel August 25 in the Central Military Hospital in Prague. They recorded the radio talk show Talks in Lany (Hovory v Lanech), to be broadcast by the Praha radio station August 29. Zeman is probably the very first politician allowed to visit the president, because doctors have prohibited Havel from receiving visits because of the danger of infection. Boris Stastny, a member of president's medical team, said August 24 on TV Prima that Havel will stay in the hospital at least two more weeks. Doctors do not object so far to the president's scheduled trips. Havel is to visit the United States in September and the United Kingdom in October. Secret Cabinet Document Leaked by Media Personnel shuffles in government offices was the hottest topic in the Czech media during last two weeks. The issue came to a head with the publication of an August 5 secret Cabinet resolution that laid down the rules for recalling and appointing officials in companies where the state has an ownership interest. Prime Minister Milos Zeman and Deputy Prime Minister Pavel Rychetsky confirmed the authenticity of the document on the August 25 TV NOVA evening news, although they refused to comment on it. On the one hand, the existence of the document is proof that the government is going to realize its program statement, according to which the government is going "to grasp firmly the administration of the remaining state shares in companies." On the other hand, the Czech media could find no explanation why the resolution was classified "secret" and presented it as a guideline for purges to clear well-paid positions for Social Democrat supporters. In contrary to the media, Rychetsky claimed August 26 in the daily MF DNES that the Cabinet's document and it secrecy were aimed against nepotism, because the resolution asked for consultation of any appointments made by ministries with the Cabinet's deputy prime ministers. According to Rychetsky, the resolution is a defense "against some of ministers, not allowing them to promote their proteges. I am just concerned about (Trade Minister Miroslav) Gregr not putting his own people there. And (Finance Minister Ivo) Svoboda - as it turns out - has had a similar tendency. The Government is not informed who is appointed where," said Rychetsky. After deadline: The government decided to declassify the resolution at its August 26 meeting. ODS Draws Concludes from Forensic Audit The Civic Democratic Party (ODS) Executive Council approved August 17 conclusions about the findings of a forensic audit concerning ODS financing. The Executive Council apologized to all party members and ODS supporters for improper past financing. "These blunders arose mostly from inexperience," the ODS conclusion said. The remedy should be ensured by changes in the filing of donor contributions and membership fees. Moreover, ODS is going to reorganize its economic department. However, in spite of the indisputable evidence of illegal accounting and the hiding of donors, ODS did not make any personnel changes which would show responsibility for the scandal which caused the split of the government coalition in November. The audit mentions the names of 24 persons, of which 18 have left the ODS offices. Clean Hands - Do They Have a Chance? The Czech media expressed doubts about whether the Social Democrats' Clean Hands Operation will be realized as promised before the election, after Supreme Control Office (Nejvyssi kontrolni urad NKU) president Lubomir Volenik criticized the Cabinet's idea of the NKU verifying all privatization cases, according to the daily MF DNES August 22. A few days before, Deputy Prime Minister Pavel Rychetsky called for the amendment of two acts - the District Attorneys Act and the Supreme Control Office Act - which would make the Clean Hands project possible. However, after a meeting with Volenik, Rychetsky also expressed skepticism about the possibilities of examining records in suspicious privatization cases. Rychetsky said that from the legal point of view privatization is not possible to investigate. According to Rychetsky, Clean Hands would concentrate namely on direct-sale privatizations from the period of former Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus' government. "Most of the privatizations using the direct sale method, which means the privatizations organized by government, do not have any basic documentation, because the tape recordings of cabinet meetings were erased by mistake, and written records of cabinet meetings are reduced into one-sentence information," said Rychetsky, whose findings are conform to the opinion of Vladimir Mlynar, the minister in former Prime Minister Josef Tosovsky's government who prepared materials about privatization who said August 24 that the materials could have been tampered with. No Agreement on RFE/RL Broadcasting for Iraq? American ambassador to the Czech Republic Jenonne Walker told the daily Pravo August 26 that Washington still has not sent any instructions to request the Czech government officially for permission to start Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) broadcasting from Prague to Iraq. On the other hand, the RFE/RL broadcasting in Farsi to Iran was already discussed with former Prime Minister Josef Tosovsky's Government. Meanwhile, information about the security risk this broadcasting could pose for Prague appeared in the press. The Iran and Iraq departments should be situated in a separate villa away from the RFE/RL headquarters in the former Federal Assembly next to the top of Wenceslas Square. Walker said the safety of the buildings is secured by RFE/RL without the assistance of Czech authorities. Iraq and Iran have already officially protested against the planned broadcasting. The new Czech government has not adopted a position on the issue yet. NEWS IN BRIEF Otto Wichterle, a famed Czech chemist scientist who invented the material for soft contact lenses, died August 18 in Prague at the age of 84. He was the owner of about 150 patents and published more than 200 scholarly pieces. ECONOMY Russian Turmoil Shall Not Endanger Czech Economy While the Russian financial crisis has been threatening currency stability in neighboring states and some Central European countries, the Czech crown is surprisingly holding its own. In spite of some fluctuation caused by movements on other financial markets, the Czech crown maintained its exchange rate of approximately 18.50 Czech crowns per deutschmark. The fact that the meltdown in Russia is not directly endangering the Czech economy is regarded by analysts as proof of the extent to which the Czech economy has been able during the last eight years to break free from its former dominant economic partner. IPB Would Like to Merge with Czech Insurance Company Negotiations about merging the Investment and Postal Bank (IPB) with the Czech Insurance Company (CP) have been held in London by representatives of Nomura, IPB and the PPF investment group, which is closely connected to CP, the biggest Czech insurance company with 60 per cent of the market, according to the daily Pravo's August 25 edition. The merger of IPB and the Czech Insurance Company would create the strongest financial entity in the Czech Republic. Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid August 27) country currency ----------------------------------- Australia 1 AUD 19.217 Belgium 100 BEF 89.850 Great Britain 1 GBP 54.697 Denmark 1 DKK 4.867 ECU 1 XEU 36.595 Finland 1 FIM 6.093 France 1 FRF 5.530 Ireland 1 IEP 46.490 Italy 1000 ITL 18.786 Japan 100 JPY 23.062 Canada 1 CAD 21.520 Luxembourg 100 LUF 89.850 IMF 1 XDR 44.253 Hungary 100 HUF 14.744 Netherlands 1 NLG 16.434 Norway 1 NOK 4.190 New Zealand 1 NZD 16.485 Poland 1 PLN 8.915 Portugal 100 PTE 18.102 Austria 1 ATS 2.634 Greece 100 GRD 10.799 Germany 1 DEM 18.530 Slovakia 100 SKK 93.822 Slovenia 100 SIT 19.685 Spain 100 ESP 21.833 Sweden 1 SEK 4.003 Switzerland 1 CHF 22.232 USA 1 USD 33.388 CULTURE Rolling Stones in Prague for Third Time The Rolling Stones rocked Prague for the third time, playing August in the Sport Hall at the Prague Fairgrounds. The band's first performance here took place in Prague's Strahov Stadium in front of some 100,000 viewers eight years ago. Despite the expensive tickets, ranging from 990 crowns to 4,990 crowns - the concert in the Sport Hall was almost sold-out, with attendance of about 12,000 people. Immediately after the concert the band left for Berlin. Evita Replaces Jesus Christ Superstar The first performance of the famous musical Evita took place at the Spirala Theater August 25, although the gala premiere was going to come four days later, August 29. Evita is presented by director Petr Novotny's company, Musical, which had produced the successful musical Jesus Christ Superstar in the same theater for four years with nearly 1,300 performances. Novotny said he hopes that the staging cost of 19 million crowns will be returned in one year. After Lucie Bila did not accept the offer to perform Evita, two young and promising singers - Radka Fisarova and Tereza Sloukova - will alternate in the main role. SPORT Czech Republic Wins Three Medals in Track and Field Championships The well-represented Czech Republic won three medals in the track and field European Championships in Budapest August 18-23. Although specialists consider the result a success, it failed to meet expectations. A gold medal is missing in the haul, although Sarka Kasparkova almost could not have been closer. World champion Kasparkova finished two centimeters behind Greece's Vasdeki. Kasparkova was not satisfied: "I am disappointed, it perhaps was not me today. It looked like it was a body without a head." Helena Fuchsova added another silver in the 400 meters. With a final time of 50.21 seconds, she trailed only Breuer of Germany. "I had written all the times and positions from heat to final on a small piece of paper. For final I had written gold, but silver is not bad, is it?" Pole-vault European record holder Daniela Bartova returned home without a medal. In the qualification round she had only one successful attempt (400 centimeters) and did not advance to the final. A fifth place in the 4x400-meter relay was also among the positives of the women's team. The Czech men earned a bronze thanks to Lukas Vydra in the 800 meters. He lost to Germany's Schumann in the finish, but with a time of 1:45.23 minutes he defeated world record holder Kipketer of Denmark. "When I watch the TV recording, maybe I'll be angry at myself, but now I am happy," he said. Decathlete Tomas Dvorak, hampered by injuries, finished fifth with 8,506 points. "It was not a mistake to participate here, I defeated Sebrle and remained the number-one Czech." Roman Sebrle was sixth, 29 points behind Dvorak. Results of the Czech athletes: Men: Finals: 3. Vydra (800m), 5. Dvorak, 6. Sebrle (both decathlon), 7. Muzik (400m hurdles), 7. relay 4x400m, 10. Malina (discus), 12. T. Janku (high jump), 18. Holusa (50km walk), 21. Malysa (20km walk), Pesava did not finish (10,000m). Semifinals: Podebradsky (400m), relay 4x100m. Heats: Krsek and Bohman (100m), Morkes (200m), Stejfa (400m). Qualifications: Kovar (long jump), Maska a Sedlacek (hammer throw), Kuntos (triple jump), J. Janku (high jump). Women - finals: 2. Kasparkova (triple jump), 2. Fuchsova (400m), 5. relay 4x400m, 7. Suldesova (1,500m), 8. Suchovska (200m), 11. Kovacikova (high jump), 12. Nekolna (septathlon), 12. Hamackova (pole vault). Semifinals: Burianova (400m), Formanova (800m). Heats: Vostatkova (100m), Benesova and Vostatkova (200m), Novotna (100m hurdles). Qualifications: Tomeckova (javelin), Bartova (pole vault), Silhava (discus). Soccer Players Beat Denmark, 1998 World Cup Quarterfinalist After an esthetically wonting performance the Czech Republic defeated Denmark 1-0 in a preparation match in Prague August 19. The Danes advanced this year to the quarterfinal in the World Cup in France. The match was affected by an early goal, scored by Karel Rada's header after Cizek's corner in the eighth minute. Good play continued only for the next 30 minutes. After the break, the level of play declined and the Czech Republic kept the lead. Result of the under-21 played in Prague-Zbraslav August 17: Czech Republic - Denmark 0-5. Sparta Stops Itself on Way to Champions League The successful performance in the first match in Kiev, where Sparta Praha defeated Dinamo 1-0, determined Sparta's strategy for the rematch. It concentrated on defense and eliminated the Ukrainians' combination. Both teams had no scoring chance for 80 minutes, but then Sparta fell victim to its own caution. Kiev chalked up a goal in the 88th minute, scored by Sparta's Gabriel after Shevchenko's shot. After the goal-less extra time, the game was decided by penalty shots. Kiev won 3-1 and advanced to the Champions League, while Sparta will play in the UEFA Cup. Two other Czech teams also advanced to the UEFA Cup. Slavia Praha profited from a 4-0 win in the first match, losing after poor play and goalkeeper Stejskal's mistakes 0-2 to Inter Bratislava. Slavia's Kucera hit the bar after 30 minutes of play. Olomouc performed much more better in Scottish Kilmarnock. It led 2-0 after 20 minutes, when Heinz and Mucha scored, and advanced easily. Sparta Loses Three-Goal Lead in Drnovice in Soccer League The third round of the soccer league brought bad results for teams participating in European Cups. While Olomouc lost, Slavia and Sparta each won a point. Sparta led in Drnovice 4-1, but wound up in a tie. Sparta's Siegl and Drnovice's Tuma scored hat-tricks. Zizkov was down 0-2 in Liberec, but after two players were sent off it scored and after another red card it tied the score with eight players on the field. After his contract in the English Premier League club Newcastle was terminated, national team goalkeeper Pavel Srnicek returned to Banik Ostrava and recorded his first shutout, in Teplice. Results from the 3rd round: Drnovice - Sparta Praha 4-4, Slavia Praha - Brno 1-1, Plzen - Olomouc 1-0, Liberec - Zizkov 2-2, Karvina - Hradec Kralove 1-1, Blsany - Dukla 1-0, Opava - Jablonec 2-1, Teplice - Ostrava 0-0. Standings: 1. Sparta Praha 7, 2. Drnovice 7, 3.-5. Olomouc , Blsany and Opava 6, 6. Ostrava 5, 7. Liberec 5, 8. Hradec Kralove 4, 9. Zizkov 4, 10. Teplice 4, 11. Slavia Praha 4, 12. Karvina 4, 13. Plzen 3, 14. Brno 1, 15. Jablonec 0, 16. Dukla 0. Great Successes in White Water Canoeing European Championships The Czech national team won seven medals in the Roudnice nad Labem channel, where the white water canoeing European Championships took place. Only Slovakia was better. David Jancar won the gold in the single canoe category, defeating two Olympic champions - silver medalist Martikan of Slovakia and Czech bronze medalist Lukas Pollert. Medals for Czech athletes: Individuals: C-1: 1st Jancar, 3rd Pollert. C-2: 2nd Volf and Stepanek. Women K-1: 2nd Hilgertova. Teams: C-2: 1st men, K-1: 1st women, 2nd men. SPORTS IN BRIEF * Just as soccer team Sparta Praha was sold to Slovak owners, the best Czech ice hockey team is now in Slovak hands. Bratislava's Harvard Investing Company purchased Vsetin. Juraj Siroky became president of the HC Slovnaft Vsetin, as the four-time defending champion will be called. Siroky also heads the Slovak Hockey Union and the Slovak champion Slovan Bratislava. * The McLaren formula one team introduced itself to Czech fans in Prague and Most August 20 with both its drivers, Finland's Hakinen and Scotland's Coulthard. * Czech rider Jaroslav Hules did not finish the Czech Republic Grand Prix in Brno August 23 after mechanical problems. Winners: 125cc: Melandri (Italy, Honda), 250 cc: Harada (Japan, Aprilia), 500cc: Biaggi (Italy, Honda). * Czech soccer players started well in foreign leagues: Kuka scored twice in Nuremberg, while Poborsky of Benfica Lisbon and Smicer of Lens each scored once. * Czech volleyball players recorded excellent results in the European League, defeating Olympic champions the Netherlands 3-0. This issue of Carolina was translated by Denisa Vitkova, Mirek Langer and Milan Smid, and edited by Michael Bluhm. We apologize for the delay in releasing this issue and hope it will still be of some value to our readers. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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!