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@mbox.fsv.cuni.cz tel: (+4202) 22112252, fax: (+4202) 24810987 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* C A R O L I N A No 308, Friday, November 13, 1998. FROM EVENTS OF THE LAST WEEK (November 4 - November 11) FOREIGN AFFAIRS Czech Republic Criticized by European Union The European Union (EU) November 10 initiated official membership talks with countries chosen for the first wave of expansion, on the heels of the November 4 European Commission (EC) report on the Czech Republic's readiness for joining the EU. Brussels warned that the stagnation in preparation must end, or the Czech Republic might not make the 2003 deadline to become an EU member. EU lead negotiator Nikolaus van der Pas said, "In Prague, there is a conflict between a good intentions and the determined time frame." The EC says the Czech Republic needs to improve problems with minorities (primarily Romanies), its ineffective judicial system, the fight against corruption, finish the privatization of banks, improve the protection of private industrial and intellectual property, agriculture and the restructuring of companies. The biggest problem is the macroeconomic situation. There is no economic growth, rising unemployment and pitifully little foreign investment (because of ineffective capital market supervision). What the EC found positive is that Parliament and central state institutions operate well, the market economy functions, there is low inflation and export are rising. Politicians had a variety of reactions to the criticism. President Vaclav Havel said to Czech Television: "It is a very serious warning and I also somewhat understand it psychologically as the price for our pride." Prime Minister Milos Zeman blamed the government of former Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus for the problems and said his government is ready to speed up its preparation for joining the EU. Klaus, now chairman of Parliament's Chamber of Deputies, said, "It is the conscious policy of European officials. In some countries there is a strong campaign against expansion. Officials should not accuse the government of any state." Pavlina Hodkova/Jakub Jirovec New Era in Slovakia - Havel Warmly Welcomed in Bratislava President Vaclav Havel and his wife Dagmar visited Bratislava November 7. Although it was not a state visit, Havel met Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda, former President Michal Kovac and others. Havel said he appreciated the changes Slovakia has undergone since general elections in September, and promised support for the new government and generosity in resolving property issues. He proposed resuming cooperation among the Visegrad Four of Slovakia, Hungary, Poland and the Czech Republic. The beginning of the new cooperation could be a presidential summit which, Havel suggested, could take place in Bratislava next spring. Since the Czech Republic and Slovakia are closer than the other countries, their leaders expect intensification of cooperation and support concerning EU and NATO membership. Havel was invited by four non-governmental organizations. He said he valued their significance, and appealed to the Czech Republic to be inspired by Slovakia in this area. It is worth noting that the visit took place on the anniversary of the death of Alexander Dubcek, who died after an automobile accident November 7, 1992. The atmosphere surrounding the presidential pair's visit to Bratislava, including their walk through the city center, was probably a very pleasant surprise, and not only for Havel. He said Slovakia today reminded him of November 1989, the time of the Velvet Revolution. "There is a special atmosphere of hope," he said. Petra Machova/Denisa Vitkova Looking for a Way to Show Helmut Zilk His File Former Vienna Mayor Helmut Zilk, who was removed at the last minute from the list of those to be honored by President Vaclav Havel because of suspicions of collaboration with the Communist secret police, is coming to Prague. The president had originally invited him to look into his file as kept by the former State Security (StB). However, according to Interior Minister Vaclav Grulich, Zilk cannot see his file because he is a foreigner, and Havel does not have to see the file because it is not his. The whole affair is being looked into by special commission, which is trying to find a legal resolution. The exact date of Zilk's visit has not yet been determined. Marketa Lajdova/Petr Novy NEWS IN BRIEF * New Slovak Defense Minister Pavol Kanis discussed in Prague November 4 Czech-Slovak relations and Slovakia's membership in Euro-Atlantic structures. He also delivered the Slovak Prime Minister's invitation for Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman to visit Slovakia November 23. Veronica Macias/Denisa Vitkova * Czech government representative for human rights and minorities Petr Uhl discussed in Bratislava November 6 with Slovak Vice Premier Palo Csaky dual citizenship and the position of the Czech minority in Slovakia and the Slovak minority in the Czech Republic. Sasa Jokic/Denisa Vitkova * The new German government will force companies which profited from forced labor during World War II to indemnify those laborers, said German Secretary of State Gunter Verheugen after meeting Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kavan in Prague. Jan Mates/Jakub Jirovec * Iran Foreign Minister Kamal Charrazi said that there is no need for Iran to maintain diplomatic relations with the Czech Republic, according to the CTK press agency, which quoted the Iranian daily Abrar. His statement was another reaction to the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty broadcasts to Iraq and Iran from Prague, after the recall of the Iranian ambassador to Prague (see Carolina 307). Pavel Novotny/Milan Smid DOMESTIC SCENE Cabinet Passes Budget with Deficit of 31 Billion Crowns Prime Minister Milos Zeman's minority government approved the final version of the 1999 budget proposal at its cabinet meeting the night of November 7. The second version of the bill plans for a deficit of 31 billion crowns with revenues of 574.1 billion crowns and expenditures of 605.1 billion crowns. Whether the Social Democrats' draft is going to be passed is still unsure, although its chances are getting better in spite of the fact that the second draft has increased the proposed deficit by 4.2 billion crowns. While the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and the Freedom Union (US) resolutely reject any future support for the draft, the Communists (KSCM) have already made public their support for the bill, the decisive role was left to the Christian Democrats (KDU-CSL). The Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak Peoples Party does not rule out that it will vote for the bill, citing the pro-growth nature of the budget draft. The Chamber of Deputies is going to start debate on the budget November 24. Michaela Prokopova/Michaela Prokopova Election Campaign Enters Last Phase The coming date of the Senate and local elections November 13-14 did somewhat stir the stagnant atmosphere of the election campaign. The Civic Democratic Party (ODS) was the target of much criticism for its tactics. Critics primarily reproach ODS for breaking the Construction Act by illegally placing its disputed megaboard on Prague's Letna Plain, while some also point out that ODS' slogan We Think Differently is similar to the motto of Apple Computers, a potential breach of copyright laws. Some speculate ODS did not respect the law when using portraits of Prime Minister Milos Zeman (Social Democrat, CSSD) and Jan Ruml (Freedom Union, US) in its campaign materials. The two politicians will not press charges, during a TV Prima talk show Ruml said, "a negative advertisment is also an advertisment." The opening of the fourth part of Prague's B subway line could be a good move for the ODS campaign. Prague Mayor and ODS Senate candidate Jan Koukal made the opening official November 8. Nevertheless, Koukal has not yet found the money to complete the stops of Hloubetin and CKD. Koukal's rival, Christian Democrat Martin Bursik, renamed the Hloubetin station after Koukal and cut a symbolic black ribbon. The architects are said to have done a good job on the newly opened stops of Cerny Most, Vysocanska and Rajska Zahrada. Tomas Kohout, Alena Smrzova/Sofia Karakeva FROM SLOVAKIA Dzurinda in Brussels New Slovak Premier Mikulas Dzurinda met NATO General Secretary NATO Javier Solana November 5 at the end of his stay in Brussels. He visited the European Parliament and talked with Parliament Chairman Jose Maria Gil-Robles and other members of Parliament. The impression made by his trip was said to be positive, observers agree the new government is opening doors to the West. Dzurinda said to Solana that he is aware that Slovakia is falling behind in integration to western structures. On the other hand, Dzurinda expressed his expectation that NATO's April summit will consider Slovakia in a more positive light. The Slovak government, Dzurinda said, is decided to do a great deal to that end. Pavel Sladky/Michaela Prokopova Government Abolishes Some Visas, Supports Direct Presidential Election Slovak ministers November 4 agreed on direct presidential election, thus keeping their campaign promise, and at the same time they assured Rudolf Schuster, chairman of the Civic Understanding Party (SOP), of their support. The election date has not been set, next February looks most probable. Even though former Premier Vladimir Meciar will not run as candidate for the Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), the situation is not simple. The conservative wing of the Slovak Democratic Coalition (SDK) is hesitant to support Schuster, the former mayor of Kosice, because of his former post in the Central Commitee of the Communist Party of Slovakia. The same day the government abolished visa requirements for citizens of Great Britain and Ireland. The visa requirement was one of the former government's last measures, taken as revenge for the visa requirement introduced for Slovaks by the British. The government also promised to give priority to resolving the Romany (Gypsy) question, as Belgium is threatening visa requirements because of the presence of emigrants refused by Great Britain. Lenka Ludvikova/Jan Martinek ECONOMY Unemployment in the Czech Republic Did Not Rise in October The unemployment rate in the Czech Republic remained at the same level in October as in September. At the end of October, 350,000 unemployed people were registered, making for a 6.8-per-cent unemployment rate. According to some experts, the situation has been influenced by the fact that many drop-outs and graduates found jobs after the summer holidays. At the same time the seasonal jobs in construction and agriculture are continuing, so a stagnant rate of unemployment is rather typical for October. The highest increase in unemployment was recorded in the capital city of Prague, which does, however, retain the lowest unemployment rate overall, with 2 per cent. On the other hand, the highest unemployment rate continues to be reported from the district of Most, with an October rate of 15.2 per cent. Jan Moravek/Milan Smid Czech Republic's Rating Lowered Renowned international rating agency Standard and Poor's November 5 lowered the Czech Republic's rating from A to A-. The rating expresses a subject's credit reliability. At the same time, the agency also lowered the ratings of Commerce Bank (Komercni banka), the Czech Savings Bank (Ceska sporitelna), the Czechoslovak Trade Bank (Ceskoslovenska obchodni banka) and SPT Telecom. "It is unpleasant and has concrete economic consequences. Access to loan sources will be more difficult and the price higher," the daily Hospodarske noviny quotes the Czech National Bank (Ceska narodni banka) spokesman Martin Svehla. Immediately after announcing the new rating, the Czech crown weakened slightly. Jan Moravek/Denisa Vitkova Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid November 13) country currency --------------------------------- Australia 1 AUD 18.855 Belgium 100 BEF 86.128 Great Britain 1 GBP 49.668 Denmark 1 DKK 4.674 ECU 1 XEU 34.946 Finland 1 FIM 5.840 France 1 FRF 5.298 Ireland 1 IEP 44.202 Italy 1000 ITL 17.957 Japan 100 JPY 24.300 Canada 1 CAD 19.340 Luxemburg 100 LUF 86.128 IMF 1 XDR 41.546 Hungary 100 HUF 13.692 Netherlands 1 NLG 15.758 Norway 1 NOK 3.992 New Zealand 1 NZD 15.862 Poland 1 PLN 8.685 Portugal 100 PTE 17.331 Austria 1 ATS 2.525 Greece 100 GRD 10.577 Germany 1 DEM 17.765 Slovakia 100 SKK 82.098 Slovenia 100 SIT 18.472 Spain 100 ESP 20.892 Sweden 1 SEK 3.731 Switzerland 1 CHF 21.549 USA 1 USD 29.921 CULTURE Czech Comedy of the Century Award The 1982 Czech family film With You I Enjoy the World (S tebou me bavi svet), written and directed by Alena Polednakova, was declared the best Czech comedy of the century. The awards ceremony took place in Prague's Lucerna Palace and was broadcast live by Czech Television. The voting was done by phone during the program. The Oscar-winning comedy Kolya finished second, and the Czech version of Cinderella (Tri orisky pro Popelku) earned third place. The movies were nominated by the readers of Television Weekly. The readers chose from 651 movies made since 1931. According to screenwriter Pavel Taussig, the preference for family entertainment reflects the "taste of the mass." The best comedy of each decade advanced to the semifinal. Those were, apart from the three winners above, Eva Makes Trouble (Eva tropi hlouposti), Train Station Master (Prednosta stanice), Caesar's Baker and the Baker's Caesar (Cisaruv pekar a Pekaruv cisar) and Madly Sad Princess (Silene smutna princezna). Lucerna was crowded with Czech celebrities, such as Fan Vavrincova, screenwriter of Eva Makes Trouble (1939), Zita Kabatova, the screen partner of Vlasta Burian and Adolf Branald, writer and doyen of Czech actors. At the end he said, "Comedy is the princess of Czech cinematography, which reflects us like a mirror. I wish comedy would always smile and be kind." Instead of broadcasting With You I Enjoy the World, Czech Television presented another movie by Alena Polednakova, How to Pull a Whale's Back Tooth (Jak vytrhnout velrybe stolicku), because Czech Television does not have the rights to the winner - TV NOVA bought them. TV NOVA offered to swap the rights of the winner for the rights to Kolya, but Czech Television refused. The winner will crown TV NOVA's New Year's Eve programming. Zuzana Galova/Zuzana Janeckova Miroslav Hornicek's 80th Birthday Miroslav Hornicek has reached the age of 80. He is not only one of the most significant actors in Czech theater and cinematography but also a director, writer and artist. The celebration took place on the stage of Prague's ABC Theater. This was the scene of his and Jan Werich's famed performances during the 50's and 60's. Many people took part in the celebration, including actor and writer Jiri Suchy, actor Jiri Sovak, actor Vlastimil Brodsky and Culture Minister Pavel Dostal. Hornicek and Werich became part of Czech theater history thanks to their plays Rag Ballad (Balada z hadru) and Heavy Barbara (Tezka Barbora), while Hornicek also starred in the television series Once There Were Two Clerks (Byli jednou dva pisari), H Talks (Hovory H) and Kinoautomat, directed by Vladimir Svitacek. Petr Kupec/Zuzana Janeckova Minor Theater Belongs to Puppets The eighth-annual Czech professional and amateur festival of puppet theaters, traditionally called One Flew over the Puppeteer's Nest, was held in Prague's Minor Theater November 6-8. Eight Czech troupes and the German group Fundus, which brought in a Saxon marionette historical circus, performed. The festival peaked with the opening night of the performance of Three Golden Hairs of Grandfather Know-It-All (Tri zlate vlasy Deda Vseveda) performed by the Dragon Theater (Divadlo Drak) from Hradec Kralove. This performance was also awarded with the festival's main prize - the Erik, named after Czech theater mag Erik Kolar. Other objects of interest were performances by first- and second-year students of the School of Puppets and Alternative Theater of the Theater Arts Academy of Prague. Katerina Kolarova/Katerina Kolarova Bartoska to Run Karlovy Vary Film Festival for Five More Years The upcoming five years of the biggest Czech film festival, the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, will be organized by actor Jiri Bartoska's Film Service agency. After more than one month of negotiations, Karlovy Vary Mayor Josef Pavel signed a contract with the agency November 5. The city will control the use of finances. The budget for next year is about 80 million crowns. "Including inflation of about 10 per cent, the budget is comparable to last year's," Bartoska said and added he would demand the state finance one-quarter of the festival this year and more in future years. Marketa Kaclova/Mirek Langer SPORTS Karjala Cup: Czech Hockey Players Finish without Win Again The second event of the Euro Hockey Tour, the Karjala Cup, finished in Helsinki November 8. The Czech national team finished in third place behind Finland and Russia. It did not win a single match and so prolonged the streak of games without a win to six. The Czech Republic is third in the Euro Hockey Tour standings, led by Finland. The use of two referees was an interesting experiment. Russia rejected it and thus only one referee supervised its matches. The innovation did bring more penalties. The Czech team met Sweden November 5. After a hopeful beginning, when it led 2-0 (Radek Martinek and Pavel Patera scored), Anders Soderberg replied shortly before the first break. Goalies Roman Cechmanek and Johan Hedberg starred in the scoreless second period. The heightened Swedish pressure at the beginning of the third period caused many Czech penalties and Jan Larsson tied on a power-play goal. The 2-2 score did not change, Viktor Ujcik did hit the bar. The first 10 minutes were fatal for the Czech Republic in the game against host Finland November 7. Finland scored thrice during two minutes. Coaches substituted goalkeeper Jaroslav Kames with the more experienced Cechmanek. David Vyborny and Jan Srdinko evened out the scoring before the end of the first period, and after the break Tomas Kucharcik tied it at 3-3. Finland took the lead again on a power play and in the 37th minute Marko Tuomainen closed the match's scoring at 5-3. The Czech Republic played its last match, against Russia, November 8. Kames returned to the goal and guarded it successfully until the 16th minute, when Alexey Kudashov scored. Russia increased its lead in the second period with Vladimir Samylin's power-play goal. The Czechs did not give up and their struggle paid off with Kucharcik's and Martin Prochazka's goals in the last 10 minutes. Though Prochazka was near to a winning goal just five seconds before the end, the match finished in a 2-2 tie. Alena Smrzova and Tomas Kohout/Mirek Langer Siegl's Hat Trick Moves Sparta to Top of Soccer League Standings Sparta Praha's 5-0 win over Viktoria Zizkov in the 12th round mixed up the standings of the Gambrinus Soccer League. After a long layoff, forward Horst Siegl starred - he scored three goals and moved into first place in the scorers' standings. FK Teplice kept its unbeaten streak away from home alive thanks to Marian Rizek's goal in a thriller in Opava, which tied the game at 3. Teplice fell to second place, but still has one game to play. FC Karvina defeated last-place Dukla Pribram 2-0 and the loss was fatal for coach Josef Csaplar, who became the fifth coach fired this season. Jiri Kotrba, who started the autumn season in Jablonec, will replace him. In the first game between the league's smallest towns, Petra Drnovice defeated Chmel Blsany. Results of the 12th round: Karvina - Pribram 2-0, Opava - Teplice 3-3, Plzen - Ostrava 1-1, Olomouc - Jablonec 3-1, Hradec Kralove - Brno 1-0, Liberec - Slavia 1-1, Drnovice - Blsany 2-0, Sparta - Zizkov 5-0. Standings: 1. Sparta 24, 2. Teplice 24, 3. Olomouc 23, 4. Drnovice 22, 5. Blsany 19, 6. Slavia 18, 7. Opava 18, 8. Ostrava 16, 9. Hradec Kralove 15, 10. Zizkov 14, 11. Liberec 13, 12. Plzen 12, 13. Karvina 10, 14. Jablonec 8, 15. Brno 7, 16. Pribram 6. Vladimir Vorechovsky and Josef Koukolicek/Mirek Langer Staropramen Extraleague: Milos Holan's Comeback After a short break, the Staropramen hockey Extraleague got on with an incomplete 19th round. Hockey players from Opava had success, defeating Kladno in a match of teams from the lower regions of the standings with their first win at home since the beginning of the season. Jihlava ended its string of bad results on their rivals' ice, winning in Pilsen 2:1 and ending Pilsen's home winning streak. Ceske Budejovice tied 2:2 with league leader Vsetin, but could not come to terms with former player Libor Zabransky, who had returned from an unsuccessful engagement in the NHL - Zabransky wound up signing with Vsetin. Zlin had a fine performance in a battle with Trinec, as third-place Zlin overtook second-place Trinec by a score of 7:2. Slavia Praha played in Vitkovice in the most celebratory match of the round, as defender Milos Holan signed a contract with Vitkovice before the game started. Holan did not play and Vitkovice lost 1:4. Holan, former defenseman for the NHL's Anaheim Mighty Ducks, has nearly realized his dream of returning to professional hockey after his bout with leukemia. Holan will be a symbolic salary of one crown, because he cannot play for money, according to the conditions of the American insurance policy compensating him for the premature end of his professional career. Results of the 19th round: Ceske Budejovice - Vsetin 2-2, Litvinov - Pardubice 1-4, Zlin - Trinec 7-2, Plzen - Jihlava 1-2, Vitkovice - Slavia 1-4, Opava - Kladno 4-3. The match between Karlovy Vary and Sparta Praha was postponed to November 17 because of Sparta's participation in the European Hockey League. Standings: 1. Vsetin 27, 2. Zlin 25, 3. Trinec 25, 4. Ceske Budejovice 22, 5. Plzen 22, 6. Slavia 20, 7. Sparta 19, 8. Karlovy Vary 19, 9. Pardubice 19, 10. Vitkovice 17, 11. Litvinov 15, 12. Opava 12, 13. Kladno 11, 14. Jihlava 9. Stepan Etrych/Petr Novy SPORTS IN BRIEF * National soccer team coach Jozef Chovanec released the squad for the upcoming exhibition match against England in Wembley Stadium in London November 18. After being left off the team for some matches, goalkeeper Petr Kouba and defenders Lubos Kozel, Jiri Novotny and Martin Kotulek are returning to the team, while Jan Suchoparek, Karel Rada and Tomas Postulka are missing. * Sparta Praha soccer club prezident Alexander Rezes confirmed he was looking for a strategic partner to buy about 30 per cent of the club. Rezes denied speculation about the sale of the club's majority. * Pavel Nedved, Czech soccer national team and Lazio Rome player, is the only Czech player among the 50 candidates for the Golden Ball, warded to the best European player each year. Josef Masopust won the Ball in 1962. * Sparta Praha hockey players defeated Switzerland's Fribourg 6-2 in the European Hockey League and lead the standings of group E after five matches without losing a point. * Dominik Hasek won his 157th match in a Buffalo Sabres jersey against the Boston Bruins and broke another club record, passing predecessor Don Edwards' record. "Yeah, I read it in the newspapers a few days ago," said Hasek, nicknamed the Dominator. * Kovopetrol Plzen's men handball players lost their first match in the Champions League to Celje Pivovarna Lasko 21-27 (halftime 9-10). Josef Koukolicek, Stepan Etrych, Petr Novy and Petr Wilfer/Mirek Langer WEATHER The weather is not playing fair with us. You really can't say how the weather is, because it changes every minute. It rains, the sun shines and then it rains again. In the morning the thermometer shows 4 degrees Celsius/39 degrees Fahrenheit and it rises to around 10 degrees Celsius/50 degrees Fahrenheit during the day. Over the weekend the celestial meteorologists enticed us with sunny and warm weather, so I nearly started to look forward to the work week. Everyday reality turned out to be very ordinary, sometimes stormy. Perhaps it would have been better if it had snowed here in the lowlands as it did in the Czech mountains. Marketa Lajdova/Katerina Kolarova 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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