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 THE CZECH REPUBLIC Charles University in Prague Faculty of Social Sciences 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 343, Thursday, August 26, 1999. FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS (August 11 - August 25) Nation Recalls August 1968 and August 1969 Czech media dedicated a great deal of attention in the past week to the anniversaries of the August 20-21, 1968 Soviet-led Warsaw Pact invasion of the former Czechoslovakia, and the demonstrations and repression of August 1969. The recollections focused on 1969, when demonstrators were beaten, imprisoned and killed (the demonstrations claimed five lives) by their own countrymen, in the persons of the army, police and civilian militia. The theme of betrayal was enhanced by television documentaries recounting how special legal measures adopted August 22, 1969 allowing citizens to be held in police custody for three weeks without being charged (known as the nightstick (pendrek) laws) were signed by the leaders of the Prague Spring: Federal Assembly Chairman Alexander Dubcek, Prime Minister Oldrich Cernik and President Ludvik Svoboda. Milan Smid/Michael Bluhm Kosovo Refugees Return Home The first plane filled with Kosovo refugees returning home left the Czech Republic August 14 from the Mosnov Airport near Ostrava. The Czech Republic officially took in 824 refugees during the war in Kosovo, mostly the elderly and women with children and most of whom wish to return to Kosovo. The Czech Foreigners Police gave the refugees the travel documents with possibility to return to the Czech Republic till the end of the year, and the Czech Government gave each refugee 1,000 deutschmarks. The second plane left for Kosovo August 17, and the return of the refugees should continue until September 14. Milan Smid/Michael Bluhm Aid for Turkey Delayed by Faulty Ministry Communication According to the August 23 issue of the daily Lidove noviny, Foreign Minister Jan Kavan admitted that the delay in sending assistance to Turkey earthquake victims was caused by poor communication between ministries. Offers from firefighters and rescue workers from throughout the country delivered to the Foreign Ministry were turned over to the Interior Ministry, which referred the issue to the Defense Ministry. A Civil Guard rescue team from Olomouc with special equipment departed for Turkey August 18 and arrived there August 20, five days after the earthquake disaster. Nevertheless, Czech experts participated in extinguishing the fire at the Tupras oil refinery in Izmit after special materials were transported from Prague to Istanbul by the Fischer Air company. The Defense Ministry transferred part of a field hospital for AFOR troops in Albania to Turkey. Milan Smid/Milan Smid TV NOVA Dispute Continues to Boil The Czech Broadcasting Council (Rada pro rozhlasove a televizni vysilani) did not take any action in the conflict between TV NOVA license-holder CET 21 and its former service company CNTS at the regular council meeting August 17. CET 21, controlled by Vladimir Zelezny, withdrew from its contract with CNTS August 6 after launching broadcasting on its own from the Barrandov film studios one day earlier (see Carolina 342). Both parties submitted to the council reams of documents pertaining to the dispute, but the council claimed it has no jurisdiction in a business dispute and a verdict should be given by a court. Representatives of CET 21 and the American firm CME, which controls CNTS, were invited to attend the next regular council meeting August 31. Fred Klinkhammer, president of CME, August 18 claimed at a press conference in Prague that the council's indecisiveness enables CET 21 owner Zelezny "to steal programs and trademarks for two more weeks." CME majority owner and cosmetics empire heir Ronald Lauder declared August 23 that he will begin international judicial proceedings to defend his property rights against the Czech Republic, which he says breached a US-Czech agreement on investment protection. Milan Smid/Milan Smid ODS 1996 Election Campaign Appears Illegally Financed The daily MF DNES August 13 published a scoop on the illegal financing of the 1996 ODS election campaign (see Carolina 267, 274, 313). According to published documents, the 7.3 million-crown bill for campaign posters and billboards provided by the Helios agency was paid for by Railway Construction Brno (Zeleznicni stavitelstvi Brno, ZSB) and Moravka Centrum. At first, ZSB CEO Michal Stefl admitted that his company paid the bill, but later he recanted his statements, claiming Helios did promotions for his company. There is no direct evidence connecting the money and the construction contracts for building high-speed rail corridors awarded to ZSB by the state railway in 1994-96. However, if ODS did not put the bill for posters and billboards into its campaign accounts, that would be considered tax evasion. ODS election campaign financing is still the subject of police investigation, and the former ODS secretary Ludvik Otta is still in police custody, together with his business partner and friend Milos Behounek. Milan Smid/Milan Smid Lansky Denies Illegality of His Vienna Bank Account Deputy Prime Minister Egon Lansky August 23 rejected charges that he broke the Foreign Currency Act when he opened a personal bank account in Vienna in 1996. In an interview with the Czech daily Pravo, Lansky said the Ministry of Finance and the Czech National Bank were informed about the account, which Lansky established to help his Swedish friend Fritz Hollander. The Finance Ministry paid 290,000 USD to the account after a Paris arbitration court ruled in favor of one of Hollander's companies against a Czech state-owned company. Lansky was a Senator in 1996 and an adviser to then-Chamber of Deputies Chairman Milos Zeman. Milan Smid/Milan Smid Will British Government Require Visas for Czechs? British Home Office representative Lord Bassam said that "if the situation gets out of control," the United Kingdom might introduce visa requirements for Czech citizens. July's 192 Czech asylum-seekers in the UK were more than the average number, even though all applications for asylum submitted this year by Czech Romanies (Gypsies) have been rejected. Bassam told Reuters that the UK does not feel the Romanies are "truly refugees". German border guards at the Rozvadov-Weidhaus crossing August 14 did not allow into Germany a group of Czech Romanies from Prerov travelling by bus to London. They were turned back because they could not show they had the money for a stay in the EU, i.e., 100 deutschmarks per day per person. Altogether the group had 40 British pounds. Milan Smid/Milan Smid NEWS IN BRIEF * The Senate election campaign for Prague's first district (see Carolina 342) closed August 25. Polls say the best chance to fill the seat of the late Vaclav Benda belongs to independent candidate and travel-agency owner Vaclav Fischer. * Anastaz Opasek, abbot of the Benedectine monastery in Brevnov, died August 24. Opasek, who was a monk, priest, poet, political prisoner and exile, died in Bavaria of a heart attack. * The Environment Ministry upheld the decision of Sumava National Park management not give in to the environmentalists who have been trying to stop the cutting of termite-infested trees by chaining themselves to the trees since July. * The king of Olach Romanies, Josef Smolka, died August 18 in Ostrava. The wake and funeral in Opava were attended by more than 500 people, whose cars caused a small traffic jam during the transport of the coffin from Ostrava to Opava. Milan Smid/Milan Smid ECONOMY Privatization to Move More Quickly National Property Fund Chairman Michal Hruby said the fund's presidium August 17 decided to move forward on the sale of the state's shares in 12 firms, including Czech Airlines, Paramo, Northern Bohemian Mines (Severoceske doly), OKD and Czech Radiocommunications. Prime Minister Milos Zeman's Government should decide on the sale of these firms by the end of the year. Faster privatization is supported by Finance Minister Pavel Mertlik and the domestic and foreign investment communities, while Trade Minister Miroslav Gregr is against the plan. Patria Finance estimated that the sale could bring in 60 billion crowns. Pavlina Hodkova/Michael Bluhm Zeman Hints at Reduction of State Employees Prime Minister Milos Zeman August 24 in a radio interview for Radiojournal (Radiozurnal) said that state employees' pay next year can slightly rise only if there are less workers receiving wages. Zeman did not specify any numbers or areas for reduction, saying the reduction would be made only where they did not cause any harm and would lead to increased productivity of remaining workers. Unions for the state's approximately 800,000 employees want a raise of 4.4 per cent (the predicted inflation rate) for next year, while Finance Minister Pavel Mertlik is against such a raise. Zeman's Government had promised to reduce state bureaucracy, but instead the number of bureaucrats has risen since Zeman took office and his Cabinet's first step was to grant state employees a blanket 17-per-cent raise. Pavlina Hodkova/Michael Bluhm Eight Applicants for Third Mobile-Phone License The winner of the tender for the third mobile-phone license will be announced September 30 by Transportation Minister Antonin Peltram, who will receive a recommendation from a selection commission chaired by Czech Telecommunications Office boss David Stadnik. Of the 12 applicants who submitted a 2-million-crown application fee, four elected not to enter the next stage of the tender. Pavlina Hodkova/Michael Bluhm ECONOMY IN BRIEF * Chemapol Group, which was placed in bankruptcy in January, gained another 28.58 per cent of Spolana Neratovice from the Investment and Postal Bank's Bank Holding. Chemapol now controls 48.56 per cent of Spolana. * Miners from Most Coal Company's Koh-i-noor mine in Marianske Radcice staged a one-hour warning strike August 13 against the planned closing of the mine. Pavlina Hodkova/Michael Bluhm Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid August 26) ------------------------------------------------------------ 1 EUR = 36.370 country currency CZK ------------------------------------------ Australia 1 AUD 22.048 Great Britain 1 GBP 55.210 Denmark 1 DKK 4.892 Japan 100 JPY 31.336 Canada 1 CAD 23.331 IMF 1 XDR 47.483 Hungary 100 HUF 14.389 Norway 1 NOK 4.411 New Zealand 1 NZD 18.058 Poland 1 PLN 8.755 Greece 100 GRD 11.144 Slovakia 100 SKK 81.835 Slovenia 100 SIT 18.606 Sweden 1 SEK 4.180 Switzerland 1 CHF 22.712 USA 1 USD 34.830 Exchange Rates of countries participating in the euro (converted from the euro rate) country currency CZK ----------------------------------------- Germany 1 DEM 18.596 Belgium 100 BEF 90.159 Finland 1 FIM 6.117 France 1 FRF 5.545 Ireland 1 IEP 46.180 Italy 1000 ITL 18.784 Luxemburg 100 LUF 90.159 Netherlands 1 NLG 16.504 Portugal 100 PTE 18.141 Austria 1 ATS 2.643 Spain 100 ESP 21.859 CULTURE Havel Attends Trutnov 99 Festival The three-day rock festival in Trutnov August 20-22 was the last of the series of bigger Czech summer music festivals. Some 60 performers of various styles, from underground legend Mejla Hlavsa to jazz big band Kontraband and the gypsy band Tockolotoc participated in the event. Several foreign bands played as well, such as the Portuguese group Moonspell and the festival's headline act, the British quartet Reef. Among the visitors to the festival was President Vaclav Havel, whose country house is nearby and who had attended the festival in the years before 1989. CULTURE IN BRIEF * The 69th amateur theater festival Jiraskuv Hronov closed August 15. Nearly 9,000 spectators attended 40 performances by 26 theater groups, among them amateur troupes from Slovakia and France. * Vaclav Nyvlt, 69, dramaturg and scriptwriter who participated in more than 90 films, among them the most famous adaptations of late novelist Bohumil Hrabal's work, (including director Jiri Menzel's Oscar winner Closely Watched Trains), died August 16. Milan Smid/Milan Smid SPORTS Formanova and Dvorak Win Gold Medals in Track and Field World Championships The Czech Republic can boast of two world champions - Ludmila Formanova in the 800 meters and Tomas Dvorak in the decathlon were victorious in the World Championships in Seville. Formanova finished in 1:56.78, while Dvorak recorded 8744 points. After the first day of the decathlon, Czech athlete Roman Sebrle was seventh, but he had to withdraw in the middle of the sixth discipline with an injury. Hammer thrower Maska, septathlete Nekolna and triple-jumper Kuntos also participated in the finals. National Soccer Team Opens Season with Win over Switzerland The first match for the Czech Republic's soccer team this year ended with a 3-0 victory over Switzerland. The under-21 national team lost an exhibition match in Prostejov to Korea 1-4. Teplice Eliminated in Champions League Qualifying Round, Next Chance in UEFA Cup After Carolina's deadline, Teplice was defeated by Dortmund 0-1 in their Champions League rematch and was eliminated from the competition, having lost the first match 0-1 at home. All teams that lost in the Champions League qualifying round will have another chance to make it into the European Cup's second round in the UEFA Cup. Ostrava Fans Severely Injure Woman after Soccer Match A 35-year-old woman was seriously injured when Ostrava soccer hooligans threw stones at a train coming in from Olomouc, which was to play the Ostrava team. A stone flew threw a window of the train and struck the woman in the head. The Czech Soccer Union reacted by establishing a foundation to crack down on hooligans. A quarter-million crowns has been offered from the foundation for information leading to the capture of the Ostrava fan who injured the woman. Another quarter-million crowns will be donated to the woman by Czech soccer national team members. Results of the third round: Ceske Budejovice - Opava 1-0, Sparta Praha - Jablonec 3-0, Brno - Zizkov 4-2, Liberec - Blsany 1- 1, Bohemians Praha - Drnovice 3-1, Ostrava - Olomouc 2-2, Teplice - Pribram 2-0, Hradec Kralove - Slavia Praha 0-1. Results of the fourth round: Teplice - Sparta 4-2, Opava - Brno 4-1, Zizkov - Bohemians Praha 2-2, Drnovice - Ostrava 1- 0, Jablonec - Ceske Budejovice 2-1, Slavia Praha - Liberec 0-0, Olomouc - Hradec Kralove 2-2, Pribram - Blsany 1-0. Standings: 1. Slavia Praha 10, 2. Ceske Budejovice 7, 3.-4. Teplice a Sparta Praha 7, 5. Pribram 7, 6. Liberec 6, 7. Drnovice 6, 8. Brno 6. 9. Jablonec 6, 10. Opava 5, 11. Bohemians Praha 5, 12. Ostrava 4, 13. Blsany 4, 14. Olomouc 3, 15. Zizkov 2, 16. Hradec Kralove 1. UEFA Cup: Olomouc Brings Tie and Hope Home from Moldova Sigma Olomouc, which has not been playing well in the Czech soccer league, managed a 1:1 tie in its match against Moldavia's Sherif Tiraspol August 12 in Moldavia. The rematch will be played in Olomouc August 26. Sports pages by Mirek Langer/Mirek Langer WEATHER - without rain with daily temperature fluctuating around 20-24 degree Celsius. The summer is still here. English version edited by Michael Bluhm ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This news may be published only with attribution to CAROLINA. Subscription is free. Comments and remarks are appreciated. Please send them to the address: CAROLINA@mbox.fsv.cuni.cz To subscribe to CAROLINA news, send an e-mail message to the address LISTSERV@cesnet.cz The text of the message for subscription to 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, send the following message to the address 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 Carolina by sending the command: SET CAR-ENG NOMAIL All Listserv commands should be sent to the address: LISTSERV@cesnet.cz Please, don't send the commands SUB, SIGNOFF, NOMAIL etc to the address CAR-CS@listserv.cesnet.cz or CAR-ENG@cesnet.cz! Past issues of Carolina are available at the address www.cuni.cz/carolina.