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 364, Friday, February 25, 2000. FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (February 16 - February 23) Militant Nationalists Support Haider with Nazi Salute A rally of ultra-right and ultra-nationalist groups the National Alliance, Patriotic Front and the National Resistance, apparently linked to the neo-Nazi and skinheads movement, took place February 19 on Wenceslas Square in Prague. On the same day the largest demonstration since WWII was held in Vienna with almost a quarter-million people protesting against the threat of a return of Nazism embodied by Joerg Haider. Although the Prague 1 District Office did not permit the rally, citing reasonable suspicions that laws would be violated, about 100 of Haider's admirers met at the statue of St. Wenceslas. Police gave them 20 minutes to disperse, demonstrators filled that time for speeches, chants and the Nazi salute of the raised right arm. David Machacek, vice chairman of the Patriotic Front, spoke in his interview with the press not only about Haider, but also about the Chechnya crisis: "As you can see, the Slavonic barrier in the east is still protecting Europe from a flood of Muslim terrorists and fundamentalists. We wish the Russian soldiers many more victories and successes." He emphasized that he was not supporting Haider's program but expressing his deep concern with the reactions of the EU, USA and particularly Israel and other "lying humanists." After 20 minutes the skinheads ended the demonstration. The police did not arrest those making the Nazi salute, although it is a criminal act in the Czech Republic. "Every action of the national right does not have to be successful. If the failure of the latest action is a reason for thought about the improvement of the activity of the National Alliance and the entire national-socialist scene, then it was worthwhile," said Jan Brcak, one of the leaders of the National Resistance. A demonstration of about 50 people organized by left-wing activists was divided from the skinheads by a police cordon with dogs. Marek Uhlir and Jakub Trnka/Ondrej Maly Deputies Pass Veterans' Compensation Act The Veterans' Compensation Act passed by the Chamber of Deputies February 22 awaits the president's signature. Deputies approved the bill with small changes after it was returned by the Senate. The law, signed by President Vaclav Havel after Carolina's deadline, means every citizen of the Czech Republic who fought between 1939-1945 in foreign Allied armies longer than one year will have the right for compensation of 120,000 crowns. The amount increases by 1,000 crowns for every additional month in arms. Those who fought less than one year but longer than three months will have the right to 60,000 crowns. According to the the records of the Czechoslovak Legionnaires' Community, there are about 3,500 veterans in the Czech Republic. The veterans' community has voiced complaints about delays in approving compensation, saying many veterans have died since the law was proposed. Their words were confirmed by the death two weeks ago of Jan Stursa, longtime chairman of the Legionnaires. Pavel Novotny/Darina Johanidesova Kwasniewski Visits Prague and Brno Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski and his wife Jolanta arrived in the Czech Republic February 22 for the first time. He talked with Czech President Vaclav Havel at Prague Castle, where they agreed bilateral relations were satisfactory in the political and economic arenas. They said, however, that cultural and interpersonal relations could improve. They said the Czech Republic and Poland have the same opportunity to join the European Union by the year 2002. Kwasnieski emphasized that the countries were not competing in any way. They praised the revival of the Visegrad Four (voluntary cooperation between the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia). Slovenia and Ukraine have asked to join the group. Kwasniewski met the chairs of both legislative, Vaclav Klaus (Chamber of Deputies) and Libuse Benesova (Senate). He also visited the Charles Bridge and the Old Town Hall in Prague. Jolanta Kwasniewski visited Prague Castle and the exhibit Birth of the Metropolis (Zrozeni metropole) in the Municipal House (Obecni dum), and with Czech first lady Dagmar Havlova visited the foundations Visions 97 (Vize 97) and Barriers (Bariery). Gabriela Bobkova/Veronika Hankusova New Charles University Rector Inaugurated Nuclear physicist Ivan Wilhelm took on the mantle of the rector of Charles University from the hands of predecessor Karel Maly February 17 in the Great Hall of the Carolinum in Prague. By taking the oath and accepting the symbols of the position's rights and responsibilities (the seal, the mace, the key and the medallion) he entered the office to which he was elected by the Academic Senate October 22. Present at the ceremony were Chamber of Deputies Chairman Vaclav Klaus, Education Minister Eduard Zeman, academic officials from Czech and Slovak universities, politicians and diplomats. Pavel Novotny/Darina Johanidesova Havel Grants Pobuda Amnesty President Vaclav Havel February 18 commuted the prison sentence of 19-year-old Stanislav Pobuda, who had begun serving his four-year sentence in the Oracov Prison. Pobuda sold 18 marijuana cigarettes to three of his friends, one of whom was under 15 (see Carolina 362). Eleven people, Pobuda's parents among them, formally requested Havel grant amnesty. The amnesty seekers said Pobuda's punishment did not correspond to his crime, said Havel's spokesman Ladislav Spacek. Pobuda had spent seven months in jail during the investigation and trial, and had served 15 days in prison. "Mr. President believes the punishment was unnecessarily harsh. Moreover, he had spent seven months in jail and it was a young man with no criminal record," said Spacek. Gabriela Bobkova/Jakub Jirovec FOREIGN AFFAIRS Havel Applauded by European Deputies Czech President Vaclav Havel addressed the European Parliament in Strasbourg with a 40-minute speech February 16. The deputies' most lively reactions came to his proposal of a European constitution. Havel mentioned the idea in March in the French Senate and has been pondering it since 1994, according to the Czech daily Lidove noviny. Havel said he would envision it as a document that schoolchildren could identify with. European Parliament Chairwoman Nicole Fontaine said she is also working for a constitution and the idea is also supported by Robert Fitzhenry, chairman of the strongest party in the Parliament - the conservative European People's Party. Havel also drew a positive response with his words that evil must be confronted at its first appearance without waiting for its palpable manifestations. He told the press later that "it was important that the EU react to the situation in Austria right now." Havel offered arguments for establishing a European army. He said the conflicts in Bosnia and Kosovo showed Europe's inability to act without the assistance of the USA or a mandate from the United Nations. "Europe cannot be dependent on the US forever," he said. The deputies agreed with his words. Since its establishment the Parliament has been pushing for the creation of a unit for rapid deployment consisting of 60,000 men. Havel's vision of a second chamber for European Parliament did not fare well with most of the deputies. Fontaine, Fitzhenry and socialist Rose Moers said they do not approve of the European Senate at this time. They said they fear a duplication of powers. Martin Rusek/Simon Dominik Zeman Satisfied with Visit to France Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman met his French opposite Lionel Jospin and French President Jacques Chirac during his two-day visit to France February 22-23. Both French politicians expressed their support for Czech efforts to join the EU in 2003. Czech Environment Minister Milos Kuzvart said he was pleased with the French interest in Czech trees to replace those at Versailles damaged by December storms. Petra Kovacova/Simon Dominik Czech Christian Democrats Visit Wolfgang Schuessel in Vienna The Austrian People's Party promised to support the Czech Republic in its integration into the European Union at the February 18 meeting between Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel and a delegation from the Czech Republic's Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party (KDU-CSL) that included Chairman Jan Kasal, Vice Chairman Cyril Svoboda and Vilem Holan. Prime Minister Milos Zeman said he does not approve of the trip. "I consider Mr. Kasal's visit at the very least politically awkward," said Zeman. He said that if the Christian Democrats regard themselves as a European party they should not violate the Czech Republic's boycott of Austrian government personnel. Vladimir Mlynar, vice chairman of the Freedom Union - the Christian Democrats' partner in the Four-Party Coalition along with the Civic Democratic Alliance (ODA) and the Democratic Union, would not comment on the trip. ODA Vice Chairman Michael Zantovsky said he was surprised by the visit to Austria. "That's something we did not discuss," he said to the daily Lidove noviny. On the contrary, the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) praised Kasal's initiative. Jaroslav Zverina, ODS member and chairman of the Chamber of Deputies' Committee for European Integration told Lidove noviny that "the opinion prevails that we should not curse the Austrian People's Party, but that on the contrary they deserve support." Martin Rusek/Simon Dominik FROM SLOVAKIA Slovak Opposition Has Started The Campaign for The Early Elections The opposition Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) started collecting signatures on a petition to hold a referendum on early general elections. To hold a referendum, at least 350,000 signatures have to be collected and the text of the referendum cannot contradict the Constitution. President Rudolf Schuster, after consultation with his lawyers, said a referendum on early elections is constitutional. HZDS Chairman and former Premier Vladimir Meciar said he appreciated the president's position, which shows he is willing to make political compromises. Schuster was widely criticized for announcing his position before the petition was submitted. Premier Mikulas Dzurinda, on the other hand, said the referndum was only in the interest of HZDS and the president had unfortunately joined their game. About 55,000 people signed the petition in the first two days. Alzbeta Trousilova/Daniela Vrbova FROM SLOVAKIA IN BRIEF * Representatives of the city of Zilina February 17 to honor Jozef Tiso, president of the World-War-II Nazi puppet state of Slovakia later executed for his collaboration. Slovak anti-Fascists denounced the move. Director of the government's Department for Human Rights and Minorities requested the decision be investigated by the Attorney General's Office. A memorial plaque with a portrait of Tiso is to be placed on the Catholic House in Zilina, where Slovakia's independence was declared March 14, 1939. Alzbeta Trousilova/Daniela Vrbova ECONOMY Kuzvart Approves Highway through Czech Midlands, Ecologists Appeal Construction of the Prague-Dresden D8 highway, which stopped at Lovosice in front of the protected nature reserve of the Czech Midlands, will continue. Environment Minister Milos Kuzvart at a meeting with other ministers February 18 abandoned his proposal to build the highway through a 3.5 kilometer/two-mile tunnel, and agreed with the Transportation Ministry's project, which will mean building along the Midlands with two short tunnels. Kuzvart, whose ministry is the only one able give an exception and permit building the highway through a protected area, stipulated the construction cannot unnecessarily affect the landscape or the migration of wildlife. The construction has been stopped because of the controversy over where to run the route in the most economic and yet environmentally friendly manner. The ministers also promised truck traffic on D8 would be limited and replaced by railroad and water traffic. Transport Minister Antonin Peltram said after the meeting that construction of the remaining, approximate 40-per-cent of the Czech section of the D8 could start by the end of the year and be completed within five years. Environmental organizations have objected to the decision. Representatives of the Children of the Earth movement say the project violates laws on environmental protection, because the exception is not based on a public interest greater than that of environmental preservation. The environmentalists continue to propagate their plan to divert the highway around the Czech Midlands through Louny and Most. Jan Skala/Denisa Vitkova Microsoft Introduces Windows 2000 in Czech Republic Microsoft introduced the new version of its operating system Windows 2000 on the Czech market February 22, five days after its official premiere in San Francisco. The introduction took place in the fairgrounds in Prague's Letnany neighborhood and was broadcast on the Internet at msn.atlas.cz. Ondrej Maly/Veronika Hankusova Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid February 25) -------------------------------------------------------------- 1 EUR = 35.640 country currency CZK ------------------------------------------ Australia 1 AUD 22.119 Great Britain 1 GBP 57.202 Denmark 1 DKK 4.786 Japan 100 JPY 32.122 Canada 1 CAD 24.440 IMF 1 XDR 48.202 Hungary 100 HUF 13.881 Norway 1 NOK 4.376 New Zealand 1 NZD 17.395 Poland 1 PLN 8.763 Greece 100 GRD 10.673 Slovakia 100 SKK 84.485 Slovenia 100 SIT 17.645 Sweden 1 SEK 4.161 Switzerland 1 CHF 22.127 USA 1 USD 35.719 Exchange Rates of countries participating in the euro (converted from the euro rate) country currency CZK ----------------------------------------- Germany 1 DEM 18.222 Belgium 100 BEF 88.349 Finland 1 FIM 5.994 France 1 FRF 5.433 Ireland 1 IEP 45.253 Italy 1000 ITL 18.407 Luxemburg 100 LUF 88.349 Netherlands 1 NLG 16.173 Portugal 100 PTE 17.777 Austria 1 ATS 2.590 Spain 100 ESP 21.420 CULTURE Return of the Idiot Nominated for 11 Czech Lions The leading Czech film awards - the Czech Lion - announced their nominees February 21. Director Sasa Gedeon's movie Return of the Idiot (Navrat idiota) received 11 nominations. Its biggest rival is director Jan Hrebejk's Cozy Nests (Pelisky), which received six nominations in the main categories. Hrebejk and Gedeon were nominated in the director's category together with Karel Kachyna for Hanele. Actor Karel Rodin was nominated in the best actor category for his role in the drama Chicken Melancholic (Kure melancholik), along with Pavel Liska in Return of the Idiot and Jiri Kodet in Cozy Nests. Tereza Brodska was nominated in the leading female category for her role in Double Role (Dvojrole), Tatiana Vilhemova for Return of the Idiot and Eva Holubova for Cozy Nests. The members of the film academy also proclaimed Shakespeare in Love the best foreign movie and gave the special Stuffed Lion prize, awarded to the worst Czech movie of the year, to Not to Fear and Steal...... Michal Pospisil/Zuzana Janeckova SPORTS Soccer League Continues after Winter Break The season's first-half champion Slavia traveled to Ostrava and continued its winning ways. Ostrava played tentatively, unable to put anything together, while Slavia attacked. Tomas Dosek opened the scoring, then the 30-meter blast by Ivo Ulich just under the crossbar continued the Slavia exhibition. Ostrava's play improved after substitute Marek Postulka came on the pitch, but he managed only to avoid a shutout, as the match finished 1-3. Second-place Sparta (with new players Pavel Hapal, Roman Lengyel and goalkeeper Jaromir Blazek) then had to win over Opava. In the first half, the players seemed hung over from their loss in the Czech Cup. However, Hapal and Josef Obajdin scored before the end of the half and Sparta then played better soccer. Libor Sionko found the corner of the goal from 25 meters and Vratislav Lokvenc closed the scoring. Brno (with their new name FC Stavo Artikel Brno) hosted Drnovice, which led after 30 minutes 2-0. Brno then turned up the pressure and with Petr Krivanek's and Martin Zboncak's goals tied the score. However, Brno's good luck ran out at the end of the game, as Pavel Pergl's goal in the 90th minute let Drnovice take three points home. Results of the 17th round: Ostrava - Slavia Praha 1-3, Liberec - Pribram 0-0, Brno - Drnovice 2-3, Sparta Praha - Opava 4-0, Teplice - Jablonec 2-0, Hradec Kralove - Blsany 1-1, Ceske Budejovice - Zizkov 1-0, Bohemians Praha - Olomouc 1-3. Standings: 1. Slavia Praha 43, 2. Sparta Praha 39, 3. Drnovice 30, 4. Bohemians Praha 24, 5. Teplice 24, 6. Ceske Budejovice 24, 7. Liberec 22, 8. Ostrava 21, 9. Pribram 21, 10. Blsany 21, 11. Brno 19, 12. Olomouc 18, 13. Opava 17, 14. Jablonec 16, 15. Hradec Kralove 15, 16. Zizkov 14. Dita Kristanova/Mirek Langer Sparta Rules Hockey Extraleague Sparta players refuse to leave first place in the standings and maintain their seven-point lead on Vsetin, with two games to play. The fight for eighth place - the last place to qualify for the playoffs - turned in the 46th round after Znojmo lost at home to Ceske Budejovice 1-4. That left eighth place to Pardubice, which won on another playoffs contender's ice in Karlovy Vary. Kladno's win over Trinec produced a change in last place of the standings. Because Sparta hammered Havirov and Vitkovice lost to Plzen, Kladno jumped to 12th place. The game between Plzen and Vitkovice was the 480th league game of Plzen defender Ivan Vlcek. He moved into third place for all-time games played ahead of Vladimir Ruzicka, who retired from Slavia Praha recently. Results of the 44th round: Plzen - Slavia Praha 0-0, Kladno - Vitkovice 4-2, Karlovy Vary - Zlin 3-3, Znojmo - Trinec 4-5, Vsetin - Pardubice 7-3, Havirov - Ceske Budejovice 1-4, Sparta Praha - Litvinov 1-1. Results of the 45th round: Ceske Budejovice - Vsetin 2-1, Pardubice - Znojmo 6-3, Trinec - Karlovy Vary 4-2, Zlin - Kladno 5-2, Vitkovice - Slavia Praha 2-2, Litvinov - Havirov 6-3, Sparta Praha - Plzen 6-1. Results of the 46th round: Znojmo - Ceske Budejovice 1-4, Vsetin - Litvinov 3-0, Havirov - Sparta Praha 2-5, Zlin - Slavia Praha 2-0, Plzen - Vitkovice 4-2, Kladno - Trinec 4-2, Karlovy Vary - Pardubice 3-5. Standings: 1. Sparta Praha 65, 2. Vsetin 58, 3. Zlin 56, 4. Plzen 56, 5. Ceske Budejovice 54, 6. Trinec 53, 7. Litvinov 50, 8. Pardubice 39, 9. Znojmo 39, 10. Karlovy Vary 36, 11. Slavia Praha 36, 12. Kladno 33, 13. Havirov 32, 14. Vitkovice 31. Jaroslav Sauer/Mirek Langer SPORTS IN BRIEF * The Czech basketball men team met Slovakia in two exhibition matches February 19-20. The Czechs won 60-58 in the first game in Nymburk. In the rematch in Prague, Slovakia avenged the defeat with a 72-70 win. * The NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins lost to Tampa Bay 1-2 with new coach Ivan Hlinka, the former coach of the Czech national hockey team. Forward Jaromir Jagr was injured in the game and will be out for a month. * The Czech national under-21 soccer team played in Ireland February 22; after losing 0-1 at halftime, it came back on goals by Tomas Dosek and Milan Baros and won 2-1. Dita Kristanova and Jaroslav Sauer/Mirek Langer After deadline: Ireland - Czech Republic 3-2. Exhibition soccer match, February 23. Both Czech goals were scored by Jan Koller. WEATHER An old Czech saying claims a white February strengthens the fields (Unor bily, pole sili). If the proverb holds, we can expect strong and fertile fields and a good harvest this summer. Unfortunately, last week's snow brought white only to highlands in the countryside. The city of Prague experienced ordinary, nasty rain every day and aggravating drizzle. The daily temperatures ranged from 0-8 degrees Celsius/32-46 degrees Fahrenheit. The first vendors of spring flowers have appeared in Prague's streets. English version edited by Michael Bluhm. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- This news may be published only with attribution to CAROLINA. Subscription is free. Comments and remarks are appreciated. 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