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 ISSN 121-5040 tel: (+4202) 22112252, fax: (+4202) 22112219 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* C A R O L I N A No 371, Friday, April 14, 2000. FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (April 5 - April 12) Deputies Pass Agreement of Division of Former Federal Property The conflict with Slovakia concerning the division of the property of the former Czechoslovakia has ended. The Czech Chamber of Deputies April 6 passed the agreement on the final division signed last November by Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman and Slovak Premier Mikulas Dzurinda. The document has yet to be passed in the Senate and signed by the president. The Czech Republic proclaimed in the agreement it would give up its claim against Slovakia for 25.8 billion crowns (claimed by the Czech National Bank against the National Bank of Slovakia) and will hand over 4.5 tons of gold coins that had been held because of the claim. The Slovaks will then pay the symbolic price of one crown and will transfer their share in the Czech Commerce Bank (Komercni banka). The Slovak National Property Fund will receive shares of the Slovak General Loan Bank (Vseobecna uverova banka). Slovakia will lose about 2 billion Czech crowns in the transfer (see Carolina 354). Jakub Tronicek/Veronika Hankusova, Ondrej Maly Kohinoor Miners Continue Underground Strike Miners from the brown-coal Kohinoor mine in Marianske Radcice in the Most region continue the underground strike begun March 31. That day, 28 miners refused to return to the surface and were joined by all employees of the mine except management and company officers. The miners want the owner, the Most Coal Company (Mostecka uhelna spolecnost), to start negotiations on the sale of the mine and want to end the strike when a final agreement will be signed. Deputy Prime Minister and Labor Minister Vladimir Spidla and Health Minister Bohumil Fiser talked to the striking miners April 10, but refused to comment on the talks. The spouses of the striking miners presented a letter to the County Office Executive Petr Weiss and County Labor Office Director Jana Mejcova, requesting the government to deal with the problems of the miners. The government, however, refused, saying the matter is the problem of a private company. The only company seriously considering buying the Kohinoor mine is SHD-Peel, owned by mine employee Ladislav Pleticha. However, SHD-Peel has raised concerns because of its lack of capital and lack of experience in the business. It is also said the company only wants to get access to some of the 600 million crowns the government promised to provide for the de-activation of the mine. Pleticha categorically denies the speculation and says his company can return the mine to profitability. Jakub Trnka/Ondrej Maly Deputies Cannot Interfere with Decisions of Local Authorities The Chamber of Deputies had no right to annul the decision of local authorities of Nestemice (a district of Usti nad Labem), according to an April 5 finding of the Constitutional Court. Deputies banned the building of a wall in Maticni Street which was to divide the public apartment housing inhabited mostly by Romanies from other houses inhabited mostly by the whites. The Constitutional Court April 5 proclaimed the legal provision allowing Parliament to intervene was a violation of a Constitution and abolished it. Until now, the Chamber of Deputies (as successor to the Czech National Council extant in the former Czechoslovakia) could interfere with decisions of local authorities. The question of the fence in Maticni Street was discussed among the judges April 12. The court's decision has no influence on the case and can be considered only as a precedent. The wall in Maticni Street was dismantled in November and the Usti nad Labem City Hall was given 10 million crowns by the to purchase the houses of Maticni residents who initiated the creation of the wall. Martin Rusek/Veronika Hankusova, Ondrej Maly New Vice Chairpersons for Social Democrats The Social Democrats' (CSSD) Central Executive Committee elected at its April 9 session in Hradec Kralove two new vice chairpersons: Jitka Kupcova, 48, a lawyer from Southern Bohemia, and Stanislav Gross, 30, the newly appointed interior minister. While Gross replaced Zdenek Skromach, who in a quid pro quo filled Gross' former position as chairman of the party's Parliamentary Club, Kupcova succeeds party apostate Petra Buzkova, who announced her resignation already in January in connection with her disapproval of amendments to the Opposition Contract between the Social Democrats (CSSD) and the Civic Democratic Party (ODS, see Carolina 360). In his address to party officials, party Chairman and Prime Minister Milos Zeman complimented the work of his minority Cabinet, which has - according to Zeman - successfully realized 60 per cent of its program declaration. To show appreciation for the favorable conclusion of the court case over ownership of party headquarters, former Finance Minister Ivo Svoboda and his advisor Barbora Snopkova, both accused of fraud in a separate matter, were presented awards by Zeman. Deputy Michal Kraus made the biggest splash at the meeting with his criticism of Zeman; Kraus printed the speech and later distributed it among journalists. Kraus primarily criticized Zeman's leadership style, his use of profanity and insults. Lenka Ludvikova/Milan Smid Amnesty International and CIA Criticize Czech Human Rights Violations According to reports from Amnesty International and the CIA, racial violence and trade with prostitutes are the most aggravated cases of human rights violations and official indifference to them in the Czech Republic. In its regular report Concerns in Europe, July-December 1999, Amnesty International criticized the lax, if not racist, approach of the police and the state to violence against Romanies. The report is available on the Publication Index at www.amnesty.org. The CIA indicated in its report the Czech Republic is one of the countries from which women are smuggled to the US and forced into prostitution. The Czech police spokesperson cast doubt on the report and said it was not credible, because the police does not have any information about such criminal activity. Marek Uhlir/Darina Johanidesova NEWS IN BRIEF * Former Czech Television General Director Jakub Puchalsky started his new job April 1. He became editor of the political section of the weekly Sunday News (Nedelni noviny) and assistant editor-in-chief. He resigned his post at Czech Television in January after he lost the support of the Czech Television Council. David Mirejovsky/Darina Johanidesova FROM SLOVAKIA Sixth Country in Two Years Slaps Visas on Slovaks The Kingdom of Belgium April 6 decided to introduce a temporary visa requirement for Slovak citizens, valid from April 13. The reason is the increased number of Slovak applicants for asylum, most of whom are Romanies. Belgian offices recorded 54 applications in January, 70 in February, 191 in March and 51 in the first days of April. Belgian Interior Minister Antoin Bequesnes said the visa requirement will be cancelled after a sustained decline in applications. Juraj Hrabko, general director of the Human Rights and Minorities Section of the Government Office, reacted by resigning from his position. Bela Bugar, chairman of the Slovak Hungarian Coalition (SMK), which nominated Hrabko for the position, said the problem lies in the EU's immigration policy. Asylum applicants take advantage of liberal asylum laws in Western countries, where they are entitled to receive relatively generous state support while they wait for their applications to be accepted or rejected (applicants in Belgium receive about 30,000 CZK per month). Slovak Foreign Minister Eduard Kukan said "the government is doing what it can" but could not resolve problems with Romanies after 18 months in office. The new series of visa requirements for Slovakia started in 1998, when Great Britain and then Ireland instituted the measure. Last year, Finland, Norway and Denmark followed suit. Finland and Norway cancelled the requirement after four months but, one month later, Norway re-introduced the requirement. This year, Finland introduced six-months visas and Belgium changed their asylum strategy, reducing the waiting period for processing an application from 90 days to 30 days; Belgium has also begun deporting Slovak Romanies. Andrea Slovakova/Daniela Vrbova FROM SLOVAKIA IN BRIEF * Opposition political parties April 11 proposed a vote of no confidence in the government of Premier Mikulas Dzurinda. The opposition Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) and the ultra-nationalist Slovak National Party (SNS) said the reasons for calling the vote are increasing unemployment, the weakening of the Slovak crown, disputes in the governing coalition and the low number of bills proposed by the Cabinet. Coalition politicians call the proposed vote a "theatrical gesture." The vote should be taken April 13 and has virtually no chance to succeed, because a simple majority in the 150-seat Slovak National Assembly would be necessary and the opposition has 56 seats. Andrea Slovakova/Daniela Vrbova ECONOMY Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid April 14) -------------------------------------------------------------- 1 EUR = 36.490 country currency CZK ------------------------------------------ Australia 1 AUD 22.806 Great Britain 1 GBP 60.580 Denmark 1 DKK 4.897 Japan 100 JPY 36.022 Canada 1 CAD 26.059 IMF 1 XDR 51.185 Hungary 100 HUF 14.137 Norway 1 NOK 4.472 New Zealand 1 NZD 19.012 Poland 1 PLN 9.152 Greece 100 GRD 10.890 Slovakia 100 SKK 87.859 Slovenia 100 SIT 17.823 Sweden 1 SEK 4.399 Switzerland 1 CHF 23.150 USA 1 USD 38.112 Exchange Rates of countries participating in the euro (converted from the euro rate) country currency CZK ----------------------------------------- Germany 1 DEM 18.657 Belgium 100 BEF 90.456 Finland 1 FIM 6.137 France 1 FRF 5.563 Ireland 1 IEP 46.333 Italy 1000 ITL 18.846 Luxemburg 100 LUF 90.456 Netherlands 1 NLG 16.558 Portugal 100 PTE 18.201 Austria 1 ATS 2.652 Spain 100 ESP 21.931 CULTURE Prague Writers' Festival 2000 Dedicated to Jaroslav Seifert The 10th annual Prague Writers' Festival opened April 9. The festival features readings, debates and autograph sessions with writers William Styron, Susan Sontag, Margaret Atwood, Ian McEwan and Josef Skvorecky. Using the motto "The most beautiful of all gods is love," festival organizers decided to dedicate this year's festival to Czech poet Jaroslav Seifert, who would have celebrated his 99th birthday this year and is the only Czech to win the Nobel Prize for Literature (1984). Seifert's poetry was on the program on the festival's opening day in the Viola Theater. Organizers reserve each festival day for one literary theme, with this year's specialities including contemporary American, British, Canadian and Greek literature. The Czech Republic will be represented by Michal Ajvaz, Petr Borkovec and Odillo Stradicky. In addition, Israeli writer Aharon Appelfeld will present his book Delusions, and Chinese poet Bei Dao, now residing in the US, will read from his work. Festival sponsor the British daily The Guardian organized a debate April 10 called Searching for Liberal Europe, in which Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger and its journalists Hugo Young, Jonathan Freedland or John Vidal took part. The festival's events are being held in Studio Ypsilon and The Globe Bookstore and are broadcast live on the Internet at www.pwf.globalone.cz. The Prague Writers' Festival runs till April 15. Pavel Novotny/Denisa Vitkova Loners Come to Cinema As part of the Pilsen (Plzen) film festival The Finale, the writer-director tandem of Petr Zelenka-David Ondricek presented their new film Loners (Samotari). Both young filmmakers tend toward the current trend in "independent" European film rather than the style of the legendary Czechoslovak New Wave of the 1960's, Ondricek in his debut film Whisper (Septej), Zelenka as the writer and director of his debut Buttoners (Knoflikari). Loners is in the same mold: the patchwork story of seven young people unable to build sincere, lasting relationships, could be set in any metropolis. The film stars professional and amateur actors, and is accompanied by the music of Jan P. Muchow. The lead roles are played by Jitka Schneiderova, Ivan Trojan, Labina Mitevska, Jiri Machacek, Mikulas Kren, Tatiana Vilhelmova and Hana Maciuchova. The Finale festival runs in four theaters, and all 19 films made in the Czech Republic last year are being shown. The festival's competition ends April 14 with the announcement of the festival award-winners, while the weekend will be devoted to 10 films from French director Bertrand Blier. Jaroslav Sauer/Denisa Vitkova Alfred Radok Prizes Awarded The Klicpera Theater (Klicperovo divadlo) in Hradec Kralove April 9 hosted the ceremony where the Alfred Radok Prizes were awarded for the best theater performances of 1999. Fifty-three theater critics voted in a poll organized by the magazine World and Theater (Svet a divadlo). The main prize, the golden laurel, was awarded for the fourth time to director Jan Antonin Pitinsky. He won this year's prize for his staging of Thomas Bernhard's The Thespian in Prague's Theater on the Balustrade (Divadlo na zabradli). The other winners received ceramics eggs made by Ales Lamer. The Alfred Radok Prize was awarded to: Theater of the Year - Klicpera Theater (Klicperovo divadlo), Best Female Actor - Pavla Tomicova (Marysa - Klicpera Theater) Best Male Actor - Martin Huba (Bruscon in The Thespian - Theater on the Balustrade) Best Music - Pavel Sykora (Marysa - Klicpera Theater) Best Set - Daniel Dvorak (the opera Bubu from Montparnasse - the Prague State Opera). A secret ballot decided on a monetary awards for the best new plays. First prize was not awarded, and second and third prizes were each split between a Czech and a Slovak; second prize to Jozef Gombar (Slovak) and Martin Hortoscak, third prize to Vladimir Mores (Slovak) and Miroslav Oscatko. Alzbeta Trousilova/Milan Smid SPORTS Czech Tennis Players Lead Americans Briefly, But Lose The Czech tennis players met the American "Dream Team" in the Davis Cup quarterfinals in Los Angeles April 7-9, and the underdog Czechs almost shocked the world. They won the first match and then led 2-1 after doubles, but in the end they lost 2-3. Jiri Novak came up with the performance of his life and hammered Pete Sampras 7-6, 6-3 and 6-2. The United States then leveled the score after Slava Dosedel lost to Andre Agassi. The doubles match April 8 again saw fortune smile on the Czechs as Novak and David Rikl defeated the world's top team of Alex O'Brien and Jared Palmer. The Czechs were just short of a miracle: they had to win one of the April 9 singles matches. Novak could not repeat perfection and succumbed to Agassi 3-6, 3-6, 1-6. Dosedel was not good enough for Sampras (4-6, 4-6, 6-7). "Agassi and Sampras are the greatest tennis players ever and we forced them to use all their strength. No other team in the world could have played better here," said Czech team captain Jan Kukal. Jaroslav Sauer/Mirek Langer Hockey Extraleague: Sparta Takes Two Steps toward Title After the first two games of the best-of-five hockey extraleague finals, Vsetin fans are nervous, Sparta's relaxed and the rest of the hockey nation got caught up in a great spectacle and dramatic play. Sparta won both home games and leads the series 2-0, while the Vsetin colossus, which has won the last five titles, faces a two-game deficit for the first time ever. The first game, played April 9, was nearly even. Vsetin scored the first goal, but Sparta tied the score within a minute. Richard Zemlicka, whose line scored all of Sparta's goals, gave his team the lead, but Radek Belohlav erased it with a clever finish on an individual attack. Jiri Zelenka's goal in the 42nd minute decided the game. Vsetin pulled its goalie, but ex-Vsetin forward Michal Bros made them pay with his empty-net goal. The second game April 10 was different. "Today there was only one team on the ice - Sparta; we fell apart," said Vsetin assistant Miroslav Venkrbec. Sparta won 4-0 with three goals scored on power plays. Goalkeeper Petr Briza recorded a shutout, the second Sparta line (and Zemlicka in particular) was unstoppable, as 13,788 spectators enjoyed the game and did the wave. Results of the final series: Sparta - Vsetin 4-2 (0-0, 2-2, 2-0), Sparta - Vsetin 4-0 (1-0, 2-0, 1-0). Sparta leads the series 2-0. Darina Johanidesova/Mirek Langer After deadline: Sparta defeated Vsetin in the third game of the series April 13, giving them their first title in seven years. Result of the third game: Vsetin - Sparta 0-1 (0-0, 0-0, 0-1, goal scored by David Vyborny). Soccer League: Slavia Loses First Game, Sparta One Point behind Slavia Praha, the leader of the soccer league, unexpectedly lost at Viktoria Zizkov April 7. Slavia started off sluggishly and Zizkov, struggling to avoiding dropping out of the premier league, fought hard and in the 37th minute their Jiri Sabou opened the scoring. Slavia managed to level the score after the break on Pavel Horvath's goal, but it was helpless against the opponent's next attack. After Ludek Straceny's corner kick, Kennedy Chihuri jumped for the ball against goalkeeper Radek Cerny, who deflected it into his own net. In the 80th minute Ales Pikl added a third goal on an individual attack and Slavia lost 1-3, its first defeat in 25 games. Slavia's loss helped Sparta Praha, which had to defeat Banik Ostrava to move closer to the top of the standings. Sparta's Tomas Rosicky played well in the match, as the 21-year-old youngster blew by Ostrava defenders several times, but goalkeeper Martin Raska managed to save his shots. After the break Rosicky's center-pass found Horst Siegl's head, and the ball found its way into the net, giving the lead to Sparta. Rosicky's shot from a free kick sealed the game, Sparta took three important points. Results of the 24th round: Zizkov - Slavia Praha 3-1, Sparta Praha - Ostrava 2-0, Drnovice - Olomouc 1-0, Opava - Blsany 0-0, Dukla Pribram - Brno 1-2, Jablonec - Liberec 0-0, Teplice - Hradec Kralove 1-1, Ceske Budejovice - Bohemians Praha 1-2. Standings: 1. Slavia Praha 61, 2. Sparta Praha 60, 3. Drnovice 43, 4. Bohemians Praha 34, 5. Teplice 32, 6. Brno 32, 7. Blsany 31, 8. Liberec 29, 9. Zizkov 28, 10. Ostrava 27, 11. Dukla Pribram 27, 12. Ceske Budejovice 27, 13. Olomouc 26, 14. Opava 24, 15. Hradec Kralove 20, 16. Jablonec 20. Dita Kristanova/Mirek Langer SPORTS IN BRIEF * Frantisek Stastny, 72, legendary Czech motorcycle racer, died April 8. During his career he won four World Championship races. Together with driver Karel Loprais, he won the Czech Republic Autoclub poll as the top Czech automobile and motorcycle racers of the century. * Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jaromir Jagr won the Art Ross Trophy as the top scorer in the NHL for the fourth time. In 63 games, he scored 42 goals and added 54 assists, for a total of 96 points. He finished ahead of second-place Pavel Bure by two points. Czech-born St. Louis Blues goalkeeper Roman Turek won the William M. Jennings Trophy along with second-string goalie McLennan, because the Blues recorded the lowest number of allowed goals. * The Gambrinus Brno women's basketball team participated in the Final Four of the Euroleague for the first time. After losing to host Ruzomberok of Slovakia (the reigning champion and also this year's winner) in the semifinal, they defeated Dynamo Moscow 76-66 and finished in third place. The tournament took place in Ruzomberok April 4-6. Jaroslav Sauer/Mirek Langer WEATHER The birds are crying and mating in the parks of Prague and their voices offer a sign that spring is here beyond any doubt. The mornings are still mournful in mists and fog, but during the days the silver and gray skies turn from time to time into sunshine, and temperatures of around 10 degrees Celsius/50 degrees Fahrenheit are immediately more bearable. David Mirejovsky 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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