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, fax: (+4202) 22112219 *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-* C A R O L I N A No 392, Friday, November 3, 2000 FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (October 25 - November 1) Havel Presents State Awards President Vaclav Havel honored 38 members of the Czech political, cultural and social scenes with the highest state awards in the Vladislav Hall of Prague Castle on the occasion of the October 28 anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia. The president distributed awards for bravery and merit in protecting democracy and human rights, for developing the state and for saving human life. The highest award, The Order of the White Lion, granted for especially extraordinary service to the state, was given posthumously to air force division General Vilem Stanovsky and to colonel Pravomil L. Raichl. The Tomas Garrigue Masaryk Award for extraordinary defense of democracy and human rights was given to eight individuals: the late former Chairman of the Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's party (KDU-CSL) Josef Lux, to Chairman Emeritus of the Czech Social Democrat Party (CSSD) Jiri Horak and to philosopher Milan Machovec. Four people were given the Medal of Merit, among them actor Radovan Lukavsky, writer Arnost Lustig, painter and artist Theodor Pistek, playwright and dissident Milan Uhde, writer and actor Miroslav Hornicek and journalists Petra Prochazkova and Jaromir Stetina. Four people received the Medal for Bravery. The president grants the awards based on proposals made by a group of deputies, institutions or by individuals. The first post-communist Czech awards were given out in 1995. Ales Borovan/Sofia Karakeva Havel: Citizens Should More Actively Defend Czech Identity In his speech at the presentation of the state awards in Prague Castle October 28 (see above), President Vaclav Havel called on Czech citizens to take a more active attitude in protecting and defending the Czech identity. "The great number of honest citizens who feel responsible for this country and are still proud of it, should, in their own interest, far more sharply stand up to their fellow citizens who in various ways attack everything that represents the positive side of the identity of our society and that which is worth love of country," said Havel. The president was reacting to those who claim Czech society and identity are threatened by external influences, foremost by international institutions such as the EU, NATO, IMF and UN. "I do not think the world is mainly occupied with the question of how to deprive the Czechs of their identity and sovereignty. The type of respect for our uniqueness, the emphasis on its development and the degree to which we decide about ourselves, are determined foremost by us ourslves. It depends only upon us, whether we will close ourselves into the Czech basin between our mountains, whether we will hope that the various gales of this world will, thanks to these mountains and our bowed backs, will avoid us and leave us in peace to take care of ourselves alone. Before us all - and thus before us - there is today one basic dilemma: will we silently overlook the suicidal self-propelled movement of this civilization, or will we become active participants in the care of the worldwide public arena," said Havel. In connection with this Havel criticized the unresolved cases of the tunneling of Czech banks, media aggression, the continuing destruction of the Czech countryside, the degeneration of the Czech mother tongue and the decline of taste. "The blind and considerate-of-nothing pursuit of profit is not a Czech invention and it is immensely contagious, but nobody is forcing it upon us by violence. If all of us really want, and if we will be willing even to express our desire in elections and with the right selections, then we will see that it is in fact the open international society and the mature, democratic culture of our neighbors, friends and allies, that is the most appropriate space to develop our own uniqueness," said Havel at the end of his speech. Ultra-nationalist movements also celebrated the state holiday. Almost 100 extremists participated attended a gathering organized in Prague by the Patriot Front (Vlastenecka fronta). More than 50 anti-fascists demonstrated against them. Sharp speeches were heard during a neo-Nazi rally in Pribram. The demonstration by fascists and their rivals in Ostrava passed without conflict. Ales Borovan, Radim Hladik/Sofia Karakeva Prince Charles Visits the Czech Republic Prince Charles arrived in Prague October 30 - with a delay caused by storms in Britain - for his fourth visit since 1990. The Prince of Wales dealt mainly with activities connected with the Prague Heritage Fund, established by Prince Charles and President Vaclav Havel in 1992. Havel and his wife Dagmar accompanied Prince Charles when he went to see the Ledeburg and Palffy gardens at Prague Castle, which were reopened to the public this year and the restoration of which was financed by the Prague Heritage Fund. During his three-day stay in the Czech Republic, Prince Charles also visited the Military Academy in Vyskov, Moravia, where he met with British military trainers and advisers for Central and Eastern Europe. On the morning of November 1 Prince Charles departed for Slovakia. Dana Zlatohlavkova/Milan Smid Czech and Austrian Leaders Meet on Temelin Power Plant Talks held October 31between Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman and Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel led to an agreement to establish a hotline between the two governments. Schuessel said the flow of information on the status and possible problems of the Temelin nuclear power plant should be improved. He said the major information source so far has been the media. Zeman and Schuessel met in Zidlochovice Castle in Southern Moravia. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kavan and Austrian Environmental Minister Wilhelm Molterer took part in the meeting, too. The atmosphere was tense and the talks dragged on long after midnight. About 200 Austrian protestors gathered in front of the castle. Prague refused to delay the start of the plant, but agreed to Vienna's request that EU commissar Gunter Verheugen serve as intermediator. The politicians agreed to meet again, in Vienna, to discuss the environmental aspects of Temelin. Six hours prior to the meeting, the State Office for Nuclear Safety approved the first of nine partial steps leading to the full start-up of the plant. The plant will yield about 5 per cent of maximum capacity at the end of this one-week phase. A series of tests will be carried out and the plant is expected to supply its first energy in late December; maximum capacity should be reached in May. Stepan Vorlicek/Stepan Vorlicek Astronauts Honored in Prague American astronaut James Arthur Lovell came to Prague October 26 as a guest of Chief of the Army General Staff Jiri Sedivy. Czech astronaut Vladimir Remek arrived the following day. The third invited spaceman of Czech origin, American Eugen Cernan, could not come because of health problems. The astronauts laid a wreath on the Grave of the Unknown Soldier at the National Monument on Vitkov Hill in Prague. Defense Minister Vladimir Vetchy awarded them the third-degree Merit Cross for significant cooperation with the ministry. They met President Vaclav Havel in the evening and were awarded the Golden Memorial Medal. Lovell, 72, flew to space 14 times, with his first trip in 1965. Five years later, he was the commander of the Apollo 13 mission, which suffered the worst space accident in which the crew survived. Today he works in his son's restaurant and lectures on the space program. Czechoslovakia was the third country (after the US and USSR) to send one of its citizens to space. Vladimir Remek, 52, took part in the international expedition Soyuz 28 in 1978. Remek now works in Moscow as a representative of the CZ Strakonice company. Marie Sternova/Stepan Vorlicek NEWS IN BRIEF * The Senate approved prolonging the validity of the Screening Act (the Screening Act prohibits the appointment to certain public offices of former members and collaborators of the secret police [StB], People's militias, graduates of the KGB academy and communist officials). The law was originally proposed for a five-year period. However, it is not clear if President Vaclav Havel will sign the amendment. When the law was extended for the first time in 1995, Havel refused to approve its extension, although his veto was made moot by Parliament. * Deputies of right-wing parties in the lower Chamber of the Czech Parliament pushed through amendments to the University Act by a margin of 8 votes. The amendments would enable all schools at the university level to enhance their fundraising activities, and should allow for universities for students who did not pass state-university entrance exams but would be willing to pay for their education. The leftist parties - the Social Democrats and the Communists - are against the amendment, which is disadvantageous for students from poorer families, according to Education Minister Eduard Zeman. * Hit man Jiri Kajinek, sentenced last year to life for killing two people, escaped 29 from the high-security Mirov Prison near Sumperk, called the Czech Alcatraz. Kajinek is considered a dangerous man who has been in conflict with law since 1974. His penultimate sentence in 1990 was to 11 years in prison for disarming police officers and stealing their vehicle. He had tried to escape from prison five times. Mirov Prison Warden Milan Kohoutek said Kajinek escaped because of errors by his guards. Despite a massive police search launched immediately after the escape, Kajinek is still at large. Katerina Komadova/Pavla Krizkova FROM SLOVAKIA Six Die Fighting Forest Fire in National Park A unique, 12,000-year-old forest in the Slovak Paradise (Slovensky raj) National Park burned out of control from October 23. The forest is home to 36 rare and protected species of plant life. The cause of the fire is not yet known. The blaze was brought under control one week later, after 75 hectares of land were destroyed. Damages were estimated at 450 million Slovak crowns. About 400 firefighters fought the fire, including soldiers and volunteers. Six firefighters died, two of them younger than 18. The fight against the fire was chaotic, inept and reflected the complete of absence of preparation, observers agreed. Helicopters from Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic came to help, once it was realized that the only Slovak helicopter equipped for fighting forest fires was insufficient. Sharp public debate on the quality of firefighters continues in Slovakia. FROM SLOVAKIA IN BRIEF * The Slovak National Assembly approved membership in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) October 26. The intended festivities were interrupted by the opposition Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) with an hourlong debate, in which HZDS legislators complained about the worsening economy and noted Slovakia will be one of the poorest countries in the OECD. Nevertheless, all 104 present legislators voted in favor of approving the membership treaty. * President Rudolf Schuster will probably not be able to vote in the November 11 referendum on early elections. Between November 9-11 he is to travel to an Innsbruck hospital for a physical that should be the official end of treatment for his perforated colon (the same problem that afflicted Czech President Vaclav Havel last year). Until now Schuster has been exercising only some of his presidential powers while in his office in Kosice, where he is undergoing post-operational rehabilitation. * The October 28 anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia was observed quietly and modestly, in its first year as an official Slovak "memorial and significant day." Historians say the importance of the day will be completely appreciated only if the day is made a state holiday. * The Slovak Film and Television Academy chose its candidate for this year's Oscar in the category of best foreign-language film: director Martin Sulik's lyrical Slovak-Czech coproduction Countryside (Krajinka). The film was a clear winner ahead of the four other films made in Slovakia in the last year. Zdenek Sloboda/Zdenek Sloboda ECONOMY IN BRIEF * Czech National Bank Governor Josef Tosovsky announced he will resign November 30. President Vaclav Havel accepted his resignation October 31. The resignation means the end of the 11-year career of one of the people most influential in the development of the Czech and Czechoslovak economies during their c transformation. The main candidates to replace Tosovsky are Vice Governors Zdenek Tuma and Oldrich Dedek. Tosovsky will take charge of the Institute of Financial Stability in Basel, Switzerland. Havel and Tosovsky both say the resignation was timed so that Havel could choose Tosovsky's successor before January 1, when new legislation limiting Havel's independence to choose the bank's governor could come into effect. Petr Adam/Adam Fendrych * President Vaclav Havel criticized amendments to the Czech National Bank Act, which he returned to Parliament for further discussion, for limiting the independence of the Czech National Bank and limiting the power of the president to appoint the members of the banking council. The president says he also does not agree with the proposed dual budget system for the bank, in which the operations budget would have to be approved by legislators. The International Monetary Fund has raised the same objectives to the amendments. Petr Adam/Adam Fendrych * Parliament October 27 approved a slight reduction in taxes. Thanks to cooperation between the minority Social Democrat government and the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), amendments to the Tax Act were passed and should save each taxpayer an average of 800 crowns annually. The most important changes are an increase in possible deductions, a shift in income brackets, tax breaks for life insurance and the method of paying taxes. Other proposed breaks, such as a fuel tax reduction or a write-off for purchasing a modem-equipped personal computer, were not approved because of opposition from the two parties' deputies. The changes should mean a loss of state-budget income of 8.2 billion crowns to 8.3 billion crowns, said Petr Pelech of the Finance Ministry. Adam Fendrych/Adam Fendrych * Matsushita Communication Industrial, the biggest Japanese mobile-phone producer, has decided to build a new factory in Pardubice. The company promised to invest 3.27 billion yens and plans to be producing 16 million Panasonic phones yearly by 2002; the Czech branch would become the biggest mobile-phone factory in Europe. Pardubice was chosen after months of weighing other foreign and Czech locales. "In the final selection, the prepared industrial zone and the professional approach of city representatives were decisive," said project manager Tomas Vohralik. Japanese companies have invested about 1 billion crowns in the Czech Republic, while 18 other companies are negotiating the establishment of Czech branches. Adam Fendrych/Adam Fendrych Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid November 3) -------------------------------------------------------------- 1 EUR = 34.580 country currency CZK ------------------------------------------ Australia 1 AUD 21.246 Great Britain 1 GBP 58.231 Denmark 1 DKK 4.645 Japan 100 JPY 37.099 Canada 1 CAD 26.221 IMF 1 XDR 51.620 Hungary 100 HUF 13.139 Norway 1 NOK 4.350 New Zealand 1 NZD 16.089 Poland 1 PLN 8.721 Greece 100 GRD 10.172 Slovakia 100 SKK 79.411 Slovenia 100 SIT 16.436 Sweden 1 SEK 4.055 Switzerland 1 CHF 22.646 USA 1 USD 40.158 Exchange Rates of countries participating in the euro (converted from the euro rate) country currency CZK ----------------------------------------- Germany 1 DEM 17.680 Belgium 100 BEF 85.722 Finland 1 FIM 5.816 France 1 FRF 5.272 Ireland 1 IEP 43.908 Italy 1000 ITL 17.859 Luxemburg 100 LUF 85.722 Netherlands 1 NLG 15.692 Portugal 100 PTE 17.248 Austria 1 ATS 2.513 Spain 100 ESP 20.783 CULTURE Kafka to Have Monument in Prague Jaroslav Rona, a member of the former art group The Hard Heads (Tvrdohlavi), won the competition for the Franz Kafka monument. According to one of the jurors, Rona won thanks to the untraditional design of his statue - Kafka's figure sits on the shoulders of a huge, empty suit. The image is, Rona says, symbolic of the writer's work. The 3.2-meter bronze monument should be installed between the Spanish synagogue and the Holy Spirit Cathedral in Prague's Jewish Quarter next year. The place was chosen as a symbol of the religious and ethnic plurality in Kafka's time, when Czechs, Jews and Germans lived in Prague together. Martina Parizkova/Simon Dominik Actress Lida Baarova Dies Controversial actress Lida Baarova died October 27 in Salzburg at the age of 86. Baarova was born September 7, 1914 in Prague. She studied acting at Prague's conservatory but did not finish the school. At the beginning of her film career, directors were interested mainly in her looks. More serious roles came her way in the late 30's with director Otakar Vavra in movies like Virginity (Panenstvi), The Girl in Blue (Divka v modrem) and Turbine (Turbina). During the 30's she had offers from Hollywood but chose to work in Berlin, where she had an affair with Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels. She had to leave Germany when Goebbels' wife complained to Adolf Hitler. After the war she was imprisoned for collaboration with the Nazis. She escaped from Czechoslovakia in 1948. During her subsequent travels through Europe, Baarova played in films of various quality and acted on stages in Germany and Austria. She retired in the 60's and wrote two volumes of memoirs. Gabriela Pribilova/Simon Dominik CULTURE IN BRIEF * The World's Fair EXPO 2000 in Hannover closed its gates after five months October 31. Vaclav Bartuska, head of the Czech EXPO pavillion, gave the following evaluation in an interview for the daily MF DNES: "The Czech pavillion was interesting, the exhibit decent." However, Bartuska did not conceal his disappointment with the overall response to the largest world's fair in history, which did not meet the expectations of organizers. * The comeback of first lady Dagmar Havlova to the theater has been put into jeopardy. Management of the Vinohrady Theater decided to stop work on the staging of Long Live the Queen by Robert Bolt, in which Havlova was to perform the role of Queen Mary Stuart. Theater Director Jiri Menzel said the play's director, Juraj Herz, asked for a budget exceeding 1 million crowns, which was beyond the capacity of the theater. * The Czech Center in Paris opened an exhibit of photos taken by Jan Reich, a prominent Czech photographer in the 60's and 70's. Some 60 works by Reich are dedicated to the city of Paris and will be shown to the public till the end of November. Petr Frinta/Milan Smid SPORTS Czech Teams with Mixed Results in European Soccer Cups Champions League: Arsenal London - Sparta Praha 4:2 (3:1). Goals: Arsenal: Parlour, Lauren, Dixon, Kanu; Sparta: Labant (penalty kick), Rosicky. Arsenal leads Group B, followed by Lazio Roma, Shakhtor Doneck, while Sparta is in last place with no chance to advance to the semifinal. UEFA Cup: Liverpool - Liberec 1:0 (0:0). Liberec did suprisingly well in Liverpool. The winning goal was scored three minutes before the end of the match. OFI Crete - Slavia Praha 2:2 (1:1). Slavia brings home a promising result before the return match in Prague. Goals: Crete: Kolitsidakis, Mauro; Slavie: Necas, Rada. Soccer League: Sparta Pads Lead by Defeating Ostrava Results of the 12th round: Bohemians - Olomouc 2:2, Ostrava - Sparta 1:5, Plzen - Pribram 1:1, Blsany - C.Budejovice 3:1, Stare Mesto - Brno 2:1, Drnovice - Zizkov 2:2, Slavia - Jablonec 0:0, Liberec - Teplice 0:3 Sparta leads the chart with 27 points, Liberec (24) is second, Teplice (21) third. At the bottom of the chart (which is still incomplete because of several postponed matches) are Jablonec and Plzen (both with 8 points), Ceske Budejovice (7), and Brno with 5 points. Hockey Telecom Extgraleague Results of the 17th round: Vsetin - Zlin 1:2, Pardubice - Vitkovice 3:1, C.Budejovice - Znojmo 0:3, Havirov - Trinec 4:2, Karlovy Vary - Kladno 5:2, Litvinov - Plzen 2:1, Sparta - Slavia 2:4 Results of the 18th round: Trinec - Vsetin 4:1, Vitkovice - Litvinov 5:0, C.Budejovice - Sparta 6:5 (in overtime), Plzen - Karlovy Vary 4:4, Znojmo - Pardubice 4:3, Zlin - Havirov 6:3, Slavia - Kladno 5:1 Results of the 19th round: Havirov - C.Budejovice 4:2, Vsetin - Plzen 1:1, Kladno - Vitkovice 3:1, Pardubice - Slavia 4:2, Karlovy Vary - Znojmo 4:3 PP, Litvinov - Zlin 2:2, Sparta - Trinec 2:5 Standings after 19 rounds: 1. Pardubice 38 points, 2. Litvinov 33, 3. Vsetin 33 , 4. Vitkovice 32, 5. Plzen 32, 6. Trinec 31, 7. Sparta 30, 8. Zlin 28, 9. Slavia 25, 10. Karlovy Vary 23, 11. Havirov 23, 12. Znojmo 21 , 13. C.Budejovice 17, 14. Kladno 17. SPORTS IN BRIEF * Czech athletes left Sydney's 11th Paralympics Games in Sydney with a medal harvest surpassing the results in Atlanta four years ago. Czech competitors won 43 medals (15 gold, 15 silver, 13 bronze). The most successful athlete was Roman Musil, partly paralyzed by brain polio, who won five medals, a gold and a bronze in cycling competitions class DV2, a silver medal in the discus and two gold medals in the javelin and shot-put. The Czech Republic finished in 11th place on the Paralympics national medal table. Katerina Komadova/Milan Smid WEATHER If the old Czech saying "October green, January cold" is true, then we can expect a very cold winter after this Christmas. But some people explain the current mild weather (about 15 degrees Celsius/59 degrees Fahrenheit) is the result of the greenhouse effect. Who knows. Daylight savings time ended October 29. English version edited by Michael Bluhm. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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