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 401, Friday, January 12, 2001. FROM THE EVENTS OH THE HOLIDAY SEASON (December 20 - January 10) Parliament Demands Hodac's Resignation, Hodac Does not Resign After 14 hours of discussion January 5, the Chamber of Deputies demanded the resignation of Czech Television (CT) General Director Jiri Hodac as the first step in resolving the crisis at the public-service broadcaster. Hodac did not resign and the Czech Television Council, the members of which are nominated and approved by the Chamber of Deputies, did not recall Hodac at its January 8 meeting, although the Chamber also demanded the council recall Hodac (for more on the CT crisis, see the previous issue of Carolina). The deputies also approved a resolution that CT is not fulfilling its public-service mission. The ruling Social Democrats and the Four-Party Colaition blame Hodac, while the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) blames the mutinous CT reporters who will not obey Hodac's orders and have barricaded themselves in the CT newsroom since Hodac's naming. ODS Chiarman Vaclav Klaus said he considers the events around CT an attempt at a political coup. The CT Council, which elected Hodac general director December 20, did not January 8 vote on Hodac's recall. The Chamber of Deputies will have another extraordinary session January 12, and if the resolution about CT not fulfilling its public-service mission is passed again, the entire council will automatically be recalled. The Four-Party Coalition and the Social Democrats, which together form a majority in the chamber, have said they will vote to pass the resolution. Deputies will also vote on changes to the Czech Television Act proposed by the government, including the one-time authority to name an interim general director. Changes to the act also include disposing of the method of having political parties nominate potential council members. The changes would rely on non-political organizations to nominate candidates. Marie Sternova/Michael Bluhm After deadline: Jiri Hodac unexpectedly resigned January 11 for health reasons. Hodac had been in hospital January 5 - 8 because of exhaustion. Hodac's News Director Jana Bobosikova also January 10 stopped broadcasting her version of the evening news, so the entire country is now watching the news as prepared by the mutineers. Havel Makes 10th New Year's Speech In his New Year's speech, which was broadcast by Czech Television and Czech Radio, President Vaclav Havel appealed to the moral conscience and personal responsibility of the people, alluding in his introduction to the saying of John Amos Comenius that progress is brought about by doubt, not accord. This year's message was different and much more positive than in previous years, observers agreed. Havel focused less on criticizing mistakes and problems in society and stressed the good and "hopeful." He emphasized the importance of teachers, doctors, scientists, soldiers, public prosecutors and police as well as ordinary workers. Havel, who favors the rebels in Czech Television (see above), praised the work of journalists who do not vie for sensation, but "want to pursue a free and independent quest for truth." He praised associations, foundations, civic initiatives, which he called "an important expression of living moral awareness and sentiment, of a sense of human solidarity and cohesion." Vera Vonavkova/Stepan Vorlicek Sentences Handed down in Biggest Fund Fraud The Prague City Court January 5 sentenced four protagonists of the biggest investment-fund fraud. Shareholders of the C. S. Funds lost as much as 1.3 billion crowns in one fraudulent transaction. Josef Matoulek (sentenced to 10 years), Vladislav Nad (seven years) and Tomas Roit (six years) are from the Umana company, which mediated the transaction. Vaclav Franta (sentenced to five years) signed for the C. S. Fund Investment Company, the administrator of the funds. Umana used the C. S. Funds' money in 1997 to purchase nearly worthless shares of the Drubez Prisovice chicken farm from the British company Swirlglen. The 1.3 billion crowns was transferred to accounts in Lichtenstein, Switzerland and Gibraltar. About 180 million crowns was returned later to the fund, but the remainder was not found. The four sentences were appealed by the defendants. The leadership of the ruling Social Democrats decided that Matoulek's contribution of 860,000 crowns will be given to charity if the sentence is upheld. Katerina Kunovska/Stepan Vorlicek Milan Srejber Arrested Milan Srejber, a former professional tennis player and a well-known sponsor of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS), was arrested January 6 at Prague's Ruzyne Airport upon his arrival from London. His firm Srejber Tennis Investing is suspected of making some 13 million crowns in profit from insider trading in 1995-1996. The reason for the arrest was that Srejber had been evading prosecution, his trial had to be postponed several times last year. Srejber is in custody in the Pankrac Prison, his release on bail is to be decided January 12. The bail of 5 million crowns has already been deposited on the account of the Prague City Court. If the court grants bail, he will have to promise to stay in the Czech Republic. When the scandal about non-existent ODS sponsors broke in 1997, Srejber admitted he gave the party 7.5 million crowns that was not shown in party accounting. Tereza Polachova/Stepan Vorlicek Czech Republic and Hungary Demand Changes in Nice Agreement The Czech Republic and Hungary want the European Union to redistribute the number of votes in the European Parliament. It was decided in Nice that the Czech Republic and Hungary will each have two seats less than Portugal, Greece and Belgium each have, even though all the countries have roughly the same population. The amendment to the Nice proposal only readjusted the number of votes for Poland and Spain. French President Jacques Chirac is on record in Nice as saying it is natural that new EU member countries would be at a disadvantage to existing members. Dana Zlatohlavkova/Sofia Karakeva Czech Republic Celebrates New Year Cheers, fireworks, concerts and also a sea of alcohol, injuries and less people than last year marked New Year's Eve in larger Czech cities. During the first minutes of the new year people in Prague could see the biggest fireworks display in the country's history. Another novelty was the night service of the Prague subway. The streets were full of joyful people drinking champagne, shooting fireworks and watching concerts on Old Town Square and elsewhere. In Ostrava people gathered mainly in front of City Hall, listened to the national anthem as performed by Vera Spinarova and watched fireworks. In Brno a majority of people headed to the city largets square, Freedom Square (Namesti svobody), where they saw performances by various music groups and fireworks. In Hradec Kralove the City Council came up with the idea of collecting coins from those out celebrating. The collection, weighing 43 kilograms/95 pounds, was given to the Children's Home in the nearby Nechanice region. Ales Borovan/Sofia Karakeva FROM SLOVAKIA Stank Named Defense Minister Pavol Kanis resigned as Defense Minister January 2, facing allegations of corruption concerning the construction of a lavish villa in Bratislava. Slovak President Rudolf Schuster the next day named former ambassador to the Czech Republic and Party of the Democratic Left (SDL') member Jozef Stank as the new defense minister. During the early 90's Stank, a former communist official, was vice chairman of Czechoslovak Federal Assembly (Parliament). The Democratic Party, not only because of Kanis' affair, is preparing a bill requiring all constitutional officials and judges to make public their tax returns and statements of their property. No disclosure laws exist at the present time. Tereza Polachova, Zdenek Sloboda/Sofia Karakeva President's New Year Speech Slovak President Rudolf Schuster in his New Year's speech called on Slovaks for reconciliation. He praised the achievements of foreign policy: the country's entry to the OECD and the progress made in preparations for joining NATO and the EU. As negatives of the past year he pointed out problems in the healthcare sector and low social security payouts. Schuster also criticized the domestic political situation and the country's political culture. The president repeated his proposal to bring rival politicians to a "round table in a neutral place - at the president's residence". He thanked citizens for defeating the November referendum on early elections, proof they do not wish to return to the situation before 1998. Tereza Polachova, Zdenek Sloboda/Sofia Karakeva FROM SLOVAKIA IN BRIEF * Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Kasianov has been on a private visit to Strbske pleso in the High Tatra Mountains since December 26. The prime minister, nearly unnoticed by other skiers, skied the slopes accompanied by his bodygurads, members of the ski patrol and a ski instructor. Slovak Premier Mikulas Dzurinda was the only Slovak politician to visit Kasianov in the Kamzik villa, loaned by the governmen to Kasianov for the visit. Dzurinda said loaning the mountain chalet was an honor for the Slovak government. * Import duties affecting about three-quarters of all goods imported into Slovakia were cancelled January 1. These duties had annually brought about 8.5 billion Slovak crowns into the state coffers. A drop in prices is not expected, as the cancellation of the duty is viewed as a balance to rising costs for energy and rent. Zdenek Sloboda/Michael Bluhm ECONOMY New Labor Act Comes into Effect Among the most significant changes in the Labor Act that came into effect January 1 is the responsibility of employers to provide employees equal opportunity in work environment, salary, professional education and promotion. Discrimination is forbidden on the basis of race, color, nationality, ethnic or social origin, sex, sexual orientation, language, religious belief, opinions, membership in parties and movements, assets, physical condition and family responsibilties. Sexual harassment and other breaches of human dignity are forbidden. The work week, which was 42.5 hours including lunch time, was changed to 40 hours exclusive of lunch. Employees younger than 33 were granted a fourth week of minimum vacation. Employees can work a maximum of 416 overtime hours annually, while employers can demand up to 150 overtime hours annually. Stepan Vorlicek/Michael Bluhm Minimum Salary and Illness Benefits Rise in New Year The minimum wage increased by 500 crowns monthly to 5,000 crowns per month (the lowest hourly wage increased from 25 crowns to 30 crowns). The minimum net wage will be 4,184 crowns per month and is by 414 crowns higher than the living wage. This salary is earned by 1-2 per cent of the 4-4.5 million employed people in the Czech Republic. The living wage for single individuals remains at 3,770 crowns per month. The minimum benefit for the first three days of an illness is 275 crowns per day from January 1, an increase of 18 crowns. For days after the third day, the minimum benefit rose by 25 crowns to 380 crowns per day. Stepan Vorlicek/Ondrej Maly Cell Phones Rule Communication Mobile communication ruled Christmas and the end of the year. On Christmas Eve, 23 million text messages were sent. The cell phone networks of all three operators survived without problems, unlike last year's collapse. Interest in cell phones continued to rise - the operators enlisted half a million new clients during Christmas. Almost 4 million people of the Czech Republic's 10.5 million own a cell phone. The increase surpassed the highest estimates - a maximum of 1 million new customers were expected, but 2 million were signed. In the coming years it is not likely to see another similarly dramatic increase, but next year cell phones should comprise 55 per cent of all phones in the country (today they stand at 44 per cent). Stepan Vorlicek/Ondrej Maly Exchange Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid January 11) ---------------------------------------------------------- 1 EUR = 35.025 country currency CZK ---------------------------------------- Australia 1 AUD 20.782 Great Britain 1 GBP 55.582 Denmark 1 DKK 4.693 Japan 100 JPY 32.005 Canada 1 CAD 24.886 IMF 1 XDR 48.613 Hungary 100 HUF 13.200 Norway 1 NOK 4.271 New Zealand 1 NZD 16.663 Poland 1 PLN 9.001 Slovakia 100 SKK 80.447 Slovenia 100 SIT 16.371 Sweden 1 SEK 3.924 Switzerland 1 CHF 22.992 USA 1 USD 37.241 Exchange Rates of countries participaiting in the euro (converted from the euro rate) country currency CZK ---------------------------------------- Belgium 100 BEF 86.825 Finland 1 FIM 5.891 France 1 FRF 5.340 Ireland 1 IEP 44.473 Italy 1000 ITL 18.089 Luxemburg 100 LUF 86.825 Netherlands 1 NLG 15.894 Portugal 100 PTE 17.470 Austria 1 ATS 2.545 Greece 100 GRD 10.279 Germany 1 DEM 17.908 Spain 100 ESP 21.050 CULTURE Reissue of Halas' Thyrsos Poetry Collection Causes Conflict Frantisek Halas' erotic poetry collection Thyrsos was first released in 1932, illustrated by Jindrich Styrsky. The edition was not intended for the public, only for the poet's friends, and, say the author's heirs, Halas did not the work reissued. The Primus publishing house reissued the collection, despite last year's rejection of authorization by Halas' heirs to the Akropolis publishing house, which had reissued all Halas' other works. It is unclear if the new edition is legal. Until the end of November the old Copyright Act was valid, and under it, the work was protected 50 years from author's death. From December 1 the new act came into effect, it prolongs the period to 70 years. Halas died in 1949 and Primus issued the work in mid-December, when the new act was in effect. Lawyers call the problem is very complicated. Copyright Act specialist Petr Peceny said, "If Primus finds witnesses that it sold the title in its store in November, it will be impregnable." Primus owner Pavel Primus says Halas' works had no copyright before December 1, so he did not have to ask for permission to publish Thyrsus. Considering the opinion of other sides, he says he will sell only the first edition of the book (500 copies) and will not release any further editions. The whole collection Thyrsos is available free at www.magazlin.cz/thyrsos. Petr Frinta/Ondrej Maly Plastic People of the Universe Founder Milan Hlavsa Dies Milan "Mejla" Hlavsa, one the most distinctive figures of Czech music since the 1970's, died of lung cancer January 5 in Prague, two months shy of his 50th birthday. Bassist and composer Hlavsa started his musical career in the legendary band The Plastic People of the Universe. He recorded 10 records with them, soon to be re-released in high-quality editions by Prague's Globus publishers. The Plastic People of the Universe were not an ordinary musical group - their concerts were closely monitored by the communist-era secret police and later they were forbidden from performing. Show trials with members of the group were accompanied by huge protests that partly led to the formation of the Charter 77 movement. Hlavsa, schooled as a butcher's apprentice, spent time in prison. Hlavsa also co-founded the bands DG 307 and Garage (Garaz), where he performed as a guest, and Midnight (Pulnoc). In the 90's he helped found the more experimental group Fiction. The Vozary brothers, who were up to that time the leaders of the pop group Ocean, were also involved in the project. The comeback of The Plastic People of the Universe began with concerts in 1997 and a US tour later. Hlavsa's work on their 11th album was disrupted by when a malignant tumor was found in his lungs. The New York Times printed a long eulogy of Hlavsa, calling the Plastic People one of the rare bands in the world that was partly responsible for a real revolution. Petr Frinta/Veronika Hankusova SPORTS Hockey Juniors Win Second Consecutive World Championship The Czech under-20 national hockey team successfully defended its gold medal in the World Championships in Moscow. The youths won all their games in the tournament. Czech hockey can boast of gold medals from the 1998 Nagano Olympic Games and the 2000 World Championships. The Czechs defeated Finland 2-1 in the final January 5 with Rostislav Klesla and Vaclav Nedorost's goals. The defense played carefully and got lucky when Miko Koivu missed an empty net from three meters. According to coach Jaroslav Holik, the quarterfinal game against Switzerland was the most difficult. "In the final you've already clearly got a gold or silver, there's not that much pressure. But there (in the quarterfinals) it would all end," Holik said to the daily MF DNES. The team, with half its players already at some level of the NHL, beat its opponents particularly thanks to unselfish play and a good chemistry on the team. "We all held together, there were no problems. That's the main reason why we won," said Pavel Brendl, voted the best forward of the tournament. Tomas Duba was selected the top goalkeeper, with the lowest goals-against average and the highest save percentage. Rostislav Klesla was voted best defeseman of the championships, he had the most goals and assists among all defensemen. Results: Czech Republic - Sweden 2-1, Czech Republic - Kazakhstan 9-1, Czech Republic - USA 4-2, Czech Republic - Slovakia 5-0. Quarterfinal: Czech Republic - Switzerland 4-3. Semifinal: Czech Republic - Sweden 1-0. Final: Czech Republic - Finland 2-1. Adam Fendrych/Mirek Langer Sydney Olympic Medalists Rule Athlete of the Year Poll Jan Zelezny, javelin thrower and Sydney Olympics champion, was elected the best Czech athlete of the year 2000. Journalists placed Zelezny before Stepanka Hilgertova (Olympics gold-medal winner in white-water canoeing) and Roman Sebrle (Olympics silver-medal winner in the decathlon). Three-time Olympic champion Zelezny thus capped off a successful season in which he returned to the world's elite after a serious injury to his throwing shoulder. He also received the most votes in the Czech Television viewers' poll. He was also named the 2000 top European and world track and field athlete. National Hockey League leading scorer Jaromir Jagr (fourth place) and Lazio Rome midfielder Pavel Nedved (seventh place) wedged into the roll call of Sydney Olympians - fifth place went to boxer Rudolf Kraj, sixth to triathlete Jan Rehula, eighth was decathlete Tomas Dvorak, ninth shooter Petr Malek and 10th swimmer Daniel Malek. The Czech national hockey team, winner of the World Championships, was voted the top team, ahead of the junior hockey world champions and soccer under-21 European championships' runner-ups. Petr Adam/Mirek Langer Pavel Nedved Elected 2000 Best Soccer Player Czech national team captain and Lazio Rome midfielder Pavel Nedved won the title of Czech Soccer Player of the Year. Last year's winner Jan Koller handed the trophy to Nedved December 27. The players and coaches of the national team and the two top Czech league teams voted Tomas Rosicky of Sparta Praha into second place and Jan Koller of Anderlecht into third place. Nedved already won the 2000 journalists' poll. National team coach Jozef Chovanec was elected top coach, forward Milan Baros of Ostrava was the rookie of the year and Olomouc defender Oldrich Machala won the Personality of the League. Adam Fendrych/Mirek Langer Josef Masopust Elected Czech Soccer Player of Century Josef Masopust won the poll conducted by the weekly soccer magazine Gol as the top Czech soccer player of the century. Masopust in 1962 was the only Czech to win the Golden Ball as the best European player. That year Masopust scored the only goal of the Czechoslovak team in the World Cup final in the loss to Brazil. Josef Bican, Slavia Praha's scoring machine from the 30's and 40's finished second, and Ivo Viktor, goalkeeper of Dukla Praha in the 70's, placed third, ahead of Frantisek Planicka and Pavel Nedved. Adam Fendrych/Mirek Langer Vsetin Moves into Czech Hockey Extraleague Lead The hockey extraleague continued after a break while the national team participated in the Baltika Cup in Moscow. Vsetin won both its away games and moved into first place. Its 4-2 win on Sparta Praha's ice, a rematch of last year's league final, was one of the most exciting games of the two rounds, although it was marked by the referee's decision to disallow two Sparta goals. Zlin's Petr Leska scored three goals against Kladno, Patrik Martinec of Sparta is the league's scoring leader. Results of the 34th round: Ceske Budejovice - Vsetin 1-4, Trinec - Karlovy Vary 5-1, Znojmo - Litvinov 4-2, Slavia Praha - Vitkovice 2-4, Plzen - Pardubice 4-3, Zlin - Kladno 6-1, Havirov - Sparta Praha 3-2 OT. Results of the 35th round: Sparta Praha - Vsetin 2-4, Litvinov - Trinec 6-0, Karlovy Vary - Havirov 4-2, Kladno - Znojmo 2-2, Vitkovice - Plzen 1-1, Pardubice - Ceske Budejovice 3-1, Zlin - Slavia Praha 2-1. Adam Fendrych/Mirek Langer SPORTS IN BRIEF * Soccer player Tomas Rosicky, 20, was traded by Sparta Praha to Borussia Dortmund. The German league club paid 25 million deutschmarks for the midfielder, the highest amount ever paid by German team for a foreign player. Elite European clubs have been interested in Rosicky before, including Lazio Rome, Arsenal FC and Bayern Munich. * Karel Poborsky, a member of the national soccer team, moved from Benfica Lisbon to Lazio Rome, the team of Czech player Pavel Nedved. * Emil Zatopek, who died at the end of last year, finished third in the European press agencies poll of the world's greatest athlete of the 20th century, behind Pele and Muhammad Ali. * Soccer player Josef Bican was declared the greatest soccer-league goal scorer of all time. He scored 643 league goals for Slavia Praha, Rapid Vienna and Admira Vienna and was the top league scorer 12 times. It was announced by the International Federation of Football Historians and Statisticians. * Czech hockey player Jaromir Jagr recorded his 1,000th point in the NHL, the first Czech player to do so. * The Sparta Praha hockey team finished fourth in the Spengler Cup, the oldest international tournament in the world, after one win and three losses. * Karel Loprais (Tatra) leads the Paris-Dakar Rally after 10 stages. Adam Fendrych, Petr Adam/Mirek Langer WEATHER It's raining, it's pouring - a fitting description of Mother Nature's recent capriciousness. Roads and sidewalks were, after ringing in the New Year, covered with smooth and glassy layer caused by the day's rain and the night's below-freezing temperatures. Speaking of temperatures, Prague's Klementinum, where the temperature has been measured and recorded since 1775, saw an average temperature last year of 11.78 degrees Celsius/53.24 degrees Fahrenheit - the warmest year in the last 225 years. The long-term average is 2.34 degrees Celsius/4.32 degrees Fahrenheit lower. Astronomers and lovers of the night sky enjoyed the night of January 9, when we could see the eclipse of the moon in the southeastern sky. Zdenek Sloboda and Katerina Kunovska/Veronika Hankusova ----------------------------------------------------------------------- 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. 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