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 402, Friday, January 19, 2001 FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (January 10 - January 17) Hodac Resigns, CT Council Recalled, Strike Continues Czech Television (CT) General Director Jiri Hodac resigned because of health problems January 11. Tens of thousands of people gathered in Prague's Wenceslas Square and in other places throughout the country to support the rebelling CT employees the same day. The Strike Committee welcomed Hodac's resignation but refused to call off the strike, because their other demands - the resignation of Hodac's management and the cancellation of all firings made by his people - were not fulfilled. The employees who refused to accept Hodac, chosen by the party-nominated CT Council, went on strike January 1 (see Carolina 399 - 401). The nine-member Council, nominated and approved by the Chamber of Deputies last spring, recalled General Director Dusan Chmelicek December 12 and appointed Hodac December 20. Hodac was unacceptable to CT employees for his alleged contacts with the Civic Democratic Party (ODS). Even though council members denied allegations that they acted as instructed by politicians, their close contacts between council members and politicians were proved by phone records of the council members published by CT employees January 14. For example, CT Council Chairman Miroslav Mares (nominated by ODS) phoned the Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies' Media Commission Ivan Langer (ODS) 138 times in December. Unlike other council members, those two had earlier admitted their frequent contact. Talks between CT union leaders and Hodac's management began January 15 under the auspices of the Council of Trade and Social Agreement (Rada hospodarske a socialni dohody). Negotiations continued during the following days but did not bring any resolution. Vera Vonavkova/Simon Dominik After deadline: The situation again became dramatic January 17, when patrols of striking employees began taking over the management department and former Financial Director Ladislav Paluska, fired by Hodac, tried to take control of the station. Each side claims the move was financially motivated and that the other side is embezzling or embezzled money from the station. The take-over was criticized by most politicians who had been on the employees' side till this point. Deputies Approve Amendments to CT Act The Chamber of Deputies assembled January 12 for their second extraordinary meeting this year. The Deputies recalled the six remaining members of the Czech Television (CT) Council in an attempt to resolve the crisis in the public-service broadcaster. Milos Rejchrt, a council member nominated by the Freedom Union (Unie svobody) left the council, which is supposed to represent the interests of the public, in December because he did not agree with the way the council was selecting the new general director. Two more council members, nominated by ruling Social Democrats (CSSD), resigned last week after the council refused to respect the appeal of the Chamber of Deputies to recall General Director Jiri Hodac if he did not resign himself. After stormy discussion, Social Democrat and Civic Democratic Party (ODS) deputies approved changes to the Czech Television Act at 3 a.m. January 13. According to the amendments, political parties lose the right to nominate members of the CT Council. The council members will still be approved by the Chamber of Deputies but the candidates will be nominated by various civic and social organizations. The Chamber refused the Four-Party Coalition's proposal to divide the election between the Chamber and the Senate or between the Chamber, the Senate and the president. The amendment also deals with the current crisis. When the law comes into effect, the Chamber of Deputies will elect a provisional general director who will manage CT until a new council can choose a permanent director. The Senate returned the amendments to the Chamber of Deputies January 17. This decision was expected because the Four-Party Coalition (which holds 39 of 81 seats in the Senate) did not approve of the changes. It is uncertain when the Chamber of Deputies will discuss the amendments again, but it is expected that the Social Democrats and ODS will approve the bill without any of the changes requested by the Senate. Vera Vonavkova/Simon Dominik Pilip and Bubenik Arrested in Cuba The Cuban Foreign Police January 12 arrested deputy and former Finance Minister Ivan Pilip (Freedom Union) and businessman and 1989 student leader Jan Bubenik. Both were in Cuba as tourists. On January 15 it seemed Pilip and Bubenik would be expelled from the country for having violated their tourist status by contacting Cuban dissidents in Ciego de Avila. But the next day the Cuban government labelled them agents of the US-based Freedom House foundation who came to Cuba in order to meet with members of counter-revolutionary groups. It now appears Pilip and Bubenik will stand trial. The Czech Foreign Ministry received the news of the arrest from Czech charge d'affaires in Havana Josef Marsicek and reacted with two protest notes. The ministry protested against the arrests and demands their immediate release and an explanation from the Cuban government. According to Simon Panek from the Czech foundation Clovek v Tisni there are two possibilities: "Either they will be deported from Cuba on the basis of a court verdict or the Cubans will really put them in jail." Panek said he considers the second possibility unlikely. Czech media noted that five Cubans were being tried in the US for espionage and speculated that the Czechs might be used for an exchange. Relations between Prague and Havana have gradually soured since the fall of communism in 1989. The Czech Republic decreased its representation in Cuba to the level of charge d'affaires in 1993 after Havana refused on political grounds to repay its debt to the former Czechoslovakia. Relations worsened last April when the Czech Republic and Poland sponsored a resolution on human rights violations in Cuba that was submitted to the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva. Pavla Krizkova/Sofia Karakeva Peter Mach Sentenced to Five Years in Jail Former President of the Sparta Praha soccer team Petr Mach will go to jail for five years for tax evasion, decided the High Court January 17. Eight years ago Mach did not clear his 1.3-million-crown BMW 850 through customs. Mach said it was a test car that he did not own and the whole case is politically motivated. Mach was in the past a sponsor of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS). The judges ruled that Mach did in fact purchase the car, as confirmed by the German seller. Mach's attorney said he will appeal to the Supreme Court. Martina Oplatkova/Sofia Karakeva NEWS IN BRIEF * The government January 10 rejected deputies' proposals concerning dogs. The bill would significantly modify rules for raising breeds regarded as dangerous. During the last month several cases of severe injuries caused by dogs occurred in the Czech Republic. The government said it rejected the bill because the existing laws suffice and the changes were not systemic. * Former tennis player and businessman Milan Srejber, charged with unjust enrichment, will be held in police custody even though he paid the requested bail of 5 million crowns (see Carolina 401). The public prosecutor lodged a complaint against court's granting of bail, and such a complaint means Srejber cannot be released until a decision is made on the complaint. The prosecutor considers the bail too low and suspects Srejber could go into hiding and avoid the court as he did in the past. If convicted, Srejber would receive a sentence of five to 12 years. Martina Oplatkova/Sofia Karakeva FROM SLOVAKIA Austria's Erste Bank Buys Slovak Savings Bank Finance Minister Brigita Schmognerova January 11 signed a contract with Erste Bank General Director Andreas Treichl for the sale of Slovakia's largest bank. Erste Bank will pay 425 million euros for 87.16 per cent of the Slovak Savings Bank (Slovenska sporitel'na). Tender committee member Vladimir Tvarosky said Erste Bank offered better conditions than the other finalists, Unicredito and Creditanstalt/Bank Austria. The Slovak government had already removed most of the bad loans from the bank, which holds 28 per cent of all deposits in Slovakia. Erste Bank continued building a strong network in Central Europe - it owns banks in the Czech Republic and Hungary. Pavla Krizkova/Michael Bluhm ECONOMY Budget Deficit Increases Last year's state-budget deficit was 10 billion crowns more than it planned. The government estimated the deficit would be 35.2 billion crowns, the final amount is about 46 billion crowns. There are several reasons why the deficit is bigger. Foremost, welfare payments were higher while less money was collected in excise taxes and VAT due to higher fuel prices. Drivers bought much less diesel oil and gasoline because of the record price increase. Exceeding the planned deficit will probably influence the Opposition Contract, signed by the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) to allow the minority Social Democrat government to rule. Parliamentary Budget Committee Chairman Vlastimil Tlusty said he is not going to tolerate any more deficit increases by Prime Minister Milos Zeman's government. ODS will not approve issuing state bonds that exceed the approved deficit and will probably require that the 2002 budget deficit be reduced by the overrun on the 2000 budget. The overrun was no surprise to representatives of the Four-Party Coalition, who called the overrun the joint work of the Social Democrats (CSSD) and ODS. Pavla Reznickova/Stepan Vorlicek ECONOMY IN BRIEF * The Temelin nuclear power plant encountered its worst technical problems since the launch of the nuclear reaction last October. The intake piping of the turbine vibrates too much. The reactor will be out of order from January 17 to February 5 and it might be necessary to take apart the entire device. The final launch of the power plant may be delayed up to several months. The problem is said to have appeared because the turbine could not be tested previous and flaws were detected only after operations began. The non-nuclear section of the power plant has been suffering technical troubles since last fall. Experts are not worried about that, they say most power plants had to overcome similar obstacles and now operate without problems. * Copying will be more expensive. All copy centers in the Czech Republic will now have to pay copyright fees for all reproduction services, as required by changes to the Copyright Act effective since December 1. The amendment concerns purchases of recording electronics, and people who buy a new VCR or get a document copied will make a contribution to copyright associations. The charges are about 10 hellers for a photocopy, but several hundred crowns when buying electronics. Everybody will have to pay, including schools, libraries and post offices, no matter if they copy a book or their own materials. Citizens and owners of copy centers strongly disagree with the new law, some of them say they are considering filing a complaint with the Constitutional Court. Pavla Reznickova/Stepan Vorlicek Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid January 19) -------------------------------------------------------------- 1 EUR = 35.330 country currency CZK ------------------------------------------ Australia 1 AUD 20.852 Great Britain 1 GBP 55.269 Denmark 1 DKK 4.732 Japan 100 JPY 35.527 Canada 1 CAD 24.812 IMF 1 XDR 48.731 Hungary 100 HUF 13.328 Norway 1 NOK 4.305 New Zealand 1 NZD 16.799 Poland 1 PLN 9.140 Greece 100 GRD 10.368 Slovakia 100 SKK 80.799 Slovenia 100 SIT 16.476 Sweden 1 SEK 3.965 Switzerland 1 CHF 23.108 USA 1 USD 37.493 Exchange Rates of countries participating in the euro (converted from the euro rate) country currency CZK ----------------------------------------- Germany 1 DEM 18.064 Belgium 100 BEF 87.581 Finland 1 FIM 5.942 France 1 FRF 5.386 Ireland 1 IEP 44.860 Italy 1000 ITL 18.246 Luxemburg 100 LUF 87.581 Netherlands 1 NLG 16.032 Portugal 100 PTE 17.623 Austria 1 ATS 2.568 Spain 100 ESP 21.234 CULTURE Shostakovich's Opera Wins Production of the Year Dmitri Shostakovich's opera Lady Macbeth of Mcensky Ujezd (Lady Macbeth Mcenskeho ujezdu), directed by David Radok at the National Theater in Prague, won the eighth Production of the Year award presented by the Theater News (Divadelni noviny) 2000. Ninety-three theater critics and journalists chose from 47 various productions and projects that had their premieres in Czech theaters last year. Lady Macbeth received 33 votes, second place belonged to Hamlet of the Klicpera Theater in Hradec Kralove, directed by Vladimir Moravek. Third place was won by the Prague's Divadlo v Dlouhe and its production of How I Got Lost, a Ludvik Askenazy story adapted by director Jan Borna. Zuzana Boleslavova/Adam Fendrych Historian Josef Polisensky Dies Josef Polisensky, born December 16, 1915 in Prostejov, a history professor at Charles University and one of the most important modern Czech historians, died January 11. He wrote more than 100 books covering Czech history in European context (such as Dutch policy and the Battle of White Mountain, England and the Battle of White Mountain). He also taught at Palack University in Olomouc. He examined the history and culture of Latin America, founding the Institute of Ibero-American Studies in 1967, and he also paid special attention to the history of Great Britain and the Netherlands. He began lecturing again at Charles University after 1989, after not being able to work there from the 70's. Zuzana Boleslavova/Adam Fendrych SPORTS Goalkeepers Rule Hockey Extraleague - Six Shutouts in Three Rounds Vsetin managed to win its sixth game in a row. It defeated Pardubice easily at home, while Pardubice has not won in six away games. Vsetin's streak ended in Karlovy Vary, which won 1-0 thanks particularly to goalkeeper Franek and his second shutout this season. Pardubice almost created a stir in the 37th round. They were losing at home five minutes before the final whistle 1-2 to last-place Havirov. Pardubice managed to wake up and turn the game around, with Janecky scoring the winning goal. Vsetin got back on track after an easy win against Vitkovice, Stantien scored a hat trick in the game. Sparta defeated Litvinov, with goalkeeper Briza recording a shutout in a tight game. Results of the 36th round: Plzen - Slavia Praha 2-1, Sparta Praha - Karlovy Vary 2:0, Vsetin - Pardubice 6-2, Ceske Budejovice - Vitkovice 3-0, Znojmo - Zlin 1-2, Trinec - Kladno 3-1, Havirov - Litvinov 1-3. Results of the 37th round: Pardubice - Havirov 3-2, Karlovy Vary - Vsetin 1-0, Zlin - Plzen 0-0, Vitovice - Znojmo 1-4, Litvinov - Budejovice 3-5, Slavia Praha - Trinec 2-1, Kladno - Sparta Praha 2-1. Results of the 38th round: Havirov - Kladno 1-2, Znojmo - Plzen 6-3, Ceske Budejovice - Slavia Praha 3-5, Karlovy Vary - Pardubice 3-3, Trinec - Zlin 3-1, Vsetin - Vitkovice 8-1, Sparta Praha - Litvinov 2-0. Standings: 1. Vsetin 70, 2. Pardubice 67, 3. Zlin 65, 4. Vitkovice 59, 5. Sparta Praha 58, 6. Litvinov 58, 7. Znojmo 56, 8. Ceske Budejovice 55, 9. Trinec 52, 10. Plzen 51, 11. Slavia Praha 49, 12. Kladno 44, 13. Karlovy Vary 43, 14. Havirov 40. SPORTS IN BRIEF * Five-time Paris-Dakar Rally winner Karel Loprais (Tatra) won three stages in a row and leads the trucks category by a margin of seven and half hours. * Czech cross-country skier Katerina Neumannova won a World Cup race for the first time in two years. She won the 5km classic and 5km freestyle combination. In the 5km classic she finished in second place. * Two Czech tennis players - Daniela Bedanova and Denisa Chladkova - advanced in the Australian Open. Michal Tabara is the only Czech male to advance to the third round. Jana Niklova/Mirek Langer WEATHER Forget global warming. From the Arctic point of view, temperatures of up to minus 10 degrees Celsius/14 degrees Fahrenheit could be considered mild, but for us it is a cold, cold winter. Roads turned into icy skating rinks, while going out without a warm sweater, thick coat and woollen cap means asking for the flu or pneumonia. Nevertheless we should not complain, because we all wanted to have a white winter. The problem is that a thick layer of snow is still missing. Nobody's perfect. Jana Niklova 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. 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