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 419, Friday, May 18, 2001 FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (May 9 - May 16) Enthusiastic Welcome for Hockey World Champions in Prague Like one year ago (see Carolina 376), thousands of Czechs gathered on Prague's Old Town Square to watch the final match of the hockey World Championship on a large video screen May 13. The predominantly young audience burst into cheers when David Moravec scored the winning goal to defeat Finland 3:2 in overtime. The crowd moved to Wenceslas Square, where celebrations continued. Similar festivities took place also in other Czech towns. The only serious accident was reported in Cheb, where a group of young people attacked a group of Romanies who wanted to join the celebration, and a Romany man was seriously injured. The next day, more than 20,000 people welcomed the champions back to Prague. After being met by players' families and journalists at the airport, an open bus with the Czech hockey team made its way to Old Town Square, where about 17,000 fans awaited. The ovation started when team captain Robert Reichel, together with Martin Rucinsky, brought the Champions Cup onto the stage. The crowd chanted "Thank you, boys." Goalie Dusan Salficky turned into the informal entertainer of the gathering. Karel Gut, the chairman of the Czech Hockey Union and one of several speakers at the meeting, said, "We managed to keep our championship, and now we have another task: to build a new hockey arena in Prague." Gut was talking about the problems with the construction of a new hockey arena in Prague, which is a precondition for holding the hockey World Championship in Prague. Originally, Prague should have hosted the championship in 2003, but the construction problems recently forced a postponement to 2004. Petr Adam/Milan Smid Government Prepares New Assembly Act The Government approved a framework for a new Assembly Act May 14. The Interior Ministry proposes punishing those who "obstruct the identification of individual participants of the assembly." "We must find a legal norm such that people at demonstrations cannot hide their faces behind masks," said Interior Minister Stanislav Gross, who announced his intention to change the law during the riots against the IMF-World Bank summit in September. Fines for violating the law would rise from 1,000 crowns to 10,000 crowns and demonstrations would have to be registered from three months to five days before taking place. Today, some organizations reserve public places up to 15 years in advance. The bill has a good chance for success. The Civic Democratic Party (ODS) supports it as well as the Four-Party Coalition. "Whoever demonstrates within the limits of the law does not have to hide," said Karel Kuhnl, leader of the coalition. However, Jan Jarab, the Government Envoy for Human Rights, said he is skeptical about the changes. "It shouldn't be so strict with identification. If the law passes, it will probably be necessary to specify what hiding behind a mask is. A demonstrator could be wearing a Bill Clinton mask, which doesn't necessarily mean he wants to conceal his identity," said Jarab. According to the proposal, sports fans would be breaking the law when they paint the Czech flag on their faces. Jakub Vavruska/Adam Fendrych NEWS IN BRIEF * Miloslav Vyborny, former vice chairman of the Christian Democratic Union-Czechoslovak People's Party (KDU-CSL), announced at a press conference in Brno May 9 that he will not run for party chairmanship at the May party congress. His decision came after the 10 days he gave himself to decide and surprised not only incumbent Chairman Jan Kasal but also his party colleagues who believed Vyborny could bridge the gap between the different wings in the party (see Carolina 417). Vyborny said the divisive conflict between Kasal and Cyril Svoboda could be resolved "only by personal confrontation, not by an evasive manuever." Vyborny said he will support Kasal. * Foreign Minister Jan Kavan and Austrian Environment Minister Wilhelm Molterer signed an agreement in Prague May 12 obligating the Czech Republic to supply Austria with additional information about the Temelin nuclear power station. The information pertains to the "zero option," i.e., the possibility of not launching the power station, and potential accidents and the problems connected with the non-nuclear part of the plant. Both parties said they were satisfied with the outcome of meeting - Austria got some additional information about Temelin and the Czech Republic received an assurance that Vienna supports the Czech effort to join the EU. * May 16 marked the fifth annual Flower Day, when people pay whatever sum they want for a yellow flower, with the take going to fight cancer. The League against Cancer prepared about 700,000 flowers, to be sold in 368 cities by 5,100 pairs of volunteers, mostly scouts and high school students. Last year's income was more than 14 million crowns. * Foreign Minister Jan Kavan suffered a minor heart attack May 14, after arriving for an official visit to the USA that morning. His meeting with Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice was postponed. After a short stay at hospital in Washington, Kavan's visit continued in New York. Pavla Krizkova, Radim Hladik/Adam Fendrych, Milan Smid FROM SLOVAKIA Bratislava Hosts Representatives of NATO Candidate Countries Ten prime ministers and deputy prime ministers of former communist countries gathered May 11 in Bratislava for a two-day conference on New European Democracy: Leadership and Responsibility. American political analyst Zbigniew Brzezinski and Czech President Vaclav Havel were the main speakers. Both expressed their support for expanding NATO, mainly to the Baltic countries. Havel also said the conference was preparation for the autumn NATO summit in Prague, where the candidate countries should be invited to join. According to Havel, the prospects of Slovakia are positive if Vladimir Meciar does not return to power. Slovak Premier Mikulas Dzurinda praised the conference, but said only time will show if this was a turning point for expanding NATO to the east. He said the issue will be discussed more in June when American President George W. Bush visits Europe. Dzurinda said the results of upcoming general elections should decide the direction of Slovakia. Dzurinda said he wants to use the time before the Prague summit to persuade Slovaks that joining NATO is necessary. However, more than 50 per cent of Slovak poll respondents do not support membership, while Meciar and his Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS), blamed for the Slovakia's exclusion from the first wave of expansion, are leading all voter-preference polls. HZDS legislator Irena Belohorska tried to convince conference guests that her party will not significantly alter Slovak foreign policy. FROM SLOVAKIA IN BRIEF * Interior Minister Ladislav Pittner resigned May 14. He said the reason for his resignation was continuing criticism from the Party of the Democratic Left (SDL'). Premier Mikulas Dzurinda said he wanted to take over the ministry temporarily, but President Rudolf Schuster, after a day of deliberation, delegated the ministry to Justice Minister Jan Carnogursky. Dzurinda, however, said Carnogursky's acceptance of the post is a demonstration of disloyalty. Dzurinda will meet his coalition partners May 18 to discuss other possible changes. * Last year, about 20,000 fans applauded Slovakia's silver medalists from the hockey World Championships. This year, a handful of fans welcomed the team that lost the quarterfinal match to the Czech Republic. Defenseman Martin Strbak said he thinks the lack of stars and the inability to beat the best teams were responsible for the team's finish. The Slovak daily SME wrote that a majority of Slovak hockey players and politicians supported the Czechs in the finals. From Slovakia Veronika Pavlu/Ondrej Maly ECONOMY Sixth International Arms Fair in Brno Some 332 companies from 23 countries took part in the sixth international fair of defense and security equipment called IDET 2001, which took place in Brno May 9-11. Seven countries (France, Italy, Germany, Norway, Poland, Russia and Slovakia) had official national exhibits there. Representatives of companies vying to be selected to modernize the Czech air force had presentations at the fair. The exhibition occupied much more space than the last year, the number of visitors also rose. The ITTE 2001 international exhibition of information and communication technologies ran concurrently with the defense fair. One of the topics was to present tactical operation systems of NATO armies. New Czech Defense Minister Jaroslav Tvrdik was in Brno on the first and second day of the fair. Defense ministers from Austria and Slovakia, Herbert Scheibner and Jozef Stank, respectively, also visited the fair. The last day of the fair saw activists from the Unbowed (Nesehnuti) ecology movement demonstrate in front of the fairgrounds. Silence the Weapons was their slogan, which they supported by giving out fliers about the dangers of arms and the way they are used to violate human rights. Minister Tvrdik said arms are used to defend democracy. From Brno Dana Zlatohlavkova/Stepan Vorlicek Nova Hut cancels contract Nova Hut, The biggest Czech steelworks canceled its contract with the American company ICF Kaiser to supply the final, crucial part of a mini-smelter, according to the Czech daily MF Dnes May 12. The mini-smelter cost more than 10 billion crowns and was one of the biggest investments in Czech industry during the past 10 years. The official reason Nova Hut withdrew was the fact that the American firm was supposed to carry out tests by the end of April, but never began. The steelworks is demanding 46 million USD in compensation for damages caused by the delayed launch of the smelter. It was to be in operation from November 2000, but is still in the testing phase. If negotiations with the ICF Kaiser are not successful, the steelworks will file a suit with an international arbitration court. Nova Hut is now awaiting privatization. According to a study carried out by the Eurostrategy, Nova Hut should be joined with the Trinec Ironworks (Trinecke zelezarny). Martina Oplatkova/Stepan Vorlicek Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid May 18) -------------------------------------------------------------- 1 EUR = 34.300 country currency CZK ------------------------------------------ Australia 1 AUD 20.380 Great Britain 1 GBP 55.525 Denmark 1 DKK 4.596 Japan 100 JPY 31.493 Canada 1 CAD 25.233 IMF 1 XDR 49.038 Hungary 100 HUF 13.303 Norway 1 NOK 4.283 New Zealand 1 NZD 16.472 Poland 1 PLN 9.788 Slovakia 100 SKK 79.346 Slovenia 100 SIT 15.767 Sweden 1 SEK 3.793 Switzerland 1 CHF 22.387 USA 1 USD 38.816 Exchange Rates of countries participating in the euro (converted from the euro rate) country currency CZK ----------------------------------------- Germany 1 DEM 17.537 Belgium 100 BEF 85.027 Finland 1 FIM 5.769 France 1 FRF 5.229 Ireland 1 IEP 43.552 Italy 1000 ITL 17.714 Luxemburg 100 LUF 85.027 Netherlands 1 NLG 15.565 Portugal 100 PTE 17.109 Austria 1 ATS 2.493 Greece 100 GRD 10.066 Spain 100 ESP 20.615 CULTURE Prague Spring Festival Begins The 56th year of the Prague Spring Festival opened May 12 in the Smetana Hall of the Municipal House (Obecni dum) with Smetana's symphony My Homeland, conducted by Vladimir Valek. The festival is traditionally opened on the day of Smetana's death. This year's celebration of classical music is organized under the auspices of President Vaclav Havel and will end June 3 with a performance of the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra. Nine organizers and 250 workers have sold about 80 per cent of the festival's 54,000 total. The opening and closing concerts are sold out. People also wanted tickets for concerts by Dagmar Peckova and the Czech Philharmonic conducted by Simonov, as well as Bernarda Finkova conducted by John Eliot Gardiner. Highlights of this year's festival are violinist Gil Shaham, conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt with his Concentus Musicus and a group of four Americans Anonymus 4. More information about the festival is available at www.festival.cz. Martin Roubal/Veronika Hankusova British Win 38th Year of Golden Prague Television Festival First prize for the 38th year of the Golden Prague international television festival was won by the British program Green Table: The Dance of Death in Eight Pictures. The creators of the program accepted the grand prize May 10 at the closing ceremony of the festival. The organizers gave prizes in four other categories. One of them was received by Czech Television Brno for their broadcast of a concert by Magdalena Kozena and Thierry Gregoira in Boskovice. The student jury rewarded the Swedish film Voices, which allows viewers to enter the inside of the human voice. The audience also voted on best program for the first time this year. They selected a documentary from Swiss Television, I Like Music, about pianist Alexis Weissenberg. The prize for significant impact on world culture was also given for the first time, and it was given to conductor Rafael Kubelik in memoriam. All awarded films should be broadcast by Czech Television this year. Katerina Kunovska/Veronika Hankusova Bookworld in Prague More than 650 exhibitors from 26 countries took part in the seventh international book fair called Bookworld 2001, which took place at the Prague Fairgrounds (Vystaviste) May 10-13. This year's featured country was Switzerland, which presented its cultural and literary history and its present. The wide program of the fair included the presentation of new books by several Czech authors and an international conference called Literature without Frontiers, which dealt with promoting literature of non-dominant language areas in Europe, as well as with supporting translations and cooperation between publishers working in Central and Eastern Europe and in the EU. There was a show called Babylon of Languages, where writers, translators and actors read excerpts from books in various languages and their Czech translations. The goal of the evening was to show the importance of translation for communication among nations and cultures. A discussion of internet books focused on the present and future of e-publishing in the Czech Republic. Popular internet journalist Ondrej Neff, who publishes his own magazine Neviditelny Pes (Invisible Dog, www.pes.eunet.cz), was among the panelists. The debate was broadcast live by the Czech portal centrum.cz. Various awards were given at the fair. The Miroslav Ivanov Award for Non-fiction Literature debuted this year, while the traditional Photography Publication of the Year and the worst translation awards were given. The most beautiful Czech books of 2001 were rewarded in a contest sponsored by the Culture Ministry and the National Literature Treasury; the Association of Translators and Interpreters awarded the Best Dictionary of the Year. For more information, see the URL www.bookworld.cz. From Vystaviste Stepan Vorlicek/Stepan Vorlicek SPORTS Czech Hockey Players Win Third Consecutive Hockey World Championship The Czech national hockey team defeated Finland 3-2 in the final of the hockey World Championship in Germany May 13 and won its third consecutive title. Although the Finns had a 2-0 lead at the beginning of the third period, the Czechs tied the score with goals by Martin Prochazka (45th minute) and Jiri Dopita (54th minute). The winning goal was scored by David Moravec in overtime. Before reaching the finals, the Czechs defeated Slovakia 2-0 in quarterfinals. The semifinal against Sweden was decided by a shootout after a 2-2 tie could not be undone in one period of overtime. Soccer League: Slavia Climbs into Second Place Slavia Praha, which defeated Ceske Budejovice 1-0, came closer to its goal - to qualify for the Champions League. Its rise into second place was made possible when Slavia's two most serious rivals lost. Olomouc lost in Liberec 2-0 and Pribram was defeated by Bohemians 1-0 in Prague. Results of the 28th round: Blsany - Sparta 2-2, Slavia - Ceske Budejovice 1-0, Liberec - Olomouc 2-0, Bohemians - Pribram 1-0, Drnovice - Jablonec 2-1, Synot - Zizkov 1-1, Ostrava - Teplice 1-1, Plzen - Brno 1-1. Standings: 1. Sparta Praha 65 points, 2. Slavia Praha 49, 3. Olomouc 48, 4. Pribram 47, 5. Zizkov 45, 6. Liberec 43, 7. Teplice 40, 8. Drnovice 38, 9. Bohemians 36, 10. Stare Mesto 34, 11. Blsany 34, 12. Jablonec 29, 13. Ostrava 29, 14. Brno 28, 15. Ceske Budejovice 26, 16. Plzen 17. Sports by Ondrej Trunecka/Milan Smid WEATHER Things are getting better. The sun is warm and the parade of summer fashion is in full bloom. Those celebrating the Czech hockey team's victory in the World Championships enjoyed days of temperatures exceeding 20 degrees Celsius/68 degrees Fahrenheit. Katerina Kunovska 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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