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 421, Friday, June 1, 2001. FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (May 23 - May 30) Czech and Slovak Leaders Discuss Kasarna Border Dispute During the meeting of Czech Prime Minister Milos Zeman and Slovak Premier Mikulas Dzurinda, the highest priority was the dispute over the recreation area of Kasarna on the Czech-Slovak borders. After the division of the former Czechoslovakia in 1993 this territory was given to Slovakia, but the immovables remained the property of the Moravians. The dispute started when Slovak officials decided to sell pieces of land without informing the owners of the immovables. They argued that the territory was given to the Slovak community of Makov, which has the right to dispose of the area. Both politicians stated at a press conference that they do not wish to enter the conflict before both countries try to reach a solution. Representatives of both parties will meet May 31. Zeman and Dzurinda discussed the situation in Prague May 28. Earlier that day they opened a new border crossing in Breclav-Brodske. Apart from the Kasarna case, Zeman and Dzurinda discussed the possibility of employment opportunities for Slovak citizens living in the Czech Republic, the possibility of a common military unit within KFOR forces in Kosovo and also the support of a common television broadcast. The Czech Press Agency reported that Zeman said Czech Television is considering renewing the so-called Slovak Mondays. Marie Valaskova/Sofia Karakeva Svoboda New Christian Democrat Chairman Cyril Svoboda became the new chairman of the Christian Democratic Party-Czechoslovak People's Party (KDU-CSL) at the party congress May 26. Svoboda defeated incumbent Chairman Jan Kasal in the final vote by a margin of 162-145. Party vice chairs are Milan Simonovsky (first vice chairman), Kasal, Tomas Kvapil, Zuzana Roithova and Miloslav Vyborny. After being elected, Svoboda stated that KDU-CSL's main goal will be to reach a larger spectrum of voters. "I might anger many party members, but the Christian Democrats can no longer reach out only to those voters who go home Sunday from church. I will gladly help Cyril Svoboda with that," said former Environment Minister Martin Bursik to the daily Lidove Noviny May 28. Svoboda also discussed to the political structure of the Czech Republic. "It is necessary to strengthen elements such as the direct election of the country's president. We also must have a serious debate whether mayors, and county executives should be elected directly. It is necessary to strengthen the right to petition and not to fear referendums. Its existence is a challenge for politicians to change their behavior," said Svoboda. Svoboda's election's should change the party's stance on the future of the Four-Party Coalition, of which it is a member. While Kasal favored the gradual unification of the coalition into one party, Svoboda rejects closer integration. "If there were complete accord between us, only then would a coalition not make sense," said Svoboda. Ales Borovan/Sofia Karakeva Deputies Elect New Czech Television Council The Chamber of Deputies May 25 elected a new Czech Television Council, the supervisory body of the public-service broadcaster Czech Television (CT). The CT Council consists of 15 representatives of the public, selected from more than 200 candidates nominated by civic groups in accordance with the new Czech TV Act, amended in January (see Carolina 403). The old nine-member CT Council was recalled in January after the Czech Television strike evolved into a serious political crisis (see Carolina 400-402). The civic groups, among them Czech TV - A Public Matter and the Citizens League, accepted the CT Council election, but objected to the fact that the only Romany candidate was not among the final group of candidates. The CT Council shall elect within three months a new general director, who will succeed interim General Director Jiri Balvin, appointed by the Chamber of Deputies February 6 as a temporary solution to the crisis. Ales Borovan/Milan Smid Amended Criminal Procedure Act Should Make Courts Faster Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Act was approved May 25 by the Chamber of Deputies after numerous attempts to reform the judiciary. If it is approved by the Senate and the president signs it, the amendments will come into force at the beginning of 2002. According to the bill, easily provable crimes with sentences of up to three years will not need a full trial and will be closed with a court order. The perpetrators and victims of less serious crimes will not have to go to court at all if they agree on compensation through a state prosecutor. Former Justice Minister Otakar Motejl tried to enact this change, but deputies had previously rejected it. Only police, providing all needed evidence, should be involved in investigating less serious crimes. The court would be responsible for the rest. The current system requires the involvement of investigators, who are not part of the police force, and state prosecutors. "The time from arresting, for example, a thief in a supermarket to trying him in court should be counted in hours and days," said Justice Minister Jaroslav Bures in the daily Lidove Noviny. Judges and attorneys are to undergo an extensive education campaign starting in a few weeks. Marie Valaskova/Stepan Vorlicek All But One Finalist Abandon Tender for Fighter Planes There is one participant left in the tender for 36 new supersonic fighter planes for the Czech Army, worth an expected 100 billion crowns - the British-Swedish consortium BAe-Systems, which produces Grippen aircraft. America's Lockheed Martin and Boeing withdrew May 23 and one day later the European consortium Eurofighter/Typhoon and France's Dassault Aviation did likewise. The daily MF DNES says the main reason for the collapse of the tender was that the other companies found the tender non-transparent and custom-made for BAe-Systems. According to the same daily, Prime Minister Milos Zeman confirmed last November that British Prime Minister Tony Blair sent him a letter favoring the BAe-Systems. Opposition politicians say the government should cancel the tender. "The withdrawal of four renowned weapons makers from the tender means one thing - an indirect accusation for the Czech government of manipulation of the tender," said for MF DNES Chairman of the Senate Committee for Security and Foreign Affairs Michael Zantovsky. "We have been saying for a long time that it would be best to cancel the tender, and recent developments only confirm that. The reputation of our country is threatened by the withdrawal of four renowned producers," said shadow defense minister Petr Necas of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS). Defense Minister Jaroslav Tvrdik said the withdrawals are unpleasant, but do not prevent the government from continuing with the tender. "If we want to have an army comparable to those of NATO countries, we should have supersonic fighters," said Tvrdik. Ales Borovan/Stepan Vorlicek NEWS IN BRIEF * The Chamber of Deputies May 23 approved amendments to the State Welfare Act, which should increase subsidies for giving birth. The subsidy should rise from 6,400 crowns to 8,000 crowns for the birth of one child. Also, the amount of money a parent taking care of a child will be allowed to earn should increase from 2,000 crowns monthly to 3,000 crowns. Zuzana Boleslavova/Stepan Vorlicek FOREIGN AFFAIRS Kavan Meets Powell at NATO Summit in Budapest Foreign ministers of NATO member states met in Budapest May 29. After U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell did not find support for the American anti-ballistic-missile umbrella among his European allies, the meeting focused on strengthening the defense capacity of the alliance. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kavan met with Powell, they discussed the withdrawal of American firms from the Czech tender for new supersonic fighters (see above). Powell expressed his fear that the large investment into supersonic fighters might endanger the modernization of ground forces. Kavan asked Powell for the American stance on the sensitive issue of the Czech exports to Syria, which needs spare parts for the Czech-made L-139 airplanes and which is under an American embargo for the import of airplane technology. Another topic of the meeting concerned the proposed export of 36 L-159 planes to India. Radim Hladik/Milan Smid European Union Sets Limits for Newcomers Fifteen EU member states agreed May 23 on the list of services which in Austria and Germany will not be able to be performed by citizens of prospective EU members, among them the Czech Republic. It is still not decided whether the ban will be applied in the entirety of the countries or only in selected border regions. The agreement is a supplement to regulations on the free movement of labor, and should be governed by the same provisions, i.e., it may be applied for at least seven years after new members join, with the stipulation that the regulation can be re-evaluated after two years. Radim Hladik/Milan Smid FROM SLOVAKIA IN BRIEF * Slovak Deputy Premier for Economy Ivan Miklos remains in his post. The opposition did not succeed in a vote of no confidence in the legislature May 23 (see Carolina 420). * The Slovak government received May 22 a loan of 200 million euro from the World Bank. The 14-year loan, for restructuring companies and the banking sector, is conditional to Slovakia continuing in bank privatization and maintaining macroeconomic stability. Roman Hladik/Sofia Karakeva ECONOMY Three Prospective Buyers for Commerce Bank There are three prospective buyers for the state's 60-per-cent share in the Commerce Bank (Komercni banka): Societe Generale of France, UniCredito of Italy and HypoVereinsbank from Germany. A fourth finalist, Credit Agricole of France, withdrew from the tender May 29. Commerce Bank is the last large Czech bank to be privatized. The main criterion should be price, which is expected to be about 40 billion crowns. Goldman Sachs is analyzing offers in London, the final decision rests with the government. Chamber of Deputies Rejects State Land Grabs The Chamber of Deputies rejected amendments to the Construction Act May 24, primarily the government's proposal to allow state confiscation of private land for the construction of new industrial zones. The government wanted to allow for a simple solution to the fight between the town of Hranice and Marketa Regecova, whose refusal to sell her land has prevented Philips from finishing a new factory there. On the other hand, Parliament permitted the unblocking of land under buildings owned by cooperative housing associations. All cooperatives owning buildings on state land would get their land for free. The amendment still has to be passed by the Senate and signed by the president. Economy by Zuzana Boleslavova/Adam Fendrych Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid June 1) -------------------------------------------------------------- 1 EUR = 34.120 country currency CZK ------------------------------------------ Australia 1 AUD 20.414 Great Britain 1 GBP 57.013 Denmark 1 DKK 4.577 Japan 100 JPY 33.824 Canada 1 CAD 25.994 IMF 1 XDR 50.491 Hungary 100 HUF 13.482 Norway 1 NOK 4.302 New Zealand 1 NZD 16.526 Poland 1 PLN 10.037 Slovakia 100 SKK 79.668 Slovenia 100 SIT 15.676 Sweden 1 SEK 3.738 Switzerland 1 CHF 22.431 USA 1 USD 40.205 Exchange Rates of countries participating in the euro (converted from the euro rate) country currency CZK ----------------------------------------- Germany 1 DEM 17.445 Belgium 100 BEF 84.581 Finland 1 FIM 5.739 France 1 FRF 5.202 Ireland 1 IEP 43.323 Italy 1000 ITL 17.622 Luxemburg 100 LUF 84.581 Netherlands 1 NLG 15.483 Portugal 100 PTE 17.019 Austria 1 ATS 2.480 Greece 100 GRD 10.013 Spain 100 ESP 20.507 CULTURE Private Collection of Contemporary American Art in Rudolfinum May 24 saw the public opening of an overview of current American art in the Rudolfinum Gallery. The collection is the result of decades of work by Ingvild Goetz, whose collection is not only one of the most famous in Germany, but is known throughout the world. There are 100 artists presented in the Rudolfinum, making this exhibit the largest presentation of American art created from the collection. The curator is a Czech woman living in Bonn, Noemi Smolik. The exhibition presents American art of the 80's and 90's, when old concepts were abandoned and artists looked for new positions in the mass-media world. The director of the Rudolfinum Gallery, Petr Nedoma, said he hopes that through the exhibit, which will last till September 2, people will become more interested in private collectors and the collecting of art and will debate the role of the private collector in connection with the present situation in art. From the Rudolfinum Katerina Kunovska/Veronika Hankusova Dancing Between the Fences The theater and music festival Between the Fences (Mezi ploty) was held for the 10th time within the fences of the Prague Psychiatric Hospital in Bohnice. The festival, which took place May 26-27, tries to bring closer together the world of physically and mentally handicapped people with the world of "the others." The civic association NedomYsleno organizes the festival in three cities - Pilsen, Brno and Prague. At the Prague festival were three winners of the Czech Music Academy 2001 awards - the ethnic group Rale, singers Lenka Dusilova and Dan Barta. Among the other artists were Jiri Schmitzer, Pavel Fajt, and the groups Vltava, Krausberry, Priessnitz, Ty sycaci and Dunaj. From Bohnice Zuzana Boleslavova/Veronika Hankusova CULTURE IN BRIEF * Australian singer Nick Cave presented his new album No More Shall We Part to a Prague audience May 26. The concert took place in the Expo Palace (Veletrzni palac) and met with a favorable response, in spite of the hall's bad sound. Cave is a frequent visitor to Prague. * The 41st year of the International Festival of Films for Children and the Youth is taking place in Zlin from May 27-June 1. More than 80 movies are competing in four categories. The festival's grand prize, the Golden Shoe, will be awarded on the International Children's Day live on Czech Television. Katerina Kunovska/Adam Fendrych SPORTS Roman Sebrle Breaks 9,000-Point Barrier in Decathlon The decathlon crowned a new king May 27. In a meet in Goetzis, Austria, Roman Sebrle break the world record with 9,026 points. The indoor world champion and Olympic silver medalist was the first athlete to earn 9,000 points. His training teammate Tomas Dvorak was the previous world record holder, with 8,994 points tallied in Prague two years ago. Sebrle started the competition well - he tied his 100m personal best and added a great long jump of more than eight meters. It was clear that neither Dvorak nor Estonia's Erki Nool - the Sydney Olympics champion - could compete with Sebrle. One small disappointment in the pole vault (480cm) was overcome with a javelin throw of more than 70 meters. In the final 1,500m, with a vision of a new world record, he broke his personal best by more than seven seconds. "I'm happy, I fulfilled my life's goal and no one will take 9,000 points away from me," said Sebrle. Goetzis decathlon results: 1. Roman Sebrle 9,026 points (100m - 10.64 seconds, long jump - 8.11m, shot put - 15.33m, high jump - 2.12m, 400m - 47.79 seconds, 110m hurdles - 13.92 seconds, discus - 47.92m, pole vault - 4.80m, javelin - 70.16m, 1,500m - 4:21.98 minutes), 2. Erki Nool (Estonia) 8,604, 3. Tomas Dvorak (Czech Republic) 8,527. Slavia to Accompany Sparta in Champions League The 30th and final round of the Czech soccer league decided the second team advance to the Champions League. Slavia Praha will try its luck in the third qualification round after its 2-1 win in Drnovice. Sparta Praha, this year's champion, advanced directly to the Champions League first-phase group. The fight for second place was dramatic. Besides Slavia, Olomouc and Pribram were also in the running for the last qualification spot. All three teams played May 25. Slavia led in Drnovice after Ivo Ulich (who is leaving Slavia for Borussia Moenchengladbach after this season) scored in the 27th minute. Pribram also took a lead after Marek Kulic's goal, while Olomouc was tied with Sparta Praha. The game in Drnovice was a mystery in the 71st minute as Tomas Randa tied the score - Pribram was then in second place. Slavia coach Karel Jarolim immediatelly sent forward Ludek Zelenka onto the field, and he scored with his first contact with the ball - Slavia led 2-1. Olomouc won its game in Prague, Stanislav Vlcek scored the winner two minutes before the end of the game. All three visiting teams won, but only Slavia celebrated. Vitezslav Tuma of Drnovice scored 15 goals in the season and was the league's top scorer, one goal ahead of Pavel Hapal of Olomouc and Pavel Kuka of Slavia. Michal Spit of Pribram was the best goalkeeper, as he played 12 games without allowing a goal. Results of the 30th round: Drnovice - Slavia Praha 1-2, Sparta Praha - Olomouc 0-1, Ostrava - Pribram 0-1, Bohemians Praha - Zizkov 1-0, Blsany - Teplice 3-1, Liberec - Brno 0-0, Stare Mesto - Ceske Budejovice 2-0, Plzen - Jablonec 2-1. Final standings of the league (the numbers indicate games won, games tied, games lost, goals scored, goals allowed and points): 1. Sparta Praha 21 5 4 71:31 68 2. Slavia Praha 14 10 6 46:32 52 3. Sigma Olomouc 14 10 6 47:33 52 4. Marila Pribram 14 9 7 40:26 51 5. Viktoria Zizkov 12 10 8 45:40 46 6. Slovan Liberec 12 9 9 39:31 45 7. FK Drnovice 11 8 11 35:36 41 8. Bohemians Praha 10 10 10 33:34 40 9. FK Teplice 12 4 14 45:39 40 10. Chmel Blsany 10 10 10 35:35 40 11. FC Synot 9 10 11 37:35 37 12. FK Jablonec 8 8 14 26:40 32 13. Stavo-Artikel Brno 7 9 14 24:35 30 14. Banik Ostrava 7 9 14 28:45 30 15. Ceske Budejovice 6 8 16 32:56 26 16. Viktoria Plzen 4 9 17 30:65 21 The order of teams with the same number of points was decided according to their head-to-head matches. Sparta and Slavia advanced to the Champions League, Olomouc, Pribram, Zizkov (Czech Cup winner) and Liberec will play in the UEFA Cup. Ceske Budejovice and Plzen were relegated to the second league, Hradec Kralove and Opava were promoted from the second league. SPORTS IN BRIEF * Czech national soccer team forward Jan Koller will play for the German Bundesliga's Borussia Dortmund next year. He signed a four-year contract and will play with Tomas Rosicky, the most expensive Czech player ever. Rumors of his being traded to Fullham were not confirmed (see Carolina 420). * Viktoria Zizkov defeated Sparta Praha 2-1 in overtime to win the Sport-1 Cup May 28. Ludek Straceny scored in the 14th minute, Jiri Jarosik tied the game in the 30th minute. Ales Pikl scored the winning goal in the 8th minute of overtime. * Dusan Uhrin, Slovak coach of the Euro 96 Czech silver-medalist soccer team, is returning to the Czech Republic; after engagements in the United Arab Emirates, Israel and Kuwait and he will lead Teplice. Jiri Kotrba signed a new contract of an unusual 10-year length with his club, Marila Pribram. League Champion Sparta Praha's coach Ivan Hasek will lead Racing Strasburg, a team relegated to the second French league but will participate in the UEFA Cup as a Cup winner. * The Czech team of Jakub Strakos, David Holzer and Vladimir Valouch won gold medals in the aerobic World Championships in Agadir, Morocco May 27. Martina Fulinova finished second and Tomas Krmicek third in the individual competition. Sports by Petr Adam/Mirek Langer WEATHER If Czechs had something to complain about last week, it wasn't the weather. Sunny, but not too hot, rain from time to time but not too heavy or long, and all the while a pleasant breeze that cleared up Prague's polluted air. Daily temperatures were 20-25 degrees Celsius/68-77 degrees Fahrenheit. 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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