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 432, Friday, October 5, 2001. FROM THE EVENTS OF THE PAST TWO WEEKS (September 19 - October 3) Prime Minister Zeman Offers Military Assistance Prime Minister Milos Zeman October 2 offered military aid to the allies on behalf of the Czech Republic. The aid includes field hospitals, chemical warfare units and the 6th brigade of special forces, which won the NATO competition for most efficient unit. Zeman's speech was broadcast by Czech Television and Czech Radio. The prime minister reminded the viewers of Czech historical experiences (e.g., the Munich Agreement of 1938) that "prove that appeasing a terrorist aggressor does not pay." Public Opinion Poll Finds Czechs Afraid of Global Conflict More than two-thirds (69 per cent) of Czech respondents are afraid that events after the terrorist attack on the USA might cause a worldwide military conflict, according to a poll taken by the STEM agency for Czech Radio and Czech Television. Forty-five per cent of respondents are for military retaliation. Slightly less than two-thirds of the respondents (64 per cent) said one of the causes for the terrorist attack was insensitive U.S. foreign policy. American Buildings in Prague Guarded by Police and Army The Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty building, said to be targeted for a bomb attack, has been guarded by armored personnel carriers, policemen and airborne infantry from September 27. According to General Jiri Sedivy, head of the joint chiefs of staff, the Czech Republic received a warning from intelligence services. The daily Lidove noviny claimed terrorists were to deliver the bomb in a small van. Interior Minister Stanislav Gross acknowledged Prague was in real danger. As a result of defense of the RFE/RL building (the former Czechoslovak Federal Assembly), police are limiting traffic on the streets between Wenceslas Square and the National Museum. No vehicle over 3.5 tons is allowed on these roads. The APCs are, according to 43rd battalion mechanized infantry chief Ales Opata, "an artificial mobile barrier against explosives in vehicles." The APCs were transferred to Prague from Hodonin (in southern Moravia) with a marked delay. That caused a great displeasure among opposition deputies in the Defense and Security Committee. Special security measures accepted after the terrorist attacks in USA are in effect for the U.S. Embassy, Prague Castle and the Lany Chateau (the presidential retreat) as well. Secret Services Gain Greater Authority over Citizens Amendments to the Police and Secret Services Act were passed September 24 to allow the Security Information Service (BIS) to obtain mobile-phone records more easily (to whom and from where calls were made). President Vaclav Havel supported the intentions of police and secret-service authorities. "But I would not call this a limitation of civic or human rights. I would probably call it their protection," said Havel. Havel's Heart Problems Cause Cancellation of State Visit to Italy The sudden heart arythmia of President Vaclav Havel forced the cancellation of his planned three-day visit to Italy in the final minutes before his plane was to leave September 24. Havel boarded the plane but felt sick and his doctor discovered the president's heart rate was twice as high as normal. After four days of treatment in the Central Military Hospital in Stresovice, Havel was released. His convalescence took place as usual in the presidential retreat at the Lany Chateau. Top Politicians Discuss Army Reform Top constitutional representatives - the president, prime minister, the chairs of both chambers of Parliament and the chairs of four parties represented in the Chamber of Deputies - agreed to abolish compulsory military service as part of the Czech Army's reform. The meeting took place September 21 in Prague Castle, President Vaclav Havel as usual refused to invite representatives of the third-largest parliamentary party - the Communist Party of Bohemia and Moravia (KSCM). According to the government's plan, the Czech Republic should have a fully professional army by January 1, 2007, with 35,000 soldiers and 10,000 civilians (see Carolina 430). 1,500 Foreign Soldiers Receive Training in the Czech Republic A total of 1,500 soldiers from the Netherlands, USA and Slovakia are taking part in the international military training maneuvers, called Falcon, from October 1-19. The training is taking place in the Boletice, Jince and Hradiste military training areas and also at the army air base in Ceske Budejovice. The Netherlands requested the Czech Republic host this training. The operations section of the joint chiefs of staff is coordinating the training. Alexandr Vondra in Charge of NATO Summit in Prague President Vaclav Havel September 21 in Prague Castle appointed Alexandr Vondra, until recently Czech ambassador to the USA, to manage the preparation committee for the NATO summit planned for November 2002 in Prague, where further expansion of the alliance should be decided. NEWS IN BRIEF * Former tennis player and businessman Milan Srejber, 37, did not succeed in appealing his five-and-a-half year sentence to the High Court (see Carolina 403). The original sentence was cut to five years, but it was upheld and came into force. Srejber was sentenced for abusing insider information and damaging shareholders of his Srejber Tennis Investing Fund. Damages were valued at 13 million crowns. Srejber was connected to the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) financial scandal in 1997, when he confessed to sponsoring the ODS under false names (see Carolina 267, 268). * The Supreme Court rejected a complaint on behalf of Jiri Kajinek, sentenced to life for a contract double-murder. Kajinek had never confessed to the crime and he became the most notorious Czech prisoner after escaping from the high-security Mirov Prison (see Carolina 392, 398). The complaint, submitted in February by then-Justice Minister Pavel Rychetsky, was based on the principle that in case of reasonable doubts, the accused should be found innocent. ECONOMY The exchange rates of the Czech currency broke this year's records after the crown reached its best-ever rate against the euro (33.61 crowns) October 3. The crown got stronger also in relation to the US dollar with an exchange rate of 36.70 crowns to the dollar. The strong currency is good news for importers and Czech tourists but bad news for Czech exporters. Monetary experts say the present strengthening of the crown was caused by the expected payment the Czech state should receive for the sale of its share in the Commerce Bank (Komercni banka). Another reason could be the weakening of the U.S., Japanese and EU economies. Rates at the Czech National Bank (valid October 5) -------------------------------------------------------------- 1 EUR = 33.710 country currency CZK ------------------------------------------ Australia 1 AUD 18.404 Great Britain 1 GBP 54.190 Denmark 1 DKK 4.534 Japan 100 JPY 30.539 Canada 1 CAD 23.482 IMF 1 XDR 47.366 Hungary 100 HUF 13.097 Norway 1 NOK 4.180 New Zealand 1 NZD 15.106 Poland 1 PLN 8.770 Slovakia 100 SKK 77.432 Slovenia 100 SIT 15.318 Sweden 1 SEK 3.477 Switzerland 1 CHF 22.664 USA 1 USD 36.811 Exchange Rates of countries participating in the euro (converted from the euro rate) country currency CZK ----------------------------------------- Germany 1 DEM 17.236 Belgium 100 BEF 83.565 Finland 1 FIM 5.670 France 1 FRF 5.139 Ireland 1 IEP 42.803 Italy 1000 ITL 17.410 Luxemburg 100 LUF 83.565 Netherlands 1 NLG 15.297 Portugal 100 PTE 16.814 Austria 1 ATS 2.450 Greece 100 GRD 9.893 Spain 100 ESP 20.260 CULTURE Open-Door Days at Sova's Mills After many years the doors of Sova's Mills (Sovovy mlyny) were opened to the public September 28 on St. Wenceslas' Day holiday, and about 6,000 people toured the site. The structure, repaired for 122 million crowns by the Prague City Hall in cooperation with the Jan and Meda Mladek Foundation, should be opened for good next spring. The building will house the Mladeks' enormous art collection, best known for its array of paintings by Frantisek Kupka. The mills now feature an exhibit by Croatian tapestry artist Jagoda Buicova. The reconstruction of the building, the first known mention of which comes from the 14th century, was the center of long political battles and architectural controversy. Meda Mladek decided after her husband's death to donate part of their collection to Prague, in exchange for which the city granted her the use of the mills for 99 years for free. Mladek demanded a glass structure added to the building's roof, a plan that was rejected by numerous building commissions but finally approved by Culture Minister Pavel Dostal. The latest problem is Mladek's plan to accommodate important guests in the building. 100 Years Since Jaroslav Seifert's Birth September 23 would have been the 100th birthday of Jaroslav Seifert, the distinguished poet and the only Czech Nobel laureate in literature. He died in 1986 and his funeral turned into a silent demonstration against the communist regime. Among his most significant poems are The Apple from Your Lap (Jablko z klina, -1933), The Hands of Venus (Ruce Venusiny, 1936), written before WWII, and Turn off the Lights (Zhasnete svetla, 1938), The Fan of Bozena Nemcova (Vejir Bozeny Nemcove, 1940), The Bridge of Stone (Kamenny most, 1944) from the period of Nazi German occupation. The Song of Viktorka (Pisen o Viktorce, 1950) resulted in accusations of having betrayed his class and led to Seifert's concentrating upon politically non-controversial themes. Seifert was a member of the Communist Party in the 20's, but he left the party in 1929 and his proletarian leftist attitude turned into a more non-affiliated, social-democratic leaning. He delivered a historic speech at the Czechoslovak Writers' Association congress in 1956, where he called for the release and rehabilitation of jailed and persecuted authors. In 1968 Seifert condemned the Soviet invasion, in 1969 he was elected Chairman of the Czechoslovak Writers' Association, but he was deposed after the Husak regime came to power. His works An Umbrella from Piccadilly (Destnik z Piccadilly) and The Plague Column (Morovy sloup) were published first in samizdat and by foreign publishing houses. In 1977 Seifert signed Charter 77. Although Seifert's position was uncomfortable for the regime, the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1984 prevented Seifert from being doomed to public oblivion, and the official media published stories on his life and work. Zdenek Rotrekl - Jaroslav Seifert Prize Laureate The Charter 77 Foundation awarded the prestigious Jaroslav Seifert Prize for 2001 to Zdenek Rotrekl, a poet, writer and critic, for his exceptional achievements in literature. His book of poems A Town without Walls (Nezdene mesto) appeared in samizdat in 1976, but was officially published last year. The Charter 77 Foundation has awarded the Jaroslav Seifert Prize, along with 250,000 crowns, since 1986. SPORTS Champions League: Sparta Praha - Feyenoord Rotterdam 4-0 Sparta Praha soccer players recorded their first win in this campaign of the top European football competition. They defeated the Netherlands' champion 4-0 at home in Prague September 25. It was the same result another Dutch team - Tilburg - recorded in Prague two years ago. Sparta was better in all facets, both coaches agreed. It had a lot of scoring opportunities while it did not allow its opponent any better chances. Lukas Hartig scored the first goal in the 24th minute, in the 37th minute van Gobbel fouled Libor Sionko in the box and was sent off before Vladimir Labant converted the penalty. Marek Kincl added the third goal in the 71st minute and Rastislav Michalik scored the fourth three minutes later. About 15,000 fans saw the mismatch. After Spartak Moscow lost to Bayern Munich 1-3, Sparta and Bayern lead the standings: 1. Sparta 4 points, 2. Bayern 4, 3. Spartak 1, 4. Feyenoord 1. The first round was postponed after the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States till October 10. UEFA Cup First Round: Pribram and Liberec Advance Two of five Czech representatives managed to advance to the second round of the UEFA Cup. Marila Pribram defeated CS Sedan of France 4-0 at home and although it lost 1-3 in France, it went on to the second round to face PAOK Thessaloniki of Greece. Slovan Liberec can look forward to games against Spain's Celta Vigo after it eliminated Slovan Bratislava (2-0 at home, 0-1 away). It was Vigo, which eliminated Sigma Olomouc. It won 4-0 at home, the Czechs at least celebrated a victory in the rematch, won by Olomouc 4-3. Slavia Praha said goodbye to this year's European Cups unexpectedly soon. The UEFA Champions League qualification-round loser was not good enough for Servette Geneve. It lost 0-1 away and drew 1-1 at home. Also Viktoria Zizkov did not succeed, failing to score a goal. It played a scoreless tie at home and lost 0-1 away. Soccer League: Last-Place Opava Changes Coach Bohus Keler is the first coach sacked in this year's soccer league. Keler, who led Opava during the season it won the second league and moved into the first league, got only one point in nine games and was replaced by assistant coach Miroslav Mentel. Results of the 8th round: Drnovice - Sparta Praha 0-2, Ostrava - Bohemians Praha 1-1, Slavia Praha - Synot 0-1, Hradec Kralove - Pribram 1-0, Jablonec - Blsany 1-0, Teplice - Brno 2-2, Olomouc - Opava 3-1. The Zizkov - Liberec game was postponed till October 9. Results of the 9th round: Sparta Praha - Jablonec 1-0, Bohemians Praha - Teplice 1-0, Synot - Ostrava 0-4, Brno - Hradec Kralove 2-1, Blsany - Slavia Praha 1-2, Brno - Hradec Kralove 2-1, Opava - Zizkov 0-1, Pribram - Olomouc 1-1, Liberec - Drnovice 1-1. Standings: 1. Sparta Praha 21 points, 2. Bohemians Praha 20, 3. Ostrava 17, 4. Zizkov 16, 5. Slavia Praha 16, 6. Liberec 13, 7. Brno 13, 8. Jablonec 12, 9. Synot 12, 10. Drnovice 11, 11. Blsany 10, 12. Olomouc 10, 13. Hradec Kralove 9, 14. Teplice 8, 15. Pribram 8, 16. Opava 1. Hockey Extraleague Results Results of the 6th round: Zlin - Slavia Praha 3-2 OT, Karlovy Vary - Vsetin 2-4, Trinec - Litvinov 0-4, Znojmo - Pardubice 0-3, Havirov - Plzen 4-3, Ceske Budejovice - Vitkovice 1-2 OT, Sparta Praha - Kladno 1-2 OT. Results of the 7th round: Slavia Praha - Trinec 6-2, Kladno - Znojmo 4-3 OT, Ceske Budejovice - Zlin 4-4, Vitkovice - Karlovy Vary 2-1, Pardubice - Havirov 6-1, Litvinov - Sparta Praha 1-4, Vsetin - Plzen 3-1. Results of the 8th round: Havirov - Vsetin 2-3, Trinec - Ceske Budejovice 4-5 OT, Karlovy Vary - Litvinov 10-3, Sparta Praha - Pardubice 3-4 OT, Plzen - Kladno 4-4, Zlin - Vitkovice 3-2, Znojmo - Slavia Praha 4-3. Results of the 9th round: Zlin - Trinec 2-6, Vitkovice - Znojmo 3-1, Ceske Budejovice - Karlovy Vary 4-3, Slavia Praha - Sparta Praha 1-2, Kladno - Vsetin 1-1, Litvinov - Havirov 3-2, Pardubice - Plzen 5-0 Results of the 10th round: Sparta Praha - Vitkovice 2-2, Znojmo - Zlin 2-3, Plzen - Slavia Praha 1-1, Kladno - Pardubice 1-2, K.Vary - Trinec 1-3, Vsetin - Litvinov 2-1, Havirov - Ceske Budejovice 2-1 OT Standings: 1. Sparta Praha 23, 2. Pardubice 21, 3. Zlin 19, 4. Vsetin 17, 5. Trinec 17, 6. Vitkovice 15, 7. Slavia 13, 8. Litvinov 13, 9. Havirov 10, 10. Kladno 10, 11. Ceske Budejovice 8, 12. Karlovy Vary 7, 13. Znojmo 7, 14. Plzen 5. SPORTS IN BRIEF * The Czech Republic defeated Romania 3-2 in the Davis Cup World Group qualification round. The Czech team remains the only one never to fall from the World Group after the tie played in Prostejov September 21-23. * The first Czech driver in formula one, Tomas Enge, finished 13th in the Grand Prix of the United States in Indianapolis (he finished the race in 14th place, but moved up one spot after Trulli's disqualification). WEATHER According to the calendar autumn began September 23, but in the first days of October the long-awaited Indian summer finally arrived. The high temperature of October 3, 25 degrees Celsius/77 degrees Fahrenheit, represents the highest recorded temperature since measurements were first taken in 1775. The issue of Carolina was written by Martin Rusek, Lenka Nejezchlebova, Lida Truneckova and Ondra Trunecka, and translated by Sofi Karakeva, Ondrej Maly, Mirek Langer, Milan Smid and Michael Bluhm. 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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