From: "Carolina/Eng No 40" <CAROLINA%CSEARN.bitnet@KSUVM.KSU.EDU>
Subject:       Carolina/Eng No 40
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Reply-To: "Carolina/Eng No 40" <CAROLINA%CSEARN.bitnet@KSUVM.KSU.EDU>
Organization: University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Date:          Fri, 11 Sep 1992 12:00:00 MDT
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         STUDENT'S E-MAIL NEWS FROM CZECHOSLOVAKIA

         School of Social Science of Charles University
         Smetanovo nabr. 6
  110 01 Prague 1
         C.S.F.R.
 e-mail address: CAROLINA@CSEARN.BITNET

            *-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

       C A R O L I N A  No 40,  Friday, September 11, 1992.


NEWS FROM THE LAST WEEK (September 2nd - September 9th)

The Slovak Republic's Constitution signed

     The  Slovak   Republic's  Constitution  was   signed  on  Thursday,
September  3rd,  at  Bratislava  castle  by  the  chairman of the Slovak
National  Parliament I.  Gasparovic and  Slovak prime  minister Vladimir
Meciar.
     This  famous action  was broadcast  live on  the federal television
channel, F1. Among the participating  politicians were the federal prime
minister,  J.  Strasky  and  the  chairman  of  Czech parliament - Czech
National Council,  M. Uhde. The Czech  prime minister V. Klaus  was also
invited but he did not participate.
      According  to  V.  Gasparovic,  the  new  Slovak constitution will
result  in an  honest partnership  with the  Czech nation  and the Czech
republic based on mutual awareness of equal partnership.
      The ceremony was  ended by playing the Slovak  national anthem and
by presenting  the new Slovak national  flag. The flag is  red, blue and
white with the national emblem of Slovak republic.


When there will be a new Czech constitution?

      The quality  of the constitution  is more important  than the rush
with  its preparation,  therefore it  is possible  that the constitution
will  be accepted  after the  declaration of  the sovereign Czech state.
However, the preparation  of the constitution is not  the only intention
of the Civic Democratic Party -  the constitution may be accepted on the
day of the declaration of independence.
      These  were  the  opinions  raised  by  V.  Klaus during the Civic
Democratic  Party's  executive  board  meeting  last  weekend.  The only
important date for  ODS is 1994, which is the  year the new elections to
local offices take place.
      When asked  his opinion concerning the  new presidential elections
V. Klaus responded "We do not think that Czechoslovakia needs a federal
president now".


Czech minister of international affairs in Poland

      Jozef Zielenec, the first minister of international affairs of the
Czech republic (It  should be noted that he was  the chair of the Center
for graduate  education and economic  research at our  faculty of social
sciences) came back from Poland on Friday, September 4th.
      The fact that his first visit abroad holding the new office was to
Poland, acknowledged the media as a  result of widening interest in good
relations  between  neighboring  countries.  It  was  also noted that J.
Zielenec is of Polish descent.
      "We are sure  that splitting of the CSFR will  not change the good
relationship  formed  with  Poland  and  we  hope that this relationship
continues to  remain good in  the future, maybe  even growing stronger",
the Czech minister said.
      J. Zielenec  negotiated with his Polish  colleague about bilateral
and trilateral  cooperation (within the  so-called Visegrad triangle  as
well as with Hungary), and about the quick creation of a free-trade zone
and other common interests concerning the European integration.


"It is better to split the common state than to quarrel"


      This is  the response given  by of two  thirds of the  trade union
members in the  Czech and Slovak republic. More than  half of them agree
with the  future negotiations concerning  the common state.  Most of the
respondents felt  splitting the CSFR would  be deeply regrettable. These
are  the results  of the  August poll  published by  the Czech  press on
Saturday September 5.


The extraordinary session of parliament on Friday.


      The discussion about future  arrangement of the Czechoslovak state
- this is the  program of the extraordinary session  of the Czechoslovak
parliament, which will  take place on Friday, September  11. The session
is  called at  the request  of  members  of parliamentary  clubs of  the
opposition  parties -  Czechoslovak  social  democratic party,  the Left
Block, Republican party  of Czechoslovakia and two Slovak  parties : The
Party of Democratic Left and Christian Democratic Party.
      There  is  a  question  about   the  particpation  of  members  of
government paries. Because the major parliamentary members are not going
to participate, the session will be led  by chairman of the House of the
People Jozef Benda. The chairman  of Federal Assembly M. Kovac (Movement
for  Democratic Slovakia  - HZDS),  the vice-chairman  F. Sedivy  (Civic
Democratic Party)  and the chairman of  the House of Nations  R. Zelenay
(HZDS) will all take part in the international symposium about democracy
in Quebec, Canada which takes place on occassion of the 200th
anniversary of the Canadian parliament.


The condition of A. Dubcek is still serious

      The chairman of the Slovak  social democratic party and the member
of the  board of chairmen in  the Federal Assembly Alexander  Dubcek was
seriously injured on Tuesday, September 1st  due to the car accident and
still  lies  at  anaesthesiological  clinic  in  the  Prague hospital Na
Homolce.
      Although fully  in conscience, his condition  remains serious even
after slight improvement.
      A.  Dubcek was  visited in  hospital also  by former  president V.
Havel


Vaclav Havel on private foreign visits

      The former Czechoslovak president Vaclav Havel visited recently as
a private person Germany and Poland.
      In the  interview for the journalist  of Czechoslovak Press Agency
in Berlin, he  said that both he and the  president Weiszacker share the
same  opinion on  various important  questions. He  said that  they e.g.
agreed on the role of political  parties in a constitutional system. The
German president  was interested in situation  in Czechoslovakia, in the
future relations  between divided republics  and also in  preparation of
Czech Republic's constitution and the role of the president in it.
      "President should  play a stabilizing  role in the  situation when
the democracy is forming. He should not be only a declarative president,
he should have  space for its own political  behavior and decisions", V.
Havel responded  to the question if  he agreed with the  Polish pertners
that the  presidential system is necessary  for the successful formation
of democracy, at  airport in Warsaw on Tuesday,  September 8th. V. Havel
met in Poland the president Walesa and the prime minister Suchocka.
      Vaclav  Havel also  addressed the  possibility of  formation of an
authoritative  regime  in  Slovakia.  According  to  the newspaper Prace
(September 9th) he said that the  authoritative features are not new for
Slovakia. The  government in the new  developing state naturally chooses
ways of ruling that ensure  discipline and operative decision making. V.
Havel does not  think that there is a  danger of "Meciar's dictatorship"
in Slovakia. Situation  is still open and it depends  only on the Slovak
society how can it cope with difficulties arising in the new state.


Law without additional parentheses


      The Supreme Court  of the CSFR dwelling in  Brno (the largest city
in  Moravia) decided  last week  that the  Act 260,  which concerns  the
punishment  for propagation  of movements  that violate  human rights or
proclaim  national  hatred  is  valid  only  if  the  text  following in
parentheses "e.g. fascism or communism" is taken out.
      The Supreme Court chairman Ernest  Vajko said that reason for this
decision was that the notions of fascism and communism are not specified
as criminal acts.  The Court did not support the  decision of 83 members
of  federal parliament  that the  whole  Act  260 should  be taken  out,
because it violates the Declaration of Human Rights.

Changes in Chechoslovak press agency CSTK

     Mass media  announced on Wednesday afternoon,  that the director of
CSTK Ing.  Petr Uhl will  be replaced by  Ing. Tomas Kopriva,  member of
parliament representing Civic Democratic Party since September 15, 1992.
     "Do you  think that it is  fair to be a  director of an institution
which should not be party - orientated with your political activity?" T.
Kopriva vwas asked  in TV interview. "I think it  is possible, and if it
is possible, it is possible that it is fair," responded T. Kopriva.


WEATHER

      After  tropical August  with record  temperatures we  have snow in
September (in High Tatras).
      There  was snowing  during weekend  at higher  elevations in  High
Tatras -  there is about 20  to 50 centimeters of  snow (The High Tatras
are the  highest mountain range in  the CSFR - the  Gerlach peak is 2655
m high, it  lies on the  north of Slovakia  on the border  with Poland).
While at the end of August there was in Slovakia a record temperature of
39 degrees  Celsius, the morning temperatures  in September have dropped
below 10 degrees  Celsius. The whole Europe is  getting colder now, e.g.
Athens and Madrid reported teperatures slightly above 20 degrees Celsius
yesterday, hence  we need not  to be sorry  that the vacation  period is
over. We had enough summer with hot weather this year.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
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