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Copyright (c) 2010 Radio Prague (Cesky Rozhlas 7 - Radio Praha)
News Wednesday, March 10th, 2010
By: Ian Willoughby
* Czech lawmakers hung Tibetan flags from both houses of parliament on
Wednesday in support of human rights in the disputed territory.
* Human Rights Minister Michael Kocab has offered to resign from the
caretaker Czech government following allegations about his private life.
* The US Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic wants Czech
politicians to pledge to adopt a new law combating corruption.
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Tibetan flag hung from both houses of Czech parliament
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MPs from the Green Party hung a Tibetan flag from a window at the lower
house of the Czech parliament on Wednesday morning in support of human
rights in the disputed territory. The Greens also placed a Tibetan flag
on their benches in the Chamber of Deputies as part of an international
day of solidarity with the people of Tibet, which was annexed by China
in 1959. Senator Vlastimil Sehnal of the Civic Democrats hung the flag
from a window in the upper house. However, neither house of parliament
took part in the protest as institutions. A motion to raise the Tibetan
flag in the Chamber of Deputies itself was not even debated, after the
left wing parties voted to reject including it on the agenda of a lower
house session. Over 350 town halls around the Czech Republic also flew
the flag on Wednesday, following a tradition of recent years.
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Human rights minister offers to resign after tabloid allegations of
affair with spokeswoman
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The minister for human rights and minorities, Michael Kocab, has
offered to resign from the caretaker Czech government following
allegations about his private life. Mr Kocab handed a letter of
resignation to Prime Minister Jan Fischer on Wednesday, hours after a
tabloid newspaper reported that the minister was having an affair with
his spokeswoman. However, Mr Fischer said he was not at the present
time minded to accept the resignation; he said he wanted to speak to Mr
Kocab personally about the matter.
Michael Kocab, who was nominated to the cabinet by the Green Party,
also served as human rights minister in the previous Czech government.
A rock musician by profession, in the early 1990s he headed the
government commission that oversaw the withdrawal of Soviet troops from
Czechoslovakia following the fall of communism.
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US Chamber of Commerce wants Czech politicians to commit to fight
against corruption
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The American Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic wants Czech
politicians to commit to fighting corruption in the country,
Hospodarske noviny reported on Wednesday. The newspaper said the
business association would put forward a radical new law on public
tenders ahead of general elections in May. The head of the US Chamber
of Commerce, Weston Stacey, said it would call on Czech politicians to
pledge to adopt the legislation within three months of the formation of
the next government; Mr Stacey said that would prove they were serious
in the fight against corruption. The American Chamber of Commerce in
the Czech Republic includes around 500 firms, including Microsoft,
Philip Morris and IBM.
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Interior Ministry receives complaints over heavy-handed approach of
border police in neighbouring states
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The Interior Ministry has received 21 complaints so far this year from
Czech drivers who said they had been harassed by the police in other
states during border controls. Most of the cases involved police in the
German state of Bavaria and in Austria. The Czech minister of the
interior, Martin Pecina, is planning to hold talks on the matter with
his German and Austrian counterparts. Some Czech drivers say they have
been subject to excessive controls by border police in neighbouring
states since border posts were closed with the Czech Republic's
accession to the Schengen zone at the end of 2007. The number of checks
reportedly increased at the start of this year after a change in Czech
law which sets the amount of various drugs people can possess without
facing criminal prosecution.
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Young opponents of Social Democrats post raised-finger photos on
anti-Paroubek page
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Critics of the Social Democrats have hit back at the party's leader
Jiri Paroubek after he said functionaries would take photographs of
opponents at election meetings to see whether the same faces appeared
at rallies in different parts of the country. The Social Democrats say
if they do spot the same faces in various places that will be evidence
of planned opposition and they will post the photographs on the
internet, a practice they say is already employed by rivals the Civic
Democrats. Many young people have reportedly reacted by posting
pictures of themselves with their middle fingers raised on an
anti-Paroubek page on the social networking website Facebook. Last year
Social Democrat representatives were pelted with eggs on the hustings
on several occasions.
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Press: controversial Opencard system could by operated by new company
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Officials in Prague are considering transferring control of a
controversial city card system to a newly established company, the
newspaper Mlada fronta Dnes reported. The Opencard, which can be used
as a travel pass and for some other services, has proven controversial,
with accusations that it cost the capital far more than it should have
done. Mlada fronta Dnes said the Town Hall may hand the running of the
Opencard system to an especially created firm under Prague's transport
authority. On Tuesday police removed documents from offices at Prague
Town Hall, two months after an opposition councillor filed corruption
charges in connection with the system. Three audits have been carried
out, uncovering numerous shortcomings. The Opencard project cost the
city CZK 800 million (over USD 42 million) but has not made any profit.
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One World festival gets underway in Prague
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The annual One World festival of human rights documentaries gets
underway in Prague on Wednesday night. Described by organisers as the
biggest event of its kind in Europe, it will this year feature over 100
films from 30 states around the world. The opening film Green Days
focuses on the aftermath of last year's disputed presidential election
in Iran, and the Czech NGO which runs the festival, People in Need,
will present a human rights award to two Iranians serving prison terms
for opposition activities. After eight days of screenings in the
capital, the One World festival will move on to 29 other Czech cities
and towns.
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Gala evening at National Theatre honours ballet dancer Daria Klimentova
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A gala evening in honour of the world renowned Czech ballet dancer
Daria Klimentova is being held at the National Theatre in Prague on
Wednesday night. Klimentova, who has been prima ballerina at the
English National Ballet in London for 13 years, will perform in public
for the 1000th time at the tribute event. There will be a repeat
performance at the National Theatre on Thursday.
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Young Gods perform acoustic show at Prague's Archa
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The Swiss rock band Young Gods performed acoustic versions of songs
from throughout their 20-year-plus career in a show at Prague's Archa
theatre on Tuesday night. The group, who are regarded as pioneers of
industrial and electronic music, brought the same show to the city's
Akropolis for two nights last year.
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Ruzicka to step down as Czech hockey coach after World Championships
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Vladimir Ruzicka has said he will quit as coach of the Czech ice hockey
team after the World Championships in Germany in May. His announcement
came after the Czech Republic were knocked out of the Winter Olympics
at the quarter-finals. Ruzicka, whose contract expires at the end of
the season, said after two years at the helm it was time to let
somebody else take over. The former star player is also manager of the
club Slavia Prague.
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Weather
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It should be partly cloudy with rain or snow at times over the next few
days, with temperatures of up to 4 degrees Celsius.
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Articles posted on www.radio.cz today
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Spotlight
Zatec - the home of hops
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For centuries, the northern Bohemian town of Zatec has been the centre
of hops growing in the country. Known as the home of hops and beer, the
town is now trying to cope with a decline in its traditional industry.
It recently launched a multi-million euro tourism project called Temple
of Hops and Beer - but it is also slowly coming to terms with recent
history that saw the town's original German population replaced by
Czechs in the aftermath of WWII.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/125821
Current Affairs
Prima ballerina Daria Klimentova holds Prague celebration of 20 years
on stage
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The National Theatre in Prague is hosting a gala performance in honour
of the world-renowned Czech ballet dancer Daria Klimentova, who is
celebrating twenty years on stage. Born here in the Czech Republic, she
has been a prima ballerina at the prestigious English National Ballet
in London for the last thirteen years. On Wednesday night, the National
Theatre will be the venue of her 1000th stage appearance. I spoke to
the dancer just before her rehearsal for tonight's event:
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/125808
Current Affairs
Situation in Iran among themes of 2010 One World festival
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The 12th One World (Jeden Svet) festival of human rights documentaries
gets underway in Prague on Wednesday evening. Over eight days it will
screen 101 films from 30 states around the world, while around 100
directors and human rights advocates are expected to attend. Every year
One World chooses particular issues to highlight; on the eve of the
festival, its new director Hana Kulhankova told me about this year's
focus.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/125807
Current Affairs
Minister of Human Rights slams public broadcaster for showing communist
era news
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Old TV news has been in the news recently here in the Czech Republic.
Michael Kocab, the human rights minister, has slammed the public
broadcaster Czech TV for showing daily bulletins from the communist
era. It is the same, he says, as if German TV showed Nazi-era news in
the 1960s. Sarah Borufka reports.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/125806
Current Affairs
US business grouping seeks to fight corruption by sponsoring new law on
public tenders
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The American Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic has taken the
highly unusual step of launching an initiative of its own to get a new
law governing how massive public contracts are awarded backed by the
government and passed by parliament. It says that corruption and the
fixing of such tenders have got so bad that many foreign firms have
given up on them altogether. We asked journalist and Amcham board
member Erik Best what it is seeking to do.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/125805
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