Copyright (c) 2010 Radio Prague (Cesky Rozhlas 7 - Radio Praha)
News Thursday, March 4th, 2010
By: Daniela Lazarova
* NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen is on a two-day visit to
the Czech Republic.
* The UN human rights commissioner has criticized the Czech Republic,
Slovakia and Italy for discrimination of their Romany minorities.
* The Austrian president, Heinz Fischer, has lashed out against the
Benes decrees, calling them a gross injustice.
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NATO head Rasmussen on two-day visit to Prague
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The secretary general of NATO, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, is on a two-day
visit to Prague. He is meeting with the Czech prime minister, Jan
Fischer, as well as the ministers of foreign affairs and defence, Jan
Kohout and Martin Bartak. One of the main items on Mr Rasmussen's
agenda is the Czech government's plans to send 55 more troops to
Afghanistan, where over 500 Czech soldiers are now serving. The troop
increase is expected to face a major hurdle in the Czech Parliament,
where the plan does not have majority support. Defence Minister Bartak
told Czech Television he hoped the NATO leader's visit could help
increase support for sending more soldiers to the country.
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UN human rights commissioner criticizes Czech Republic for
discrimination of Romanies
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The UN commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, on Thursday
criticized the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Italy for doing little to
prevent continuing discrimination of their Romany minorities. Ms.
Pillay said that while other European governments had taken action to
improve the life of their Roma minorities, their living conditions in
the three mentioned states actually appeared to have deteriorated. She
said Romanies were exposed to open racism and negative stereotyping in
all areas of life. The human rights commissioner said she wanted to
talk to government officials about taking effective measures to combat
the problem, starting in Italy next week.
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Austrian president wants Benes decrees revoked
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The Austrian president, Heinz Fischer, has lashed out against the Benes
decrees, legislation that sanctioned the expulsion and confiscation of
property of some 2.5 million ethnic Germans from post-war
Czechoslovakia. In an open letter to the Sudeten German Landsmanschaft
in Austria, President Fischer said the decrees had been a gross
injustice imposed on the Sudeten German community in post-war
Czechoslovakia, and should not be sanctioned by the European Union. He
said he would fight for human rights to be respected within and outside
Austria's borders and firmly believed that the chance of justice being
done in the present day EU was far greater than it had been in 20th
century Europe.
After the fall of communism politicians in Austria and Germany called
for the decrees to be revoked, opening the way for compensation claims.
President Vaclav Klaus tried to block this possibility when he demanded
an opt-out from the EU's Charter of Fundamental Rights before signing
the Lisbon Treaty late last year. In reaction to the letter, President
Klaus said it was essential that the opt-out should be approved as soon
as possible.
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Germany promises to look into alleged harassment of Czech drivers in
Bavaria
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On a working visit to the Czech Republic German Foreign Minister Guido
Westerwelle on Thursday promised to look into the matter of alleged
harassment of Czech drivers on German roads, particularly in Bavaria.
Czech politicians recently demanded an apology from Germany after
receiving more than 100 complaints from Czech drivers saying they had
been searched and questioned in a humiliating manner by German traffic
police. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Kohout said on Thursday that if this
behaviour did not actually violate the Schengen agreement it certainly
went against its spirit.
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Communist prosecutor's case to be reopened
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A lawyer representing Ludmila Brozova-Polednova, a communist-era
prosecutor who is serving a six year jail sentence for judicial murder,
has asked for her case to be reopened. Ludmila Brozova-Polednova, now
88, was instrumental in sending democratic politician Milada-Horakova
to the gallows in a 1950 show trial. Although her appeals for clemency
on the grounds of ailing health were rejected, it has now emerged that
the former prosecutor could be freed on the grounds of three amnesties
that apply to her case. Her lawyer, Vladimir Kovar, has asked for the
prisoner to be released on health grounds while her case is reviewed.
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Golden eagles nesting in Czech Republic after more than a century
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Ornithologists who are trying to reintroduce the Golden Eagle to the
Beskydy Mountains report the first success in four years. Two of 14
golden eagles to have been released into the wild since 2006 have
finally started building a nest, the first on Czech territory in more
than a century. The head of the team that has brought them back, Petr
Orel, says this is a huge success since eagles tend to return to the
same nest to breed for several years. Females lay from one to four
eggs, and typically, one or two young survive to fledge in about three
months. Ornithologists have refused to reveal the location of the nest
for security reasons.
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Police arrest car fraudster wanted in several EU states
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Czech police have arrested an Argentinean national wanted for fraud in
several EU countries. The man, who moved around the Schengen zone with
false identity papers, was arrested on an Interpol warrant at Prague's
Florenc bus station shortly after arriving in the Czech Republic from
Spain. According to a police spokeswoman the suspect posed as a car
dealer and walked off with people's down-payments. It is not yet clear
where he will be tried.
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Many Czechs don't bother to read food labels
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A survey conducted by the Food Inspection Authority at the beginning of
this year indicates that more than half of Czech consumers don't bother
to read the small print on consumer labels. Fifty-six percent of
respondents said they never looked at the small print. The reasons
cited were that they did not believe what was written on the packaging,
it was hard to read or that they selected goods on the basis of price.
The vast majority of respondents said they would prefer to buy fresh
products daily, but for the sake of convenience they shopped at
hypermarkets once a week and went for bigger packaging in order to save
money.
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Five-year-old falls from second-floor window
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The police are investigating an accident in which a 5-year old fell
from a second floor window while unattended. The child, who was alone
in the flat at the time, escaped with relatively minor injuries, a
broken leg and bruises. Police are questioning the parents in view of
filling negligence charges. There have been several incidents in recent
months of children falling from open windows. An eleven-year-old boy
who miraculously survived a fall from a sixth floor window a fortnight
ago remains in intensive care.
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Czechs lose 1:0 to Scotland in away friendly
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The Czech Republic's footballers were beaten 1:0 by Scotland in a
friendly in Glasgow on Wednesday night. The Czechs dominated play for
much of the match but were unable to convert possession into goals. In
three games under manager Michal Bilek the Czechs have been beaten
three times and failed to score a single goal. Bilek said after
Wednesday's defeat that in the absence of the injured Milan Baros his
team lacked a player who could find the net in such games. The Czech
Republic will face Scotland again in qualifiers for Euro 2012; their
group also contains European champions Spain, Lithuania and
Liechtenstein.
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Weather
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We should see partly clear to cloudy skies in the coming days with up
to 15 centimeters of fresh snow expected over the weekend. Day
temperatures should hover around freezing point.
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Articles posted on www.radio.cz today
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Panorama
The Black Dogs Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club - not your typical
bikers' club
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Most days, Aleksi Sedo is an experimental oncologist at Charles
University's Faculty of Medicine. But when he meets with his brothers
from the Black Dogs motorcycle club, Sedo no longer goes by his real
name.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/125629
Current Affairs
Exhibit celebrates 15 years of Czech Press Photo
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In 1995 the Czech Press Photo competition was established to promote
Czech photojournalism. Now the esteemed award is in its 15th year, and
to mark that occasion, its organisers are holding a special show of
more than 500 of the best pictures from all sides of life at Prague's
Old Town Hall. The founder of Czech Press Photo, photography theorist
and critic Daniela Mrazkova, spoke to our reporter Christian Falvey
about developments in Czech photojournalism over the last 15 years.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/125635
Current Affairs
Will Mucha's gigantic Slav Epic be shown in Japanese museum?
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Japanese promoters have expressed interest in bringing to Japan one of
the most grandiose pieces in the history of Czech art, Alphonse Mucha's
Slav Epic. They are even offering to finance the restoration of the
monumental, which consists of 20 huge canvasses. But both the city of
Prague, which owns the work, and Mucha's grandson are hesitant to let
it travel so far.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/125613
Current Affairs
Prague link established with Shoah Foundation video archive of
Holocaust survivors
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Prague is one of a few sites in Europe that has been chosen as an
access point for Hollywood director Steven Spielberg's collection of
Holocaust recollections. The link with the Spielberg-financed Shoah
Foundation has already created strong interest locally after only a few
weeks.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/125612
Current Affairs
Analyst: Ignorance, crisis of values explains Czech soldiers with SS
symbols
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A member of the armed forces faces a dishonourable discharge and a
possible criminal prosecution after colleagues noticed an SS tattoo on
his back. The news comes after Defence Minister Karel Bartak ordered a
crackdown on neo-Nazi sympathisers in the Czech armed forces in the New
Year.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/125610
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