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11/18/2004
President Vaclav Klaus has signed a bill officially ending compulsory military service in the Czech Republic as of January 1st, 2005, paving the way for a fully professional military. The decision ends a 140-year-long tradition in the Czech lands. As of 2005 all new soldiers will enter the army on a voluntary basis only, and mandatory service would only be declared during a dire threat to the country or in cases of war. With professionalisation the number of Czech military personnel will decrease from 44,000 to 35,000; of that number some 26,000 are soldiers, while a little under 9,000 are civilian employees.
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11/18/2004
Following the Czech Republic's 2:0 defeat of Macedonia in the team's final World Cup qualifier this year, football coach Karel Bruckner hinted Wednesday he has not given up on the possibility of midfeilder Pavel Nedved returning to the national side.
The former team captain, who was dogged by injury after Euro 2004, announced his - apparently definite - retirement from the national side in late September.
However, Mr Bruckner has now indicated he would at some point still like to meet with Mr Nedved to discuss the matter, saying it was his duty as coach to do so as long as Nedved was healthy. Still, the national side coach pointed out it was early days yet, saying arrangements had not yet even begun to be organised for the two men to meet.
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11/17/2004
A number of events have been held in Prague to mark the anniversary of the beginning of the Velvet Revolution, which led to the collapse of the communist regime in 1989. President Vaclav Klaus, former president Vaclav Havel and Prime Minister Stanislav Gross laid flowers at the spot where riot police attacked a peaceful student demonstration on Narodni trida exactly 15 years ago.
Mr Havel, the former dissident who led the Velvet Revolution and was elected president shortly after the fall of communism, was greeted by cheers of "long live Havel, long live Havel".
Other politicians and many ordinary Czechs laid wreathes and lit candles at the memorial on Narodni Street throughout the day.
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11/17/2004
Meanwhile, the student demonstration which sparked the changes of 1989 was reenacted in the Czech capital, beginning at Albertov and continuing to Narodni and later to Wenceslas Square. The march was entitled "Podzim bez komunistu" ("Autumn without Communists"), in protest at the present-day Communist Party.
On Wednesday evening a huge free concert called "Narodni Jinak" ("Narodni Otherwise") was held on the city centre street.
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11/17/2004
President Vaclav Klaus, addressing a ceremonial meeting of the Chamber of Deputies, said the Czech Republic's communist past should not be oversimplified. He said communism was part of Czech history and was therefore part of the national identity. Mr Klaus said the best way to come to terms with the country's communist past was to be positive today, and in so doing build a society which would not allow the emergence of similar regimes.
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11/17/2004
During a speech by the leader of the Communist Party, Miroslav Grebenicek, several MPs walked out of the Chamber, as did former president Havel. President Klaus remained seated during Mr Grebenicek's address.
Before the Chamber of Deputies meeting police broke up a heated demonstration outside the headquarters of the Communist Party organized by the Young Conservatives.
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11/17/2004
Wreathes were laid on Wednesday at a memorial to Jan Opletal, a medical student who died on November 17, 1939. A procession to his grave in 1989 on International Students Day turned into the first demonstration of the Velvet Revolution, when students broke away from the authorized route and marched into the centre of Prague.
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11/16/2004
The Cabinet has approved pension bonuses for former political prisoners and labour camp inmates under the communist regime. Meeting on the eve of the 15th anniversary of the protests that led to the fall of communism, the Cabinet approved a directive according to which former prisoners of conscience should in future receive regular bonuses to their pensions, 50 crowns for every month that they had spent in a communist prison or labour camp. According to the Confederation of Political Prisoners the new directive will affect some 6,000 former political prisoners. Those eligible will have to apply for the bonus.
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11/16/2004
The police has charged five people with trafficking in babies. According to police spokeswoman Iva Knolova further arrests may follow. Several days ago the police prevented a planned transaction at Trebic airport, arresting a doctor and young woman as they were preparing to hand over a newborn to a childless couple. The woman had a large amount of cash in her possession. According to the police spokeswoman the ringleader is a woman and the gang includes a head of department of a maternity ward. Those involved could face up to ten years in prison.
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11/16/2004
A transsexual is planning to sue the Czech military for discrimination, after the army refused to employ her as a driver. Thirty eight year old Jaroslava Brokesova was turned away despite the fact that she passed all the necessary tests. The military's health committee rejected her application on the grounds that she had undergone a sex change operation. Brokesova says she plans to file two law suits, the first in an attempt to overturn the committee's decision, the second to claim damages for having been forced to make her case public.
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