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11/17/2009
Police detained 36 people following a demonstration by right-wing extremists on Tuesday. Around 300 people took part mid-day in the unofficial demonstration near Prague’s National Theatre including the chairman of the extreme right-wing Workers’ Party, Tomáš Vandas. Police moved on the demonstration which threatened to clash with events planned to mark the anniversary of the start of the Velvet Revolution. Scuffles laetr broke out near the river at Výton after police blocked the extremists from re-entering Narodní třída.
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11/17/2009
Around three-fifths of Czechs believe that life is now better than it was before the revolution that toppled the Communist regime 20 years ago. A survey by the STEM polling agency found 58 percent of respondents believed the Velvet Revolution had resulted in a change for the better. But 23 percent believed life was better under communism and 19 percent saw little difference between life before and following the Velvet Revolution. Organisers of the survey say that the proportion of around half of respondents having mixed views of the momentous change has hardly moved since 2001. Most of those who see no improvement are aged over 60.
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11/17/2009
The Czech Republic’s corruption performance has worsened according to the 2009 annual evaluation made by the anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International. It placed the Czech Republic joint 52 alongside Lithuania in a global ranking of 180 countries corruption performance. This is a drop from the 2008 position of 45. The watchdog blamed political instability combined with a low priority for reform and anti-corruption measures for the deterioration.
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11/17/2009
Health minister Dana Jurásková has said that schools can close for a week if between 15 and 20 percent of pupils are affected by flu. The minister added that around 95,000 doses of vaccine against swine flu should be available in the next days. A further around 100,000 should follow by the end of the year, she added. Around half of the first batch of vaccine would be sent to doctors so the chronically sick could be treated with the rest going to vaccination centres for treatment of priority groups such as patients on dialysis and pregnant women. The minister said the number of Czechs infected by swine flu is not clear. So far three people have died from the virus.
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11/17/2009
Hradec Králové‛s faculty hospital has banned visits until further notice on the grounds that they could infect patients with flu. The 1,500 bed facility is one of the biggest in the country. The ban also applies to local hospitals in the region. The steps have been taken following warnings that the swine flu epidemic is likely to hit the Czech Republic from the middle of December.
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11/17/2009
Czech Davis Cup team manager Jaroslav Navrátil has said that the Spanish line-up for the final against the Czech Republic was predictable. His Spanish counterpart named Rafael Nadal, Fernando Verdasco, David Ferrer and Feliciano Lopez in the squad to take on the Czechs in Barcelona from December 4-6. Navrátil said everyone knew that Nadal, who has been plagued recently by injuries, wanted to play. The Czech team for the final is Radek Štěpánek, Tomáš Berdzch, Lukáš Dlouhý and Jan Hájek.
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11/16/2009
The Czech Republic is gearing up for the anniversary of the start of the Velvet Revolution on Tuesday, when some 20 events in Prague alone will commemorate the student demonstrations of November 1989. Some 1,000 police officers are going to be deployed in the Czech capital. Events are mostly being organized by civic organizations such as Opona, which has put together a march that follows the original route of demonstrators, from Albertov to Národní Třída, 20 years ago. At 6 pm, Narodní Třída traffic will be shut down for speeches and a concert. Speakers at the event include Chinese journalist Kao Ju and Russian human rights activist Oleg Orlov. The organizers expect some 10,000 people to attend.
In related news, Prime Minister Jan Fischer has indirectly responded to criticism that the current government did not prepare sufficiently to celebrate the 20 year anniversary of the start of the Velvet Revolution. Mr. Fischer explained that to put on an event like the large-scale celebration commemorating the fall of the Wall in Berlin last week, the previous government would have had to start preparations a year ago.
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11/16/2009
President Václav Klaus says he thought about stepping down due to the Czech Republic’s ratification of the Lisbon treaty. In a discussion with students of the Prague faculty of law on Monday, he said the reason he decided against this step was that the elementary turning point in the direction that the European Union was going came as early as 1993 with the signature of the Maastricht treaty. Mr. Klaus is one of the most vehement opponents of the Lisbon treaty and the Czech Republic was the last of the 27 EU member states to complete ratification after an opt-out was granted in October.
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11/16/2009
On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the Czech town of Ostrava is recreating the atmosphere of the era of totalitarianism. As part of a three day project titled “The Road to Freedom,” residents, under the watchful eyes of faux secret police officers, can listen to speeches by Gustav Husák, take a ride in a bus from the Communist era and discuss the former regime with historians. Several plays and film projections complete the project that was organized by the civic association Pant.
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11/16/2009
On the occasion of the anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, President Václav Klaus has granted clemency in 43 cases, an unprecedented number. Four foreigners were among the people who were granted the privilege on humanitarian grounds. Among those who received pardon is Pavel Kudrik. He was charged with theft and driving without a license and is the father of Natálka, a toddler that became the victim of an arson attack in April. Mr Klaus stated that since the father had lost his home and his child was severely injured, he would not have to serve his sentence.
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