Press Review
The victory of the Republicans in the congressional elections in the United States appears on the front pages of all of the Czech Republic's major newspapers today. In each newspaper this topic also shares page one with an issue involving another major power - Russia, which has criticised Czech public television for broadcasting a documentary on Chechnya.
The victory of the Republicans in the congressional elections in the United States appears on the front pages of all of the Czech Republic's major newspapers today. In each newspaper this topic also shares page one with an issue involving another major power - Russia, which has criticised Czech public television for broadcasting a documentary on Chechnya.
The siege of a Moscow theatre by Chechen terrorists ended last week, but the sensitivity of the Russians on Chechen-related issues is being felt even in the Czech Republic. LIDOVE NOVINY's main headline reads "Russia Accuses Czech Television of Promoting Terrorists," after the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticised Czech Television for airing a Czech-made documentary on Chechnya titled "The Other Side of the World." On the ministry's internet site, Moscow questions why the documentary was broadcast so soon after the hostage crisis at the theatre came to an end, and concludes that "this fact is hard to qualify other than as overt support for the terrorists." Czech Television has not yet received an official complaint from Moscow, but it emphatically rejects the Russian claims.
From the east comes another story that receives wide attention in the Czech press today: whether dictator-president of Belarus, Aleksander Lukashenko, should be issued a Czech visa so that he can attend the upcoming NATO summit in Prague. HOSPODARSKE NOVINY reports that the Czech government discussed the issue yesterday, and that the final decision will now be made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Prague finds itself in a difficult situation: although it wants to convey the message that Lukashenko's authoritarian rule renders him persona non grata in the Czech Republic, it also does not want to prevent the Belarussian delegation from participating in the summit. Czech foreign minister Cyril Svoboda insists that "one must adhere to certain values, foreign policy cannot be purely diplomatic," while the advice from NATO headquarters is for Prague to send a letter to Lukashenko indicating that he is not welcome.
Looking to the west now, it has been decided that the historical moment when Czech voters will decide on their country entering the EU will be June 15 and 16 of next year. MLADA FRONTA DNES writes that the question posed in the referendum will read: "Do you agree that the Czech Republic should become a member state of the European Union, in accordance with the treaty on the Czech Republic's accession to the European Union?" The newspaper points out that the referendum falls on a Sunday and a Monday, which are not typical days for voting in the Czech Republic. They have been deliberately chosen so that as many people as possible can participate in the vote: on Friday and Saturday many Czechs leave the big urban centres for the country, but return on Sunday in time for work on Monday. The timing of the referendum is highly important for the government, and the Czechs will also be the last in Central Europe to vote on accession. MLADA FRONTA DNES points out that this is a calculated move intended to convince hesitant Czechs to vote "yes" in fear of being left out of the union, after an expected high "yes" vote in Hungary, Poland and Slovakia.
One of the issues that could influence the Czechs' support for EU accession is the terms under which the agricultural chapter will be closed. In an interview in HOSPODARSKE NOVINY, the EU's agricultural commissioner Franz Fischler maintains â unsurprisingly â that EU entry will pay off for Czech farmers. According to Fischler, the Czech Republic is the candidate country that is best prepared for the allocation of agricultural subsidies, and any opposition towards the Czech Republic's entry into the EU would only lead Czech farmers into a crisis.
And while Fischler contends that Czech farmers will get a good deal in the EU, the Czech government has decided that one particular citizen will get a particularly good deal once he leaves his current job. For all of those wondering what will happen to Vaclav Havel when he leaves the presidency, one thing is now sure: for the rest of his life he will receive a monthly salary of about 116 000 crowns and a chauffeur-driven car, and he will also be provided with bodyguards for five years.
