SURVEY OF THE PRESS IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC, 17-6-1993

by Jan Jarab

Daily newspapers surveyed (in alphabetical order): Cesky denik, Lidova demokracie, Lidove noviny, Mlada fronta dnes, Prace, Rude pravo, Svobodne slovo, Telegraf.

CESKY DENIK (right-wing, strongly anti-Communist) brings an extensive interview with Ismet Ramadani, leader of the Albanian minority in Macedonia. "We don't want to be a minority in Macedonia, we insist on being one of the state-forming elements," says Mr.Ramadani, who also approves of the U.N. plan to send U.S. soldiers to Macedonia - "if only because Milosevic is against it."

LIDOVA DEMOKRACIE (Catholic). Headline: "Stop CFSs in 1995". According to the Government proposal for new legislation, CFC production is to be regulated by Government licenses, and slowly decreased to enable their replacement by other technologies in 1995. (Neighboring Germany, however, will end CFC production already in 1993. The Czech Republic is currently responsible for 0,5% of the world CFC production.)

LIDOVE NOVINY (liberal, formerly dissident underground paper)

writes in its editorial "The Palace and the Tent" about the controversy concerning the Dalai Lama's presence at the Vienna Conference. LN criticizes the Conference for bowing, albeit temporarily, to the Chinese pressure.

MLADA FRONTA DNES (centrist, without political affiliation). Headline: Foreign Secrete Services Could Use Data (i.e., data from the database which was sold to private companies by the previous Federal Ministry of Interior). The scandal is being investigated. Also the investigation continues of the ex-Mayor of Prague, M.Kondr - also a member of the ruling ODS - and other 14 city officials who gave themselves illegal pay hikes.

SVOBODNE SLOVO (centrist, ex-Socialist) comments extensively on the Vienna conference, praising Austrian leaders Vranitzky and Mock for "their courageous reaction to Chinese bullying".

TELEGRAF (conservative) informs that the opposition proposal for a more radical anti-CFC law, which would ban their production after April 1994 and import after January 1994, will not be discussed at the July session of the Czech Parliament (unlike the new version of the Clean Air Law, which is proposed by the Government and will be discussed at the July session).

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SURVEY OF SLOVAK PRESS by CTK

BRATISLAVA, June 17 (ÇTK) - The tabloid +Nový ças+ stresses

that the talks about a coalition government between the Movement

for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) and the Slovak National Party

(SNS) have been a result of the fact that the ruling movement

realised its incompetence to solve all problems. The daily

raises the question of how many economic posts will be assigned

to the SNS so that the HZDS would at least partially get rid of

responsibility for the economic situation in Slovakia.

The acceptance of the conditions set by the International

Monetary Fund, demanding that Slovakia do not have a state

deficit of more than 15 billion Slovak crowns (500 million USD),

will be the hardest touchstone for the government, writes +Nový

ças+.

As far as his prepared dismissal is concerned, Slovak

Minister for Education Matú Kuçera says in an interview with

the trade union daily +Práca+ that he will wait what the HZDS

caucus will tell him. Then he will inform journalists. He

stressed that he would wait for this decision because he is not

a member of the caucus.

The opposition daily +Slovenský denník+, close to the

Christian Democratic Movement (KDH), calls "interesting" the

idea of the HZDS deputy chairman Roman Zelenay who reportedly

asserts that expertise and non-partisanship must be the leading

criteria for the choice of the Slovak National Bank Governor.

"He considers Anton Vavro, the KDH candidate, the best expert,

but he is inacceptable for HZDS because of his former ODů (Civic

Democratic Union) membership", writes the daily. The governing

movement would hardly put up with the fact that it would have to

apply "strict" professionalism in the choice of candidates for

this office, concludes +Slovenský denník+.

Chairman of the Constitutional and Legal Committee of the

Slovak National Council Milan Seçánsky stresses in an interview

with the left-oriented daily +Pravda+ that he considers the law

on the compulsory submission of property return an encroachment

on the basic rights and liberties of the citizens and an

unauthorised encroachment on their privacy. He said that

professional secrecy regarding information on tax and property

returns of the individuals had to be strictly observed. Thus the

troubles would be prevented from occurring, said Seçánsky

without specifying them.

The daily +Smena+, close to the governing HZDS, contemplates

the talks between the HZDS and the SNS on the coalition

government and writes that the filling of some ministerial posts

is not yet certain. This will depend on conditions made by the

SNS. According to +Smena+, Premier Meçiar is optimistic

regarding the coalition talks.