SURVEY OF CZECH PRESS, 10-7-1993, by Jan Jarab

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

Headlines in all daily papers concentrate on yesterday's decision of the Czech Parliament, which passed the controversial law on the illegality of Communism. The law explicitly states that "the Communist regime between February 1989 and November 1989 was criminal and illegitimate", and that resistance to this regime was legitimate and just. The Czechoslovak Communist Party is characterized as a criminal organization. (JJ: Many former dissidents have argued against the law as being unacceptable, because it includes also the Reform Communist regime of 1968 under the definition of "criminal" and particularly because many prominent dissidents themselves had been members of the Communist Party before 1968.) Despite a heated debate in the press about the quality and merit of such a law (and despite the Premier's own scepticism about it), the law was passed by an overwhelming majority, and even the opposition parties - with the exception of the Communists - voted for it.

CESKY DENIK (right-wing) brings further reactions to recent surprising statements of Premier Klaus about the role of the Catholic Church being "totally inadequate to its importance in society" and his use of phrases like "this was the last drop" and "now it is high time to support someone else" in connection with the Church. While Christian parties and Church spokesman reacted with hurt and disbelief, opposition spokesmen (from National Liberals through Social Democrats to Communists) heartily agree and say that the Premier's view of the Church is one of the few things in which they support him. On the other hand, D.Duka (the Provincial of the Dominican Order) writes that although he respects the courage and authenticity of John Huss, he finds it absurd that this 15th century priest is being presented "as a romantic liberal fighting for pluralistic democracy". In his criticism of secular power, John Huss was rather an anarchist than someone anticipating the modern state, says Duka.

LIDOVE NOVINY (liberal) informs about an open letter of the Czech Helsinki Citizens Committee to the Minister of Health Care; the letter expresses doubts whether the proposed privatization of the health care system is constitutional. The Committee proposes that privatized hospitals should represent just an addition to the main, public system.

Commenting on the issue of the Catholic Church, LN says that "an hour and a half of liturgy on TV (not "many hours", as the Premier claims) may seem too much for a non-believer, but such direct transmissions on special occasions are quite usual throughout the democratic world, even in such a secular state as France". A cartoon shows Klaus praying in a church and saying: "Please, God, give everyone such an amount of space in the media which is adequate to his role in society".

Two pages are devoted to a report on the expansion of the cult of the Reverend Sun Myung Moon into Eastern Europe, including the Czech Republic. Title: "Playing with Three Millions of Human Puppets". The article includes interviews with parents who have lost their children to the "Moonies".

PRACE (trade-union) brings a full-page article about the somewhat overlooked period of the Czechoslovak Second Republic (between the end of liberal democracy in September 1938 and the Nazi invasion in March 1939), which represented a specific blend of Catholicism and Fascism. It reminds also of the fact that many Catholic writers who were later to become victims of the Communist regime have cried out that "Thousands of books are calling for the fire!" and called for "merciless destruction" of those who believed in "the degenerate ideals of democracy and humanism"; "the hierarchic aspect of Catholicism makes it very close to Fascism," says the leader of Czech Fascists, while the Catholic novelist, Karel Schulz, was already proposing concentration camps for Masaryk's liberal adherents. Actually, anti-Jewish laws and abolition of last democratic institutions were already being prepared when the Czech nationalist state was overrun by the greater nationalist force from Germany, says Prace at the end of this fasci

nating report. (JJ: the period of the Second Republic is usually being overlooked, with historians concentrating rather on the more heroic period of the following Resistance to Nazis.)

RUDE PRAVO (left-wing) quotes Communist deputies as saying that the "anti-Communist law" passed yesterday is founded on the principle of collective guilt. Spokesman for the "Left Bloc Club" J.Ortman says that the validity of treaties, university degrees and existing legislature will be put in doubt when the former regime is declared as "criminal and illegitimate".

TELEGRAF (conservative) questions Premier Klaus about the controversy concerning his statements about the Church. "The sharply Christian-oriented parties...are extremely nervous," says the Premier. "They would like to play a much greater role in our country, than they actually have, and therefore they are day after day disappointed by the results of opinion polls."

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SURVEY OF SLOVAK PRESS, 10-7-93, by CTK press agency

BRATISLAVA July 10 (ÇTK) - The left-leaning Slovak daily

+Pravda+ today asks "To Buy or Not to Buy a Flat?" in an

interview with Slovak parliamentarian Robert Fiç. (On July 8,

the Slovak parliament approved a bill on flats and

non-residential premises, which established rules for selling

the flats to the present tenants and to third persons).

The deputy points out that it is the present tenant's right,

not duty, to buy a flat, and recommends to do so only after a

thorough examination of the law and familiarising himself or

herself with technical parameters of the flat.

The trade union daily +Práca+ says that language competence

of civil servants is a prerequisite for the functioning of their

offices. It adds that in the Slovak parliament it has sometimes

a feeling that deputies had failed to learn standard Slovak and

points to deputies of Hungarian origin.

+Republika+, the daily of the Slovak News Agency (TASR),

says that the acceptance of recommendations of the recent

International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission to the Slovak Republic

will result in higher prices of energy in particular, will have

a negative impact on agriculture and will have far-reaching

social consequences. The paper notes that the government should

take a more resolute stand on whether or not it will continue to

be indecisive and "resorting to compromises", or whether it will

start pursuing correct economic transformation policies.

On a law declaring the illegitimacy of the former Communist regime, passed by the Czech parliament on July 9, the

Hungarian-language daily +ůj Szó+ says that such a law was

needed and that a similar law ought to be adopted in Slovakia as

well.

vr/dr