SURVEY OF CZECH PRESS

PRAGUE, July 21 (ÇTK) - The right-oriented +Telegraf+

dismisses the suggestion that Chairman of the Parliament Milan

Uhde had supported for personal gain a project of the private

Çeská kniha (Czech Book) company, co-owned by his wife, when he

was Minister of Culture. The whole "affair" has been created

"quite artificially and it is just a question who is behind it

all," writes the paper. In a similar way, Miroslav Macek was

mistreated and used as a means to attack the Civic Democratic

Party (ODS) and to cast doubt on the credibility of high-ranking

politicians, states +Telegraf+.

The writer expresses his fear of the future if the whole

affair was fabricated by journalists who, on principle, attack

anyone who holds power. "Whoever works in the mass media and

whose activity is not guided strictly by a search for truth, but

by a silly presentation of unverified and attractive inventions,

becomes dangerous in general," concludes +Telegraf+.

The left-oriented +Rudé právo+ reacts to the same issue in

an article called "A Look from the other Side". The whole Çeská

kniha affair should be sufficient "to make from the former

minister and current parliament chairman a writer again," writes

the daily. It points to the fact that this is not the first

intervention of this sort, as Milan Uhde acted similarly as

minister of culture with "the privatisation project of his party

colleague Miroslav Macek in the matter of Knićní velkoobchod

(Book Wholesale)".

The independent +Mladá fronta Dnes+ writes that it is

certainly not inapproperiate politically that Minister Uhde, in

a letter sent to former Privatisation Minister Tomá Jećek,

explained how to save stocks of books worth billions. "... but

on the part of Milan Uhde it was improvident, to say the least,

that he had been pushing through this entrepreneurial activity

as a minister although he had known that his wife featured on

the list of partners of the recommended company," claims +Mladá

fronta Dnes+.

The case of the Czech parliament chairman is mentioned also in the Christian-oriented +Lidová demokracie+, which points to the absence of the law on conflict of interests. "If the legal

regulation of conflicts of interest is only of a declaratory

type, or if it is completely missing, then it is up to each

individual whether he or she is able to observe the unwritten

moral code and not to abuse his or her position for personal

gain," writes the paper.

The opposition, which has not learnt any lesson from the

elections, is still diluting its ranks, comments +Mladá fronta

Dnes+. The left-wing parties face a crucial decision. They can

still, even over the smallest affairs, hound the government all

on their own and put up with lack of interest of a substantial

part of the electorate. Or they can choose a more difficult way,

to accept the orientation of the current government and to point

with meticulous care to its partial mistakes. "Milo Zeman,

whose plans are assented to by the Liberal Social Union (LSU)

leader Trnka and leaders of the renewed party of the Socialists,

has ambitions of uniting the left. Zeman is just the politician

who has shown only his ability for idly attacking the

government. It seems that the left, though united under his

leadership, will play for a long time the role of a barking dog

which does not bite, concludes +Mladá fronta Dnes+.

The independent +Lidové noviny+ claims that the director of the Czech Customs General Directorate, Ji í Hronovský, had been

a State Security (StB) agent since the early 1980s. He had been

registered on November 25, 1981, by the third section of the

third department of the State Security with number 23769 in the

category "candidate for secret collaboration." Starting May 6,

1982, he was reclassified as "agent". According to the paper,

Ji í Hronovský signed his declaration on collaboration with the

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SURVEY OF SLOVAK PRESS

BRATISLAVA, July 21 (ÇTK) - What else can endanger the

coalition, today's edition of the independent +Národná obroda+

asks while taking a look at the results of talks between the

ruling Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) and the Slovak

National Party (SNS). With a coalition of these two parties in

the parliament, the opposition would be relegated to the level

of extras. Unable to push through a single bill, the opposition

might perhaps score some points on constitutional matters, the

daily writes, adding that through the Supreme Inspection Office

(NKů), the coalition can bring pressure to bear on the

Democratic Left Party (SDL) regarding the property of the former

Czechoslovak Communist Party (KSÇ), something which could at the

same time both raise and render more precarious the SDL's

popularity. However, similar contemplations are of little value

before the coalition materialises, +Národná obroda+ concludes.

+Národná obroda+ also takes up the matter of the letter to

Czech Premier Václav Klaus from Hungarian Premier József Antall.

The daily quotes the left-oriented Hungarian paper

+Népszabadság+, which said that Antall either did not know his

Czech counterpart or had sent his letter to the wrong address.

+Slovenský deník+, a daily close to the opposition Christian

Democratic Movement (KDH), wonders whether the rules governing

parliamentary proceedings are followed in the Slovak parliament.

It may be a matter of ethics that when deputies were asked to

confirm the results of the vote on the chairman and

deputy-chairmen of the NKů, all of the three newly elected

officials also raised their hands. But more serious is the fact

that NKů chairman Marián Vanka said he did not know what duties

the post would involve, although they are set out in the

Constitution, +Slovenský deník+ writes.

+Smena+, a daily close to the governing HZDS, observes that in the last three years the parliament has already approved ten amendments to the criminal code. Organised crime, though, is not given attention, and legislation on the possession and peddling of narcotics has not changed since 1961. "The new criminal code, to be completed by next year, is expected to take effect in 1995. Until then, we must fall back on the amendments and hope that our cities will not become like Chicago of the 1920s, the paper writes, adding that extending the powers of the police will be of no avail when it is the courts that have the final say.

Taking up the same theme, the tabloid +Nový ças+ writes that "Slovakia finds itself in a moral crisis." A civilised society should be guided by quality laws, the preparation of which is politicians' responsibility. When the laws are of inferior

quality, +Nový ças+ writes, it is proof that the people who

compile them either are not up to standard or are indifferent

to crime.

+ůj Szó+, a Hungarian minority paper, writes that both

Hungary's ruling party, the Hungarian Democratic Forum, and the

HZDS are losing their popular appeal. The daily asks whether the

governing parties are able to distance themselves from extreme

nationalists. "The Hungarian premier (József Antall) succeeded

in his party, while Meçiar, on the other hand, only got as far

as to employ impatient, nationalist-oriented individuals in the

Office of the President," +ůj Szó+ concludes.