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*  NASE SLOVA 2/99  *  NASE SLOVA 2/99  *  NASE SLOVA 2/99  *
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NASE SLOVA
is published by the students of the Journalism School,
Comenius University, Bratislava, in the hope of informing the
world about our country, Slovakia. You are free to use whatever
appears in this bulletin. Please, give approriate credit.

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POLITIKA
POLITICS

PRIAMA VOLBA PREZIDENTA
Podla pravnych expertov, priame volby prezidenta Slovenska by
sa mali uskutocnit v polovici maja. Aby prezident mohol byt
zvoleny v prvom kole volieb, potrebuje ziskat podporu 50
percent volicov. Obcania SR budu svojho prezidenta volit asi
v 5OOO volebnych okrskoch, pricom prve kolo bude trvat jeden
den (7:00-22:00). Navrhy kandidatov mozu podat 15 poslanci
parlamentu alebo 15 000 obcanov prostrednictvom peticie.
Predvolebna kampan bude trvat 15 dni.
Z februaroveho prieskumu verejnej mienky vyplyva, ze
najvyssie volicske preferencie ma zatial kosicky primator
a predseda parlamentnej Strany obcianskeho porozumenia (SOP)
Rudolf Schuster (26 perecnt), po nom nasleduje byvala herecka
a terajsia predsednicka Spolocnosti pre zahranicnu politiku
Magda Vasaryova (1O percent), exprezident Michal Kovac by
ziskal 7 percentnu podporu volicov a poslanec parlamentu za
Slovensku Demokraticku Koaliciu (SDK) Juraj Svec 3 percenta.
Strana Vladimira Meciara zatial nezverejnila svojho
kandidata. Slovensko je bez prezidenta uz od 2. marca 1998.

DIRECT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS Legal experts set the approximate date
for direct presidential elections for middle of May. In order to elect
the president in the first round, the support of 50 percent of the
voters is needed. The first round will last for one day (7
a.m.-10p.m.), in about 5,000 election districts around
Slovakia. Proposals for candidates can be made by either 15
parliamentarians or by 15,000 citizens in a petition. The election
campaign lasts for 15 days.  According to opinion polls, which were
taken in February, the most successful would be the mayor of Kosice
and the chairman of the Parliamentarian Party of Civic Understanding
(SOP) Rudolf Schuster (26 percent), former actress and chairman of the
Foreign Policy Association Magda Vasaryova (1O percent), ex -
president Michal Kovac (7 percent) and parliamentarian for the Slovak
Democratic Coalition (SDK) Juraj Svec (3 percent). Vladimir Meciar's
former government party has not nominated a candidate yet. Slovakia
celebrated its first anniversary without a president on March 2.

**********

POKLES PREDAJA COCA-COLY NA SLOVENSKU
Pod hrozbou distribucie otravenej coly celila zaciatkom
februara spolocnost Coca-Cola Baveragas Slovakia, s.r.o.
vydieraniu v sume 500 000 nemeckych mariek. Podla informacii
z tlace, 10 litrov otraveneho napoja sa malo dostat uz aj do
predaja. Vysledkom vydieracskej kampane bol pokles predaja
tohto napoja na Slovensku.

COKE'S SALES DECLINE IN SLOVAKIA Coca-Cola Baverages Slovakia,
Ltd. has had to deal with an extortion threat. A demand for 500,000
Deutche Marks in February was made by unknown perpetrators. The threat
was to distribute poisoned Coke, of which 10 liters were supposedy
already distributed. Coke's sale declined since the threat.

***********

SLOVENSKY PARLAMENT ZBAVIL EX-MINISTRA IMUNITY
Slovensky parlament zbavil imunity Gustava Krajciho, byvaleho
ministra vnutra a poslanca za Hnutie za Demokraticke
Slovensko (HZDS) koncom februara, cim umoznil pokracovanie
jeho vysetrovania a sudne konanie. Krajci je obvineny zo
zmarenia referenda v roku 1997 o clenstve v NATO a priamych
prezidentskych volbach. Ako minister vnutra vtedy nariadil
distribuciu listkov bez otazky o priamych prezidentskych
volbach. Referendum bolo bojkotovane a neskor vyhlasene za
neplatne. V pripade usvedcenia mu hrozi az 10 rokov vazby.
Je to po prvykrat, co NR SR zbavila svojho poslanca imunity
a respektovala vyzvu policajnych vysetrovatelov. Policia tiez
poziadala parlament o zbavenie imunity byvaleho sefa
Slovenskej informacnej sluzby (SIS) Ivana Lexu, ktora sa stal
poslancom za Meciarovu stranu po ich volebnej porazke. Podla
policie veduci predstavitelia SIS koordinovali unos syna
byvaleho prezidenta Michala Kovaca v roku 1995.

SLOVAK PARLIAMENT LIFTS FORMER MINISTER'S IMMUNITY The Slovak
parliament has voted to lift the immunity of Gustav Krajci, former
interior minister and member of Vladimir Meciar's Movement for a
Democratic Slovakia (HZDS). This has opened the way for an
investigation and a possible prosecution. Krajci is accused of abuse
of power for the thwarting of a 1997 referendum on NATO accession and
direct presidential elections.  As Interior Minister he ordered the
distribution of ballots which ommitted the question on presidential
elections. The referendum was largely boycotted and later declared
void. If convicted, he may face a sentence of 10 years.  It was the
first time the Slovak parliament has lifted a deputy's immunity and
followed an appeal from police investigators. Police also want
parliament to lift the immunity of former state security service (SIS)
chief Ivan Lexa, who became a deputy for Meciar's party after its
election defeat. The police said senior SIS officers coordinated the
1995 kidnapping of the son of former president Michal Kovac.

**********

SPRAVA O CINNOSTI SIS
Vo februari predniesol sucasny riaditel Slovenskej
informacnej sluzby (SIS) Vladimir Mitro v parlamente spravu
o cinnosti SIS pocas autoritativnej vlady Vadimira Meciara.
Mitrova sprava, ktora bola vzapati ciastocne zverejnena
v slovenskej tlaci, vypovedala o nelegalnych aktivitach SIS
pod vedenim Lexu.
Zo spravy vyplyva, ze SIS snovala plany podporujuce
neofasisticke hnutie v Ceskej republike, pokusala sa ociernit
meno Madarska v regione a zasiat nedoveru medzi Rakuskom
a Nemeckom.
Dzurindov kabinet vydal vyhlasenie, v ktorom sa distancuje od
cinnosti SIS pod predoslym vedenim a to podla ministra
zahranicnych veci Eduarda Kukana aj "napriek tomu, ze sucasna
vlada nenesie ziadnu zodpovednost za predosle aktivity
(SIS)."
Ako na tlacovej konferencii povedal premier Dzurinda, "sprava
dokazuje, ze SIS posobila nelegalne, zamerne ignorujuc pravny
poriadok na Slovensku, vratane ustavy."

 REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE SIS In February, the state security
service (SIS) director Vladimir Mitro presented at the Slovak
parliament a report on the activities of the SIS under the previous
government of Vladimir Meciar. Mitro's report, excerpts of which
appeared in Slovak newspapers, said the SIS under Lexa participated in
many unlawful activities.  According to the report, the SIS hatched
plans to encourage neo-fascist movements in the Czech Republic, and
attempts to blacken Hungary's name in the region and to sow distrust
(of those countries) in Austria and Germany.  The cabinet has issued a
statement apologizing for the activities of the former SIS leadership,
"despite that the current government does not carry any responsibility
for former activities (of SIS)" according to Foreign Minister Eduard
Kukan.  Prime Minister Mikulas Dzurinda said: "The report shows the
SIS was acting illegally, deliberately ignoring the legal order in
Slovakia, including the constitution," premier Dzurinda told a news
conference.

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PRVY SLOVENSKY KOZMONAUT
Prvy slovensky kozmonaut Ivan Bella pristal bezpecne na
zasnezenych stepiach Kazachstanu po uspesnom osemdnovom lete
na orbitalnu stanicu Mir. Spolu s nim pristal aj Rus Gennadij
Padalka, ktory tak ukoncil svoju sestmesacnu misiu na
13-rocnom Mire.
Na Mire v sucasnosti posobia traja muzi - Francuz
Jean-Pierre Haignere a Rusi Viktor Afanasiev a Sergej
Avdejev, a mali by tam zotrvat do augusta. Mala by to byt
posledna misia na Mire.

THE FIRST SLOVAK ASTRONAUT
Ivan Bella, the first Slovak cosmonaut, landed safely in the
snowy steppes of Kazakhstan after a successful eight-day
flight back in the Mir space station. He was accompanied by
Russia's Gennady Padalka, who ended a six-month mission on
the 13-year-old space station.
The three men now on Mir - Frenchman Jean-Pierre Haignery and
Russians Viktor Afanasyev and Sergei Avdeyev, are scheduled
to remain until August. This is the last mission to Mir
before it goes out of service.


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EKONOMIKA
ECONOMICS

VSZ BEZ ALEXANDRA REZESA
Zmena stanov a zmena v organoch spolocnosti boli hlavnymi
bodmi programu mimoriadneho valneho zhromazdenia VSZ Holding,
a. s., Kosice, ktory sa konal na sklonku februara. Akcionarov
na nom informovali, ze Paul T. Graham odstupil z funkcie
clena predstavenstva a nahradil ho John H. Goodisha, clen
dozornej rady VSZ U.S. Steel, s.r.o., Kosice. Kvoli
pretrvavajucim zdravotnym problemom sa funkcie predsedu
a clena dozornej rady VSZ Holding vzdal Alexander Rezes.
Nazov firmy sa zmenil z VSZ Holding, a.s., Kosice na VSZ,
a.s., Kosice.

ALEXANDER REZES NO LONGER IN VSZ
A change in the statutes and company bodies were high on
agenda at a special shareholder's meeting of the VSZ Holding,
a.s., Kosice, which took place in the last week of February.
Shareholders were informed that Paul T. Graham resigned from
his post among the Board of Directors. Graham was replaced by
John H. Goodish, a member of the Supervisory Board of VSZ U.S.
Steel, s.r.o., Kosice. Due to persisting health problems
Alexander Rezes resigned from his position as chairman and
a member of the Supervisory Board. The Company's name was changed
from VSZ Holding, a.s., Kosice to VSZ, a.s., Kosice.

***********

STATNE VYPOZICKY PRESIAHNU 100 MLD SK
Slovenska vlada schvalila statny rozpocet na rok 1999.
Deficit tohorocneho statneho rozpoctu je planovany v objeme
15 mld slovenskych korun (Sk). Splatky statneho dlhu by mali
v tomto roku podla navrhu zakona o statnom rozpocte dosiahnut
bezmala 89 mld Sk. Celkova suma statnych vypoziciek prevysi
uroven 100 mld Sk. Na strane vydavkov i prijmov sa vsak
objavuju rizika, ktore by mohli planovany deficit prehlbit,
cim by aj statny dlh Slovenska rastol rychlejsie ako ocakava
ministerstvo finncii.

STATE BORROWINGS TO EXCEED SK 100 BN
The Slovak government approved the budget for 1999. This year's
budget deficit is expected to be 15 bn Slovak crowns (Sk). The
state debt instalments should amount to some 89 bn Sk. The
total state borrowings will exceed 100 bn Sk. There are
risks, however, on both the expenditure and revenue side of
the budget, which could cause the planned deficit to deepen.
This would cause the state debt to grow faster than the
finance ministry expects.

**********

INVESTICIE EIB
"Slovensko bude podporovat vstup zahranicnych investorov
predovsetkym do oblasti strojarstva," povedal premier
Slovenskej republiky Mikulas Dzurinda na prvej zo serie
konferencii na podporu vstupu priamych zahranicnych
investicii. Zucastnilo sa jej asi 100 topmanazerov zo
slovenskych a zahranicnych firiem, ale aj viceprezident
Europskej investicnej banky (EIB) Wolfgang Roth. Podla Rotha
EIB planuje investovat do Slovenska v tomto roku 400 mil EUR,
co je asi 60 percent sumy investovanej za vsetky
predchadzajuce roky.

EIB INVESTMENTS
"Slovakia will encourage the entrance of foreign
investments especially to the machine-building field of
industry," Slovak premier Mikulas Dzurinda said at the first
of series of conferences organized to support direct foreign
investments. The conference was attended by approximately
100 Slovak and foreign topmanagers, and also by the
vice-president of the European Investment Bank (EIB) Wolfgang
Roth. According to Roth, EIB plans to invest 400 mil EUR in
Slovakia this year, which is around 60 percent of the amount
invested during previous years.

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V SKRATKE
IN BRIEF

* Kurz slovenskej koruny (Sk) prelomil posledny februarovy
tyzden rekordnu hranicu 44 SKK/EUR.
* Last week of February the exchange rate of the Slovak crown
(SKK) exceeded the record level of 44 SKK/EUR.

(Ed.note:  EUR is the abbreviation for the new united European unit of
 currency, the Euro.)


* Miera nezamestnanosti dosiahla v januari 16,33 percenta.
* The unemploynment rate reached 16.33 percent in January.


* Standard and Poor's potvrdila, ze rating Slovenska ostava
na spekulativnej urovni BB+. Agentura svoje tvrdenie
odovodnila tym, ze pochybuje o dostatocnej sile sucasnej
slovenskej vlady zredukovat znacny rozpoctovy deficit
a deficit na beznom ucte.
* Standard and Poor's confirmed the rating of Slovakia's debt
remains at the speculative level of BB+. The agency has expressed
some doubts about the ability of the present Slovak government to
reduce considerable budget deficit and the current account deficit.


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KULTURA
CULTURE


SLAVIK 1998
V hudobnej ankete slovensky Slavik 1998 si ocenenie najlepsi
spevak/spevacka roka v SR odniesli Pavol Habera a Barbara
Hascakova. Najlepsou slovenskou skupinou sa stal Elan. Tato
hudobna sutaz nadviazala tak na Slovensku, ako aj v Cechach
na byvalu celostatnu sutaz o Zlateho slavika, ktora bola
v byvalom Ceskoslovensku velmi popularna.

SLAVIK 1998
According to the results of the Slovak music competition
Slavik 1998, the best Slovak singers of the year were Pavol
Habera and Barbara Hascakova. The best pop group became Elan.
The music competitions Slavik were revived again in both
the Slovak and the Czech Republics after their divorce in
1993, succeeding the formerly common competition Zlaty slavik,
which was very popular.

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KVET BALETU
Cenu Philip Morris Kvet baletu za rok 1998 vyhral solista
Slovenskeho narodneho divadla v Bratislave Igor Holovac.
Holovac stvarnil titulne postavy v baletoch Seherezada,
Carmen, Sprtakus a inych. Cena sa udeluje kazdorocne od roku
1977 vo viacerych krajinach Europy.

FLOWER OF BALLET Igor Holovac, the leading soloist of the Slovak
National Theater's Ballet in Bratislava, won the Philip Morris Flower
of Ballet prize for 1998. Holovac performed the main characters in
ballet such as Scherezade, Carmen, Spartakus and others. The prize has
been awarded annually since 1977 in several European countries.

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KRESBY ROMSKYCH DETI
Vytvarne prace romskych deti zo slovenskej obce Jarovnice,
ktora bola vlani takmer uplne znicena zaplavami, sa stali
castou expozicie Umenia a literatury Romov v Holandsku.
Detske romske kresby sa verejnosti predstavili uz
niekolkokrat doma i v zahranici a vzdy s uspechom.

PAINTINGS OF ROMANY CHILDREN
The paintings of Romany children from the Slovak village of
Jarovnice, which was almost completely destroyed by last
year's floods, were exhibited at the exposition of The Art
and Literature of Romanies in Holland. Romany children's
paintings were exhibited several times in Slovakia and also
abroad and were always successful.

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SPORT
SPORT

MAJSTROVSTVA SVETA PSICH ZAPRAHOV
Koncom februara sa konali 4. majstrovstva sveta psich
zaprahov na Donovaloch, Slovensko. Svetova spicka pretekarov
z 13 krajin si zmerala sily v siedmich disciplinach.
Najvyraznejsie uspechy spomedzi Slovakov zaznamenal Michal
Kuvik. V pulke (1-3 psy, pretekar tahany na bezkach) ziskal
striebornu medailu (1. Schrock, Nemecko, 2. Kuvik, Slovensko,
3. Mlynar, Slovensko).

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS OF DOG-SLEDS
The Fourth World Dog-Sled Championships were held at
Donovaly, Slovakia at the end of February. The world's top
competitors from 13 countries competed in seven disciplines.
Michal Kuvik became the most successful Slovak
representative. He won the silver medal (1. Schrock, Germany, 2.
Kuvik, Slovakia, 3. Mlynar, Slovakia) in the  pulka competition, in
which a one to three  dogs pull a competitor on cross-country skis.

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NOVY PREZIDENT SLOVENSKEHO FUTBALU
Novym prezidentom Slovenskeho futbaloveho zvazu (SFZ) sa stal
Frantisek Laurinec, ktory v tejto funkcii nahradil Milana
Sluzanica. Bezprostrednou reakciou na Laurincovo zvolenie
bola abdikacia trenera slovenskej futbalovej reprezentacie
Dusana Galisa. Novym trenerom sa stal byvaly slovensky
reprezentant Jozef Adamec.

NEW PRESIDENT OF SLOVAK SOCCER
Frantisek Laurinec has become the new chairman of the Slovak
Football/Soccer Association (SFA). He replaced Milan Sluzanic
in this position. The abdication of Dusan Galis, the coach of
Slovak national football team, was an immediate reaction to
Laurinec's election. Jozef Adamec, the former Slovak
representative was chosen to be the new coach.

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USPESNA SEZONA SLOVENSKEJ BIATLONISTKY
Uspesna sezona slovenskej biatlonistky Martiny
Schwarzbacherovej pokracuje. Po druhom mieste na
majstrovstvach sveta v Kontiolahti, Finsko, kde ziskala
striebornu medailu, vyhrala bronz na pretekoch Svetoveho
pohara v Lake Placid, USA, v stihacich pretekoch na 10 km.

SUCCESSFUL SEASON OF SLOVAK BIATHLETE
The successful season of Slovak biathlete Martina
Schwarzbacherova continues. She took 2nd position in the
World Championship in Kontiolahti, Finland, and then she also
won the bronze medal in the World Tour Race in Lake Placid, USA,
in the 10 km pursuit.

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FOGAS V SPORTE
Podpredseda vlady SR Lubomir Fogas bol zvoleny za noveho
predsedu Vyboru kandidatury ZOH 2006 Poprad-Tatry. Fogas vo
funkcii nahradil Jana Smereka.

FOGAS IN SPORT
Slovak Vice-Premier Lubomir Fogas was elected the new
chairman of the Candidacy Committeee for the 2006 Poprad-Tatry
Winter Olympic Games. Fogas replaced Jan Smerek.


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Students who worked on this issue:
PhDr. Svetlana Hlavcakova, CSc. (supervisor),
Doc. PhDr. Jozef Vatral, CSc. (transmission), Andrea
Lorinczova (editor-in-chief), Martin Albrecht, Sylvia
Kusnirova, Viera Kundratova, Danica Feterikova, Lucia
Kubosova, Lucia Habermayerova, Michaela Mazarova Zuzana
Lysakova, Katarina Dibdiakova, Olivia Strapekova.

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Jozef Vatral, Associated Professor
Department of Journalism, Faculty of Arts,
Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
Tel.: 00421 7 364192, Fax: 00421 7 326530
E-mail: vatral@fphil.uniba.sk
http://psycho.rec.uniba.sk/~kzur/vatral.html


    Jan George Frajkor                      _!_
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