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Current AffairsCzech flag turns 90
On Tuesday, March 30th the Czech flag was more in evidence than usual –
the state symbol turned 90. The red, white and blue flag with its simple
geometric pattern was created in 1920 shortly after the founding of an
independent Czechoslovak state. Although Czechoslovakia no longer exists,
the flag remains the Czech Republic’s state symbol.
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Czech Books“We were criminally naïve”: a former Czech PM looks back to the Velvet Revolution
Since the fall of communism, Petr Pithart has been a central Czech
political figure. As one of the first people to sign the human rights
manifesto, Charter 77, he spent the last years of the communist regime as
a
political dissident. But as the regime collapsed in November 1989, he shot
to prominence – firstly in Civic Forum, which brought together those
fighting for an end to one-party rule, and then as the first
post-communist
prime minister of the Czech part of the Czechoslovak federation. Later he
went on to be chairman of the Czech Senate and today he serves as the
Senate’s deputy chairman. Senator Pithart has just published a book with
the simple title “1989”, in which he reflects on the events and the
legacy of the time. Surprisingly the book is one of the first studies to
be
written by a prominent actor in the Velvet Revolution. The book is
striking
for the openness with which it discusses the mistakes that were made,
mistakes that in Pithart’s view, hastened the split of Czechoslovakia
and
sowed the seeds for many of the political problems in the Czech Republic
today. When I went to see Senator Pithart, he began by telling me that he
was drawn into the fray of politics more or less by chance. More
From the ArchivesWhat’s in a name? Radio Prague and the split of Czechoslovakia
One of the more curious aspects of Radio Prague in the early 1990s was that
the station’s name kept changing. In 1991, for no particular reason, we
stopped calling ourselves Radio Prague and became Radio Prague
International. Then, at the beginning of 1992, in order to seem less Prague
and Czech centred, we became Radio Czechoslovakia. The change was largely
cosmetic, because the great majority of programmes, with the exception of a
daily commentary sent from Bratislava, continued to come from the Czech
part of the federation.
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MagazineMagazine
Close to two thousand people jumped aboard this year’s sci-fi train to
celebrate the last hours of 2007, a small aircraft took off without the
pilot and –“ sorry, boss it’s time for my nap” –will Czech
employees get an afternoon siesta? Find out more in Magazine with Daniela
Lazarová. More
SpecialFifteen years of the Czech Republic
Welcome to Radio Prague’s special New Year’s Day programme dedicated to
the 15th anniversary of the foundation of the Czech Republic. The country
now celebrates two foundation days – October 28 in memory of the
establishment of Czechoslovakia in 1918, and January 1. On that day in
1993, Czechoslovakia split into two countries – Slovakia and the Czech
Republic. The latter anniversary seems to be rather less celebrated, as if
it had happened by coincidence. To discuss the achievements and the
losses,
the victories and the defeats of the 15-year-old Czech state, I’m joined
in the studio by Professor Vladimira Dvorakova, a political scientist of
the University of Economics in Prague, Dr. Josef Skala, an advisor on
foreign issues to the Czech Communist party’s central committee, and
Jaroslav Plesl, deputy editor-in-chief of the daily Lidove Noviny. More
SpecialThe Czech National Day: celebrating a state that no longer exists
The 28th October is an unlikely date for Czechs to be celebrating their
national holiday. After all, it commemorates the founding of a state that
no longer exists. Czechoslovakia was established in 1918 with the collapse
of the Habsburg monarchy at the end of World War I, and was relegated to
the history books 74 years later, when Czechs and Slovaks - or rather
their political leaders - decided to go their separate ways at the end of
1992. While Slovaks quickly forgot their old national day, Czechs went on
as if nothing had happened. To this day wreathes are laid, the national
anthem is played, and except when the holiday falls on a weekend everybody
enjoys a day off work.
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Czech BooksCan nationalism in Central Europe be a force for good?
This week Czech Books comes from the Irish capital, Dublin. We talk to Dr
Stefan Auer, a lecturer in European politics and society at the Dublin
European Institute at University College. Stefan is originally from
Slovakia, and he has taken a great interest in "liberal
nationalism" in Central Europe. He wrote a book which has as its
basic hypothesis the idea that nationalism, despite its very negative
connotations for many in Central Europe, can also be a force towards
greater democracy.
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Current AffairsTwelve years after the Velvet divorce: Slovaks upbeat, Czechs grumpy
Twelve years after the break up of the Czechoslovak federation the mood in
the two countries has changed radically. The once upbeat Czechs, who were
considered a role model for the post communist world in the early 90s, are
in a slump, their Slovak neighbours, who risked a lower living standard in
return for complete independence are upbeat and optimistic about the
future.
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SpecialThe foundation of Czechoslovakia and how its anniversary is perceived by Czechs today - a special debate
Radio Prague has prepared a special programme, to mark the Czech Republic's
national holiday, the 28th October. It's been 86 years since the
Czechoslovak Republic was established - in 1918. Martin Mikule has hosted
a debate to look at the significance of this day, both historically and in
today's Czech Republic. Why is the foundation of Czechoslovakia still the
Czech national holiday even though Czechoslovakia no longer exists? Is it
really a day of celebration or is it nothing more than another day off
work? And how do people in neighbouring Slovakia - the other successor
state of Czechoslovakia - see the anniversary?
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Press ReviewPress Review
A wide variety of stories jostle for attention on Monday's front pages.
There is coverage of tragedies at home and abroad: a deadly fire at a
disco in east Moravia that killed a seventeen year old girl and injured 61
young people, the train collision in Switzerland in which a young Czech
woman lost her life and Sunday's rocket attacks on the al Rashid Hotel in
Baghdad, in which at least one Czech national is reported injured.
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