JANUARY 2 - 9

F R O M  T H E  W E E K L I E S

[ January 2 ]
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In the first week of the new year the aspect of passing time comes across strongly in very many reports. Time from the point of view of a government which will have a very limited existence; time as seen by the inhabitants of flood-devastated Moravia who are desperate to see the winter continue in its present benevolent fashion since heavy frosts could finish the destruction of their homes; time from the vantage point of released prisoners who have trouble beginning a new life after their own has stood still for years and time from the vantage point of Holocaust survivors who are not likely to be the ultimate benefactors of the fund set up as a form of war compensation simply because- as one of them pointed out -"we are dying off quickly- it has come too late". While the Tosovsky government will be desperately short of time in terms of trying to re-build the lost credibility of the right-wing, the days are dragging by for flood victims in Moravia, Tyden notes.

The winter months are deeply depressing - the magazine says -with an ever present fear of heavy frosts and the need to bide time in mouldy surroundings until repair work can start again. Most families are crammed into the most habitable room of their home, surrounded by donated furniture - heating and airing the place by turns. The dampness is still such that walls are visibly wet and donated industrial driers work around the clock. The driers draw an average 10 litres a day of water from soaked interiors. Those eligible have received twenty to thirty thousand crowns in government aid but they point out little can be achieved with that kind of money. Psychologists predict the next two or three months could be crucial -since people will not be able to fend off depression by concentrating on repair-work around the house.

The Mlada Fronta Dnes supplement has the story of a real time-keeper, a man who can be excused for being obsessed with time since he is responsible for the maintenance of the famous Orloj clock on the Old Town Square. The horologe which draws millions of admiring tourists is controlled by a complicated mechanism dating back to the Middle Ages. Constructed in 1410 by clockmaker Mikulas of Kadan the clock has undergone major repair work in the course of history but its mechanisms and outer appearance still have their original form. Otakar Zamecnik climbs up that steep staircase regularly twice a week -unless an emergency call necessitates his presence without delay. An emergency, he explains is when a foreign statesman is on his way to view the clock and it stops. That happened three years ago and Zamecnik who after 13 years in service claims he can repair the clock -or stop it- blindfolded had it working again with time to spare. Ten minutes later the unnamed state visitor could admire the procession of apostles and the skeleton tolling its death bell, totally unaware of the flurry of activity which preceded his appearance.

Meanwhile, on its ecology page Respekt slams the supermarket chain Delvita for what it calls irresponsible vandalism. Delvita knowingly destroyed archaeological remains dating back to the Bronze age - a unique discovery in Central Bohemia, the paper says. It did so in full awareness of the value of the finding and the laws of this country, which like anywhere else in civilized Europe stipulate that the owner of the site must allow archaeologists to do excavation work. Local Delvita bosses were simply out to meet their own deadline and they received a pat on the back from Delvita headquarters in Belgium. That in itself is not so surprising, Respekt says, what is is the fact that local authorities are letting Delvita get away with something which would be unthinkable elsewhere.

A German lawyer whom the weekly has consulted agrees that Delvita would not risk breaking the law in his country - the repercussions would be too great both in terms of a court action and public outrage. Here Delvita's economics director doesn't turn a hair - I don't think our customers will desert us because of this, he tells Respekt. Outside along the drive Delvita's neon signs invite Czechs to " live better, live cheaper". The head of regional development for that area Jaroslav Drimal has a lot of sympathy for the market chain and is not loosing any sleep over lost archaeological finds." We are not pressing charges against Delvita" he told the magazine's reporters -"and I am not answering any more of your questions".

Not surprisingly the main theme of President Havel's New Year address was an appeal for Czechs to take a more active role in politics and public affairs. Quoted in the vast majority of papers, including the English language Prague Post, Vaclav Havel told his compatriots that voting in elections was "only a beginning, the first building stone". "More important " he said was "everything we do today and daily".

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