Archive of articles - March 1998, page 2

What's happening in Bratislava!

20th Century Fox is turning the Tatras into New Mexico

Slovakia's once-pristine High Tatra mountains, already swarming with tourists and burdened by the prospect of an Olympic bid (2006 winter games), are about to be beseiged by 20th Century Fox studios. The new "project" is called 'Ravenous', and will move from Prague's Barandov studios to the Tatras at the end of March. They're planning to build a life-size frontier-America fort and import hordes of shrieking Injuns and Fearless American Patriots.The film itself sounds rather dubious, probably headed straight to the video store. Written by Ted Griffin, directed by Antonia Bird (Mad in Love, Priest, Face) and shot by Anthony B. Richmond, the story is set in 1847 during the Mexican-American war. "The pretext for the film was the Indian myth known as "Windigo," said producer David Heyman. "The myth claims that when you begin to eat human flesh you want more and more until you can never get enough. The title of the movie, "Ravenous," also captures this in a way."Heyman.

Slovak hockey legend commits suicide

One of the greatest Slovak hockey legends, 37-year old Dušan Pašek, committed suicide on March 14, the Interior Ministry reported on March 15.Chairman of the Slovak Ice Hockey Association and President of Slovan Harvard, Bratislava's professional hockey club, Pašek was found dead on March 16 at 10:30 inside his office in Clubhotel Slovan, behind a door locked from the inside. He had a gunshot wound to the head, and a gun owned by him was found next to his body, the police reported, excluding the possibility of a second party's involvement.Pašek left six one-page letters addressed to his wife, children, friends and colleagues, in which he explained his decision. "The letters do not lead to the conclusion that it was not his own decision," said Peter Ondera, the Interior Ministry spokesman.

The election law proposal: Crafted confusion benefits Mečiar

Vladimír Mečiar and the HZDS must be delighted with their election law proposal. The law has only just been submitted to Parliament, but already the opposition SDK coalition is in disarray, its various factions squabbling furiously over whether to dissolve party memberships or split up the coalition. And as opposition political structures go up in flames, the leader of Slovakia's government and most popular party surveys the scene with massive, Olympian calm, offering the bewildered public a choice between stability and chaos.No-one may ever know whether the authors of the election law proposal foresaw such a scenario. Some opposition politicians are calling the measure a hastily-produced political travesty, but constitutional law experts have said the bill was written with such subtlety that the extent of its conformity with the law is difficult to assess. In other words, it is a work of supreme political craftsmanship, as the following points illustrate.

VSŽ sets AGM for May 21

Import quotas for Czech spirits at 40,000 hectoliters

Community Grapevine

Around Slovakia

Ostrich farm attracts visitorsFire kills two at hospitalDoctors threaten to close their offices

Auto Notes

Volkswagen Bratislava to produce VW Polo in new production hallVolkswagen Bratislava will start manufacturing the VW Polo model as soon as it is technically possible. The precondition for the start of production is completion of a new production hall, which is scheduled to occur before the end of 1998.According Volkswagen Bratislava, 300 units of the Polo will be produced daily, with the possibility of increasing this amount. The factory will also continue with production of the new VW Golf.

JAS Export doubles exports

January industrial output grows 0.8% annually

Communist press monster reborn

How about this party cocktail: Throw in a huge printing company which dominates the newspaper market. Add management that is close to the governing party that it owns and publishes the party's daily. Top it off with the largest print distribution corporation and shake well. Then serve, and you can be sure the potion will make the drinker wonder whether this is 1998 or 1988.The printing behemoth in question is called Danubiaprint, and it is no stranger to the eyes of political storms. Until November 1989, it was directly controlled by the Communist Party (CP). Having print and distribution facilities together with most periodicals in one office complex made the task of political supervision much easier. The Velvet Revolution ripped the government media monopoly to shreds, but both Danubiaprint and its distribution counterpart, Prvá novinová spoločnosť (PNS), remained in state hands.

Letter to the Editor: Let reality prevail

Matador fights for tire quality certificates

"Matador is not a typical [Slovak] company. Their approach is very proper, not like others."Milan Urban, Automobile Industry AssociationFor the past several years, Matador Púchov, Slovakia's only car and truck tire making company, has experienced positive economic growth because of its high quality management team and high product quality. The company has expanded to international markets and enjoys a sound international reputation. However, despite all these positive strides, Matador still hasn't captured the business of Slovakia's famous car maker Volkswagen Bratislava (VW).Matador's 1997 tire output reached more than 3.5 million pieces, with truck tires taking a 40.2 percent share on production. Last year's gross turnover was 12.037 billion Sk ($ 344 million), 638 million Sk ($ 18 million) more than in 1996.

Twin towers to replace empty parking lot

Bratislava's Inter football club has never had large amounts of fans coming to see their club's games, so Nové Mesto Mayor Richard Frimmel decided two years ago to turn a huge parking lot in front of the stadium into a twin-towered administrative, retail and residential complex of more than 20 floors, with a 40,000 square meter parking facility which can hold around 2,000 cars underneath the complex.On March 2, Frimmel saw his dream finally take shape, when Nové Mesto district office signed a construction contract with Canadian CEIC Holding, Toronto, TriGranit Development Corporation, Budapest, and TrizentHohn Corporation, Canada.

U.S. State Department comments on amnesties

The March 3 decision of the Slovak Government to grant amnesty to any persons who may have planned or participated in the kidnapping of Michal Kováč Jr. and any persons who may have violated the constitution in preparing the ballots for the May 1997 Referendum on direct election of the president and entry into NATO is a further serious setback to the rule of law and constitutional government.

Eye on Vienna

Taking amnesty to new dimensions

Over the centuries, monarchs have used the privilege of amnesty to show their generosity and broadmindedness. This royal right was later used by presidents in the days immediately following their elections as a way of increasing popularity.Slovak Premier Vladimír Mečiar, on the other hand, has aroused international criticism and domestic outrage with an amnesty announced on March 3. Mečiar had inherited the privilege of giving amnesties on the previous day, together with 12 other presidential powers from outgoing President Michal Kováč.

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