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Petráček, Zbyněk
5 articles of this author have been cited in the European Press Review so far.
A generation conflict over Milan Kundera
The declaration of solidarity by eleven internationally acclaimed writers with Czech author Milan Kundera, who stands accused of having denounced an anti-communist agent to the authorities in the Stalinist Prague of 1950, is incomprehensible, writes the conservative daily Lidové Noviny: "Why are the writers so stauchly supporting Kundera, who himself has remained silent, although they have no knowledge of the facts? ... For a long time we were told that in coming to terms with the past we must follow the example of Germany, where just twenty years after the war the youth started asking questions about their parents' involvement in the Nazi regime. Those were uncomfortable questions, certainly. Now, almost twenty years after the Velvet Revolution [virtually non-violent system change in November 1989], the younger generation here is questioning their parents. And what happens? They are being chastised by their country's intellectuals - including Václav Havel - and by the leading lights of the literary world."
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More from the press review on the subject » Literature, » History, » Czech Republic
Nationwide strike in the Czech Republic
Today, Tuesday 24 June, the Czech Republic faced its largest strike action since the "fall of communism". More than half a million people stopped working for one hour. The strike was directed against the reform policies of the conservative government in the public health sector, where people now have to pay the equivalent of one euro every time they go to the doctor's. The conservative daily Lidove Noviny doubts the logic behind the strike: "Even the trade union members at [carmaker and Volkswagen subsidiary] Skoda are striking. Their motivation is that they want the same conditions as their colleagues in the German city of Wolfsburg. Do they really think they would get away with paying just a euro at the doctor's if they earned as much as the Germans?" The situation is different in Germany, the paper notes: "An ultrasound scan costs a patient 40 euros there, and a dental check-up costs 70 euros. On top of that they have to pay a basic rate of ten euros for going to the doctor's. That all adds up to a hefty 130 euros."
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More from the press review on the subject » Social Policy / Employment, » Health Policy, » Economic Policy, » Czech Republic
A German Nobel laureate from Pilsen
The German Peter Grünberg, one of the two winners of the 2007 Nobel Prize in physics, was born in the former West Bohemian city of Pilsen (now Plzen in the Czech Republic) from which his family was expelled in 1946. Zbyněk Petráček reflects on how the Czechs should deal with this. "A symptom of their uncertainty is the coverage of the event by the CTK news agency. Initially Grünberg was referred to as a 'German with Czech roots' but this was then revised to a 'German - born in Pilsen'. This country has a number of Nobel Laureates who are Czechs from an ethnic point of view but not by citizenship, including Bertha von Suttner. ... However you can't turn back the clock and we don't want to. Nonetheless, should the city of Pilsen be looking for someone to name a street after, the name Grünberg is still up for grabs."
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More from the press review on the subject » History, » Germany, » Czech Republic
The debate about the GDR Order to Fire
Zbyněk Petráček quotes a passage from the GDR Order to Fire on Escapees on the border between the two Germanies. "'Do not hesitate to use your firearm even against women and children who are attempting to violate the border'. In James Bond films this is called a license to kill. But firstly, her Majesty's agent wouldn't have killed children and secondly, we're not quoting a Bond film but an instruction discovered in Germany that authorised communist border guards to shoot escapees. This is one more reason to describe the former system as criminal... This is a sign for the Czech Republic: when it takes so many years for such a document to come to light in Germany we don't have to worry about the usefulness of an authority for clarifying our communist crimes."
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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Crime and Law, » History, » Germany
The Justice and Development Party wins the elections in Turkey
Zbynek Petracek warns of the dangers of the West's panic mongering following the landslide victory of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Islamic party in Turkey's parliamentary elections. "When the [conservative] People's Party in Spain or the Christian Democrats in Germany win the elections, there's no talk of a new Inquisition. But when Erdogan's party wins in Turkey, the ominous predictions are quick to follow. Both in the opposition and in government, Erdogan's party has done all it can to reform the country and guide it towards EU values. But there's still no end to the debate in Europe about whether Islam is at all compatible with democracy. ... It would be more reasonable to give Islamic democracy a chance and then pronounce judgement."
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More from the press review on the subject » Domestic Policy, » Turkey
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