The server refers to Kalousek's letter to Culture Minister Vaclav Jehlicka (both junior ruling Christian Democrats, KDU-CSL) in which he wrote that the international architectonic contest for a new NK building had been launched at variance with law. CTK reported on Friday that Jehlicka decided to dismiss Jezek in connection with the contest for the new NK, which Czech PM reckons with new national library building ...
Czechs lack cultural policy - opposition shadow culture minister ...
Czech regional, Senate elections to cost 600 million ...
Czech National Film Archive to have new building ...
Czech ministry to create over 1000 new jobs for convicts ... the London-based Future Systems studio of famous Czech-born architect Jan Kaplicky won last year. However, the Culture Ministry did not confirm it.
It said it was waiting for the result of a legal analysis of the contest. Jehlicka turned to Kalousek after receiving a report by the Czech Anti-trust Office's (UOHS), asking him the question whether Jezek was authorised to hold the competition, according to the rules of the International Union of Architects (UIA), without respecting the law on public orders. Tyden quotes Kalousek's letter from August 22, saying that neither the standard UNESCO regulations, nor the UIA rules can be legally binding on the Czech Republic, and consequently the contest for an NK building must follow Czech laws. According to the Finance Ministry, the NK wrongly applied an exemption from the law on public orders when it launched the contest according to the UIA rules, and the winner, Kaplicky, violated the contest rules as he placed the books storage underground. Moreover, the NK did not secure the plots for the library, planned on Prague's Letna plain close to the city centre, before the architectonic contest. The Culture Ministry called on Jezek in August to annul the competition, but he did not follow the order, arguing he had no reason to do so. Jezek reiterated he was not aware of any mistakes on his side in the preparation of the international architectonic contest. The server reported that the Finance Ministry would probably claim the 24 million crowns for the contest from the Culture Ministry since the National Library is its subsidised organisation. The Finance Ministry may have to file a legal complaint against the persons responsible for launching the architectonic contest. Jezek has occupied the post of NK head since autumn 2004 and since then he has been striving for a new NK library. He will run for the Senate for the KDU-CSL in the autumn elections. The National Library badly needs a new building because it is running out of capacity and the conditions for keeping books are not suitable. ($1=16.784 crowns)
(Ceske Noviny)
more info >>
<< Back