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| CURRENT AFFAIRS | Thursday JUNE 22nd, 2000 |
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Verheugen arrives in Prague to reassure EU candidates
The European Union's Commissioner for Enlargement, Guenter Verheugen, arrived in Prague on Monday to host a conference on EU expansion. Mr Verheugen faces a difficult task - the six 'fast-track' candidates are getting fed up with the EU's dilly-dallying, they say they want a clear idea of when they'll be let in. Brussels, on the other hand, has its hands full with the internal reform which must proceed EU enlargement, and are refusing to say when the new states will be able to join. Earlier today Rob Cameron spoke to the BBC's correspondent in Prague, Ray Furlong, and he began by asking him what he believed Mr Verheugen would be saying to the six EU hopefuls.
Czechs seek relief from heatwave
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People in the Czech Republic, like their neighbours throughout Europe, have been sweltering in extremely hot weather for the past few days. On Wednesday the Czech meteorological office in Prague said it was the hottest June since 1861. The thermometer soared to a scorching 35.6 degrees Celsius (96F), beating the previous record by more than three degrees. Lucie Krupickova asked people in the streets of Prague how they were coping with the tropical weather:
New tombstone for Hilsner unveiled in Vienna
Older people in particular say the weather this week has been unbearable. Those who can are leaving the city and heading towards rivers or swimming pools, only to find them crowded with people. But, as I found out, not everyone considers 35 degrees Celsius hell on earth. Surprisingly enough some people were even enjoying it:
Spells of dry weather bring little joy not only to elderly people but also to ambulance workers and firemen. One ambulance worker said more and more young people needed medical assistance. But they also pointed out that many people have already got used to the heat. These temperatures, which are extremely high for this time of the year in the Czech Republic, have also increased the concentrations of ground-level ozone. This may cause health problems such as insomnia or coughing spells. Doctors have therefore repeatedly stressed that people should drink at least 3 litres of water a day and avoid alcohol and vigorous exercise.
Those who can't bear it any more will be waiting impatiently for the weekend. According to the weather forecast a cold front will be moving across Central Europe on Thursday afternoon and on Friday, and the weekend will see temperatures 'plummet', to a 'chilly' 25 degrees Celsius.
On Wednesday, June 21st a group of Austrian citizens gathered at Vienna's main cemetery for the unveiling of a tombstone dedicated to Leopold Hilsner, a Jew who just over 100 years ago found himself at the centre of a massive anti-Semitic campaign. Accused of the ritual murder of a young Christian girl, Hilsner was tried and sentenced to life imprisonment without any direct evidence against him. He spent 19 years in prison, received a pardon, and was forced to spend the rest of his days in hiding. He died in 1928, a broken man. It was to take another seventy-two years for Hilsner to be officially rehabilitated. Daniela Lazarova has the story:
The Hilsner tragedy happened in the Austro-Hungarian empire at the end of the 19th century, a time of economic, social and nationalist ferment. Nationalism and racism bubbled under the surface, and it the gruesome murder of a young Christian girl to unleashed dormant anti-Jewish sentiment. The tragedy took place in the sleepy town of Polna in the Czech-Moravian highlands, and unleashed a wave of violence against Jews throughout the Austro-Hungarian empire.
Some members of the intelligentsia, among them Prof. Tomas Garrigue Masaryk, who later became Czechoslovakia's first president in 1918, attempted to fight the growing hysteria and protect Hilsner. He and others asked for the Hilsner case to be reviewed, but this never happened.
After 19 years in prison, in 1918 - the year the Austro-Hugarian empire was dismembered - Hilsner was pardoned by the Emperor. He fled his home town of Polna, changed his identity and lived out the remaining ten years of his life in poverty and in hiding in Vienna.
His tombstone at Vienna's main graveyard now proclaims his innocence, stating that Hilsner was an innocent victim of anti-Jewish hysteria. Coincidentally, the synagogue in his home town of Polna has just been renovated and when it opens on September 5th, it will house a small exhibition documenting the tragic events of 1899 and Leopold Hislner's role in them. Just over 100 years since the tragedy, Hilsner's soul may finally rest in peace.
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