European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 30, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Eastern europeans losing interest in politics by Peter Honey the Baltimore Sun with the wreckage of communism soldering behind them Eastern europeans Are becoming increasingly sceptical of their leaders institutions and political alternatives As they face a troubled future a times Mirror study has found. A growing number of poles Don t like their president their Trade unions or even their Church Many hungarians equate capitalism with democracy and think both stink East germans feel voiceless in the reunited Germany slovaks Long for a return to the Good old Days of soviet patronage just about everybody is losing interest in politics. From the top of Eastern Europe to the Bottom these mostly slavic nations have one thing in common they Don t have much in common. At one extreme there Are those who have what a bulgarian sociologist called Quot hysterical super expectations Quot that the turmoil will somehow work itself out within a few years and life will improve dramatically. At the other end of the spectrum was the hungarian chemistry professor who worried that Quot there is a real danger people will become More and More apolitical or out of ignorance turn to extremist  Quot both attitudes Quot the researchers wrote Quot could provide Fertile ground for political  the Quot social contract Quot that existed Between the people and the communist rulers has disintegrated they said. And nothing has yet filled the void. Quot the greatest Hope for the Region is the budding political pluralism even More than efforts to create a free Market Quot the study stated. Readers action Lin wife says done to forget soldiers in Turkey my husband deployed to Turkey Lor operation provide Comfort on april 13. He is still not Home. Now my questions Are raised after attending the Fulda Marathon fest tent on aug. 11. Why did an offer Quot free Calls to loved ones in Kuwait Quot broadcast live and ignore our loved ones in Turkey Are they not As important it was said on the radio that the phone lines had been worked on since june to arrange these Calls. Our soldiers have been in Turkey since april. They had two extra months to set up a phone line with them. Our distinguished guest made sure we All knew that 10,000 tickets were included in the drawing for Quot our soldiers in  did anyone bother to ask our soldiers All Eastern european countries except Czechoslovakia showed a majority or near majority that claimed to be losing interest in politics. Almost a Quarter of bulgarians and poles and almost a third of czechs and hungarians say they Don t care what their politicians think. While most czechs hungarians and bulgarians believed that voting gave them a say in their country a affairs poles were Adamant that it did not and slovaks were undecided the Survey found. Quot Trust in social institutions is lacking. For the whole of Eastern Europe Quot the Survey quoted a bulgarian parliamentarian As saying. Eastern european parliaments generally received poor ratings while the courts and the armies often received Quot disturbingly Large a no opinion ratings Quot the study noted. Most Eastern europeans appeared to value their police forces however with Only the czechs having a predominant. A amps Ken George a russian woman portrays the disillusionment Felt by Many in the East. Editor s note today report is the first of a five part series on Public opinion in Eastern Europe and the soviet Union following the cold War. Personal interviews of 7,617 people in the former East bloc were conducted from mid april to late May. A follow up Telephone Survey of 1,035 people was conducted in Moscow and Leningrad in Early september to assess developments following the abortive coup. The questionnaire and analysis were developed by the times Mirror Center for the people and the press and were fielded by leading Survey research organizations in each country. Negative View. Quot i m still afraid of the secret police i still get an unpleasant feeling Quot a Prague student told the pollsters. Quot totalitarian structures have collapsed much faster than totalitarian consciousness Quot the study noted. It found that Eastern europeans Are far More Likely than westerners to slap restrictions on free speech. For example Only one in three americans or britons thinks that fascists should be denied free speech while 67 percent of czechs and 65 percent of russians hold that View. Communism a attempt to expunge religion the Quot opium of the people Quot clearly failed the Church was shown to be still a Factor in All Eastern european countries. Even among East germans the most atheistic of those studied 27 percent of the people said they believed in god. Poland and Slovakia showed religious adherence running As High As 90 percent. But the poles also struck a sour note the All powerful roman Catholic Church could Muster Only 46 percent support against a 39 percent Disfavour rating. Quot the Church teaches Only backwardness and narrow thinking Quot a polish student teacher told the researchers. Others listed the Church s overbearing role in Public life As the third worst effect a after High prices and unemployment a of the political and economic changes of recent years. The Solidarity Trade Union once the mainstay of the 1980s drive for democracy could gain Only a narrow 33 percent to 28 percent vote of Confidence in the study and the image of its once idolized Leader president Lech Walesa was dragging in the mud. In Turkey if they would like to be included in the drawing would someone please remind the command that our loved ones Are still in Turkey. Erika Pennington Fulda Germany is a. Charles r. Ingerson Deputy commander Fulda military Community replies the Quot free Calls to Kuwait Quot were a local initiative and an internal program of the Fulda Marathon activities. The telephonic link to Kuwait was established to broadcast Marathon events to Fulda soldiers deployed to the Gulf Region. The phone lines were arranged by the Fulda military Community in conjunction with efforts by at amp to. Quot loved one Quot Calls was an added attraction to the primary Mission to broadcast the Marathon events. Local phone conditions in Turkey did not permit extending the broadcast to those Remote regions. Marathon raffle tickets were available for Sale through local units to assigned personnel and to All u s id card holders. Soldiers deployed to Turkey were included in the  fridays action line column discussed payday opening hours for merchants Community Bank branches in the Kaiserslautern military Community. Yvonne Wise manager Public Media relations said the Bank s answer included incorrect information. In a statement Friday she said Quot it should be stated that Bank hours of operation theater wide Are not uniform. They differ from Community to Community and even within communities due to unique agreements Between base commands Bank management and their individual German works councils. Quot opening hours Are posted at each merchants Community Bank and any changes Are announced Well in Advance so that we do not inconvenience our  Page 16 q the stars and stripes monday september 30, 1991