European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 28, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Protester Richard Zatko seated and pointing debates politics with locals amid signs and sleeping bags on Prague s Wenceslas  face future with Delight and Fearby Ron Mckinney staff writer Eva Stehli Kova a travel guide of 25 years acutely remembers the Days she walked around Prague looking Over her shoulder wondering who might be listening in on her. She was sceptical even of the tourists she guided around her beloved Birthplace. That was a Way of life from 1969-89 during the communist regime in Czechoslovakia. Friends could t be trusted completely. Enemies were truly feared. Things have changed significantly since november 1989 when the communist regime was finally toppled. Quot we can say whatever we want to. We can travel freely. We Are people As other people Are As other european countries Are Quot Stehl Kova said. Quot it s a wonderful feeling that i Don t mind if someone is standing behind  the first years of capitalism have been difficult she said. Prices from bus fares to groceries have skyrocketed. Stehli Kova is not so sure Czechoslovakia can rebuild itself and become an economic Power within 10 years As some analysts have predicted. One reason is that so Many business partners in the former soviet Union were lost in the craziness of the last three years. Quot factories were built to Export to the soviet Union and now they Don t want it so those factories had to close Down Quot she said. Quot we have Money there that Well never get  another is that under the communists people were forced to work but they were not necessarily rewarded for ambition making the switch to capitalism a difficult one. Quot the Model of the people is a bad problem Quot Stehli Kova said. Quot two generations were brought up under the communist regime so that s  a amps Ron Mckinney Eva Ste Vukovi loves the new Freedom but is worried about the czech Economy. Not All czechoslovakian Are willing to close the Book on so Many years of communist Rule. On april 3, three men a Richard Zatko 21, Jiricek Jin 43, and Filo Zdenek 26 a Laid out sleeping bags on Prague s Wenceslas Square before the St. Wenceslas Monument and staged a protest against three communists still serving in the czechoslovakian parliament. Unless those leaders were removed from their positions and investigated for crimes committed during the former regime those three unemployed men said they were prepared to set themselves on fire by May 6. Quot if they Don t meet these demands i am prepared to do it Quot said Zatko the group s outspoken Leader through an interpreter. In april the three unemployed and homeless men Drew crowds of people who debated both sides of the Issue on the very same Square where a 21 year old University student set himself ablaze in 1969 to protest the soviet Union takeover. Jan Palach the student became a National hero for becoming a Martyr. These three although they did incite Public debate were taken less seriously because of their social standing locals said. As of May 6, the communists were still in their positions and the protesters had faded out of View. But the bitterness and anger had reached out to the Public. Quot it could help a Little bit because they Are doing something Quot said Vladimira Kre Dubova a Prague tourist guide and translator. Quot it will be discussed on television and it is written in the  the problems in Czechoslovakia go much deeper than that. The turbulent economic period caused by the new free Market has caused a lot of stress for some Blue Collar workers and pensioners. Quot we had our jobs we had our salaries and we knew what we could could afford from this salary Quot Kre Dubova said. Quot now we can  that fear of the unknown has turned into votes for the certainty of the communist party in National and regional elections. The elderly and some of those Blue Collar workers disapprove of the changes she said. They d prefer to leave things As they were. But Kre Dubova feels it is wrong to look Back. It is time to begin working hard to turn the country around she said although she is Well aware the sentiment is not unanimous. Quot i still love the situation and i still believe in the president Vaclav Havel Quot Kre Dubova said. Quot but not everyone will Tell you  7 0 stripes Magazine May 28, 1992