unitex@rubbs.fidonet.org (unitex) (09/19/89)
Severely Difficult Time For East Germany
Posting Date: 09/18/89 Source: UNITEX Network, Hoboken, NJ, USA
Host: (201) 795-0733 ISSN: 1043-7932
CBS Evening News
Thursday September 14, 1989
Tom Fenton East Berlin, East Germany
This week, 13,000 East Germans have fled across Hungary's border
into the West. Next month, East Germany will mark its fortieth
birthday, and the state controlled press reported today that
Gorbachev will join the festivities. Rumors are sweeping East
Berlin that Party leader Honecker is dying. The man who has
ruled East Germany with an iron hand for 18 years hasn't been see
in public for weeks. No action has been taken to stem the
exodus, and the Hungarian travel agency in East Berlin is still
open. Hungarian officials have been meeting with the East
Germans, but the Hungarians have refused to close down their
border. Meanwhile, East Germans continue to seek refuge in West
German embassies throughout Eastern Europe. In Prague, they've
been jumping over the embassy fence. Most fleeing are young,
skilled, and highly motivated, the kind of people no country can
afford to lose. Everyone in East Germany complains, but public
descent is rare and small demonstrations are instantly repressed
by the police. Those left behind are increasingly bitter.
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