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East, West Germany sign key treaty

By PATRICK MOSER

BONN, West Germany -- East and West Germany signed a key treaty Friday for economic, monetary and social union that West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl said marks the 'birth of the free and unified Germany.'

A West German newspaper reported that East Germany has agreed to Kohl's suggestion that West German elections set for Dec. 2 be expanded to include both Germanys.

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Speaking at the signing ceremony in Bonn's historic Palais Schaumburg, Kohl said, 'After decades, a dream is starting to become reality -- the dream of the unity of Germany and Europe.'

Kohl and East German Prime Minister Lothar de Maiziere watched as West German Finance Minister Theo Waigel and his East German counterpart, Walter Romberg, signed the document in the Gobelin Hall of the former chancellery.

Palais Schaumburg had been the official office of West German heads of government for 27 years since Konrad Adenauer became the first chancellor of West Germany in 1949 after the division of Germany.

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Both Kohl and de Maiziere said the signing of the draft treaty, effective July 2 if ratified by the two German parliaments, is a decisive step on the way to unification.

Kohl attended the ceremony shortly after his return from Washington where he told journalists he had no timetable for German unification.

But the newspaper Bild Zeitung, in an article released before publication Friday, said leading members of the East German government had agreed to Kohl's earlier suggestion that all-German elections be held Dec. 2.

'Even if this information is immediately denied, the all-German parliament will be elected on December 2,' Bild Zeitung said.

'State unity has drawn closer and it is now necessary to complete it soon,' Kohl said Friday.

'What we are experiencing here is the hour of birth of the free and unified Germany: before the eyes of the world, the representatives of the two freely elected governments of both parts of Germany demonstrate their desire to jointly -- as one people, one nation -- shape their future into a free and democratic state,' he said.

Under the treaty, which comes into effect July 2, East Germany will adopt West Germany's strong currency and its economic system. The agreement also states that East Germany will in future allow local and foreign private companies to acquire land and dispose freely of their means of production.

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De Maiziere warned that the treaty was 'a compromise' and that 'not all golden dreams which some people had linked with the state treaty could be realised.'

'But no one will be worse off than before. On the contrary. What East Bloc country gets such a good starting position as we do with this treaty?,' he added.

Concerns about German unity are to be resolved through the 'two-plus-four' talks -- the two Germanys plus the World War II Allies of France, Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States.

The toughest issue in the negotiations with the four former allies appears to be the Western concept -- rejected by the Soviet Union -- that a united Germany will be part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

At a news conference after meeting with U.S. President George Bush in Washington Thursday, Kohl reiterated his view that Germany will be a member of the Western military alliance, but that Soviet troops might remain in what is now East German territory 'for a transitory period.'

He said the revolution ended an era in which East Germans were killed 'in the camps of Stalinism' or attempting 'to overcome walls and barbed wire.'

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'The crimes committed by Germans against Germans -- even after the Second World War -- are a warning for us all and must never again be repeated,' Kohl said.

De Maiziere said the signing of the draft treaty was not done by two foreign states but 'by fellow-countrymen who no longer want to let themselves be separated.'

Under the treaty, which if ratified will take effect July 2, East Germany will adopt West Germany's strong currency and its economic system.

The Bonn government has indicated that political unity could be realized this year and has called for all-German elections Dec. 2, the date originally set for West German general elections.

De Maiziere, however, said the treaty is 'a compromise' and that 'not all golden dreams which some people had linked with the state treaty could be realized.

'But no one will be worse off than before. On the contrary. What country gets such a good starting position as we do with this treaty?,' he said.

Concerns about German unity are to be resolved through the 'two-plus-four' talks -- the two Germanys plus the World War II Allies of France, Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States.

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The Soviet Union has insisted that a unified Germany be neutral, the United States and other parties want a unitedGermany to belong to NATO.

Speaking in Washington, where he met with President Bush, Kohl denied on Thursday that he is trying to rush unification, and said the pace of the process is largely determined by massive popular support.

'We know that the people are shouting, 'We are the people...'' he said in a reference to the slogan that has become the rallying call of many East Germans since last fall's ouster of the Communist leadership in East Berlin.

De Maiziere has said all-German elections cannot be held until outstanding issues of German unity are settled by all parties to unification talks.

East and West Germany signed a key treaty Friday for economic, monetary and social union that West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl said marks the 'birth of the free and unified Germany.'

A West German newspaper reported that East Germany has agreed to Kohl's suggestion that West German elections set for Dec. 2 be expanded to include both Germanys.

Speaking at the signing ceremony in Bonn's historic Palais Schaumburg, Kohl said, 'After decades, a dream is starting to become reality -- the dream of the unity of Germany and Europe.'

Advertisement

Kohl and East German Prime Minister Lothar de Maiziere watched as West German Finance Minister Theo Waigel and his East German counterpart, Walter Romberg, signed the document in the Gobelin Hall of the former chancellery.

Palais Schaumburg had been the official office of West German heads of government since Konrad Adenauer became the first chancellor of West Germany in 1949 after the division of Germany.

Both Kohl and de Maiziere said the signing of the draft treaty, effective July 2 if ratified by the two German parliaments, is a decisive step on the way to unification.

Kohl attended the ceremony shortly after his return from Washington where he told journalists he had no timetable for German unification.

But the newspaper Bild Zeitung, in an article released before publication Friday, said leading members of the East German government had agreed to Kohl's earlier suggestion that all-German elections be held Dec. 2.

'Even if this information is immediately denied, the all-German parliament will be elected on December 2,' Bild Zeitung said.

'State unity has drawn closer and it is now necessary to complete it soon,' Kohl said Friday.

'What we are experiencing here is the hour of birth of the free and unified Germany: before the eyes of the world, the representatives of the two freely elected governments of both parts of Germany demonstrate their desire to jointly -- as one people, one nation -- shape their future into a free and democratic state,' he said.

Advertisement

Under the treaty, which comes into effect July 2, East Germany will adopt West Germany's strong currency and its economic system. The agreement also states that East Germany will in future allow local and foreign private companies to acquire land and dispose freely of their means of production.

De Maiziere warned that the treaty was 'a compromise' and that 'not all golden dreams which some people had linked with the state treaty could be realised.'

'But no one will be worse off than before. On the contrary. What East Bloc country gets such a good starting position as we do with this treaty?,' he added.

Concerns about German unity are to be resolved through the 'two-plus-four' talks -- the two Germanys plus the World War II Allies of France, Britain, the Soviet Union and the United States.

The toughest issue in the negotiations with the four former allies appears to be the Western concept -- rejected by the Soviet Union -- that a united Germany will be part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

At a news conference after meeting with U.S. President George Bush in Was ton Thursday, Kohl reiterated his view that Germany will be a member of the Western military alliance, but that Soviet troops might remain in what is now East German territory 'for a transitory period.'

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