East Germany Settling Scores

By John Moody

The East German government had no immediate response when the three Western countries that occupy West Berlin--the U.S., Britain and France--began conducting tough document checks of Arab diplomats entering the divided city from the East. The heightened security was a response to the April 5 bombing of West Berlin's La Belle disco, in which an American soldier was killed. The U.S. charged that Libyan diplomats based in East Berlin had helped plan the blast. But East Germany's passive acceptance of the new vigilance masked a determination to even the score. Last week East German border guards started demanding that Western diplomats show their passports in order to leave or enter East Berlin.

The East Germans insisted that the policy was intended to crack down on suspected terrorists. The Western powers, however, concluded that the ploy was a new attempt by the Soviet-backed East Germans to alter the unique post-World War II status of Berlin. In the past, foreign diplomats entering or leaving the East sector of the city had only to flash a red identity card issued by the East Germans. By requiring passports rather than cards, the East Germans apparently hoped to establish that the Berlin Wall is an international border --in direct contravention of postwar agreements.

The passport requirement was announced on May 22 in a tersely worded note delivered to all embassies in East Berlin. The U.S., British and French missions rejected the message and directed their diplomats to show only identity cards when they drove through Checkpoint Charlie, the crossing between East and West Berlin most used by foreigners. East German guards allowed them to pass, but diplomats from other countries, including West Germany, were turned back and advised to return with their passports.

At the heart of the problem is the disputed status of Berlin. After Hitler's defeat in 1945, the city was carved up by the victorious Allies. Technically, the entire city is under the combined control of the four occupying nations. In practice, the three Western powers jointly administer the western half of the city, while the Soviet Union takes responsibility for East Berlin. In 1949, with Moscow's backing, East Germany proclaimed East Berlin as its capital. When the Berlin Wall went up in 1961, the East Germans had a physical boundary that they insisted was part of their frontier. They regard only West Berlin as subject to four-power authority. That view, however, ignores a 1971 agreement giving each of the occupying powers the right to send its diplomats anywhere within the city. The three Western powers sent special patrols into East Berlin last week to test the East Germans' resolve, but none were challenged.

Allied officials leaked word that unless the measure was rescinded, their countries might retaliate by canceling planned high-level visits to East Germany. U.S. diplomats in Bonn denied reports that the responses under consideration could include, as a last resort, a break in relations. But, warned one U.S. diplomat, "talk of it might just sober up the East German government."

At week's end, Western ambassadors were united in their opposition to the new regulations. However, they had not reached a consensus on how to respond. Dutch and Danish diplomats had found a way to bypass a confrontation with the border guards. They drove an extra 20 miles and entered West Berlin via an internationally recognized border at Stolpe, north of the city limits.

With reporting by Clive Freeman/West Berlin