Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 29, 1990 TAG: 9003290351
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Los Angeles Times
DATELINE: EAST BERLIN LENGTH: Short
A team of "prominent, independent" doctors, including a psychiatrist, examined the cancer-stricken Honecker and his deputies, said Dieter Platt, spokesman for the state prosecutor.
"The final decision is up to the court," Platt said, "but at this point, it doesn't look likely."
Only two of the 10 former Politburo and Parliament members under criminal charges are in jail, Platt said. The rest are considered too sickly or senile.
Honecker, 77, is recuperating from surgery to remove a tumor. Doctors have advised that he be moved from the cramped garret room where a village pastor gave him sanctuary, but angry citizens hounded him away from a more spacious government villa.
"`For many reasons, not the least of which is German character, the people long for accountability," Platt said.
On the streets of East Berlin, people expressed anger at the possibility of no trials. One resident asked, "How come they're all suddenly at death's door? They weren't too old or too sick to commit the crimes."
Another said, "They had so many luxuries and lived so well, while all the time the majority of people were struggling for a decent life. Yes, there should be trials . . ."
Such sentiments are common here these days. East Germans find themselves curiously frozen in history, unable to fully account for their Stalinist past or fully plan their democratic future.
by CNB