• CARMEN VALERO

    @ carmenvalero20

    Berlin

Sunday, November 10 2019 - 01:47

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Rudolf Seiters was next to Chancellor Helmut Kohl in the most extraordinary years of his long term. First as head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Minister for Special Affairs (1989-1991) and then as head of the Interior (1919-93). Seiters, the trustworthy man of Kohl, is one of the main protagonists of the recent history of Germany. It was he - and not Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher - who negotiated with the GDR the agreement that allowed travel to the hundreds of East Germans who took refuge in the German embassy in Prague. It was he and Wolfgang Schäuble, who, from Bonn, channeled all conversations with the communist regime in Berlin. Two men of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) of the chancellor against the powerful Genscher, of the Liberal Party (FPD), who tried to have these relations carried out by Foreign Affairs.

Where was he on November 9, 1989? At the Chancellery, in Bonn. He had an ordinary meeting with the heads of the parliamentary groups of the CDU / CSU, FPD, SPD [Social Democratic Party] and former Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble to discuss a new travel law. I remember as an anecdote that, in the middle of the meeting, Eduard Ackermann, Kohl's press advisor, opened the door and without saying a word exclaimed: "The Wall has fallen, it has fallen." We were so surprised that Schäuble told him: "Ackermann, when he was in charge of the Chancellery, alcohol was forbidden." Ackermann had not drunk and Chancellor Kohl was in Warsaw. Yes. And we had to prepare some words quickly so that there would be an immediate reaction and then organize your trip to Berlin. And it was not easy. Since he was traveling by military plane and we did not have permission to fly over the GDR airspace, he had to fly to Hamburg. There he made a transfer and, on a private plane from the United States embassy, ​​flew to Berlin.

And when he arrived he was booed. Kohl arrived in Berlin very angry because the CDU had organized a small event on Kurfürstendamm Avenue, instead of making a gesture of unity and joining the concentration of SPD social democrats and FPD liberals in front of the Town Hall, in Schöneberg. And as Kohl prevailed his political instinct, he did not go with the CDU but to the City Hall, where Willy Brandt was. When Kohl went out on the balcony, some leftist groups whistled at him, but that is not relevant in the whole. What did you do after? I accompanied him for a walk through the Brandenburg Gate, we watched the atmosphere and returned to Bonn. From there, telephone conversations were held with President George Bush, with Mikhail Gorbachev, and with GDR President Egon Grenz. How did the allies react to the fall of the Wall? The United States and Russia favorably. France, and especially the United Kingdom, with suspicion, especially Margaret Thatcher. The only positive thing that the chancellor could respond to his comments was to highlight his sincerity. And the rest of the European countries? Did the prospect of a great Germany frighten you? The first European Council following the fall of the Wall was held in Strasbourg, where Kohl presented the ten-point plan already presented at the end of November in the Bundestag. The last one was, of course, German unity. And we had an ice reception. Even the Italian president, Guilio Andreotti, positioned himself against. I remember saying that he liked Germany so much that he preferred to have two. Spain, however, showed from the beginning his support for Germany, didn't he? The Spanish president, Felipe González, and Foreign Minister Kohl had good relations. After the fall of the Wall, President Gonzalez phoned the chancellor. I can listen to the conservation and I confirm that he was very open and friendly with the chancellor. He congratulated himself on the fall of the Wall, congratulated Kohl and all the Germans and assured him that everything Spain could do would be done. And that considering that Gonzalez was a socialist and Willy Brandt was the representative of the Socialist International, returning to the dates before the fall of the Wall. You were head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and therefore coordinator of the secret services. How is it possible that they did not anticipate D-Day: November 9, 1989? We had very good information about what was happening in the GDR, but, despite the ruinous state of the country - in fact they had requested a new loan - and the demonstrations , there was no evidence of an immediate fall from the Wall. In fact, on the morning of November 9, one of my cabinet members asked me to leave earlier because it was his daughter's birthday. And I said yes because nothing was expected to happen. That means that the GDR authorities were also surprised ... Of course it was. After the ordinary press conference he offered at the end of the Politburo meeting and referring to the travel possibilities we were negotiating, chaos was created. No one in the GDR seemed to be in control of what was happening. Since it was a mistake, do you think the GDR authorities thought about how to correct it? Could there have been a military intervention? All we knew was that we should remain calm and avoid all kinds of provocations. Did the Kohl Government have a Plan B at the fall of Wall? There was no plan B. If there had been it would have leaked and that would have brought nothing but tensions. Building trust was essential. What do you think when you look back and stand in 1989? A great satisfaction and pride in having been able to live those decisive moments in the History of Germany and Europe, since the unification of Germany and Europe are faces of the same currency and the confirmation that we did well to accelerate the process of unification that It started in 1990. A year later it would not have been possible. Mikhail Gorbachev was removed from power in a coup d'etat, the United States was waging war in Iraq ... Would it have been possible now? With Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump in power, the answer is no.

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