Hungary Vows to Keep Border to West Open

As Hungary said today it will break its Warsaw Pact commitment and keep open its borders to the West, an East German newspaper said it is time to consider why the country’s young, skilled citizens are fleeing.

In East Berlin, the Communist Party youth daily Junge Welt said East German citizens can no longer avoid the discussion about why a “minority” has fled the country of 16.6 million people.

“How do we make this country indisputably the focal point for dedication and happiness for every individual? How do we make it a homeland for even more people in which one accepts burdens and from which one is not lured away just by shop windows full of bananas or glossy travel guides?” Junge Welt asked.

The newspaper often contains important articles and commentaries reflecting official views. In Budapest, a government official said today that Hungary has no intention of reversing its dramatic new pathway to the West and that it reflects the increasingly liberal Communist nation’s new role in the world.

“The Hungarian government’s policy of opening the country’s borders will continue,” said Ferenc Somogyi, the No. 2 official in the Foreign Ministry.