Program forupt this an nbc news special report. Here is guerra godley. Good afternoon. We have a late and truly sensational report coming in from east germany in a News Conference which ended just a few minutes ago in east berlin. Government officials announced east germanys border open with west germany. The official statement says east german citizens have the right across from east germany into west germany. Up to now, of the thousands, tens of thousands of east germans going west have had to pass through other communist nations, most of them passing through czechoslovakia. Now they have the right to go directly to west germany. Dennis murphy is in berlin right now and has been following the events. What more do you know about this startling decision . Truly astonishing in a series of events that have happened the last few days and hours. In the last five minutes on television here in west berlin and the east, the germans east and west, speaking for the that is no longer necessary. What we have here in effect is a berlin wall which is a symbol but the frontiers themselves are open. He says in the next few weeks, there will be some provisional time to prepare the legislation to make this all correct and constitutional. What we have seen in the last few hours is the collapse of all of the borders between east and west germany. As you said, that divided the two sides of the cities is a symbol. But as far as you know, will that wall itself along the Brandenburg Gate near check point charlie, be open for east germans . As we read the words that were read to the people here tonight, that is correct. All of the checkpoints we know, checkpoint charlie and the others, those days will be open. It remains to be seen how the news will be taken here in the next few hours but theyre very grim facade of the wall, with all of the dogs and guards, this is only a symbol at this point because the gates will be open according to what the people were told on television tonight. Were just getting a bulletin coming from east berlin telling us what you reported, the east german Spokesman Says the new announcement means the new order means people can pass through the berlin wall itself from east berlin to west berlin. These developments coming as the communist leadership and authorities have been under tremendous pressure because of the tens of thousands fleeing. As of this evening, they can leave whenever they want and however they want. You will have further developments out the afternoon and a full report this evening on nbc nightly news from tom brokaw who is in east berlin today. That is the news for now. This has been in nbc news special report. We interrupt this program for an nbc news special report. Here is garrick atlee. Heres the latest information coming to us from east germany where short while ago government officials made the startling announcement that east german citizens will have the right to leave their country to travel directly to west germany were to west berlin. It will no longer be necessary for east germans to travel to other communist nations such as hungary, poland, or czechoslovakia. That is the route that tens of thousands have been taking the last several weeks. The announcement was made by the spokesman. The government has been under very heavy pressure from the new political opposition and from the tens of thousands leaving the country. Here is how it was made on east german this evening. The announcer says the communist leadership has decided to draw up a new travel law that until that law has been passed by the east german parliament, east germans will have the right to cross through all border points between east and west germany, including east berlin and west berlin. That announcement was made at the News Conference which concluded just a few minutes ago in east berlin. First of all, the berlin wall of concrete and barbed wire and minefields still stands, but as of right now, it appears to be nothing more than a symbol of the old iron curtain because they will now have the right to leave through the wall directly into west berlin itself. They will have to have visas to go out but in order was given today to the Police Authority along the border to issue those visas to anyone who wants to leave and issue them quickly. To wrap up again, the east German Government has filed an increasing pressure from its own citizenry demanding greater freedom, as of right now they have that freedom to leave their country legally to come to the west. We will have more information as it comes to us throughout the afternoon from east berlin and this evening tom brokaw will be reporting rightly from east berlin at nbc nightly news. This has been an nbc news special report. We interrupt this program for an nbc news special report. We are continuing to follow developments in east germany short while ago as you may know the commonest leaders announced their opening their border between east and west germany from east berlin to west berlin the berlin wall itself. That announcement, surprising and important announcement, can this afternoon made by the chief official spokesman of the communist party. Tom brokaw is in east berlin at this moment. He was covering that News Conference. Give us the details. It was a surprise because it came at the end of a likely News Conference whose the east Berlin Communist Party chief. It was almost by accident he told the assembled reporters they recommended this afternoon and it is about to become formal government policy that any east german citizen who wants to leave this country temporarily or permanently will be able to do so by going through the many checkpoints of the berlin wall by crossing the borders into the west. He will no longer be necessary to go to hungary or czechoslovakia to get out of here. This in effect dissolves the berlin wall, although, it will remain standing physically. It has been standing there since 1961. We are familiar with the pictures of the tens of thousands of east germans who have been coming to west germany the last several weeks and months. Is one of the ideas the east germans have that this could ease the pressure on them by giving east germans the right to leave directly to the west . There are two intentions, two strategies here. One is have got to relieve the burden on czechoslovakia. That is the cover tonight. The underlying motivation is the communist party hopes this will demonstrate its good intentions, determination to reform this country. It has been trying everything as you know in the last several weeks, including throwing out the hardliners card today promising free elections, recognizing opposition parties. Tonight, this dramatic announcement that the wall in effect after nearly 30 years is coming down. Thank you. We look forward to your report this evening from berlin on nbc nightly news. Reaction starting to come in from washington, from the bush administration. Secretary of state jim baker had this to say about the east german declaration. Is seems to me would be apposite but development and should be one that we should welcome if indeed the announcement means that they have open the border to free travel. We have been talking for a long time about freedom of travel as being a basic human right. We have been talking for a long time about open borders. And weve been talking for a long time about the importance of seeing the wall come down. I dont know what this announcement means because i have not seen it yet. In terms of its full impact. But if they are indeed opening their borders, i think that is a positive development. Jim baker. Trying to figure out what all this means. This could concern the Administration Things may be going too far, too fast. This is not necessarily a happy development because what it means is there is now great instability. We have seen east German Government try one strategy after another to deal with this, but there was a period of instability. Diplomacy basically does not like instability. Remember your history, the assassination as sarajevo, a small event in itself, eventually touched off world war i. The decision made by the east germans today should and will be welcome as the fact the wall has been opened up. I think the thing that will welcome the most is the fact it may now lance the boil and let off some of the pressure so you dont have such instability in east germany that eventually there might be clashes between citizens and the police. All of this is happening just a few weeks before the summit conference between bush and gorbachev in the mediterranean. Exciting times. Thank you very much. Fred francis who covers military matters is standing by with the pentagons view of what is happening today. In the last hour, ive spoken to several senior military officials in this building, both civilian and military. They are quite frankly awestruck by this. One of them who has been deeply involved in looking ahead a year or two on what u. S. Military cuts would mean in europe on the budgets said consider the impact of the u. S. Military in europe without walls, consider the impact of u. S. Budget in europe where there is no credible threat of war. And those are significant numbers. Right now there are 770,000 u. S. Americans in europe, 320,000 assigned nato soldiers, another 300,000 dependents of civilians, 150,000 civilians working there. An extraordinary number. It amounts to approximately 170 billion a year of u. S. Taxpayers money. If there is a europe without a credible threat of war, with a warsaw pact that it cannot mount an attack on the west, than is there the need for all of these troops . Those are the numbers and the surprising calculations that are going on in this building today. Thank you very much. Those are very important, exciting questions to face. We are not there yet. Where we are right now on this thursday in november is the east German Government, the communist leaders have decided to open their borders as of tomorrow morning. Any east german citizen can leave to the west of his or her own choosing through the border or even through the berlin wall itself. Hard to believe, but that is the news of today. This evening tom brokaw will be reporting on nbc nightly news. A special report. Gorbachev talks about a common home. Is there respect for that . Probably so. [indiscernible] there is no indication of that. These are germans. What is the danger of this spinning out of control . Secretary baker commented on how rapidly nobody expected this to happen as quickly as it did. Is there a danger things are accelerating too quickly . I would not want to say this kind of development makes things moving too quickly at all. The kind of development we would want encouraged by our strong support. Im not going to pontificate that if anything goes to fast we are handling it in a way where we are not trying to give anybody a hard time. We are saluting those who can move forward with democracy. We are encouraging the concept of a europe, polandfree. We welcome it. I dont like to go into a lot of hypothesis about too much change or to rapid change or what i would do, what our whole team here would do if something went wrong. I think it is being handled by the west very well. And certainly, salute the people in east germany whose aspirations for freedom seem to be a little further down the road now. [indiscernible] i dont think anyone can resist it in europe or in the western hemisphere. That is one of the great things about dynamic change in central america. Moving in our direction. Did you ever imagine anything like this happening on your watch . With imagine this, but i cant say i foresaw this development at this stage. I did not foresee it, but imagining it . Yes. When i talked about a europe whole and free, we are talking about this kind of freedom, this kind of staying with and living by the helsinki act which gives people the right to come and go. In what you just said, for the great victory for our side in the eastwest battle, but you dont seem elated. Im wondering if youre thinking of the problems [indiscernible] i am very pleased. I have been pleased with a lot of other developments. As i told you, i think the United States part of this, which is not related to this Development Today particularly, is being handled in a proper fashion. We will have some that will suggest more flamboyant courses of action for this country. I think we are handling this properly with allies, staying in close touch. In this dynamic change, try to help as Development Takes place, try to enhance form both political and economic. The fact that im not bubbling over, maybe it is getting long for the evening because i feel very good about it. The second part of that, what are we going to do [indiscernible] obviously, if they just fled into west germany, they are handling it now, but they only have 200,000. What if they get one million . What if they get 2 million . What i would like to think is the political change in the gdr will catch up very fast with this liberation, if you will. You may remember that before i went to poland, i dont know whether jim baker was sitting next to me. I was asked by a polish journalist if i were a young pole, what would my advice be . What i said was, i think you ought to stay there and participate in this dramatic change in your country. You ought to feel the surge of freedom, feel the move toward democracy, and be a part of it. And these are germans. And germans love their country. And at some point, i think a lot of germans who felt unable to move are going to say, look, we can move, but wouldnt be better to participate in the reforms that are taking place in our own country . I think it is too early to project it, because these openings are there. That means everybody is going to take off. [indiscernible] that your side is winning, is that the kind of thing youre going to communicate to him . Hes already accepted in a common european home. We faced it differently. We said a europe whole and free. When you see citizens wanting to go and flee what has been an oppressive society, clearly, that is a message mr. Gorbachev will understand. He sees it not only in eastern europe, but inside the soviet union. Before these developments took place, i have said we would be discussing a rapid change inside eastern europe. And we have been talking about that today, just before you all came in here. We have been talking about the gorbachev meeting. And one of the things that we are determined we will discuss, and i know he will want to discuss, is change. Mr. President , do you think maybe east germans will want to stay and participate in reforming their country that is suggesting an reunification that suggests german reunification is in some ways off. What is your view . It is way too early to say. I noticed the president of france spoke up, i heard what chancellor coles has had to say. If the development of today speeds up the pace or not. Mr. President discussing a wide array of those subjects. I know they are interested in talking about that. We will be prepared to talk about it. [indiscernible] i would like to talk to him soon, but he is off in poland. I may try to get him there. I talked to him quite recently. We confer quite regularly. Have you talked any of the others . No. [indiscernible] we might want to talk about it. President george bush speaking just moments ago from the oval office on the surprise announcement from the government of east germany that there were opening their borders, all of their borders to the west, giving the east german People Freedom to travel where they wish as long as they wish for the First Time Since the berlin wall was erected in 1961. Early on in that News Conference, president bush was referring to west german chancellor helmut kohl who has just left for a trip to poland, left before the surprise announcement was made. West germany has been besieged by refugees. 200,000 of them over the last several weeks. 50,000 of them since saturday alone. The u. S. Pentagon has announced that it has agreed to temporarily provide emergency housing for about close to 1000 of the east germans flooding into the west. There is a lot more reaction in washington. Robert hager is standing by. Mary alice, as you can imagine, everybody is talking about this. Just before the president spoke, Vice President dan quayle called reporters into his office at the old exec of Office Building and said events and east germany were not moving too fast. In fact, he said the sooner the better. There was a flurry on the senate floor with several senators speaking out. The majority leader George Mitchell of maine said it was a step the east germans had to take. Lets listen to that now. Todays decision, not an act of democracy, not an act to please or placate the west, but a desperate act of survival by the east German Government to permit their people to leave, represents the symbolic destruction of the berlin wall. There was a contrasting reaction from the minority leader, republican bob dole of kansas. A statement on the senate floor that was restrained. Talk of reelections can turn out to be nothing more than talk. There is in those politburos some deadwood removed. Seven of the 11 members are holdovers from the old bureau, and they are undoubtedly still powerful forces which will see all of the recent developments as abhorrent. This was an afternoon when they passed the spending bill, which produced a lot of debate about military spending in the house and included that in that is a lot of money for hightech military items. Later, two congressmen of different stripes, liberal democrat ron dellums and conservative republican john kasich, both offer the same view, questioning why are we spending all this money on hightech military items when things like this are going on in Central Europe . Mary alice . Thank you, bob. Nato is also very concerned about this. Remember the berlin wall put up in 1961 has shaped the policies of whole generation. John cochran is standing by at the white house with more reaction. I was struck by how lowkey the president was, how cautious, how prudent. A couple of reasons why he did not appear more elated and public about the announcement of the past two days in east germany. First of all, he doesnt want to gloat. He has a meeting coming up on the second of december with gorbachev. The worst thing bush can do is to gloat and embarrass gorbachev as they prepare for their talks. Secondly, it is a little early to gloat. East germans are not out yet. It is possible there