Tension As Berlin Anniversary Nears

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29899, 13 August 1962, Page 9

Tension As Berlin Anniversary Nears

(N.Z.P.A.-Reuter —Copyright)

BERLIN, August 12.

East German troops, brought up under cover of darkness, are today patrolling the Berlin border armed with sub-machine guns and mortars.

The troops, in battle order, were deployed at various points along the border with the British and American sectors. West Berlin police said Communist land and waterway patrols had been stepped up and a machine-gun post had been set up on top of the Brandenburg Gate. The troop movements came last night as tension mounted with the approach of the first anniversary tomorrow of the Berlin wall. Also, the United States has rejected a Soviet Note drawing the West's attention to “the intensification of provocative acts, originating in West Berlin." against East Germany, Russia and other Soviet Bloc countries. The American State Department described the Note as “completely groundless” and blamed the wall for tension in the city. West Berlin police said that during the troop movements, seven armoured troop carriers, two water cannon and a field kitchen moved into a side street near the British border. Soon afterwards, another column moved near to "check-point Charlie" on the American border. The second column included 11 truckloads of soldiers, mortars, two armoured scout vehicles and two water cannon

Allied and West German officials believe East German allegations of pending West Berlin attacks on the wall tomorrow "look like preparing an alibi” for East German action. West Berlin police will be on the alert tomorrow and have asked West Berliners not to hold public rallies to avoid setting off major incidents. There will be special church services, a threeminute silence at noon and a one-hour "voluntary curfew” in the evening. Ministers May Meet A West German source said last night that the Western Powers might hold a foreign ministers’ conference on Berlin before the United Nations General Assembly met in September. The place and time of the conference had not yet been agreed, but it was “not excluded" that such a meeting would be held if there were signs of an impending peace treaty between Russia and East Germany, or if

Russia intended raising the Berlin question before the General Assembly. The Foreign Ministers' conference would be to coordinate Western policy at the session, the source said. Diplomatic sources in Washington said West Germany had proposed that the Foreign Ministers meet to discuss the Berlin situation before the General Assembly opened. The United States Secretary of State (Mr Ruski was reported to have reacted favourably to the suggestion While Britain and France had not yet formally indicated their positions, it was expected that they also would agree to the convening of a Berlin strategy session. Sources said that West Germany brought up the idea during the last week at one of the quadripartite diplomatic meetings on Germany and Berlin that had been held regularly at the State Department during recent months. The sources said that, while the Western B,g Four had not yet decided to hold a foreign ministers' conference, the probability was that the Ministers would meet and that the site would be Washington There was a definite advantage in the four Foreign Ministers meeting together from time to time to coordinate their planning on Berlin, the sources said. The great value of such meetings lay in their being held before a crisis arose