Bush, Gorbachev and Kohl accept German unity prize

The three leaders most associated with German reunification -- former US president George Bush, Mikhail Gorbachev of the old Soviet Union and Germany's Helmut Kohl -- met again to receive a prize commemorating their work.
"They played a significant part in ensuring that decades of division in Germany and Europe, dictatorship and lack of freedom could be overcome," the president of the German Unity Board, Christine Lieberknecht, said Friday in presenting the first Point Alpha prizes to the political veterans.
The award, which carries a 50,000-euro (60,900-dollar) prize sponsored by German corporations, is named for the US observation base on the former Cold War border between East and West Germany, at the center of the line of defense known as the Fulda Gap.
Up to 200 US troops at one time patrolled the site, considered to be one of the tensest spots along the frontier, protecting the West from a feared Soviet invasion until the Berlin Wall fell in November 1989.
Just 100 meters (yards) separated the observation tower at Point Alpha from the barbed wire and mines that the communist East Germans laid at the border.
A museum now stands at the site.
"In this place, we can look back and see what a blessing it was that this tension between the forces we can now hardly imagine dissipated peacefully a decade and a half ago and did not lead to mass murder," Lieberknecht said.
Kohl, 75, said the three had risen to the occasion presented by history.
"Politics means facing big challenges," he said.
Bush, the 81-year-old father of the current US president, said that time would prove the historic importance of German unification, a fact that was anything but self-evident 15 years ago.
The ceremony was open to the public, a decision organizers said was meant to underscore the enduring gratitude of Germans for the accomplishments of the three statesmen in power when the country finally reunited in October 1990.
"We need responsible and courageous action in the style of our award-winners today as we did then -- especially now, when there are clouds over Europe that can only be swept away with intelligent and considered policies," Lieberknecht said.
Gorbachev, now 74, urged EU leaders to give the process of greater European integration time to develop.
"How difficult will it be in Europe when you see how difficult German unity is to achieve?" he asked.
Kohl said EU countries should not lose sight of the European ideal.
"Europe will come to nothing if everyone just works for himself," he said.
The date of June 17 was chosen in honor of the 52nd anniversary of an East Berlin workers' uprising against the communists, which was violently crushed by Soviet tanks and the East German "people's police".
Lieberknecht said the prize would be awarded regularly to serve as a reminder of the peaceful resolution of the Cold War.
Bush, Gorbachev and Kohl developed a warm rapport during the heady days of German reunification and are frequently brought together to share their memories of what is considered to be contemporary Europe's finest hour.

 Agence France Presse, June 17, 2005