European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 25, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday March 25, 1991 the stars and stripes a Page 9 90 car thefts in Germany set record by de Reavis staff writer car thefts topped a record 60,000 in Germany last year As thieves took advantage of the open Borders and budding capitalism of the former East bloc Federal police officials in Wiesbaden said. The figure represents a 17 percent increase Over the previous years thefts of about 51,500, police spokesman Willi Fundermann said. More troubling is the increase in the number of stolen autos that were never recovered. Of the 60,000 stolen cars More than 23,000 have not been recovered. That represents a 38 percent increase Over 1989, Fundermann said. Most stolen cars Are recovered because they Are taken for Joy rides or used to commit other crimes he said. Werner Reuss another Federal police official said the relaxation of Border controls in Eastern Europe has made it easier for thieves to take stolen autos to the East where there is a ready Market. Fundermann said the flourishing used car markets in the soviet Union Czechoslovakia Hungary and Romania attract Well organized gangs of thieves who can get a car across Germany a Eastern Border before the owner realizes its been stolen. A we be got German polish polish and lately russian gangs operating Here a Reuss said. A a you re More Likely to have your car stolen in Berlin and Hamburg than in other towns but they re even stolen from villages. The gangs work with spotters a residents who know their Way around and pick out the cars for the professionals who come in and steal it. A a lot of cars Are stolen from Berlin because the polish Border is Only an hours drive from there a Reuss said Volkswagen and Audi models Are usually taken to Poland he said whereas the More expensive bows Mercedes and porsche a Are often shuttled off to Southern Europe or the Middle East. Some make it As far As Southeast Asia and the United states Reuss said the . Market is still Small. However thieves have been Able to organize a remarkable Quot shipping schemes from european ports to the United states. A they usually put the cars in containers and use All the ports on the continent with lines going to the United states. Its impossible for the customs officials to control All the containers Quot Reuss  East a open Borders occasionally work for the police Fundermann said. Quot we organized two raids with polish police last year. In Breslau and Bialystok we found 60 cars valued at $1 million which were stolen in Germany Quot he said. Twenty eight people were arrested in connection with those thefts Fundermann said. Peaceful protest British police officers link up around London s Trafalgar Square to prevent celebrating demonstrators from entering the area on saturday. The crowd estimated at 10,000, was celebrating the repeal last week of the poll tax. Violence was minimal saturday compared with a similar protest last year when More than 140 demonstrators were injured and 391 were arrested. The poll tax caused great resentment because it was not based on assets or income but on the number of people per  approved linking Denmark Sweden by Bridge Copenhagen Denmark apr the governments of Denmark and Sweden on saturday agreed to build a Bridge across the Oresund Strait to link the two countries. The Bridge Between Denmark a capital Copenhagen and the Southern swedish port of Malmo would Span 10.5 Miles and could be open to jail and Road traffic by 2000. The agreement expected to be ratified by the swedish and danish parliaments by summer ends a Century Long discussion of the Oresund link. Construction of the Bridge with a four Lane Road and a two track railway line is expected to Start in 1993. A a 1.2-mile Tunnel would Lead from Copenhagen a Southern armager Island to an artificial Island where the Bridge would Start. The Cost of building the Bridge and Tunnel was estimated at around $1.9 billion. Highway and railway facilities on both sides would add $830 million to the costs. Soviet republics can secede quoted As saying Berlin apr soviet president Mikhail s. Gorbachev was quoted saturday As saying pro Independence republics ultimately May leave the soviet Union but he said they would be better off staying in a reshaped federation. The German news weekly Der Spiegel reported that the soviet Leader in an interview congratulated those who voted in the March 17 referendum to preserve the Union in the face of separatist demands. Spiegel quoted Gorbachev As saying it would be a impossible madness Quot for republics to secede for historical and demographic reasons but if they went through the. Process Laid Down in the Constitution they could do so. A ultimately International style relations would be established a he said. Pressed on the Point he said Moscow should take the same attitude it took when its former satellites in Eastern Europe wanted to break their Bonds with the communist giant. A we thought about it and came to the conclusion let these countries decide themselves what they need and what kind of a society they want to have a he said. But Der Spiegel reported that he Felt that adhering to the new form of Union soon to be decided offered the Best Way for the republics to attain Freedom and autonomy. Gorbachev described his country As a Community of Peoples melded together Over centuries saying that 70 million had settled outside their Home republics. Some 30 million mixed marriages had resulted and some Borders Between republics were not set in Law he said. A. A a a if All that is divided by separatists and is undone what a sorrow it would be a he was quoted As saying. Gorbachev is struggling with a Range of demands for autonomy or Independence from the various 15 soviet republics. On other topics Gorbachev said businesses would be put into private ownership and that Moscow would soon make the soviet currency convertible the Magazine reported. Der Spiegel asked Gorbachev to explain Why Moscow had spirited the former East German communist Leader Erich Honecker to the soviet Union earlier this month. Honecker had been in a soviet Hospital in Eastern Germany where he faced trial for manslaughter and the German government has protested his being moved to the soviet Union. Gorbachev replied that the decision was made for humanitarian reasons. A was a Man who had something to do with the restoration of German sovereignty i have a pure conscience a he was quoted As saying