Former East German leader Erich Honecker, ordered to leave Russia or be expelled to his homeland to face manslaughter charges, has taken refuge in the Chilean Embassy, officials said Thursday.
Honecker, 79, is wanted in united Germany to face charges in the shooting deaths of people who tried to flee hard-line Communist East Germany, many by scaling or crashing through the Berlin Wall.The Chilean Embassy said in a statement that Honecker had been staying in its ambassador's residence "as a guest" since Wednesday. In Santiago, the government said Honecker had not received political asylum.
Honecker has asked to be permitted to go to Chile, where his daughter lives, but the Chilean government, pressed hard by Germany, has so far refused.
Germany said Thursday that as soon as it learned Honecker was in the Chilean Embassy, it once again asked Chile to bar him from entering the South American country.
Germany has been pressing for Honecker's extradition since the Soviet military spirited him to Moscow in March from a Soviet military hospital near Berlin.
Honecker is accused of giving shoot-to-kill orders to East German guards at the Berlin Wall and other borders. More than 200 people were killed trying to flee East Germany in the wall's nearly 30-year existence.
Four former border guards are on trial for the February 1989 slaying of the last known person to die trying to escape over the wall. But many Germans think it is unfair to try the guards without bringing to justice those who gave the shoot-to-kill orders.
Russia decided in November to expel Honecker, but Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev opposed the decision on "moral" grounds.
Honecker was loyal to the Communist Soviet Union and had enjoyed the protection of the Soviet leader. However, Gorbachev has lost virtually all power since the failed August coup.
For its part, Chile has close relations with Germany and does not appear to want to jeopardize them. Chilean officials have said they would take Honecker only with a valid German passport, which he does not have.