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Germany Commemorates Reunification, Closer Attention to East Germany Demanded
Germany celebrated its eleventh anniversary of reunification Wednesday with officials calling for closer attention to the east part of state that are still lagging behind the western ones.
"We have reasons to celebrate (the day)," said president of the parliament Wolfgang Thierse to the German Radio, noting that the German unification was a "big historic happiness."
"But people should also be aware of the duties brought about by the unification," said the president. "We must always pay attention to the internal peace, justice, social balance, tolerance and solidarity in our society."
Many eastern Germans still feel that they were trainees of their western compatriots because they have been treated like that for a long time, he added.
"The economic data have shown that the gap between the western and eastern Germany is still considerable and hasn't become smaller," said Thierse.
A study released last month found the productivity gap between east and west has narrowed little since the mid-1990s. Eastern German production sites achieved only 62 percent of western German site productivity, the survey conducted among 5,500 German businesses said.
The parliament president noted that the eastern states are also behind the western part in other fields such as the development of education and science.
He appealed the eastern Germans to "think of their own power" and overcome the "feeling of unfair treatment against the western people."
The eastern states must "develop their regional strength" instead of imitating the modernization of the western ones, said Thierse.
Other German leaders including German President Johannes Rau and Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder attended a grand ceremony held in the western city of Mainz.
Germany was reunified on October 3, 1990 and the reunification day has since been celebrated as German National Day.
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