German border guards accused of charging Poles DM 500 a head to cross

According to Polish transportation companies, German border guards are violating an intergovernmental accord by demanding DM 500 from passengers for crossing the border. Those who default on the payment are turned away from the border. "Maybe it is the result of ignorance or viciousness of the German border guards," said the head of the passenger transport department in the Transportation Ministry Maria Klimek. "They have been doing this for several months," said one of the drivers from a transportation company. "I had, 'deported from the country,' stamped in my passport." An official from BAG transportation company in Koeln promised to solve the problem. (Gazeta Wyborcza, page 6) A.Z.