20000124

Kohl to reveal names in slush fund scandal

BERLIN: Former German chancellor Helmut Kohl, fighting to save his statesman's reputation, said on Sunday he would reveal the names of those who gave him millions of dollars in secret cash for use by his party.

"To head off the damage to the Christian Democrats, I have decided to give the names of the personalities who financially supported my work in the CDU to a high-ranking committee," Kohl said in a statement faxed to news media. Parliament, prosecutors and angry leaders of his own party have already begun separate inquiries into Kohl's accumulation of undeclared cash contributions during his 16 years in power. But the committee he mentioned on Sunday was something new.

"This is a bipartisan committee to be made up of federal President Johannes Rau, former president Roman Herzog, (current) parliament president Wolfgang Thierse and the vice president of the constitutional court, Hans-Juergen Papier," Kohl said.

"After examining my statement they should confirm to the public that my political decisions were never influenced by my having accepted this money," the statement said.

Kohl, whose towering reputation as the father of German reunification has been mauled by revelations that he handled slush funds for the CDU, said this committee would not disclose his donor's names to the public.-Reuters