World Notes

All across Eastern Europe, former communist leaders have been called to account for abuses they committed during their years of power. Romania's Nicolae Ceausescu was summarily shot; others have been imprisoned or put on trial. But Erich Honecker may escape retribution. Soviet authorities last week secretly flew the former East German leader to Moscow, beyond the reach of a German warrant charging him with manslaughter.

Officially, the ailing Honecker, 78, was moved for "humanitarian reasons" / -- treatment of circulatory and kidney problems. But the German government charged that the Soviets violated international law by removing an indicted man from legal jurisdiction. "We cannot and will not accept what has happened," said Foreign Minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher. "The German government expects him to be brought back."

Honecker is charged with issuing a "shoot to kill" order that resulted in the death of scores of East Germans attempting to cross the border to the West. Before his flight to the Soviet Union, he was under Soviet protection at a military hospital in Beelitz, south of Berlin, where court officers were prevented from serving the arrest warrant. Despite the protests, Honecker's lawyer believes the charges will be dropped and he probably will not return to Germany.