“I’m Afraid”

SPIEGEL cover story: Interview with Boris Becker on his divorce and his new love, his business affairs and his plans for the future.

“We Won’t Betray Anyone”

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with the last head of the East German secret service, Werner Großmann, on espionage in West Germany, politicians who were under surveillance and the records of HVA agents that were seized by the Americans:

“We knew more about the Flick Affair than the West German public. Our scout “Fichtel” – the Flick employee Adolf Kanter – provided us with a lot of material. … We knew back then that Genscher himself had taken money. But we didn’t know what Genscher had done with the money then either. … As a secret service man I would say, the Americans aren’t going to be stupid enough to give back everything. Where they have interests of their own, especially in the business and economic field, they’ll certainly withhold data.”

“The Dictatorship Is Getting Rid of Itself”

Interview with Chilean president Ricardo Lagos on the trial of former ruler Augusto Pinochet, the democratisation of his country and the difficulty of restructuring the economy:

“During the election campaign my followers kept calling out: Take Pinochet to court! I always replied: The courts are responsible for Pinochet, not the president. And it’s going to remain that way. I insist on the independence of the courts. … The constitution provides that former presidents automatically become senators for life. Together we are changing the balance of votes in the Congress. The very institution that was meant to cement the power of the right wing may then favour the opponents of Pinochet. … There is indeed a major problem with the distribution of income. In the short term we can intervene using state funds, in the long run the gap can only be reduced by means of better education. … But we are a small country, we depend on foreign trade. Our interest rates are much lower than those of Mercosur. As long as Mercosur doesn’t reduce its customs rates to the Chilean level, I’m going to try to reach a free trade agreement with the United States and Europe.”

“Killers with Greying Temples”

Greece: For 25 years, a terrorist group made up of late left-wing revolutionaries has been carrying out killings – a security risk for the 2004 Olympic Games. The police appears to be powerless, the Greek government is suspected of inside knowledge. The “Revolutionary Organisation 17th November” opposes everything that it views as being fascism or imperialism, using “justified revolutionary force”. In over 200 attacks, 17 N, as the group calls itself, has injured more than 100 people and killed 23.

“I’m the Cheerleader”

SPIEGEL interview with head of Compaq Michael Capellas on the stock market crash and the future of the wireless Internet:

“I only look at our share prices once a week nowadays. Particularly in the USA, the fixation on the share price, on its daily, even hourly, changes, is totally exaggerated. … Instead it’s a matter of developing a completely new generation of Internet access devices – some of them wireless, some of them for satisfying very specific needs. … Down with interest rates, down with taxes, stabilise the price of energy. But the President doesn’t need my advice for that. I think George Bush knows what he needs to do.”

“Not towards Europe as a Convoy”

SPIEGEL interview with Croatian president Stipe Mesic on Serbia’s deficiencies in settling up with war criminals and the threat of Bosnia’s disintegration:

“The Serbs shouldn’t be given more than six months to hand over the war criminals. After that there can only be one response: stop all financial aid and impose new sanctions. The Serbs have finally got to realise that they haven’t done their bit for democracy by bringing down Milosevic. Belgrade’s expansionist and criminal politics have to be publicly condemned too – in front of the International War Crimes Tribunal.”

“Virtue Isn’t Photogenic”

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas on his relationship with Marlene Dietrich and the Germans, the advantages of a stroke, and the honorary award he is to receive at the Berlin Film Festival:

“You know, if someone is anti-Semitic then they have a problem – not me. The Jewish people have been around for about 3000 years, and by and large they’ve made a good job of it. … Virtue isn’t particularly photogenic. That’s why I was never particularly keen on playing the hero at all costs … Of course good films still get made today, but often all the digital paraphernalia destroys any acting work. … I owe a lot to my country: my parents were very poor and couldn’t even write. And I went to university, speak several languages and have seen half the world.”

“Dancing around the Juicy Calf”

Environment: Lands are parched and rain forests are vanishing because 1.3 billion cattle have turned the world into a barren pasture. The holy animals of past ages have become a threat to our planet. Is BSE our chance to rethink our handling of cattle? Particularly beef cattle kept in stables are ultimately a major burden to Earth. Immense resources are needed in terms of land, water and energy to first produce their fodder and then transport it, often over huge distances. The wastage is enormous.

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with Italian physician Severino Antinori on cloning. Antinori announces that he intends to clone human beings by next year and gives full details of his plans.

“Rammed into the Eyelid”

Medicine: Doctors are lamenting the consequences of the fashion of piercing. These body adornments are the cause of inflammations or allergies in some 600,000 Germans, mainly because of the conditions under which piercing is done. The staff that messes around with eyelids, navels or ears in studios or on flea markets is often completely untrained. In Germany, anyone can start up a piercing business – without any qualifications. The piercers often start gouging away without ever having heard of disinfection. So it is hardly surprising that many of the wounds thus inflicted become inflamed within days.