Bradley a Guest; Diepgen Stresses East-West Cooperation : W. Berlin Observing 750th Birthday Today

WEST BERLIN â€”  Eberhard Diepgen, the energetic mayor of West Berlin, prepared Wednesday to celebrate the city’s 750th birthday by declaring that he wants to minimize the differences between East and West.

Diepgen said that West Berlin is a “symbol of freedom� but added, “We are trying to reduce tension between East and West Berlin and the East and West as a whole.

“We want to stabilize things, put the new accent on cooperation,� the mayor said in an interview at the town hall on John F. Kennedy Platz.

The official opening ceremonies marking the founding of the old imperial German capital will take place today. The principal guest will be Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley, since Los Angeles and Berlin are linked in an international sister cities program.

Diepgen hopes to project a picture of Berlin that does not ignore the Berlin Wall that separates its eastern and western halves but emphasizes the city’s economic and cultural significance.

‘Place for Dialogue’

“Berlin is a museum of German history,� he said, “a natural place for dialogue between East and West, even between North and South. There are many areas in which we can work with the authorities in East Berlin. These include environmental problems, waste disposal, highways, communications, railroads, travel, power transmission, minor adjustments of the city border--things like that.�

The mayor said he feels that “we should concentrate on areas where there is a need for natural cooperation, rather than stressing those things that divide us.�

As of now, he said, West Berlin is in reasonably good shape, particularly since East Germany has informally agreed to cut down sharply on the number of Third World asylum-seekers who had been flooding across the border into West Berlin and overburdening its social welfare facilities.

In pursuit of his policy of inter-city detente, Diepgen invited East German leader Erich Honecker to visit West Berlin for the city’s celebration. And Diepgen said he hopes to go to East Berlin for official ceremonies.

Allies Worried

But this kind of personal diplomacy has worried the Western Allies--the United States, Britain and France, who are still legally in charge, with the Soviet Union, of all of Berlin under the four-power agreements signed after World War II.

In any case, Honecker has turned down Diepgen’s invitation. And as a consequence, Diepgen announced Tuesday that he will not attend a conference of European mayors in East Berlin in June as part of that celebration.

Diepgen has also been invited to take part in festivities in East Berlin in October, and diplomatic observers are waiting to see whether he will accept or reject the bid. The Allied governments have suggested that he say no, but Diepgen is still thinking it over.

“If I would agree to visit them,� he said, “and the next day there was a serious incident at Berlin Wall, then what would I do? It is a problem.�

As to the future of Berlin’s two halves, Diepgen said reflectively: “I am sure we will be reunited some day. But I don’t know when. Our task now is to do our best to solve the problems facing the whole city.�