E. Germany Declares Amnesty for Demonstrators, Escapees : Reform: The most dramatic action Egon Krenz has taken since becoming Communist Party chief is praised by pro-democracy opposition leaders.

BERLIN —  The East German government, pushed toward reform by mass flight and protest, declared amnesty Friday for demonstrators, people who have left the country illegally and thousands jailed for trying to escape.

Leaders of the pro-democracy opposition praised the action, the most dramatic that Egon Krenz has taken since becoming Communist Party chief earlier this month, but said more must be done.

The amnesty covers incidents through Friday, but nothing has been said about future violations of the harsh legal code.

Authorities also announced that rules requiring visas or passports to travel to Czechoslovakia will be lifted Nov. 1. The restrictions were imposed Oct. 3, after thousands of East Germans sought refuge in the West German Embassy in Prague to press demands to be allowed to go West.

ADN quoted an Interior Ministry statement as appealing to East Germans not to flee through Czechoslovakia.

West German officials estimate up to 4,000 people are imprisoned in East Germany for trying to run or swim to freedom, or even trying to fly across the border in homemade gliders.

Frontier guards have shot nearly 200 escaping East Germans to death since the Berlin Wall was built in 1961, completing fortification of the border with the West.

ADN, the official news agency, said the amnesty included people charged with taking part in illegal street protests during weeks of turmoil in East Germany, and tens of thousands who have fled the country since July.

It said prisoners would be freed by Nov. 30, but people accused of violence during the protests would not be included.

ADN also reported Krenz will visit Moscow this week. It did not give a date, but the West German newspaper Bild said the trip was set for Tuesday.

Senior Communist Party sources said a more liberal travel law to be enacted this year will allow all East Germans to visit the West for up to 30 days annually.

Diplomats in East Berlin said privately they had learned the law will not alter restrictive money-changing policies, which allow East Germans to convert only 15 marks ($8) to hard currency for each trip abroad.

Travel restrictions have been among the most bitter complaints of East Germans for decades.

Werner Krolikowski, a Politburo member, was quoted by ADN on Friday as saying the Central Committee would open a session Nov. 8 that would lead to “important new measures.”

“The loss of trust (in the party) was painful and it must be regained,” he was quoted as saying. Referring to the pro-democracy group New Forum, Krolikowski said, “We must talk with everyone.”

Krenz, 52, hinted last week that an amnesty was being considered. He took over as party chief Oct. 18 from Erich Honecker, a 77-year-old hard-liner who ran the country for 18 years and was Krenz’s mentor.

By extending leniency to people who left the country illegally, the government clears the way for them to return without facing criminal prosecution.

About 60,000 East Germans have gone to West Germany since July via Czechoslovakia, Poland and Hungary, which opened its borders with the West to East Germans on Sept. 10. A few have returned because of homesickness or other causes.

West German border police said Friday that 587 East Germans arrived from Hungary via Austria in the previous 24 hours, and 141 from Prague, where they had taken refuge in the West German Embassy.

“This is the first signal that we have been awaiting for such a long time,” opposition leader Baerbel Bohley said of the amnesty declaration, but added that the legal system must be changed and laws revised.

She is a founder of New Forum, the main pro-democracy group.

Two other founders of New Forum conferred Thursday with Guenter Schabowski, a member of the Communist Party’s ruling Politburo. It was the first such meeting.

Hans Klein, chief spokesman of the West German government, said the amnesty was a “first step,” but urged East German authorities to discard laws that punish people striving for basic freedoms.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said in Washington, “We would welcome all indications that the . . . regime is taking steps to meet the wishes of the population for real reform, but further comment must await more concrete steps.”

East Germany’s rigid Communist line began changing after Krenz gained power. Official media have carried several calls for greater effort by the party to regain the public trust it lost through years of denying that the nation had any problems to solve.

Markus Wolf, former chief of intelligence, advocated greater openness in an interview published Friday after more pro-democracy rallies in four cities. He pledged continued support for the Communist Party, but said: “The recovery of trust is required before we can develop further.”

His comments, and reports in other official media Friday, indicated that the new leadership may be open to some loosening of constraints on expression.

About 100,000 people rallied Thursday night in Dresden, 25,000 in Rostock, 15,000 in Erfurt and 5,000 in Gera, and local party officials addressed the Dresden crowd, ADN said.

Hans Modrow, who is Dresden party chief and is believed to favor reform, told the demonstrators the process now begun would bring “revolutionary change,” the agency reported.