The East German government sought to defuse the situation by relaxing the country's border controls with effect from 10 November 1989;[168] the announcement was made on the evening of 9 November 1989 by Politbüro member Günter Schabowski at a somewhat chaotic press conference in East Berlin, who proclaimed the new control regime as liberating the people from a situation of psychological pressure by legalising and simplifying migration. Misunderstanding the note passed to him about the decision to open the border, he announced the border would be opened "immediately, without delay", rather than from the following day as the government had intended.