Speech #530132406

Mr. Speaker. as we mark the Second Congressional Fast and Prayer Vigil for Soviet Jewry. I want to call attention to the plight of Aleksandr Panaryev. a young Soviet Jew who has been seeking for years. along with his family. to emigrate to Israel. Aleksandr Panaryevs case in many ways typifies the discriminatory and repressive treatment suffered by Jews and others in the Soviet Union who seek nothing more than to exercise their right to emigrate to the country of their choice. The name of Aleksandr Panaryev is not a household word like those of Andrei Sakharov. Anatoly Shcharansky. and other persecuted champions of human rights. But he too has been harassed and punished because of his beliefs. and he too deserves our sympathy and help. Aleksandr Panaryev. like many young Soviet Jews. has found himself caught in a poignant Catch22 predicament. Soviet Jews who answer their army callup and enter military service frequently find that their emigration applications are delayed or refused because of their alleged access to state secrets. Yet those who do not wish to serve in the military for fear of jeopardizing their emigration applications are labeled as unpatriotic and are often arrested. Aleksandr Panaryev was arrested in April 1983 and sentenced to a year of forced labor. He was released in April 1984 but is in danger of being arrested again. In the meantime. he and his familyalong with thousands of their fellow Soviet Jews and members of other minority groupsare being denied their right to emigrate and remain trapped in the Soviet Union as Moscows crackdown on emigration continues unabated. 31059 08721 Pt. 12) The suffering of Aleksandr Panaryev and the others like him are tragedies of major proportions in and of themselves. But I am also concernedand so are many of my colleagues in the Congressabout the impact of these events on an international climate that has grown more and more uneasy during the 1980s as mistrust between the two superpowers has deepened. Systematic Soviet denial of the basic rights of Jews and others exacerbates tensions between East and West and makes it more difficult to promote better understanding between the two superpowers. Events like todays vigil are important because they signal to the Soviet leadership the depth of the concern felt by the American people and their elected representatives in Congress about restrictive Soviet policies on emigration and Moscows inhumane treatment of Jews and members of other minority groups. It is impossible for the American people and the Congress not to take these issues into account when we address the range of concerns that comprise United StatesSoviet relations. It is impossible. given our strong feelings about these basic questions of human rights and human dignity. for us not to have second thoughts about how to proceed in many areas of mutual concern at a time when the Soviet Government is violating the Helsinki accords by denying many of its citizens their fundamental rights. In the name of human decency and international cooperation and peace. it is essential that the Soviet authorities grant to Soviet Jews like Aleksandr Panaryev and his family. and to members of other minority groups as well. their rights not only to emigrate to the country of their choice. but also to practice their religious faiths and to live free from official harassment. intimidation. and discrimination..