Speech #930263203

Mr. Speaker. freedomloving people everywhere. as well as admirers of the creative arts. will rejoice that the Soviet Union has released Valery and Galina Panov so that they may emigrate to Israel. Panov. formerly one of the leading stars in the Kirov Ballet. and his wife. Galina. had sought for 2 years to obtain v.sas to emigrate to Israel. Upon applying for such visas both performers were dismissed from their jobs. Despite official Soviet harassment the Panovs persisted in their goal to emigrate. Not despairing. both Valery and Galina continued to practice their ballet exercises in their Leningrad apartment. In December 1973. the Communists in order to further oppress this courageous couple gave Valery a visa but refused to provide Galina with one. Eventually. as a result of the outcry in the free world. particularly among members of the artistic professions abroad. the Soviet authorities relented and provided both Panovs with visas. Having visited the U.S.S.R. last year and met with Jewish dissidents. I fully appreciate the ordeal they undergo in order to secure the right to leave for Israel. Accordingly. earlier this year I joined colleagues of this body in urging the Soviet authorities to allow both Panovs to emigrate. What especially upsets me in this connection is that President Nixon in his commencement address at Annapolis maintained that the Issue of Soviet Jewish emigration was an internal problem. and that the United States should not tell another country how to manage their governments. Actually. when Members of this House and other humanitarianminded Americans protest Soviet antiSemitism they are not motivated by the need to dictate Internal policies to the U.S.S.R. What we are doing in these protests is remaining loyal to our tradition as a defender of human rights.