Speech #930267183

But arrests and persecution of Jews trying to leave the U.S.S.R. are not reserved exclusively for summit meetings. They are ongoing. More than 30 Jews are languishing in Soviet prison camps. sentenced to long prison terms. for their efforts to emigrate to Israel. Late reports indicate more than 30 arrests in recent days in Moscow. an additional 17 in Kishinev. and detentions reported in Leningrad. Odessa. and Kiev. And the trial preparations continue. Events unthinkable under a judicial system such as ours are commonplace. everyday occurrences in the lives of Soviet Jews. Yuri and Anna Berkovsky of Novosibirsk. for example. whose only "crime" is that of seeking to emigrate. were arrested. subjected to police investigations. and now finally served with false criminal charges. It is expected that the Berkovskys will be brought to trial shortly to serve as a warning to other Jews from their city who may be thinking of applying to emigrate. Are these actions by the Soviet authorities measures to inspire the confidence of the U.S. Congress and the American people in detente? If suppression of the rights of individuals is a necessary component of the new relationship between the United States and the U.S.S.R.. we need to stop and rethink what the United States is attaining by pursuing a "detente" with the Soviet Union. I am all for improved relations and eased tensions between our two countries. but such Improved relations must include not only increased trade and economic exchanges. but also a guaranteed basic respect for the internationally recognized human rights and individual liberties of those within our countries borders. The Soviet press gave widespread coverage to the remark made by President Nixon at the Naval Academy graduation in Annapolis. that emigration was an internal Soviet affair. This stance has apparently encouraged the Soviet authorities to continue and even to enlarge upon their crackdown on those Jews who have indicated a desire to emigrate. Clearly. the U.S. Congress and the American people are outraged and appalled at the policies being pursued within the Soviet Union. and we would not wish to give the Soviet Government the impression that the free world condones this blatant denial of basic human rights. I urged the President and the Secretary of State to protest these arrests and violations of the rights of Soviet Jews. and to impress upon the Soviet officials the widespread American concern that they correct their repressive emigration practices before seeking further economic concessions from the United States. Therefore. I joined with a number of my colleagues in the Senate to send a telegram to President Nixon. before his departure. to reiterate the Importance which we place on this issue.