Speech #960093865

It is incumbent upon the United States to reinforce the fight for human rights in Communist Romania and therefore deny mostfavorednation status to Romania until these injustices have been rectified. The Romanian people who have refused to espouse communism are being systematically victimized. They are denied their freedom to work. to emigrate. to reunite with their families. and to seriously practice religion. Allow me to illustrate by citing some flagrant examples of violations of human rights by the Communist regime. committed since 1945. First. the regime has established forced labor campsa form of peonagewhereby politically persecuted individuals are compelled to engage in what is tantamount to slave labor. These institutions. passing under the name of voluntary labor" camps. abuse workers who are "recompensed" at a bare subsistence level and nominal pay. A second flagrant violation of human rights by the Bucharest government Is failure to allow progressive repatriation. Instead. it pursues a policy of restricted emigration by keeping separated families apart and preventing ethnics from reoccupying their homeland. This is the fifth year that congressional trade subcommittees have considered the Presidents recommendation to grant Romania an extension of the waiver of the human rights provision of the 1974 Trade Act. section 402. This section places emphasis on the emigration performance of nonmarket countries. but as a concession. contains a provision allowing for an annual waiver. But Romania continues to get her waiver while no realistic improvements in emigration practices are observable nor appear to be in the future. There is evidence of official obstacles to emigration. As recently as January 4. 1979. Dumitru Muresan was arrested and commited to a psychiatric ward for a month for. "seeking to emigrate to the USA and broadcasting a memorandum of Radio Free Europe in which he requested emigration." A third and probably the most significant violation of fundamental human rights in Communist Romania is the right to believe in and worship God freely. Religious toleration is given official lip service. But its absence is evidenced by the Bucharest governments attempts to stifle spiritual freedom by repressing religious activities.