This expression of support for Soviet prisoner of conscience Anatoly Shcharansky is both timely and important. As a symbol of all individuals serving sentences in Soviet prisons and labor camps because of their beliefs. Anatoly Shcharansky represents Soviet Jews who desire to emigrate. His incarceration is the result of an unjust trial that was condemned around the world. His real "crime" was that he was the leader in the movement of Jews who wished to leave. Shcharanskys health is of immediate concern to many Members of Congress and is. in part. the reason this resolution is so timely. But there is no time when the Shcharansky case is not relevant to relations between the United States and the Soviet Union. As long as he and others like him are incarcerated. and as long as Soviet citizens are denied their constitutionally guaranteed right to emigrate the United States has an obligation to indicate our strong objections. I recently circulated a letter to our colleagues asking them to join me in urging Secretary of State Haig to raise the issue of the Shcharansky case with Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko when they meet in New York later this week. I attach a copy of the letter which is being sent today to Secretary of State Haig.
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emigrate