Mr. Speaker. I rise today to support legislation which I have cosponsored expressing the sense of Congress for Soviet religious freedom and the right of its citizens to emigrate. and to participate in the World Day of Protest on behalf of Ida Nudel. the "Guardian Angel of Moscow." who has been serving a 4year sentence in exile in Siberia. Mr. Speaker. the Government of the Soviet Union continues to discriminate against and persecute religious minorities. denying them the right to practice their faiths and subjecting them to physical and psychological harassment. including imprisonment. beatings. confinement in mental institutions. and separation from family members. Soviet Jewish emigration. which the Soviets promised to freely allow at Helsinki in 1975. has plummeted from 51.320 in 1979 to 9.447 last year. Each month since August 1981. Soviet Jewish emigration has been at the lowest levels of the 11year history of the movement. Mr. Speaker.
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emigrate emigration