Speech #970184027

Vladmir Tsukerman and Osin Lokshin were arrested in the Soviet Union. Like many of their Jewish colleagues. Tsukerman and Lokshin had been repeatedly denied requests for exit visas to emigrate to Israel. and in their frustration. organized a protest to make their objections known. This act was considered a crime worthy of 3 years in a labor camp according to the provisions in the RSFSR criminal code. which establishes penalties for "organization of. or participation in. group actions which violate public order." Tsukerman and Lokshins plight is but another example of the Soviet Unions deplorable actions against its Jewish and nonJewish population. Aside from making it a virtual impossibility for Jews to emigrate. the Soviet Union further bans the right to object to the denial of rights. The right to protest is one guaranteed under the basic humanitarian principles embodied in freedom of speech provisions. Continual detention for illegal protests constitutes harassment of the worst order. It is inevitable that individuals will protest the repressive policies waged against Soviet Jews: waiting periods of up to 10 years for visas. arrests and constant badgering by the KGB. the very real risk of losing ones job. and slanderous statements published in Government controlled media. If the Soviet Union did not blatantly ignore and deny the rights that it supposedly guarantees under its own laws. then its citizens would not be forced to resort to peaceful forms of demonstration and the Governments need to bring trumpedup charges against its citizens would be eliminated. The number of Prisoners of Conscience continues to increase. while Soviet Jewry emigration figures steadily remain at the alltime lows they reached early this year. As long as this trend continues. our dissatisfaction must be made perfectly clear to the Government of the Soviet Union. Support for those whose rights are denied. and who are wrongfully detained. is of crucial importance.