President. there are hundreds upon hundreds of Paul DragusRomanian citizensChristians and those of the Jewish faith alikewho are persecuted. denied Jobs. and even imprisoned for long periods of time for "crimes" such as Bible smuggling. I have transmitted over 200 such cases to the Remanian officials but have received no reponse. If the Romanian Government would agree to reasonable guidelines and regulations regarding emigration procedures. then perhaps the Senate would allow MFN to be approved for another year to test compliance. In this Senators opinion. traoe must be tied to the improvement of political circumstances. particularly those bearing on human rights. It Is difficult to see the benefits of trade when those benefits are obtained from the labor of those who are not free to enjoy the ordinary rights of liberty and property. It is not anticipated that Romania will revolutionize its entire system. restore the rights of property ownership so essential to the freedom of the individual. and throw off Communist ideology just for the sake of trade. But we can demand that Romania take steps that will lead to an improvement of the system under which the citizens of that country must live. The most important step is the right of free emigration. without intimidation and harassment. Such a right provides an alternative to the oppressed citizen. if we cannot provide alternatives within the system we should at least provide the alternative of leaving the system. Year after year we have renewed MFN trade status for Romania. and year after year the Romanian Government has promised to improve their emigration policies. We have kept our end of the bargain. but the Romanian Government has not. Therefore.
Keywords matched
emigration