Speech #980084731

I am still dismayed by the fact that far too many people in this world are subject to great amounts of suffering because their human rights are being denied. In the Soviet Union. on this day there are people of all nationalities. races. and creeds who are imprisoned for attempting to express their beliefs. celebrate their national heritage. or practice their religion. I am reminded of a story of one of my constituents. a woman who had immigrated to this country. who felt compelled to smuggle religious articles into the Soviet Union so that her sister and her sisters family could secretly practice their religion. This woman sewed a prayer book and a prayer shawl into the lining of her handbag so that her sister who had been denied exit from the Soviet Union could enjoy some of the religious practices she had come to freely experience in the United States. This story represents just a portion of the oppression to which the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialists Republics and its satellites have subjected their people. In recognizing this day as Helsinki Human Rights Day. we also recognize the unfulfilled commitment of the Soviet Union to the doctrine of the Helsinki accords. The Soviet Union has failed to recognize its peoples rights to religion. freedom of thought. and emigration. In fact. the Soviet Government has actually regressed in its policy of enabling families to reunite. For instance. in 1979. 51.320 Jews were allowed to emigrate from the Soviet Union. while in 1982. only 2.688 Jews were allowed to join their families outside of Soviet controlled territory. This denial of the basic right to freedom of movement represents a harmful blow to the ideals embodied in the Helsinki accords. As a further example of this contempt for basic human concerns. the Soviet Union has arrested. held in confinement. and repeatedly refused an exit visa to Andrei Sakharov. a man of great esteem and honor. for daring to condemn his Government for its actions in Afghanistan. The institutionalized totalitarianism of the Soviet Union is a dangerous impediment to establishing the foundation of a peaceful and stable international system of human rights. Hopefully. by recognizing this day with such occasion. we can demonstrate to the Soviet Government our solidarity in the fight for basic human freedom the world over.