Mr. Kochubievsky and his wife. Valentina. have been waiting more than 6 years to be granted visas to emigrate to Israel where both of their sons reside. Other Soviet Jews. who have required special expressions of concern from myself and other Members of Congress this past year. include Rimma and Vladimir Bravve. Zachar Zunshein. and Vladimir Tsukerman. to name just a few. During the past year I have also joined my House colleagues in approving a resolution calling on the Soviet Union to comply with certain international agreements it has signed requiring the observance of basic human rights. including the right to emigrate. approving a resolution condemning the use of forced labor in the Soviet Union. a practice often directed against Prisoners of Conscience. sending a letter to thenSoviet President Yuriy Andropov urging the Soviet Union to release the Prisoners of Conscience in response to the 269 passengers killed on Korean Air Lines flight 007. which was shot down by the Soviets in September. and forming the International Parliamentary Group for Human Rights in the Soviet Union. which offers another important forum to focus attention on the horrendous human rights situation in the Soviet Union. Mr. Speaker. while it is difficult to assess the impact of any one of these actions in support of Soviet Jews. the message I have received both directly and indirectly from the Soviet Jewish population is that these efforts offer a great deal of much needed hope to the 2.5 million Soviet Jews who are denied any sense of hope by their own Government.
Keywords matched
emigrate visas