Speech #990041128

This issue is one which has no easy solution. but this is one which we. as Americans of conscience. must never allow ourselves to overlook. Today. I would like to address the issue of Soviet emigration policy. Emigration policy in the Soviet Union. particularly in the case of Jews. exemplifies the individual. cultural. and religious repression that the Soviet regime imposes on many of its citizens. With the exception of the Jews. each large group has its own homeland in the Soviet Union. Jews are officially suspect. considered disloyal to the state and supporters of Israel. They have been denied the right to speak. the right to publish freely. the right to freedom of expression. and above all they have been religiously persecuted. Many have even been placed under arrest for naturally wanting to learn about their heritageJewish history. culture. and tradition. This random. indifferent. and unprincipled treatment has forced many Jews to apply for emigration visas. However. the emigration process itself is demoralizing. It is unpredictable and arbitrary. and it instills fear and desperation In many citizens. Before applying to emigrate. a person must first receive a character reference or "visov" from an immediate relative abroad. Though many citizens request these documents. many are too afraid to actually register for a visa. After this initial step. applications are made to the Office of Visa Registration EOVIRI. Exit requirements include high emigration fees for visas. payments to clear housing in the U.S.S.R.. numerous visits to police stations for paperwork. restrictions on what can be taken out of the country and the renunciation of Soviet citizenship. Furthermore. if one is lucky enough to leave. he/she will likely be separated from his/her immediate family. perhaps forever. in addition to being faced with adjusting to a completely new and different society. This costly. controlled. and selective process. which is particularly discriminating toward minorities. becomes for many a futile. nighmarish experience. Applicants systematically are demoted or fired from their jobs. harassed. followed. watched. searched. interrogated. silenced by being sent to psychiatric hospitals. and ultimately imprisoned or banished to Siberia to hard labor camps. In recent years the rate of emigration from the Soviet Union hae dramatically declined. For example. only 896 Jews were allowed to emigrate in 1984 compared with 51.320 in 1979. These statistics are alarming and are in direct contravention to the Soviet Governments ratification of several international agreements. including the principles of the United Nations Charter and the Helsinki Final Act. What is most disheartening to me is the fact that almost all the individuals I had the pleasure of meeting during my visits to the Soviet Union in November 1978 and August 1983Grigory Genusov.