Ten years ago the officials of the Soviet Union signed an agreement which we also signed. The Final Act of Helsinki was a revolutionary document for the 35 signatories to the Helsinki accords pledged to fulfill certain rights to their own citizenry and agreed that the rights of citizens within these nations are a concern to all the signatories. The right of emigration is one of these fundamental guarantees and since 1980 the Soviet Government in callous disregard of the Helsinki agreements has choked off emigration and left a million stranded individuals to survive the harassment of the Soviet bureaucracy. Ten years ago the Soviets agreed that we in the United States had a legitimate concern about the welfare of their citizens. This evening we remind the Soviets that we indeed take seriously this responsibility.
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emigration