Speech #990074425

As freshman cochair of the Congressional Caucus on Soviet Jewry. I am particularly disturbed by the attitude of the Soviet Union toward the thousands of Soviet citizens who are members of the Jewish faith. I am concerned for those within the Soviet Union who are denied the freedom of religion and have: an even greater concern for those members of this community who have made the difficult decision to leave Russia. but who are denied emigration rights. The freedom of religion and of movement are both guaranteed by the Helsinki accords. It is very traumatic for most people to leave the nation of their birth. their friends. and their way of life. The Soviet Government uses that anxiety to further punish its Jewish citizens by making them strangers in their own land. Those who have asked to leave are denied Jobs and education and are held up to public ridicule as tools of Western imperialism or international Zionism. Furthermore. those Soviet citizens who have attempted to monitor compliance of the Soviet Union with the Helsinki accords have faced imprisonment. exile or forced emigration. In the years following the signing of the Helsinki accords. the number of people allowed to emigrate from the Soviet Union rose to record levels. Since 1979. however. those numbers have declined dramatically. Recent signs of loosening emigration policies for certain groups within the Soviet Union are encouraging. but the overall number of emigrants has not increased. leading me to conclude that the current policy may be merely a public relations move. not serious reform in the policy. So. it is necessary at this time. as suggested In a recent report by the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe. that we review the balance sheet on progress made in relation to the Helsinki accords. This year. not only do we celebrate the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Helsinki accords. we also celebrate the 40th anniversary of the end of the World War II.