Speaker. I would like to call my colleagues attention to the plight of Lyudmila Nemseva and Dmitry Marchenko of Leningrad. Their situation is one that is all too familiar to my colleagues. they have been denied permission to emigrate. In fact. on June 7. 1985. they were summoned to the Leningrad OVIR office and ordered to sign a paper stating that they would no longer be able to file applications to emigrate. They refused to sign the form. but an OVIR official signed the form for them. As a result. it appears that they will not be allowed to emigrate from the U.S.S.R. and Join their family and friends living abroad. Yesterday. I met with Alexander Lyakov who is currently on a hunger strike in solidarity with Lyudmila and Dmitry. All three of them have begun an openended hunger strike out of their frustration regarding the Soviet Governments policy to refuse them permission to emigrate. Although I do not support their plan to fast till death. I understand and sympathize with their serious situation. The Soviet Governments callouq attitude toward Lyudmila and Dmitry serves as a harsh reminder of their failure to respect basic human rights. This week marks the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Helsinki accords. These accords. which the Soviet Government voluntarily signed. commit that Government to allowing its citizens to emigrate. Thus it is particularly timely for the U.S. Congress to voice our concerns regarding the Soviet Governments failure to live up to the Helsinki accords. and to call upon them to stop their harrassment of citizens like Lyudmila and Dmitry.
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emigrate