Only 3 years old. Kaisa was left behind in her native Estonia when her parents sought asylum in Sweden in 1984. Her mother and father have made repeated applications for an exit visa but. despite widespread support in the West. their appeals have been consistently denied by the Soviet authorities. Refusing to allow Kaisa to rejoin her parents reveals the blatant disregard of the Soviets for the Helsinki Final Acts family reunification provisions. These cases are just three examples of the injustices suffered by the Baltic peoples since the initial Soviet invasion in 1940. Yet despite jail sentences. despite deportations. despite attempts to crush their native languages and cultures. the people of Lithuania. Latvia. and Estonia remain committed to the same ideals of liberty and democracy that are the foundations of our own American system. The Government of the United States does not and will not recognize the forced incorporation of the Baltic States into the Soviet Union.
Keywords matched
deportations family reunification visa