Whatever glasnost and perestroika may mean for the Soviet economy. they have not yet led to openness toward religious expression. nor to a restructing of the police state system. The Soviet Union still deifies atheism and confines clearthinking dissidents to socalled psychiatric hospitals. Only in emigration has the situation improved noticeably. to the highest figure since 1981. nine times the number in 1986. Even so. last years total was only onesixth the 1979 record. There are still tens of thousands of Soviet Jews who are denied permission to leave. and countless more who would probably apply if they thought they would not be punished for doing so. The credit for the increases in emigration belongs not to Mikhail Gorbachev. but to the millions of Americans who have shown their solidarity with Soviet Jews. The modest improvements In emigration would not have occurred without the pressure from those of us who have made this issue a high priority in United States/Soviet relations. The 200.000 Americans who marched peacefully in Washington last December bore witness to our continuing commitment to human rights for all peoples. We want better relations between the nuclear superpowers. but not at the price of religious oppression.
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emigration