Mr. Bekker used no secret material in his work whatsoever. It is said to be common practice at his place of employment to attach classified documents to routinely requested nonsecret material so that there might be a formal reason for refusal to emigrate. In a private conversation. a Soviet official told Mr. Bekker that the real reason for his refusal was "his performance at work and a shortage of such specialists in Tadzhikistan." Recent proposed changes in U.S.S.R. emigration law will not help Mr. Bekker and his family. President Bushs policy linking mostfavorednation [MFN] trade status to the passage and implementation of democratic emigration legislation prompted Mr. Gorbachev to push the Supreme Soviet to approve the U.S.S.R. Law on Entry and Exit. scheduled to go intoeffect in January 1993. However. this legislation codifies the arbitrary nature of Soviet emigration practice. The right to appeal refusals will apply only in certain cases to be determined later. and the supposed 5year limit on secrecy refusal may be extended indefinitely. Moreover. the law does not clarify what constitutes a state secret. leaving this open to broad interpretation by central authorities or by individual ministries.
Keywords matched
emigrate emigration