Dangers Faced by Soviet Dissidents Described to Canadian Group

The Canadian Parliamentary Helsinki Group met in Ottawa Friday with Soviet emigre dissident Dina Beilina and representatives of the Canadian Committee for the Release of Anatoly Shcharansky. The meeting was convened because of what McGill University law professor Irwin Cotler, counselor for Shcharansky, called the urgent plight of Jewish dissidents in the Soviet Union.

Mrs. Beilina, who has been Shcharansky’s spokesperson to the free world, chronicled the dangers faced by Soviet Jewish dissidents. She said that immigration for Soviet Jews was not just a right but a salvation, because those who apply for immigration are branded Zionists and are considered “enemies” of the Soviet Union. She recommended that the Canadian Parliamentary Helsinki Group sponsor or support the nomination of the Moscow Helsinki monitoring group for the Nobel Peace Prize. Her recommendation was adopted by consensus at the Canadian Parliamentary Helsinki Group meeting. (By Michael Solomon)