Twenty two U.S. Senators have called on the Reagan Administration to engage in “serious and intensive discussions” with the Rumanian government on the decline in Rumanian Jewish emigration in recent years and reports of oppression suffered by Christian groups in Rumania before the Administration recommends to Congress renewal of Most Favored Nation (MFN) trade status to the East European nation.
“We would be sending the wrong signal, not only to Rumania, but to the countries of the free world if the U.S. government was to condone these actions and not ask for any improvements in Rumania’s human rights policy in return,” said Sen. Alphonse D’Amato (R. N.Y.) who initiated the letter to President Reagan. MFN status enables a nation to receive favorable treatment in areas such as trade restrictions and duty payments.
According to D’Amato, MFN was granted to Rumania in 1975 in an effort to encourage freer emigration. But he explained: “Since then, however, emigration has fallen off, from an annual rate of several thousand in the early 1970’s to a monthly average of only 54 for the first three months of 1982.”
“At this point we are unpersuaded that another extension of MFN for Rumania will have a positive effect on the nation’s human rights course,” D’Amato said. The Senator conveyed similar thoughts to Rumanian President Nicoloe Ceausescu concerning the situation, writing that “we look forward with great hope to the correction of these violations.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
