Natan Sharansky accused the Soviet Union of “massive” violations of human rights and charged it has “taken a new and sinister turn” under the leadership of Mikhail Gorbachev.
Sharansky, who came to Israel last year after nine years in the Soviet Gulag, delivered a stinging indictment of Gorbachev’s performance as compared to his promises. He spoke last Thursday at the conference of the United Nations Human Rights Commission. He also rebuked the Commission. “Human rights violations in the Soviet Union are as serious today as they were 10 years ago when I was arrested and when this Commission found no place to discuss them on its agenda,” he said.
“The truth is that under the new leadership of Mr. Gorbachev, almost nobody is allowed out,” Sharansky declared, noting that more than 30,000 Jews were permitted to leave the USSR in 1973 and more than 50,000 in 1979.
“But under the new ‘liberal’ leadership of Mr. Gorbachev in 1986, less than a thousand (left). Even while the mass release of prisoners was taking place a few weeks ago in the full glare of publicity, many long-term refuseniks were once again receiving refusals and some were even told–despite Mr. Gorbachev’s promise of a maximum 10-year wait–not to bother re-applying until the year 2000,” Sharansky said.
Sharansky added that, “At the beginning of January he introduced a new decree on emigration which violates the Soviet Union’s own laws and procedures and is a flagrant abuse of their international agreements.
“The decree arbitrarily limits the right to emigrate only to those Soviet citizens who already have immediate family living abroad. This decree is cruel and unjust, it is illegal. It must be condemned by all the civilized nations of the world…”
He observed that “even if the decree is cancelled, the present rate of emigration is so low that it will take forever for all those who want to leave to do so. And even if the Soviet authorities were to fulfill the promises made here in Geneva by Mr. (Samuil) Zivs (a member of the Soviet delegation) just last week that 500 people will be allowed to leave each month, that still only brings us to 6,000 a year.”
He addressed the Commission in time allotted to the World Union for Progressive Judaism, a non-governmental body. The Israeli delegation preferred that he not appear as a member.
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