A seven-member
Dutch parliamentary delegation visiting Moscow challenged Soviet authorities over the severe curtailment of exit visas granted to Jews seeking to emigrate. They were given stock answers, obviously prepared in advance, in which the authorities contended that few Jews are seeking visas and those denied them are privy to official secrets which precludes their leaving the country.
The delegation, which included the chairmen of the three parliamentary coalition factions, went to the Soviet Union to discuss European arms reduction. But they raised the question of Soviet Jews with members of the Supreme Soviet and of the Communist Party Central Committee. The replies they received were identical.
They were told that only 3000 Jewish applicants are still awaiting visas; that only five percent of the applications are rejected because the applicants are either indispensable to the Soviet economy, have knowledge of security matters or have criminal records.
The Dutch parliamentarians were told that many Jews occupy prominent positions where State security is involved, for example, in the Defense Ministry and that the refusal to grant them exit visas applies to all Soviet citizens in similar positions.
Before leaving for the USSR, the members of the delegation signed a petition calling for the liberalization of emigration for Jews. The petition, which has a target of one million signatures, is to be presented to the Soviet Embassy in The Hague tomorrow.
It was learned that the delegates got the impression in their talks with Soviet officials that the crackdown on visas is linked to the fact that most Jews who apply for visas to go to Israel actually go to the United States after leaving the USSR. In view of the deteriorating East-West relations, this is regarded with disfavor by the Russians.
The official part of the visit to Moscow ended yesterday. On Saturday, the Dutch lawmakers visited the synagogue where they discussed the visa problem with five Jews who had applied without success. They promised that on their return to Holland they would continue their efforts on behalf of Soviet Jews.
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