The Committee of Concerned Scientists denounced the Soviet Union today for asking Dr. Benjamin Levich, an internationally-known electrochemist, to sign a pledge that he would not seek to join his two sons if they were allowed to emigrate. Dr. Levich had been told previously that his two sons could leave at the end of this year and that he could join them a year later. The committee’s condemnation, contained in a telegram to President Ford and Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger, declared that Dr. Levich had been told “he must accept permanent hostage status as the price for his sons’ emigration.”
The committee linked the Levich case with U.S.-Soviet detente efforts by asserting that “the freedom of the Leviches and those whom they symbolize is a pre-condition for the trade benefits so avidly pursued by the government of the USSR.” Congress has approved a trade bill, now awaiting Ford’s signature, which provides trade concessions in exchange for freer Soviet emigration policies.
The first pledge was made to Dr. Levich, a corresponding member of the Soviet Academy of Science and the highest-ranking Jewish scientist to have applied for a visa to Israel, last June 27, the day President Nixon arrived in Moscow for a visit. It was believed at the time that the promise had been made to Dr. Levich to avoid any embarrassment to the Soviet Union during the Nixon visit.
LATEST EVIDENCE OF DUPLICITY
Last Friday, Yevgeny Levich was informed by the Moscow office of Visas and Registration that he could leave in March if his father signed a pledge to remain. No departure date was given for the other son, Alexsandr, 30, an engineer. The committee, in its telegram, declared that “the scientific community, which has supported the Levich fight to emigrate, and supports the right of all scientists to decide where they want to live and work, condemns this latest evidence of Soviet duplicity.”
The committee asserted that “however long the list of broken Soviet promises grows and however much they violate the spirit and even the letter of agreements, the United States is expected to ‘understand’ and explain away all evidences of had faith and non-fulfillment.” The committee added that “we respectfully remind you that detents imposes obligations on both sides.”
The telegram was signed by Dr. Jack Cohen of the National Institutes of Health, and Dr. Earl Callan of the American University, co-chairmen of the committee.
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