Helsinki Accords
This August marks the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Helsinki Accords, in which the United States and 34 other countries, including the Soviet Union, pledged “to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms . . . without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.”
The agreements were hailed with much hope, but after 10 years, it is clear that the Soviet Union is ignoring both the spirit and substance of the Helsinki Accords.
The situation of the Jews in the U.S.S.R. is particularly disturbing: the official anti-Semitic/anti-Zionist campaign continues in the Soviet print and broadcast media. Jews are increasingly subject to discrimination in education and employment. Those whose applications to emigrate have been denied suffer social isolation, police harassment, loss of jobs, and other pressures. In June, only 36 Jews--the lowest number in the last 15 years--were allowed to leave the Soviet Union.
The Western representatives who gather in Helsinki for a 10th anniversary commemorative meeting should use the occasion to remind the Soviets that the accords’ human-rights provisions are inseparable from those guaranteeing existing borders and promising increased economic cooperation.
If Soviet citizens continue to be denied the freedom to practice their religion, to express their opinions or to emigrate, if they so choose, the first decade of the Helsinki Accords offers little cause for celebration.
HOWARD MILLER
Los Angeles
Miller is president of the Los Angeles chapter of the American Jewish Committee.
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