§ Mr. Sproatasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with regard to the Helsinki agreement, what evidence he has, following the end of the Belgrade Review Conference on 9th March 1978, of improved or deteriorating attitudes with regard to problems of divided families; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LuardMy right hon. Friend does not have evidence of a significant change of attitude since the end of the Belgrade meeting; but there is evidence of limited progress in the settlement of certain personal cases, particularly in regard to Romania. Many, however, remain outstanding. The Government will continue to press the Soviet Union and its allies for further progress in the reunification of divided families and settlement of personal cases.
§ Mr. Sproatasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what further agreements, in the areas covered by the Helsinki agreement, have been signed between the United Kingdom and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics since the end of the Belgrade Review Conference on 9th March 1978; and what 511W have been the main points of these agreements.
§ Mr. Sproatasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with regard to the Helsinki agreement, what evidence he has, following the end of the Belgrade Review Conference on 9th March 1978, of improved or deteriorating treatment by the Soviet authorities, to those Soviet citizens who have given help to families of dissidents; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Sproatasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, with regard to the Helsinki agreement, what evidence he has, following the end of the Belgrade Review Conference on 9th March 1978, of improved or deteriorating treatment towards Soviet groups monitoring the Helsinki agreement, by the Soviet authorities; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LuardMy right hon. Friend the Prime Minister made clear in the House on 18th May that there can be no justification for the sentence passed on Professor Orlov in respect of his attempt to monitor the Helsinki Final Act. It was reported on 19th May that two other members of the Helsinki monitoring groups had been sentenced in Tbilisi, while others have been detained for some considerable time without trial. The Soviet authorities must realise that their treatment of members of these groups has a serious effect on the development of safer and more constructive relations between East and West.
§ Mr. Sproatasked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what evidence he has had, with regard to Basket Three of the Helsinki agreement, of improved or deteriorating treatment of dissidents, writers, painters, musicians, dancers and persons connected with the theatre, by the Soviet authorities, following the end of the Belgrade Review Conference on 9th March 1978; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. LuardTreatment has certainly not improved. Some distinguished Soviet512W citizens have been deprived of their citizenship; others active in the cultural field have been criticised in the Soviet Press; and seven members of the Helsinki monitoring groups have been put on trial. On the other hand, there has been a slight increase in the number of Soviet citizens allowed to emigrate.