Helsinki Final Act (Hansard, 8 February 1982)

§ Mr. Humphrey Atkins

During the last six-month period until 31 December 1981 implementation by the Soviet Union and Eastern European countries of their commitments under the Helsinki Final Act became gradually worse. There were major violations after tae imposition of martial law in Poland on 13 December. Before then, implementation in Poland had improved. Events in Poland seem to have made the Soviet Union and other East European countries less willing to carry cut their obligations.

The Soviet Union, and to a lesser degree Czechoslovakia and the German Democratic Republic, sought earlier to influence events in Poland in a mariner contrary to the Final Act. This pressure took various forms and was exercised by the Governments of these countries and by officially-controlled organisations. 281W BASKET I: 'SECURITY IN EUROPE: PRINCIPLES GUIDING RELATIONS BETWEEN PARTICIPATING STATES: CONFIDENCE-BUILDING MEASURES AND CERTAIN ASPECTS OF SECURITY AND DISARMAMENT' Principles The imposition of martial law and suspension of civil rights in Poland, notably the policy of large scale internment and detention contravenes the principle of 'respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms'. The consistent pressure by the Soviet Union on the Polish authorities to counter the process of reform and renewal, and particular the formation of an independent trades union organisation, was a clear violation of the principles of respect for the sovereignty of independent states and of non-interference in the internal affairs of states. The Soviet Union continues to try to subjugate Afghanistan by force in breach of most, if not all, of the principles of the Final Act. There has been no sign of a Soviet willingness to withdraw from that country. The repression of dissidents in Czechoslovakia and in the Soviet Union has continued. In the Soviet Union there were further arrests of members of the Helsinki monitoring groups. The Soviet authorities have continued to repress religious activists, non-Russian minorities including Jews, and others. There has been a further marked drop in the numbers of Jews, Armenians and ethnic Germans permitted to emigrate. Confidence-building measures Exercise Zapad 81 took place in the western part of the Soviet Union from 4 to 12 September. Notification of this exercise was only in the most general terms. It did not contain the detail specified in the Final Act for prior notification of major military manoeuvres—that is, manoeuvres involving 25,000 or more troops—although Soviet press reports suggested that approximately 100,000 troops were involved. Nor were observers invited. No further elucidation has been provided in response to Western requests. No other major military exercises in Eastern Europe were notified. BASKET II: 'CO-OPERATION IN THE FIELD OF ECONOMICS, OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, AND OF THE ENVIRONMENT' The world recession, coupled with increasing economic difficulties faced by East European countries, has continued to hamper the development of trade relations. East European countries have increasingly resolved to counter-trade as a means of easing some of their problems. There has been little overall improvement in business contacts and facilities, although the situation continues to vary between and within countries. In the Soviet Union the withdrawal of certain privileges has made more difficult the day to day life of the resident Western business community. In Hungary, however, there have been signs of increased flexibility in dealings with foreign business representatives. There has been no significant improvement in the availability or quality of economic and commercial information published by the Soviet Union and other East European countries. BASKET III: 'CO-OPERATION IN HUMANITARIAN AND OTHER FIELDS' Human contacts In Eastern European countries and the Soviet Union older people have in general a far greater chance of emigration and travel than young people. For everyone, it is hard and expensive to get the necessary documents. In the field of human contacts, the performance of Poland, before December and Hungary remained rather liberal but the restrictions on travel imposed in Poland since the imposition of military rule contravened the human contacts provisions of the Final Act. In Czechoslovakia and Romania there has been no significant change since the last review period. In Bulgaria there was no improvement as regards family meetings and re-unifications or bi-national marriages, though there has been a slight improvement in tourism and travel. In the GDR there has been some improvement in family re-unification. In the Soviet Union, however, in all matters of human contacts the situation has got markedly worse. Information Until the imposition of severe restrictions in Poland, the implementation of commitments under the Final Act had again remained virtually unchanged. East European governments maintained strict control over the dissemination of information coming from the West, and very few commercial Western newspapers, periodicals, books and films were available to the general public. 282W Jamming by the Soviet Union of almost all broadcasts in Russian and other Soviet languages by the BBC, Voice of America, Deutsche Welle and Radio Liberty continued through the period. Since late December, following the imposition of martial law in Poland, Polish language broadcasts, including those of the BBC, have been jammed from stations in the Soviet Union. During the period, transmissions to Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia by Deutsche Welle and Radio Free Europe were also jammed. There were no significant improvements in the working conditions of western journalists during the period under review, and conditions in Poland deteriorated sharply after 13 December. Culture and education Cultural relations with the Soviet Union narrowed in the period under review. Elsewhere in Eastern Europe, no significant changes in implementation occurred in the fields of culture and education.