Helsinki Final Act (Hansard, 4 March 1986)

§ Mr. Renton

Implementation by the Soviet Union and eastern European countries of their commitments under the Helsinki final act over the six-month period to 31 December 1985 has continued to be generally unsatisfactory. Levels of compliance have reflected the Warsaw Pact countries' selective interpretation of their commitments. There have again been widespread breaches of the provisions relating to human rights and fundamental freedoms though with variations in the pattern of implementation as between individual states.

SECURITY IN EUROPE: PRINCIPLES GUIDING RELATIONS BETWEEN PARTICIPATING STATE; CONFIDENCE-BUILDING MEASURES AND CERTAIN ASPECTS OF SECURITY AND DISARMAMENT (BASKET I).

The most notable feature of Eastern performance over the period was the continued non-compliance with principle VII which relates to respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief. 90W This was particularly evident in the Soviet Union where official harassment of religious groups, dissidents and ethnic minorities continued unabated, and in some instances appeared to have been stepped up. Soviet practice offered no evidence of any impending change in policy in any area of human rights.

The Jewish community continued to face difficulties, not only on the question of emigration, but also in practising its religion and in following its cultural traditions. Confiscation of religious material from the homes of Soviet Jews, particularly of refuseniks, was widespread and the pressures on the teaching of Hebrew maintained. In August, Roald Zelichenok, a private Hebrew teacher was sentenced to three years' labour camp for "defaming the Soviet state"; in October, Leonid Volvovsky was also imprisoned on the same charge. A number of other Jews, whose only offence appears to be to have taught Hebrew unofficially, continued to serve sentences throughout the period under review.

Members of Christian groups were also subjected to harassment and persecution where they have declined to register with the authorities or generally to work within the rigid laws governing religious activity in the Soviet Union. Although freedom of religion or belief is enshrined not only in the final act but also in the Soviet constitution, in practice churches must operate under official supervision. Arrests and imprisonment of believers of various sects were once again reported throughout the period. Vasiliy Boechko, an unregistered Pentecostalist bishop was arrested around the beginning of September and is still awaiting trial. Groups such as Jehovah's Witnesses and the Uniate Catholic Church remained proscribed organisations. In August, Iosip Terelya, a member of the unofficial committee to defend the Ukrainian Catholic church (the Uniates) was senteced to seven years in a labour camp plus five years of internal exile. He had spent many years previously in camps and psychiatric hospitals. In October another underground Baptist printing press was discovered, this time in Moldavia. Six arrests followed. In July, a group of Hare Krishna followers in the Stavropol territory were sentenced to up to five years in the camps; others in different parts of the Soviet Union were harassed or arrested. In Central Asia and Azerbaidzhan, Moslems have been subjected to continuing atheist propaganda. The authorities have expressed alarm at local indications of increased devotion to Islam. Relatively few officialy registered mosques are open.

The "Group to establish Trust between the USSR and US" was particularly affected by a crackdown on dissent before and after during the Moscow youth festival in July-August. Dr. Vladimir Brodsky, a leading member of the group was arrested in July and subsequently sentenced to three years imprisonment on a charge of "malicious hooliganism".

There was similarly no significant improvement in the position of the better known individual cases although the release of Mrs. Yelena Bonner to the West for medical treatment towards the end of the reporting period was a welcome development. Dr. Sakharov, however, remained in internal exile in Gorky. There was speculation that the psychiatrist Anatoly Koryagin might be close to death in Chistopol prison where he had been held since 1982. Recent news confirmed that he had been moved in July 1985 to a labour camp and is still critically ill in the camp 91W hospital. There was renewed evidence of the continuing abuse of psychiatry in suppressing dissent, a practice which Dr. Koryagin helped to expose.

The unsatisfactory attitude of the Bulgarian authorities towards their CSCE commitments remained substantially unchanged. Once more, emphasis was put on principles I (sovereignty) and VI (non-interference in internal affairs) while commitments under principle VII were virtually ignored. Bulgarian treatment of the ethnic Turkish minority, and denial of its existence, continued to give cause for very considerable concern. The Bulgarian authorities continue to try to establish control over religious communities by direct interference and force. The Government control where their citizens work and live and although the constitution guarantees freedon of speech and association, these cannot be exercised

to the detriment of the public interest". In Czechoslovakia, the repressive attitude to human rights was maintained. Routine harassment of both dissidents and religious activists continued. Freedom of expression and other civil liberties remain severely restricted. There is continued pressure on human rights' groups such as Charter 77 and the Jazz Section. In two recent trials, friends of the accused and Western diplomats were denied entrance to the courtroom.

East German implementation of its CSCE commitments under the final act was varied. Restrictions on human rights and individual freedoms remained a central problem. There was little or no relaxation in the restrictions on freedom of movement. However, the GDR attitude towards the church remained more accommodating than in some other countries. Contacts with overseas churches were permitted without state interference.

Hungarian observance of CSCE principles during the six months remained generally good, though some retrograde steps were noted. Among the latter was the revision of an existing decree which widened the scope for police surveillance and deportation. During the CSCE Cultural Forum in Budapest, attended by delegates from eastern and western Europe, the Hungarian authorities decided to ban unauthorised public meetings discussing cultural freedom and related matters. Meetings, however, took place unhindered in private.

Religious freedom in Poland remained greater than in other eastern European countries, although criticism of the Church by the authorities increased, and harassment of priests associated with the opposition continued. The repression of dissent showed a tendency to increase. The growing use of a summary court procedure in cases against opposition activists gave cause for concern. The number of political prisoners rose to over 400 in the autumn; after which about 220 minor offenders were released, on stringent conditions, as a humanitarian gesture. These did not include any of the leading Solidarity activists. In November it was announced that about 60 staff in universities and polytechnics were to be dismissed from their administrative positions under a procedure introduced by amendments adopted in 1985 to the Higher Education Law.

Romania remained one of the more oppressive countries in Eastern Europe as far as human rights and fundamental freedoms were concerned. Conditions for national minorities, particularly Hungarians, seem to have deteriorated further. The Department of Religious Affairs maintained tight control over the various religious denominations and continued to harass church leaders and 92W believers who went beyond the narrow guidelines laid down for religious practice. In August, however, the authorities finally granted an exit visa to Orthodox priest, Father Calciu as well as to the dissident Dorin Tudoran.

CONFIDENCE AND SECURITY-BUILDING MEASURES

The GDR notified participants of an exercise held from 6 to 14 July involving both Soviet and Eastern German troops. No observers were, however, invited. Soviet Union notified one major military exercise, "Caucasus" which took place from 15 to 21 July and to which observers from some Western countries were invited. These were believed to be the only exercises requiring notification held by the Warsaw Pact countries during the period under review. Warsaw Pact countries declined the invitation to send observers to the exercise "Brave Defender" held in the United Kingdom; however Soviet and Czechoslovak observers attended the exercise "Trutzige Sachsen" held in September by the Federal Republic of Germany.

CO-OPERATION IN THE FIELD OF ECONOMICS, OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AND OF THE ENVIRONMENT (BASKET II)

In general, the procedures for conducting business in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe have remained unchanged and the flow of economic and commercial information limited. However, in Poland and Hungary, increasing numbers of domestic producers have been allowed to negotiate foreign trade transactions directly, without the intervention of the Foreign Trade Organisations.

CO-OPERATION IN HUMANITARIAN AND OTHER FIELDS (BASKET III)

Eastern implementation of their commitments in this field remained generally unsatisfactory, particularly with regard to family reunification and contacts with individuals from states outside the Warsaw Pact. Emigration to the West has continued at a low level. In the Soviet Union the number of exit visa permits granted to ethnic Germans declined further; the number of Soviet Jews who emigrated during the review period was marginally higher than the figure for the preceding six months but the figures still fell a very long way short of the high levels of emigration observed a few years ago: (the 1985 figure was 1,140 compared with 908 in 1984). Long waiting lists remained despite Soviet claims that virtually all those Jews wishing to leave had already done so. There were successive rumours and denials from different quarters about a possible increase in the number of emigrants. In the GDR, the number of emigration visas granted increased over the period but still only a fraction of those wishing to leave the GDR have been allowed to do so. With very few exceptions restrictions remained in force in all Warsaw Pact countries on individuals wishing to visit the West, as well as in access to Western diplomatic missions. Compliance with the Helsinki and Madrid provisions on information by the Warsaw Pact countries remained poor with restrictions on access to overseas sources of information. Jamming of Western broadcasts continued especially by the Soviet Union, which, according to BBC estimates, currently spends upwards of £500 million per annum on jamming.

CO-OPERATION AND EXCHANGES IN THE FIELD OF CULTURE AND EDUCATION

Bureaucratic and economic constraints continued to limit the development of most bilateral programmes with 93W Western countries, although there was agreement at the US-Soviet summit in November to broaden bilateral exchanges. The Budapest Cultural Forum of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) failed to reach agreement on practical measures to improve cultural co-operation between East and West.