NEVERTHELESS, THE BELGRADE MEETING DID ACCOMPLISH SEVERAL SIGNIFICANT OBJECTIVES WHICH THE COMMISSION BELIEVES ARE ESSENTIAL TO THE LONG-RANGE VIABILITY AND UTILITY OF THE CSCE PROCESS. FIRST, THE MEETING CARRIED OUT A THOROUGH, CANDID AND OCCASIONALLY PRICKLY REVIEW OF IMPLEMENTATION, DESPITE THE THREAT OF A SOVIET FILIBUSTER OR WALKOUT. SECOND, IT ESTABLISHED OVER THE OBJECTIONS OF THE SOVIET UNION AND ITS ALLIES THAT HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMANITARIAN ISSUES ARE AS IMPORTANT TO CSCE AND DETENTE AS ARE MILITARY SECURITY MATTERS OR OTHER - AREAS OF THE FINAL ACT. THIRD, DESPITE EASTERN PROTESTS ABOUT INTERFERENCE IN INTERNAL AFFAIRS, THE PROCEEDINGS OF THE MEETING INCLUDING LAST-MINUTE, EXASPERATED SOVIET CRITICISMS OF THE UNITED STATES GAVE STRONG SUPPORT TO THE WESTERN CONTENTION THAT THE HUMAN-RIGHTS PRACTICES OF EACH OF THE 35 SIGNATORIES ARE A MATTER OF LEGITIMATE CONCERN TO EVERY OTHER SIGNATORY. FINALLY, THE BELGRADE PARTICIPANTS, BY SETTING THE TIME AND PLACE FOR A FURTHER REVIEW MEETING, HELPED TO ASSURE THAT THE DYNAMIC CHARACTER OF THE HELSINKI PROCESS THE VITAL IMPLEMENTATION REVIEW MECHANISM -- WOULD BECOME A PERMANENT FEATURE OF THIS EXCEPTIONAL INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENT. BUILDING ON THE FUNDAMENTAL ACHIEVEMENTS OF BELGRADE, THE COMMISSION BELIEVES THAT THE MADRID MEETING MUST ACCOMPLISH CERTAIN MINIMUM OBJECTIVES IF THE CSCE PROCESS IS TO SURVIVE AND TO REMAIN IN THE INTEREST OF ALL ITS PARTICIPANTS. HAD NOT SOVIET ACTION AGAINST HUMAN-RIGHTS ACTIVISTS AT HOME AND AGAINST THE PEOPLE OF AFGHANISTAN ABROAD DRASTICALLY LOWERED EXPECTATIONS FOR MADRID, THE COMMISSION WOULD HAVE EXPANDED THE LIST TO INCLUDE ADDITIONAL, MORE FORWARD-LOOKING MEASURES. IN THE PRESENT CIRCUMSTANCES, THE COMMISSION BELIEVES THAT THE FOLLOWING ARE THE MINIMUM OBJECTIVES WHICH THE UNITED STATES SHOULD PURSUE AT MADRID AND ON WHICH IT SHOULD SEEK THE SUPPORT OF ITS ALLIES AND OTHER CSCE STATES: WE SHOULD MAKE CLEAR THAT, IN THE U.S. VIEW, REVIEW OF IMPLEMENTATION A PROCESS SEEKING TO OBTAIN FULL COMPLIANCE BY ALL CSCE SIGNATORIES WITH THEIR EXISTING OBLIGATIONS - TO BE USEFUL, THE IMPLEMENTATION REVIEW MUST BE FRANK, THOROUGH AND SHOULD COVER ALL SECTIONS OF THE FINAL ACT. EXAMPLES OF IMPROVED COMPLIANCE AS WELL AS NEW OR CONTINUING VIOLATIONS SHOULD BE DISCUSSED IN A FIRM, FORTHRIGHT AND SPECIFIC MANNER. AS A CENTRAL THEME OF U.S. FOREIGN POLICY AND AN INTEGRAL COMPONENT OF EAST-WEST SECURITY, HUMAN-RIGHTS CONCERNS MUST BE GIVEN SERIOUS AND PROMINENT ATTENTION AND SHOULD NOT BE GLOSSED OVER. -- THE SOVIET UNION MUST BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR ITS INVASION OF AFGHANISTAN. BY THIS COLD AND CALCULATED ACTION, THE SOVIET UNION HAS VIOLATED AT LEAST FIVE OF THE 10 PRINCIPLES OF THE FINAL ACT AND HAS HEAVILY POISONED THE ATMOSPHERE FOR THE MADRID MEETING. - TO PRESERVE THE INTEGRITY OF THE CSCE PROCESS, ANY NEW MEASURES AGREED UPON AT MADRID, INCLUDING POST-MADRID EXPERTS' MEETINGS, MUST BE BALANCED AMONG THE VARIOUS SECTIONS OF THE FINAL ACT. IF, FOR EXAMPLE, THERE IS PROGRESS IN THE AREA OF MILITARY SECURITY, THERE SHOULD BE EQUIVALENT PROGRESS, BOTH SUBSTANTIVELY AND STRUCTURALLY, IN OTHER MAJOR AREAS INCLUDING HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMANITARIAN CONCERNS. - - THE MADRID MEETING SHOULD SET THE TIME AND PLACE FOR THE NEXT REVIEW MEETING PREFERABLY WITHIN TWO YEARS IN ORDER TO MAINTAIN THE MOMENTUM OF THE CSCE PROCESS AND TO KEEP UP THE PRESSURE FOR IMPROVED IMPLEMENTATION. IMPLEMENTATION FINDINGS HERE, IN CONDENSED FORM, ARE SECTION-BY-SECTION FINDINGS OF THE COMMISSION REPORT. SECURITY IN EUROPE IN THE PERIOD SINCE THE 1977 BELGRADE REVIEW CONFERENCE, MOST HELSINKI SIGNATORIES HAVE IMPLEMENTED THE DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES AS INTEGRAL PARTS OF THEIR NORMAL DEALINGS IN THE INTERNATIONAL SPHERE. (PRINCIPLE VII IS A SPECIAL CASE AND IS DISCUSSED IN THE FOLLOWING SECTION.) ONLY THE SOVIET UNION ESPECIALLY BY ITS DECEMBER 1979 INVASION AND OCCUPATION OF AFGHANISTAN HAS FAILED TO LIVE UP TO THE BASKET I PROVISIONS IN THE FINAL ACT. DISCOUNTING THE SOVIET CLAIM THAT ITS "ASSISTANCE" TO AFGHANISTAN IS BEING RENDERED UNDER THE TERMS OF A BILATERAL TREATY OF 1978, THE INVASION OF AFGHANISTAN (ALTHOUGH NOT A CSCE SIGNATORY STATE) IS A DIRECT VIOLATION OF AT LEAST FIVE OF THE 10 DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES. ONLY BY A COMPLETE WITH DRAWAL OF ITS TROOPS FROM AFGHANISTAN CAN THE SOVIET UNION BEGIN TO RE-ESTABLISH THE FEELINGS OF TRUST AND SECURITY AMONG OTHER SIGNATORIES OF THE FINAL ACT WHICH ARE NECESSARY TO INVIGORATE AND REAFFIRM THE HELSINKI PROCESS. THE CONTINUED ILLEGAL OCCUPATION OF LATVIA, LITHUANIA AND ESTONIA BY THE SOVIET UNION IS ANOTHER VIOLATION OF THE PRINCIPLE OF SELF-DETERMINATION. THE U.S.S.R., IN CONTRAVENTION OF PRINCIPLE X, ALSO CONTINUES TO SEIZE, OR TO RETURN AS UNDELIVERABLE, MAIL THAT SENDERS CLAIM IS NOT IN VIOLATION OF ANY KNOWN OR PUBLISHED PROHIBITION. ALL CSCE STATES HAVE LIVED UP TO THEIR MINIMAL COMMITMENTS IN THE AREA OF CONFIDENCE-BUILDING MEASURES. THE NATO STATES, UNLIKE THE WARSAW PACT STATES, HAVE CONSISTENTLY VOLUNTEERED TO GO BEYOND THIS, AND HAVE UNDERTAKEN THE DISCRETIONARY STEPS ENCOURAGED BY THE FINAL ACT. HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE YEARS SINCE THE SIGNING OF THE HELSINKI ACCORDS, CITIZENS OF WARSAW PACT STATES INCREASINGLY HAVE ENGAGED IN NONVIOLENT PROTEST AGAINST THE VIOLATION OF THEIR HUMAN RIGHTS GUARANTEED BY PRINCIPLE VII OF THE FINAL ACT. DISSENT HAS VARIED FROM INDIVIDUAL EXPRESSION OF DISCONTENT TO COLLECTIVE ACTIVITIES OF INTELLECTUALS, WORKERS, RELIGIOUS BELIEVERS AND MEMBERS OF ETHNIC MINORITIES. OFFICIAL RESPONSE TO DISSENT HAS DIFFERED FROM COUNTRY TO COUNTRY, REFLECTING DISPARATE HISTORICAL EXPERIENCES, GEOPOLITICAL IMPERATIVES AND LEADERSHIP STYLES. LOOKING AT DEVELOPMENTS IN EASTERN EUROPE AND THE U.S.S.R. SINCE 1975, THE FINAL ACT CLEARLY HAS HAD AN ENERGIZING EFFECT ON THE CIVIC AWARENESS OF GROUPS OF CITIZENS IN THESE COUNTRIES WHICH, IN TURN, HAVE SET OFF GOVERNMENTAL RESPONSES. THE DIVERSITY AND COMPLEXITY OF THE ISSUES RAISED IN THE CURRENT MOVEMENTS FOR NATIONAL, RELIGIOUS, CIVIL, ETHNIC, POLITICAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS IN WARSAW PACT COUNTRIES ARE TESTIMONY TO A YEARNING FOR INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM BEHIND THE OFFICIAL PARTY MONOLITHS. DESPITE THE CLAIMS OF WARSAW PACT STATES THAT ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RIGHTS ARE GUARANTEED, CITIZENS' GROUPS IN CZECHOSLOVAKIA, POLAND, ROMANIA AND THE SOVIET UNION HAVE REPORTED WIDESPREAD VIOLATIONS OF THESE RIGHTS. HUNGARY THIS WARSAW PACT COUNTRY HAS DISPLAYED RELATIVE TOLERANCE OF DIVERSE VIEWS AND HAS MADE SOME PROGRESS IN IMPLEMENTING THE HUMAN-RIGHTS PROVISIONS OF PRINCIPLE VII. POLAND THE GOVERNMENT'S APPROACH TO WIDE-SPREAD MANIFESTATIONS OF POPULAR DISCONTENT HAS BEEN RELATIVELY RESTRAINED. POLAND HAS ACCEPTED THE EXISTENCE OF COMPETING PHILOSOPHICAL, SOCIAL AND RELIGIOUS ELEMENTS IN POLISH SOCIETY AND HAS ENDEAVORED TO FIND A MODUS VIVENDI WITH THEM. ALTHOUGH POLAND HAS NOT ACTED PARTICULARLY HARSHLY TOWARD DISSENT, AT TIMES MEASURES SUCH AS SHORT-TERM DETENTIONS AND OTHER HARASSMENT HAVE BEEN EMPLOYED AGAINST PROMINENT HUMAN-RIGHTS ACTIVISTS. IN RARER INSTANCES, ACTIVISTS HAVE BEEN THE TARGET OF MORE REPRESSIVE MEASURES INVOLVING POLICE BRUTALITY AND THE IMPOSITION OF LONGER PRISON TERMS. ROMANIA A TWO-SIDED APPROACH TO DISSENT CHARACTERIZES THIS COUNTRY. ON THE ONE HAND, IT PURSUES A POLICY OF INTERNAL REPRESSION OF HUMAN-RIGHTS ACTIVITIES. ON THE OTHER, IT MAKES LIMITED ACCOMMODATION TO THE HUMAN-RIGHTS CONCERNS RAISED BY WESTERN COUNTRIES. REPRESSIVE METHODS SUCH AS EXTRA-JUDICIAL HARASSMENT, REPEATED SHORT-TERM DETENTION, POLICE BRUTALITY, FORCED PSYCHIATRIC CONFINEMENT, FORCED LABOR AND IMPRISONMENT ARE APPLIED BY THE AUTHORITIES TO QUELL DISSENT. ACTIVISTS REGARDED BY THE AUTHORITIES AS RELATIVELY MINOR FIGURES ARE EITHER EXPELLED FROM THE COUNTRY OR PERMITTED TO EMIGRATE AFTER BEING SUBJECTED TO VARIOUS FORMS OF PERSECUTION, WHILE THE MAJOR ACTORS ARE OFTEN GIVEN LONG PRISON TERMS. AT THE SAME TIME, ROMANIA HAS BEEN WILLING TO ACCEPT DISCUSSION OF HUMAN-RIGHTS MATTERS WITH OTHER SIGNATORIES WITHIN THE HELSINKI CONTEXT AND WITH AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL. BULGARIA ALTHOUGH DOCUMENTATION OF POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS CONDITIONS IN BULGARIA IS SPARSE, IT CAN BE SAID THAT THE OFFICIAL REACTION TO ANY OPPOSITION TO THE STATE AND PARTY IS SEVERE, THE PRACTICE OF RELIGION BEYOND THE STRICT LIMITS SET BY THE AUTHORITIES IS PUNISHED AND STATE ATHEISM IS VIGOROUSLY PROMOTED. - GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC THE HUMAN-RIGHTS PICTURE FOR THE G.D.R. HAS DARKENED DURING THE LAST THREE YEARS. THE STATE CONTINUES TO APPLY A NUMBER OF LEGAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL TACTICS TO SILENCE CRITICS, INCLUDING, AMONG OTHERS, HOUSE ARREST, DETENTION OR IMPRISONMENT, CENSORSHIP, DEMOTION AND DISMISSAL FROM PLACE OF WORK, PROHIBITION ON TRAVEL, DEPRIVATION OF PARENTAL RIGHTS, FORCED EMIGRATION AND EXILE. STRINGENT NEW LAWS PROMULGATED IN 1979 ARE DESIGNED TO BRING CRITICS TO HEEL BY INTERRUPTING AND SERIOUSLY LIMITING CONTACTS WITH FOREIGN JOURNALISTS AND SEVERELY CIRCUMSCRIBING THE CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH INFORMATION CAN BE DISSEMINATED INSIDE AND OUTSIDE THE G.D.R. THE NEW LAW RESTRICTS FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY AND INCREASES POSSIBILITIES FOR THE POLICE AND SECURITY FORCES TO INTRUDE ON THE PRIVACY OF TELEPHONE CONVERSATIONS. THERE ARE AN ESTIMATED FIVE TO SEVEN THOUSAND POLITICAL PRISONERS IN THE G.D.R., MORE THAN ONE-HALF OF WHOM ARE BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN IMPRISONED FOR ATTEMPTING TO EMIGRATE WITHOUT OFFICIAL PERMISSION. THE G.D.R., HOWEVER, DOES ALLOW THE RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY A RELATIVELY HIGH DEGREE OF CONTROL OVER CHURCH AFFAIRS, AT CZECHOSLOVAKIA --THIS COUNTRY'S COMPLIANCE RECORD IS DIS- GRESSED - SOVIET UNION - SINCE 1977, THE SOVIET LEADERSHIP HAS REIF NOT RENEGED - ON ITS PRINCIPLE VII PLEDGES. SINCE THE INTERNATIONAL OUTCRY OVER THE 1978 TRIALS OF MOSCOW HELSINKI GROUP MEMBERS YURI ORLOV AND ANATOLY SHCHARANSKY, THE SOVIET AUTHORITIES HAVE IMPRISONED HUNDREDS OF HUMAN-RIGHTS ADVOCATES THROUGHOUT THE SOVIET UNION. WHILE THE WEST CONTINUES TO FOCUS ON MOSCOW, HUMAN-RIGHTS ACTIVISM EXTENDS FAR BEYOND THE CIVIL RIGHTS ADVOCACY OF MOSCOW INTELLECTUALS. ALTHOUGH MOST OF THE SOVIET UNION IS CLOSED, RELIABLE REPORTS DO REACH THE OUTSIDE WORLD ABOUT HUMAN-RIGHTS ACTIVITIES IN THE WORLD'S LARGEST COUNTRY. WHILE THE WORLD KNOWS THE NAMES OF A FEW IMPRISONED Moscow DISSIDENTS WIDELY SEEN AS THE HEROES OF THE SOVIET THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE CONTINUE TO BE IN HUMAN RIGHTS SCENE VOLVED IN THE SOVIET HUMAN-RIGHTS MOVEMENT. FREQUENTLY, THE DESIRE TO DOCUMENT THE FATES OF INDIVIDUAL S IN THE SOVIET UNION HUMAN-RIGHTS MOVEMENT, OBSCURES THE NEED TO EXAMINE THE IMPORTANT ISSUES RAISED BY THESE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN. THE HUMAN-RIGHTS MOVEMENT IN THE SOVIET UNION INCLUDES: THE CIVIL RIGHTS ADVOCACY OF ANDREI SAKHAROV; OVER 30 SOVIET SAMIZDAT PUBLICATIONS; THE CONTINUED ACTIVITY OF THE SOVIET HELSINKI GROUPS; THE FLEDGLING UNOFFICIAL LABOR UNION MOVEMENT; THE STRUGGLE OF ALL NON-RUSSIAN ETHNIC GROUPS RANGING FROM RIOTS IN CENTRAL ASIA TO SPEECHES IN UKRAINE AND THE BALTIC STATES AGAINST SOVIET OFFICIAL POLICIES OF RUSSIFICATION; THE JEWISH, GERMAN AND ARMENIAN EMIGRATION MOVEMENTS; THE CRIMEAN TATAR CAMPAIGN TO RETURN TO THE CRIMEA; THE STRUGGLE AGAINST AN ATHEIST STATE BY 40 MILLION RUSSIAN ORTHODOX, 40 MILLION SOVIET MUSLIMS, EVANGELICAL PROTESTANTS, JEWS AND CATHOLICS. - |