78-10-A4

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Freedom of Speech in Russia

Transcript Young students from the countries of Western Europe are risking imprisonment in the Soviet Gulag for the cause of human rights. I'll be right back. Recently National Review magazine presented an article by Leonard Francelle that revealed how much idealism there is in the world and exposed how much hypocrisy there is behind the Iron Curtain. The author gives an accounting of young students and others from France, Belgium, Norway, Finland and other countries of Western Europe who journey to Russia as tourists. These particular tourists, however, aren't interested in sightseeing. They smuggle in books and leaflets which they then openly hand to Russians on the streets. These are books the Russians are forbidden to read such as the writings of solzhenitsyn. Invariably the book distributing tourists are arrested. One young Belgian girl handing out lists of political prisoners names was seized by K.G.B. agents so quickly she could only throw the leaflets in the air before she was arrested. Now the Soviet Constitution guarantees freedom of speech, but like the Helsinki Pact the Russian government doesn't feel obliged to observe it. Nevertheless, Soviet officialdom is taking its lumps and is very uncomfortable in the face of these tourists who argue back with full knowledge of their legal rights and the terms of the Helsinki Pact. Listen to this exchange between a 22-year-old French girl and the two K.G.B. officers who arrested her. The question, and quote, "Are you a member of a political party." "Yes." "What does your father do?" "He's a politician. "Does he have a high position?" "High enough." "Does your father know of your trip to the U.S.S.R.?" "Yes, of course." "Well both you and he know that it's forbidden to bring books into the U.S.S.R." "Really, but why? To our country, for example, one can bring in any books. In our country, people have the right to read anything." "Well this isn't Belgium but the U.S.S.R." "Well how does the U.S.S.R. differ from Belgium?" "We want our nation to think according to our ideology." "You are really naive people, do you really believe that 250 million people will think the way you want them to think?" Unquote. The K.G.B. agents didn't have an answer to that one. All they could say was, "It is forbidden to bring in books, you may get 10 years for it." To which she replied, "I know. We already packed some things in case we would have to go to camp." The smugglers have the help of the Russian Emigre Organization and contacts in the Soviet Union who helped pass the literature along. Leaflets have appeared in cities and towns far distant from Moscow and books are regularly circulated among dissident intellectuals in Moscow. A Mr. Sokolov, a member of the section in charge of the confiscated books was arrested a couple of years ago for selling those books to black market dealers. He hasn't been heard from since. But the smuggling goes on and significantly the Russian people show a great eagerness to get their hands on the forbidden literature. This is Ronald Reagan. Thanks for listening.		Details Batch Number 78-10-A4 Production Date 07/15/1978 Book/Page RPtV-333 Audio Yes Youtube? No
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