"I
appeal
to
you
with
respect and hope:
ANDREI SAKHAROV
It
is a gredt honor for me that my voice will
be
listened to
by
Social Democrats, and representatives of
u.s.
trade untons
Your movements' dedication to the defense of human rights. openness of society, and principles of true detente. is very
important for the people of
Ollf counlry.
We all welcome the negotiations Ihilt arc now being held aimed at preventing a thermonuclear world war, as well as the
armaments race, and to promo!.? negoli.1tions directed to increolsed trade relations- in short, all' that is denoted
by
the word
detente',
But at the same time. there continue to be .uresis, interrogations. ,lnd searches of dissidents, religious persecutions (for
instance in the Baltic area), har,,;sment of honest writers, obstacles pl<1Ced in the way of free emigration and discrimination
against nation.ll minorities. In an irrefut<lble way. this shows that the external detente is trilgically not accompanied by an
internal and human detente.
It
seems to me, however, th.H now in the West forces are appearing with a beginning
M ...
.:areness of the danger of such
a situation. Your response to our
C.lu~e
is one of the proofs of th.,t concern. I should like to t.lke this opportunity to .lppealto you
for support for a number of urgent social c.,mp<,igll.. ·
1. A campaign for free access by the Representatives of the
International Red Cross and World Health Organization
to inspect the Soviet places of incarcerations and mental
hospitals.
2. A campaign for amnesty of Soviet political prisoners. I
should like to call 10 mind once again such glorious names
as Vladimir Bukovsky, Peter Grigorenko, Semen Gluz–
man, Valentin Moroz, l eonid Pliushch, Vladimir Borisov,
and Yuri Shikhanovitch. A great number of other names
should
be
added to this list.
3. A campaign to end discrimination against such national
minorities as the Crimean Tartars, Germans of the Volga
area and the Turk-Meskhs.
4. A campaign For freedom of emigration.
s.
A
campaign to defend Solzhenitsyn, linked with (ree dis–
tribution of his book in the U.S.s.R. Our official propa–
ganda insists that the crimes described ind
T~e
Gulag
Archipelago have already been condemne. ut
it
is
necessary to consistently emphasize that if for the typing
of this manuscript persons are to be imprisoned, then a
cover-up and even support of the crimes will be expressed,
rather than their condemnation.
6. A campaign to defend all the honest writers who have
been harassed, including Galich, Maksimov, Chukov–
skaya, Nekrasov, Marchenko, Amalrik and many others.
I shall now gIve you the latest information. On January 30th the Union of Writers of the U.s.s.R. (prose section)
expelled Vladimir Voinovitch, the gifted author of many books, including a brilliant and funny satire about the soldier Ivan
Chonkin. He joins the list of those honest writers who have been expelled for ideological reasons- a list which already includes
Solzhenitsyn, Galich, Maksimov. Chukovskolya-as happened previously to Past'ernak, Akhm.ltova. and Zoshchenko.
Ideological freedom in our country and the survival of great literature as such is impossible if we do not struggle to defend
every honest writer.
I now appeal to you with respect and hope. I take upon myself the liberty of e"pressing my gratitude to you on behalf
of all Soviet dissidents.
Sponsored by
Social Democrats, U.S.A.
Bayard Rustin and Charles S. Zimmerman
Co· hdirmen
1182 Bro.ldw.lY, Sulte802.. New York.
New
York lOOOI/(2lZ) 532-1452
