RL 426/86 -3 November 10, 1986 "You will leave, but we don't know when." "You cannot leave because of the bad international situation." "You will never be able to leave." "Of course you will be able to leave eventually." "Relations between the United States and the Soviet Union are bad at the moment. " "You yourself know the reason for the refusal." "You don't have to know why you have been refused, it is "The reason for the refusal is a state secret." "No matter whom you ask, no one will tell you why you have "You should forget your husband, and your son should forget his father." "No one has ever been able to leave the Soviet Union easily or quickly." "For you no laws exist in this country." "If it were up to us, we would gladly have given you a passport for foreign travel." "Your wife (husband) knows the reason for the refusal." Now we "If you had come to us (OVIR) before you got married, we would "You may leave only by special order." "Your case may be resolved more quickly in the event of the birth of a child or a serious accident." With regard to the last formulation, the compilers of the "Phraseological Dictionary of Refusals" point out that many of the divided families have children, ranging in age from four months to thirty years. In no single case, however, has this led to them being reunited more quickly. With regard to a serious accident, the OVIR official has in one case proved to have been telling the truth. In 1985, Lidiya Agapova, a Soviet citizen, married a Swede, Kim Botvalde. In April of this year, Botvalde committed suicide. Agapova was promptly granted an exit visa to go to Sweden to attend her husband's funeral.7 7. AS 5802, p. 2 (footnote). FOOTNOTES (1) The Washington Post ( TWP ), May 29, 1987, p. A1; The New York Times ( NYT ), May 29, 1987, p. A1; The Washington Times (TWTi ), May 29, 1987, p. 1A; See also notes for press release on General del Piño's interview with Radio Marti, made available by Radio Marti on June 30, 1987, 7pp. in English. (2) (3) (4) (5) TWP, August 10, 1987, p. A11; NYT, August 10, 1987; TWT1, TWTi, August 28, 1987, p. A6. SUNA in Arabic, August 23, 1987 as reported in FBIS, Near (6) Four Iranian weightlifters who took part in the Asian Games (Sept. 20 - Oct. 5, 1986) in Seoul, South Korea, defected to the Iraqi embassy. They requested and obtained political asylum from Iraq. See: TWTi, October 3, 1986, p. 6A; TWT1, October 9, 1986, p. A33; TWTi, Oct. 14, 1986, p. 6A. (7) (8) (9) (10) (11) (12) (13) (14) (15) SAPA in English, August 3, 1987 as reported in FBIS, Soviet NYT, August 8, 1987, p. 8. NYT, August 8, 1986, p. A1; The Chicago Tribune, August 8, 1986, section 1, p. 1; TWP, August 8, 1986, p. A1; TWT1, August 8, 1986, p.1A; The Philadelphia Inquirer, August 8, 1986, p. 1-A; The Baltimore Sun, August 8, 1986, p. 1A. TWTi, November 26, 1986, p.6A. TWTi, April 28, 1987; La Libre Belgique (Brussels), April 3, 1987, p.8. Vladislav Krasnov, Soviet Defectors, The KGB Wanted List, Gordon & Rosenfield, Immigration Law and Procedure, For examples of feudal oaths see "Great Issues in Wes- (16) (17) The pledge of allegiance to the Flag reads as follows: The generally prescribed form of the oath taken by "I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and (18) The distinction between the words "state" and "country" are of great importance for Soviet bloc citizens in general and for Soviet bloc defectors in particular. As can be seen from the quote of Aleksei Myagkov at the beginning of this paper, the defectors break with the regime, the government, the state. They do not want to break with the country, which they consider the victim of the communist state. They do not consider themselves traitors towards their country. Quite the contrary, many defectors continue the struggle against the Communist state and regime with the hope that their efforts will bring about better days for their country and fellow citizens. (19) Many European and American intellectuals were attracted by Communism ever since its appearance in the Soviet Union. Arthur Koestler, Ignazio Silone, Richard Wright and so many others believed that Communism would solve the problems of their own time and societies and bring universal relief. Koestler, Silone and Wright were all members of the Communist party (respectively the German, Italian and American one). Others were not members of a Communist party but were strong supporters of Communism as a doctrine. One among many was French writer André Gide who until his travel in the Soviet Union in June 1936 was greatly impressed with the achievements of Communism. After his return he was utterly disillusioned. Koestler's, Silone's, Wright's and Gide's experiences with (20) American Journal of International Law, vol. 23, Special (21) idem as (9), p.23. (22) The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 1973, p, 345. (23) Expatriation has been defined as the voluntary surrender Gordon and Rosenfield, Vol. 3 (Nationality ), p. 20-40 Black's Law Dictionary, 1968 ( 4th rev. ed. ), p. 685; Denaturalization relates only to naturalized citizens Gordon & Rosenfield, Vol. 3 (Nationality ), p. 20-4 (24) The Miami Herald, August 8, 1986, p. 1A and 10A. (26) The Washington Post (further: TWP ), October 9, 1986, p. A29. (27) TWTI, October 9, 1986, p. 6A. (28) NYT, October 9, 1986, p. A6 and NYT, October 10, 1986. (29) NYT, October 9, 1986, p. A6; TWTi, October 9, 1986, p. 6A; TWP, October 9, 1986, p. A29. (30) Chapman Pincher, "Too Secret, Too Long", St Martin's Press, New York, 1984, p. 120; (31) (32) (33) (34) (35) 136) (37) (38) (39) (40) (41) (42) John Ranelagh, "The Agency, The Rise And Decline Of The CIA, Gordon Brook-Shepherd, "The Storm Petrels, The Flight Of The Zolnierz Wolnosci (Daily of Polish Armed Forces ), April 20, Trybuna Ludu, Daily of the Polish United Workers Party, in Zigmas Butkus, "Major Crimes Against the Soviet State", Law Idem as (34), p.16. For a short description of section 213 of the East German For the text of the order-to-shoot stipulations, see: Gesetz Idem as (12), p.35. William R. Corson and Robert T. Crowley, "The New KGB, Engine of Soviet Power", New York, William Morrow and Company, 1985, p. 283-286; Gordon Brook-Shepherd, "The Storm Petrels ..", as in (31), p. 80-82. See further in this paper, p. 22 and following. (43) For the distinction between "country" and "state", see (18). (44) Henry S.A. Becket, "The Dictionary of Espionage, Spookspeak into English", New York, Stein & Day, 1986, p. 52. |