T H 'N H I T i-i 0 t J 5 July 7 1978 MEr-IORAND0 · OR F ANILTON JORDAN FROM JOE ARAGON _j SUBJECT HUMAN RIGHTS f As you know Joyce Starr has been serving as an unofficial monitor of human rights issues in the White House for some time now Joyce has kept me posted on her activities and from time to time has requested my assistance in her efforts ·to make sure that a strong focus is given to specific issues that arise Examples are the Scharansky case the Ceausescu visit the Slepak and Nudel convictions Stu Eizenstat and Bob Lipshutz have both been very supportive of Joyce's efforts However in spite of the President's many forceful statements the systematic eliminatio of hlliuan rights activists by the Soviets since the President first enunciated his human rights doctrine has proceeded Hith unabated intensity The Washington Post reported yesterday for example that of the original 11 signers of th Helsinki monitoring groQps founding declaration only- one is stil unscathed by the Kremlin campaign On the previous day The New York Times report that our errbassy in Moscow has apparently shifted a' vay' from the Nixon-Ford policy of encouraging contact with Soviet dissi ents inviting them to embassy functions etc Referri g to the embassy's recent fourth of July celebration The Ti - es says Two years ago before Nr Carter carne into office i vitations were extended to a iety of Soviet dissidents -0- i 2-i · si o i 1 dissident was t e are in · est' a 1 - -uerican s q_e ' 3 e officials must get from SJperiors before 2eeting dissidents even socially e assy 2 ission Wednes3 ' ter oon leaders of the National Interreligious Task Force o Soviet Jewry met r ·1ith Bob Lipshutz Joyce Ed t1ezvinsf a 1d r 1 e to discuss tf eir urgent concern over the fate o Vlaci ir Slepak and Ira Nudel The Task Force includes a o g its sponsors Ralph Abernathy Leonard Bernstein Gerald Ford W Randolph-Hearst Hugh Scott Theodore Eesburgh and many other prominent Americans One of those present Rabbi Marc Tanenbaum framed the 1ssue as follows If there is a counterpart in the Soviet Union human rights movement to Hartin Luther King i t is Vladimir Slepak If this country permits his sentence to be carried out with no more than a low level inquiry by our embassy in Moscow then the Soviets will have successfully broken the back of the human rights movement in the Soviet Union Slepak has been the backbone of the movement Stu is deeply concerned about Sle9ak who only has 12 days remaining for appeal of his conviction He has forwarded the attached memo to the Presiden This case has great symbolism for not only is Slepak being punished his entire family has felt the force of the Soviet authorities One son made i t to Israel another is being hunted by Soviet police and is in hiding Their mother Maria Slepak will be put on trial charged with the same crime as her husband as soon as she is strong enough to be taken out of the hospital She is suffering from a bleeding ulces Slepak Orlov Scharansky Nadel G nzburg and 6 her djs sidents who have now been charged ith various crimes pose for the administration not only the humanitarian dilemma but also a major domestic political issue The American press is nor beginning to i vonder if our professed policy of human rights can be supported by any tangible evidence of actual concern at the embassy level Last month Cliff Brody i vho monitors human rights issues in Soviet block countries for Pat Derian expressed his concern this ay The President and the Se retary of State have discussed particu cases and presented lists to their Soviet c erparts However osco Sl D Ce to v·o c - - - - d Jl- - t-l'c of'rort _ _ - _ P ' 'Qnf'iv- 0 1 int- y- -1 - ' - - J - ' ·-- _ L 2 ' '1 - -· -i - has chosen -- -in theSe cases a to delineate exactlv what the U S s s s from Helsinki the Soviets are fa eC ith a few high level public U S s e e s but no political message or inter retation by our senior representatives 'it- - ---- - - ·los cow embassy has permit ted a few lowle iel inquiries by consular officers on the status of particular applications to e igrate even these off c rs are not instr cted to ask the Soviets for favorable decisions but simply to'reiterate interest in the application process Notwithstanding the public impression that the Scharansky Slepak Orlov Ginsberg cases have been raised the embassy has not once asked the Soviets on an official basis that these individuals be allowed to exercise their Helsinki Rights -- even though the Helsinki Final Act specifically provides the opportunity for such intervention Tl e Conclusion The President has staked out a courageous position on this vital 1ssue He is deeply committed to human rights Nevertheless it appears that in the one nation where human rights is center stage for the world the President's own coromi ent is being diluted or frustrated by diplomats who have 11 finessed the issue through lotv level co'ntacts and a coolness towards the dissidents that borders on neglect If tve do not move forcefully to assist the Slepaks and others this issue will become a major liabiLity for theJPr sident - - I therefore recommend you meet soon 'i'Tith Stu Bob Lipshutz Joyce Starr and possibly Cliff Brody to discuss it and perh ps suggest a course of action for the President -