Soviet Jewry, Zionism and "Human Rights"

INT: Why did President Carter take up the issue of human rights, especially on the Soviet Union, and what effect did this have on Soviet-American relations?

ZB: The President should really speak for himself on that, but President Carter, in my view, was deeply committed to human rights as a matter of principle, as a matter of moral conviction, and he was committed to human rights across the board. I mean, he felt very strongly about human rights in Argentina, as well as in the Soviet Union. 

I was deeply committed to human rights; I felt this was important, but I will not hide the fact that I also thought that there was some instrumental utility in our pursuit of human rights vis-à-vis the Soviet Union, because at the time the Soviet Union was putting us ideologically on the defensive. 

They saw themselves as representing the progressive forces of mankind, marching toward some ideologically defined future; and raising the issue of human rights pointed to one of the fundamental weaknesses of the Soviet system: namely, that it was a system based on oppression, on mass terror, on extraordinary killings of one's own people. 

Focusing on human rights was in a way focusing on a major Soviet vulnerability. 

So, while I was committed to human rights - and I am committed to human rights - I do not deny that in pushing it vis-à-vis the Soviets, I saw in this also an opportunity to put them ideologically on the defensive at a time when they saw themselves rightfully on the offensive.

[See next page for Andropov talks with Karmal].

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SESSION OF POLITBURO OF CC CPSU
from 4 June 1981 year

Chaired comrade BREZHNEV L.Y.

Present C.C. Andropov Y.V.; Gorbachev M.S.; Grishin V.V.; Gromyko A.A.; kirilenko A.P.; Pelshe A.Y.; Suslov M.A.; Tikhonov N.A.; Chernenko K.U.; Demichev P.N.; Kusnetsov V.V.; Solomentsev M.S.; Kapitonov I.V.;

Dolgih V.I.

CHERNENKO: Especially strong anti-soviet agitation is performed by Reagan administration. Here is an example regarding the pressure, that they put on us regarding the Jews. Just recently Reagan hosted a wife of imprisoned for espionage Sharansky, though she isn't really his wife, but the press had spread that information widely, and another Zionist Mendelevich. Around that in American press and television is opening a strong anti-soviet propaganda. For example, only in one day we received around 600 telegrams with a request to free imprisoned Jews. The next day we received around 300 telegrams.

GROMYKO: Now there is no way we can look into the question of freeing Sharansky, because the situation isn't quite suitable.

ANDROPOV. Regarding Sharansky, we should somehow show to the American people, that he was imprisoned not because he was a Jew, but because he was conducting espionage, he was an agent of the CIA.

The decision is being made: approve the talks led by C.C. Andropov, Gromyko and Ustinov with c. B.Carma1.