krj@utcsrgv.UUCP (06/18/84)
[--------------------------------------------------------------------]
INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN ORLOV / SHCHARANSKY
After the successful completion of the International Campaign Massera
which ended on March 3, 1984, with the release of Professor Massera
from prison in Uruguay, the International Campaign Orlov/Shcharansky
was founded. The present campaign means to save these two scientists
in the U.S.S.R. -- both adopted years ago by Amnesty International as
prisoners of conscience -- by the same means. In pressing for their
freedom, we expect to affect also the treatment of other prisoners of
conscience in the U.S.S.R. When any government treats prisoners of
conscience with cruelty, it earns the condemnation of decent people all
over the world. When the Soviet authorities are shown that this is so,
we hope that they will change -- in their own best interests -- and this
will be a wonderful step in improving international relationships.
This campaign should not be viewed as anti-Soviet or anti-communist:
Professer Massera, whom we have just helped to free, is a leading
member of the communist party in Uruguay. The goal of this campaign is
purely humanitarian -- to support our colleagues who find themselves in
less fortunate circumstances.
The campaign is directed by
Henri Cartan, Member de l'Academie des Sciences de l'Institut de France,
Foreign Member of the Royal Society,
Foreign Associate of the National Academy of Sciences,
Ancien president de l'Union mathematique international.
Israel Halperin, Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada,
Secretary of the Canadian Committee of Scientists and Scholars,
Former Vice-President of the Canadian Mathematical Society.
The campaign is supported by over 48 Nobel Laureates, 21 Presidents,
Rectors, or Vice-Chancellors of Universities, 20 Fellows of the Royal
Society (England), 27 Fellows of the Royal Society of Canada 9 Members
of l'Academie des Sciences (France), as well as many other individuals
and societies including The American Psychiatric Association, the
Committee on Human Rights of the National Academy of Sciences (U.S.A.),
S.I.A.M. (Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics), the New
Zealand Mathematical Society, the Norwegian Mathematical Society, and
the New York Academy of Sciences.
I feel it is particularly important that we as computer scientist
support this campaign as Anatoly Shcharansky is a fellow computer
scientist who was employed at the All-Union Scientific Research
Institute of Oil and Gas until 1975.
If you would like to receive the campaign bulletin (which contains a
more complete discription of the Orlov/Shcharansky cases and our
campaign), be listed as a supporter of the campaign, and/or take a more
active role in the campaign, please send electronic mail to Ken Jackson
USENET { decvax linus ihnp4 allegra floyd utzoo decwrl garfield qucis
cornell mcgill-vision sask watmath uw-beaver ubc-vision }!utcsrgv!krj
CS NET krj@toronto
ARPA krj.toronto@csnet-relay
or regular mail to
Professor Israel Halperin,
39 Elm Ridge Drive,
Toronto, Ontario,
Canada M6B 1A2
or telephone Professor Halperin at 416-782-8087.krj@utcsrgv.UUCP (Ken Jackson) (02/05/85)
(Brief Summary) Dr. Yuri Orlov, physicist, and Dr. Anatoly Shcharansky, mathematician, adopted as prisoners of conscience by Amnesty International, have suffered 7 years of terrible prison conditions in the Soviet Union because of their concern for Human Rights. Both have been beaten repeatedly by cell-mates chosen by prison authorities. Both are now in broken health and denied medical attention. Orlov and Shcharansky are known, all over the world, to be test cases: can an oppressive government continue to ignore public opinion? This campaign should not be viewed as anti-Soviet or anti-communist: our previous international Campaign published Bulletins denouncing the way Uruguay tortured political prisoners. This helped to free Professor Massera, a leading member of the Communist Party in Uruguay. We shall use the same methods to shame the USSR into releasing Orlov and Shcharansky. The goal of this campaign is purely humanitarian -- to support our colleagues who find themselves in dire straights. The campaign is directed by Henri Cartan, Ancien President de l'Union Mathematique International, and Israel Halperin, Former Vice-President of the Canadian Mathematical Society. It is supported by over 79 Nobel Laureates, many university presidents, church leaders, eminent persons in all walks of life, and learned societies including The American Psychiatric Association, the Committee on Human Rights of the National Academy of Sciences (U.S.A.), S.I.A.M. (Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics), the New Zealand Mathematical Society, the Norwegian Mathematical Society, and the New York Academy of Sciences. We shall escalate the campaign until Orlov and Shcharansky are free. If you would like to help, see the longer article with the same title posted to net.general. It describes how you can obtain further information and suggests several ways in which you can assist the campaign.