Office of the Historian

74. Memorandum From Paula Dobriansky of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Assistant for National Security Affairs (Clark)1

Washington, July 21, 1983

SUBJECT

  • USG Posture on Pentecostals

On July 18, the second of the two Pentecostal families, the Chmykhalovs, arrived in Vienna. State has forwarded you a memorandum (Tab I)2 pointing out that during the coming weeks we should expect heightened press interest in the role of the U.S. Government in the families’ departure from the Soviet Union and recommending that the USG continue to maintain a low profile.

Our recent efforts on the Pentecostals behalf have been based on unpublicized diplomatic contacts.3 We have indicated to the Soviets that we would not exploit the release of the Pentecostals for political purposes. Hence, any significant departure from this policy of downplaying the USG role would be viewed as a breach of our promise and could endanger our current efforts on behalf of Shcharansky and other prominent figures. It also would contradict the President’s expressed desire to maintain a low profile on such human rights cases.

For these reasons, State believes (and I agree) that the USG should confine its remarks to expressions of satisfaction that the families have [Page 260] succeeded in emigrating. They suggest that we should not provide the media with details on the exchanges which led to their departure from the USSR and should deflect any requests by the families to meet with the President or other major Administration figures. At Tab II is suggested press guidance. At Tab III is a memorandum from Kimmitt to Hill concurring with State’s press guidelines.4

John Lenczowski, Jack Matlock and Bob Sims concur.

RECOMMENDATION

That you approve the press guidance provided by State at Tab II, thereby authorizing the Kimmitt to Hill memorandum at Tab III.5

  1. Source: Reagan Library, Executive Secretariat, NSC Country File, Europe and Soviet Union, USSR (07/20/83). Secret. Sent for action. Lenczowski, Matlock, and Sims initialed their concurrence.↩
  2. Attached but not printed.↩
  3. See Document 46.↩
  4. Tabs II and III are not attached to this memorandum and were not found.↩
  5. Poindexter initialed his approval.↩