Dokument #1188774
IRB – Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (Autor)
As you have our information request from 14
July 1989, we assume you have information on travel restrictions
before July 1989 as well as the penalties associated with illegal
travel under Article 109. We add the following two paragraphs as a
short review.
The Czechoslovak government has been
steadily relaxing its travel restrictions over the past two years.
Since January 1988, people have been able to bypass the Central
Bank and acquire hard currency from friends or relatives abroad, or
even from personal funds, provided they are from a legal source.
These funds, which had to total at least US$10 for each day of a
proposed visit abroad, had to be deposited at a Czechoslovak bank
in the name of the potential traveller. These new regulations have
led to a significant increase in the number of trips abroad: it is
estimated that 400,000 Czechoslovaks visited West Germany in 1988.
[Information for the balance of this section comes from the
following sources: U.S. Department of State, Country Reports
1988, p. 1026; "Czechoslovakia Will Loosen Rules"; R.W. Apple,
Jr., "Prague Loosens Restrictions on Travel", The New York
Times, 15 November 1989; Andrew Alexander, "Prague to Ease
Travel Limits", The Ottawa Citizen, 15 November 1989;
"Prague permettra à ses citoyens de voyager en Occident",
Le Devoir, 15 November 1989; "Government Proposes More
Liberal Travel Law", pp. 25-28.]
In July 1989, a further relaxation of
travel regulations took place when the authorities removed the
condition for individual travel to the West, which required an
invitation from a relative. Under the new regulations, the
invitation can come from anyone. It must be witnessed and assure
the government that the host assumes responsibility for day-to-day
expenses and any medical expenses which his guest might incur.
More liberalization took place on 21
September 1989 when the government approved a new travel law which
will probably go into effect early in 1990. The principal item,
which will permit Czechoslovak citizens to leave the country
without obtaining exit visas, was announced on 14 November, shortly
after East Germany lifted its restrictions.
The proposed law will relax a number of
restrictions. Czechoslovaks will be able to travel directly to
Bulgaria without having to go through Yugoslavia, and to Yugoslavia
through Austria. Citizens wishing to travel abroad will require
only a valid passport, a visa from the host country if required,
and a "statistical card" which ensures that the bearer has not had
access to state secrets. This document will eventually be
computerized. The government will still be able to regulate travel
to a great extent through its control over the issuance of
passports. Although the son of dissident Peter Uhl was permitted to
travel abroad in the past year, and Vaclav Havel has been granted
permission to travel to Sweden, these incidents cannot be taken as
precedents and dissidents will not necessarily benefit from the
relaxed laws until all citizens are granted the right to have a
passport.
Another proposed amendment would have all
of the hard currency earned by tourism deposited into a central
fund which would be used to modernize tourist facilities within the
country and facilitate travel by citizens outside.
By far the most radical of the proposed
amendments is that which would decriminalize the act of "illegally
leaving the republic", an offence which is punishable by
imprisonment. One can "illegally leave the republic" through
failing to obtain an exit visa (escaping), through staying
permanently in the west without permission from government
authorities, or overstaying the period specified in the exit visa.
Under the proposed amendment, the offence would become an
administrative offence, punishable by fines, "public reprimand" or
"confiscation of property". The proposed maximum fine of 20,000
koruny is about half the average annual salary. Administrative
offences would remain under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of
Internal Affairs.
It should be noted that the changes since
September 1989 which are mentioned above, are proposals of a
government which has recently resigned. On 28 November, Vaclav
Maly, the spokesman for Czechoslovakia's chief opposition group,
Civic Forum, reportedly announced that "the government" had
abolished exist visas as a prerequisite for leaving the country. [
Chris Cobb, "Reformers aim to oust Czechoslovak president," The
Ottawa Citizen, 29 November 1989.] Yesterday, according
Associated Press, 20 border crossings to Austria were opened
and about 500 reportedly entered Austria at one of these crossing
points alone. Also, on 30 November, the Czechoslovak government
reportedly "announced that all obstacles to travel to the West
would be removed." [ "Czechoslovaks flood into Austria," The
Ottawa Citizen, 5 December 1989, p. A6.]
2) Regarding this topic please find
enclosed a Memorandum from the Dutch Refugee Council, recently
presented at a conference on "Human Rights Without Frontiers" in
Strasbourg.
3) No information is available to the IRBDC
this time regarding this subject.