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Po. »land Observer
Business as usual with White South Africa
by TtaMtfcy H. Smith
Director e( U m lato rfaR k Center
en C a rp e n to Respeasibility
It seems clear that the prevision of
foreign capital to South African govern
ment agencies and private concerns re
sult in support for white minority rule
and the preservation of apartheid in
South Africa.
I t is a tremendous moral boost for
white South Africans to feel that the
“white anti-communist, Christian West”,
as they categorize it, may condemn
apartheid in the halls of the United
Nations but is willing to do “business as
usual” with them in critical economic
areas. They know they can still count on
U.S., European and Canadian banks to
provide capital and that public condem
nation of apartheid will not inconvenience
essential business relationships. Why
then should the South African Govern
ment take seriously the protest and
opposition of America for example? What
incentive is there for the white minority
to want to share political and economic
power with the Black majority when they
know that apartheid is profitable for
them and likely to remain so?
South Africa can and does point with
pride to its solid economic relationships
with the United States, Britain and
France, etc. as a sign that it is respected
and indispensable to the West.
We are all aware that the image of
stability and economic milk and honey
wh^ch was once the picture of South
Africa has changed drastically. South
Africa is in very difficult economic cir
cumstances and has an acute balance of
payments crisis. The price of gold has
fallen considerably. Inflation is escalat
ing. During its economic trials South
Africa has increasingly turned to inter
national banks for capital for its budget
and hugh development projects.
Such loans give relief tc South Africa in
the midst of its balance of payments
crisis. Moreover, the fact that major U.S.
Banks are ready to make sizeable loans is
an indicator of investor confidence which
bolsters South Africa's credit rating. To
make such loans now is to flash a signal
that U.S. banks have faith in South
Africa’s economic and social future. If the
loans were not forthcoming South Africa
would be forced to look elsewhere and the
rate it would pay would rise. Moreover,
the government backed by these loans
does not have to apply unpopular econo
mic controls at home, thus further con
solidating its support politically.
A keypoint made by South African
economic propaganda is that South Africa
offers an excellent investment climate
based upon the abundant supply of cheap
labor (Black).
I^et us look at some other implications
of an open door loan policy to South
Africa to bolster the conclusion that loans
to the government strengthens apartheid
and majority rule.
The machinery of the apartheid system
is very expensive to maintain. The
intricate complex of racial laws or the
passbook system is quite costly. For
instance, the recent example of authori
ties removing 40,000 Africans to be
resettled in a “Black area” is but one
example of the human and financial costs
of apartheid. To remove those people, or
to arrest and try hundred of thousands of
pasbook offenders the government needs
funds. I f foreign funding were not avail
able to quasi governmental agencies, the
government itself would have to finance
them thus limiting the cash available for
maintaining apartheid. Let us not deceive
ourselves that a loan to ESCOM can be
simply classified as a loan for electric
power. I t is a loan directly to an agency of
the apartheid government that helps that
government balance its overall budget.
Foreign loans insure that the overall
budget is in a strong position and the
economy is viable. These factors relate
directly to the strength of the military
and police which are determined to
preserve white power. I do not feel that it
is an overstatement to say that U.S. bank
loans subsidize South Africa's military
capability and thus are a direct resourc
ing of machinery for oppression of the
Black majority.
Am erica’s Vested Interest
Hundreds of millions of dollars of U.S.
loans and $1.5 billion in investments
create a major American vested interest
in South Africa. In a sense the United
States becomes mortgaged to South
Africa. As in any major mortgage rela
tionships, the Bank has considerable
interest in the financial health and well
being of the person paying the mortgage.
You become a de facto partner in the
project. Certainly U.S. banking circles
would not be happy if racial strife grew
even more extensive in South Africa and
economic chaos resulted. They have a
vested interest in economic and social
stability. Whether such stability is gained
at the price of oppression does not seem
important.
The basic relationship of economic
friendship thus develops between the
banks and South Africa’s white power
structure, not the Black majority. As a
result, we see so often in statements by
banks sympathetic sentences which try
to interpret white South Africa in a
positive light. We are told for instance
that “things are becoming better" for the
Black population because of the loans and
investments of U.S. Corporations. A look
at the facts plus an alert ear to the
political spectrum of Black leadership
negates the claim that life is improving
The Focus on Change
P art IK
by J. M. Gatos
Two decades ago, Norman Cousins
wrote the book Who Speaks for Man.
Today, we too need to reflect on the
rhetoric.
Instead of attacking or remedying
inequities of discrimination, public dis
traction is now involved with the attemp
ted discounting of the credibility of the
accuser.
One must recognize that regardless to
the standing of the accuser, the fact is an
inequitable and indefensible injustice ex
ists for which change is long overdue.
An attempt was also made to discredit
Crispus Attucks* motive as that of a
“ruffian" and some of that still persists
but the fact of the inequitable injustice at
the heart of the 1776 confrontation was
too much for some to come to grips with.
In 1976, can an atmosphere of so-called
"ethnic purity” be permitted to persist in
the sanctuary to the exclusion of the
creativity of God?
In 1776, it was easier for some to talk
about “the ruffian." In 1976, is it easier to
talk about the personality than the
discriminatory membership policy. Is
there an acceptance of prejudice having
priority over doctrine?
The question of whether there is
validity for a church to have open,
inclusive membership is much too impor
tant to be consigned to oblivion. Is the
static, institutional “segregation as
usual’’ still relevant for 1976?
America would never have been born
had not some one challenged the injustice
of colonial America. The Reverend Clen-
non King's stand ranks with that of
Crispus Attucks. T H E T IM E IS A L
W AYS R IG H T TO S TA N D UP A N D
W ITN ES S FOR RIGHT!!!
I shall never forget the summer of 1946
when the M r. Clennon King was on the
summer faculty of West Virginia State
College. I t was then that he brought with
great fervor to the attention of the
college community a lynching at Am eri
cus, Georgia.
Analysis
He implored the West Virginia State
College campus to take mass action
expressing indignation about inhumanity
in Georgia. He had the kind of charisma
tic appeal which inspired listeners to
literally walk the water or move moun
tains for greater human dignity. He
rallied support for a mammoth protest
with petitions including the signature of
the Governor of West Virginia to the
Governor of Georgia.
Three decades ago, M r. King had all
the essentials for president of the U.S.A.:
for Blacks. Exactly the opposite is true,
and the extensive uprisings •'"er elo
quent testimony to that.
Thus the 'mortgaging bank
evelops
a vested interest which lea»1* to influenc
ing American public opinion favorably
toward white South Africa.
Inevitably this vested interest affects
U.S. foreign policy. The architects of U.S.
policy toward South Africa look at a
series of factors - high among them is the
economic relationship between these two
countries. With such a large economic
vested interest our government would be
loathe to seriously antagonize a commer
cial ally or to jeopardize U.S. business
interests in the region. Our loans and
investments became a magnet drawing
U.S. policy toward a “don't rock the boat
took severely" philosophy. Certainly,
U.S. policy makers would find it unthink
able to openly support the movements for
liberation and majority rule in South
Africa. As one result, the struggle in
South Africa becomes quickly character
ized as a contest between a white
minority which protects U.S. economic
and diplomatic interests and a Black
majority fighting for liberation which the
U.S. deems “unfriendly” or “Communist
supported." Thus business supported
political positions wind up on the side of
white minority-ruled South Africa.
Washington, D.C. (PNS) - The number
of jobs created by environmental regula
lions has vastly offset job losses, accord
ing to figures released by Environmental
Protection Agency Administrator Russell
Train. The EPA figures show that be
tween January 1971 and June 1976
pollution control laws were at least
partially responsible for the closing of 82
industrial plants resulting in the loss of
17,890 jobs. On the other hand, said
Train, the building of municipal sewage
treatment plants, mandated by the EPA,
has provided more than 100,000 new jobs.
In addition, a study by Arthur D. Little
Inc. contends that air and water pollution
laws passed during the 1970s will create a
L ittle Nuclear opposition in Canada
Quebec. Canada (PNS) -• A recent
national opinion poll on nuclear power in
Canada reveals an almost total lack of
opposition, in sharp contrast to the
heated nuclear power debates in the U.S.
and Europe. The survey, conducted by
the Institute for Behavioral Research at
York University, found that 44 per cent
of Canadians don't know that nuclear
power can be used to produce electricity.
Only about one in three Canadians realize
Joe Joseph
Naw York Lifo Ins. Co
¿omowuuu, today
281-3680 3933 N. E. Urion
H o w
to
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..... ■OOBK.'.-*.
Attributions & Accreditation
The above is a portion of the testimony
delivered by Mr. Smith on September
23rd, 1976 before the Senate Subcommit
tee on African Affairs of the Committee
on Foreign Relations. Mr. Smith has
traveled in Africa doing research on the
role of U.S. investments there. A copy of
his full testimony may be obtained by
sending a self-addressed stamped envel
ope to the American Committee on
Africa, 305 East 46th Street, New York,
NY 10017.
The American Committee on Africa
formed in 1953 to support the struggle
against apartheid inside of South Africa
has over the past twenty three years
given active support to independence and
liberation movements throughout Africa.
DIRECTORY TIP:
Some numbers are tough to find in the tele
phone book. A ll you have to know is where to
look. Saint James Hospital probably is St. James.
The Brown Store would be listed under "B,” not
"T.” For federal agencies, look under United
States Government. There are lots of other tips
in front o»' your telephone directory. Please check
before you call Directory Assistance.
Pacific Northwest Beil
brilliance, compassion, vision, leadership.
How ironic that in 1976 he must challenge
the backward bigotry of the Plains
Baptist Church, a church which is the
church home of a future president. Three
decades of brilliantly articulating a dy
namic dignity to a 1976 response of closed
ears and closed minds.
History is a matter of time and place.
With the right ingredients anybody can
be president. Thirty years ago M r. King
was challenging injustice but on Sunday,
October 31st, 1976 and thereafter bis
voice for inclusion was ignored. Yet it
was too much to expect the nation to
swallow institutional racism which ex
cluded young and old Afro-Americans
from membership whether innocent
babies or otherwise.
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The ChallengerThe Reverend King, like
the prophets of old, crying in the wilder
ness pointing new directions. I t was
inevitable that Plains Baptist Church
would have to be “born again" and
eliminate religious apartheid. SnKll-time
smallness was out of step for national
leadership.
X
X
I t was inevitable that Plains Baptist
Church must come out of the dark ages of
irrationality into a fuller understanding
of brotherhood if it were to fulfill its
destiny in a multiethnic America.
(NEXT WEEK: Final Article of three-
X
1
part series)
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least 75,000 new jobs in pollution control
equipment manufacturing. Train said
that some 175,000 workers will be en
gaged in construction activity financed by
the EPA by June 1977.
Page 3
—------------------ --_------ _______________ —
Environmental roundup
far U g job gains
Thursday. November 18th, 1976
that nuclear power plants exist in Cana
da. though four major nuclear facilities
are in operation and at least 16 new
reactors are planned for the near future.
Only about 12 per cent of the total
population expressed any reservations
about nuclear safety.
French wines spike with Asbestos
Paris, France (PNS) - Americans who
can afford to drink imported French wine
may be getting more than they bargan
for. A recent study published in a French
consumer magazine reveals that many rf
the less expensive red wines contain up
to 40 million asbestos fibers per liter, tn
result of asbestos filtering. Dr. Lorenm
Tomatis of the International Agency f<r
Research on Cancer, which is studying
the toxicity of asbestos, says such high
levels could be extremely hazardous
While the U.S. has banned asbestos
filtering for domestic wines, the regula
tion does not cover contaminated foreign
wines, including such popular labels as
Beaujolais Villages and Cotes du Rhone
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Autograph Party — Saturday Nov. 20
Meet Robin Jones
of The Portland Trailblazers
at JCPenney
Killingsworth at Union
Satorday, Nov. 20
3PM to 5 PM
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