ï r s Francea Schoen-Vewapaper Pooa
L n lv e ro lty o f Ororon L ib rary
tuE ene, O reron 97403
Chief Still
on police brutality
Clay Myers
and
South Africa
Page 2
Page 9
PORTLAND OBSERVER
February 18, 1982
Volume XII, Number 19
25C Per Copy
USPS 959-680-855
The next Governor: Who will he be?
Multnomah County Executive
Don Clark la a Damocrat.
More questions
than answers
The Portland Development Com
mission has released the latest draft
o f its "R eco m m en d ed Econom ic
D evelopm ent Program fo r the
N o rth east T arget A r e a ." In re
sponse to d irectio n by the C ity
Council to design a comprehensive
econom ic strategy fo r the In n er
Northeast area, a draft was released
on September 7, 1981. The current
revised proposal is, in p a rt, a re
sponse to com m unity comment on
the original draft.
The proposal and its accompany
ing budget raises m ore questions
than it answers. T he o verrid in g
question is whether the M ayor and
the C ity have a real commitment to
Northeast.
The o riginal d ra ft concentrated
e tfo rts on the " L o w e r U n io n A v
enue” area defined as south o f Fre
m ont and encompassing the
Em anuel H osp ital and A lb in a In
d u strial areas, and " C o lu m b ia
Boulevard Industrial D is tric t," de
fined as the area north o f Columbia
Boulevard, west to the 1-5 freeway
and east to 33rd Avenue.
The "U p p e r Union Avenue" dis
trict has been added in response to
community complaints that the area
most in need o f economic rehabilita
tio n — central U nion Avenue— had
been excluded.
State Senator Ted
Kulongoeki. Demo
crat, la an attorney
from Lane County.
Columbia Boulevard Industrial
District
Governor Victor Atiyeh Is serving his first term in office. A
Republican, he is a former State Senator, end is a Portland
businessman.
Jerry Rust, a Demo
crat. is a Lane County
Commissioner.
El Salvador: The first year
It has been one year since the Far-
abundo M arti N ational Liberation
Front launched its offensive against
the m ilita ry ju n ta that controls El
Salvador. The success o f that offen
sive, at first ridiculed by the A m er
ican press, is dem onstrated by the
heightened battle that has now hit
television and which has the Adm in
istration worried.
In addition to providing increas
ing m ilita ry aid to El S alvador’ s
ruling junta, President Reagan has
not ruled out sending U.S. troops to
the Central American nation.
A few days after the beginning o f
the offensive, in January, 1981,
president o f the ju n ta Jose N a
poleon Duarte, said it was urgent to
pacify the country by beginning po
litical reform. He immediately began
a m ilitary campaign to try to route
the F M L N guerillas.
What had been limited counterin
surgency changed to specific m ili
tary actions and then to general war
fare against the rebels, with military
and economic support from the
U .S.
What actually happened was that
while the guerrillas consolidated
their power to repel and evade the
soldiers, the army became so debili
tated that U.S. Ambassador Deanne
H inton had to admit that the army
suffered at least 2,000 casualties
during 1981. The plan designed by
the Pentagon included 40 operations
o f varying magnitude which, even
with the help o f the Honduran and
G uatem alan armies, failed to stop
the F M L N .
The longest b attle was fought i
Guazapa H ill where the junta mil
tary bombed and strafed the gueril
positions for 40 days and fin al
managed to occupy the top o f tl
h ill. Once the bulk o f the m ilita
was w ithdraw n those holding tl
top o f the peak were isolated ar
surrounded by guerrillas who aga
held the hillsides. During M ay ar
June the hill again became the targ
o f a major military offensive but tl
F M L N maintained its control o f tl
slopes.
Six months after launching its bi
counterinsurgency operations th
junta and its U .S . advisors realize
that the g u errillas were grow nin
stronger! The U .S. decided the tiin
(Please turn to page 6 column I)
Governor proposes tax changes
G o vern o r V ic to r A tiyeh has
recommended changes in the State’s
property tax re lie f program and a
one year change in the personal
income tax exemption to cover part
o f the Stale's deficit.
The G o v e rn o r’ s plan would
substitute a tax credit o f $75 per
person fo r the current $ l,()0 0
exem ption. This w ould raiae
ap p ro xim ately $37 m illio n in
income taxes.
G o vern o r
A tiyeh
also
recommended e lim in a tio n o f the
P roperty Tax R elief program
I
through which the state pays 30 per
cent o f the taxes for home owners.
H e w ould low er the income
ceiling fo r the H om eow ners and
Renters R elief Program (H A R P )
from $ 35 ,00 0 to $ 17 ,00 0 , giving
relief to those with lower incomes.
This would raise approximately $35
million.
A m ong the budget cuts he
proposed are:
— Taking $5 m illion from basic
school support in a d d itio n to the
$16.3 million cut already pioposed.
-- T aking $5 m illion more from
the Emergency Fund, plus the 3
million already proposed.
He would raise additional revet
by:
- Requiring payment o f dispu
taxes pending a Tax Court decisio
- Adding beer and wine taxes
- Placing emphasis on auditi
by the State Revenue Department
The Governor still calls for cuts
state agencies o f $120.9 million.
While the legislature considers I
G o v e rn o r’ s proposals and th
ow n, the S ta te ’ s unemploymc
increased by 9,600 persons to rea
1950 levels.
Henry Isaacs, the chief represen
tative o f the Pan A frica n ist C o n
gress o f A zania to the U nited N a
tions recently returned from Africa.
He was in Portland last week on the
last leg o f his tour around the United
States to heighten the A m erican
people’s awareness o f the atrocities
o f the white minority South African
government against Black people
there.
“ I am here in Portland in order to
heighten awareness h e re ," Isaacs
said. " I am here in an attem pt to
bring tru th to the people o f the
United States.”
O regon's State Treasurer, C lay
Myers, and Rolv Schillias, editor o f
Portland Magazine, are planning to
visit South Africa. The trip is being
sponsored by the Southern African
Forum, an organization that Henry
Isaacs and Ron H ern d o n , co-
chairm an o f the Black U n ited
Front, feel is a front created by the
South African government.
Herndon had this to say: " W e are
shocked and disappointed to learn
o f the planned trip to South Africa
by State Treasurer Clay Myers and
by Rolv Schillias, editor o f Portland
Magazine, which is published by the
Chamber o f Commerce. Schillias is
reported to have slated his trip is be
ing paid for by the South A fric a n
government. It is an outrage that a
C h am b er o ffic ia l w ould accept
money dripping w ith the blood o f
Black people in South A frica. It is
obvious that the chamber wants to
expand and strengthen O re g o n ’ s
The district is described in the
proposal as follows: "M u c h o f the
land remains undeveloped due to
the existence o f real and perceived
developm ent constraints such as
high water tables, flood plains and
lack o f public improvements.” The
proposal recommends a site inven
to ry , w ork w ith developers and
HENRY ISAACS
economic ties with this international
outlaw. More serious is Clay M yer’s
trip. His very presence as an Oregon
elected o ffic ia l gives tacit recogni
tion and app ro val o f the visious
avowed racist government o f South
A frica ."
Isaacs added: " T h e Southern A f
rican Forum was set up in the wake
o f an in te rn a tio n a l scandal. It is
funded indirectly by the South A fri
can government w ith the full bles
sing o f the South A frica n govern
ment. The idea is that people will go
over there, and afterw ard s report
government agencies to overcome
problems, and recruitment o f busi
ness.
The Columbia district will be de
veloped with or without the assist
ance o f P D C and its federal funds.
This is the only area rem aining in
the city in which parcels o f land
large enough for industrial develop
ment are still available. The flood
problem has been alleviated by work
on the Columbia River and Colum
bia Slough by the Corps o f Engin
eers, which now designates the area
not as a " flo o d p la in " but as a
"p o n d in g a re a .” This means that
on an average o f once every 100
years enough water will congregate
to create ponds one foot deep.
The developer needs only to use
iandtill before building, or build so
the floor is at least one foot above
the ground. I f P D C uses its funds to
provide the landfill, will this be eco
nomic development or will it be an
o p p o rtu n ity to gain p u b lic ity fo r
"success” out o f an already success
ful endeavor?
Lower Union Avenue
This area includes Union Avenue,
the A lb in a In d u s tria l A rea and
Em anuel H o sp ital. This is one o f
the prime areas in the city for devel
opment o f light industry, commer
cial or housing. Because o f its view
and its proxim ity to to downtown,
the Eliot area is seen as a national
area for high-rise housing develop
ments and condominiums.
PCX? assistance is not essential for
the developm ent o f the " L o w e r
Union Avenue D is trict.” Emanuel
Hospital has already released its de
velopment plan for the land it owns,
which includes the Red Cross build
ing and housing. The Eder Block on
(Please turn to page 2 col. I)
C LAY M Y E R S
fav o ra b ly on the s itu ation there.
People did not have to go to
Germany to see smoke coming from
the gas chambers before they were
convinced o f the atrocities o f the
Nazis in Germany.”
The recent State Departm ent re
port on human rights said South Af
rica continues to be a gross violator
o f human rights in every category.
A ll A frican liberation groups have
called for severing all d ip lo m atic,
c u ltu ra l, and econom ic relations
with South Africa.
{Please turn to page 14 column I )