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Page 14
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Help for
teen-age
prostitutes
Election
endorsements
Pages 5 & 6
PORTLAND OBSERVER
May 13, 1982
Volume XII, Number 31
25C Per Copy
Two Sections
USPS 959-680-855
War on crime becomes war on press
Criticism o f the press, with racial
overtones, was the reaction o f
M a y o r F rank Ivancie and Police
C hief Ron Still following a series of
com m u nity meetings to sell their
“ war on crime."
Still reacted to journalist Linda
W illia m s '
reporting
of
the
N ortheast m eeting, held at King
Neighborhood Facility Wednesday
night. Although citizens present at
the meeting verified the accuracy of
M s. W illia m s ’ story, S till took
exception with a personal attack on
Ms. Williams and Ivancie supported
his stand.
I inda Williams sees the attack on
her as an attack on the press that
sets a dangerous precedent. "There
is a fun d am en tal lack o f un d er
standing o f or appreciation for the
role o f the press m a free society.
Their view seems to be that the press
should only report on the officials'
point o f view and the views o f the
people they think are responsible.
They seem to thin k the views o f
others should not be presented."
Criticism of Ms. Williams by the
Police Bureau and the Ivancie A d
m in istratio n is not new. Ivancie's
criticisms "are rooted in his dislike
o f the Oregonian that goes back for
years. I believe I ’ve become a sym
bol. I ’ve always thought 1 was sin
gled out, that o f all the people who
report on C ity H a ll, I ’ m the one
singled o u t."
Serious criticism o f Ms. Williams
by the Police Bureau came last sum
mer follo w in g a series by her and
A lan O ta on alleged police abuse.
The attack on the tw o reporters
came in the R ap Sheet, the police
un io n ’s newspaper. A m ong other
things one o f the articles stated:
" A n d L in d a d ear, if you d o n ’ t
like cops, next time you need help
why d o n ’ t you try calling A lan
O ta ."
This was considered by many to
be an implied threat that police pro
tection would be denied.
Ms. Williams also described “ ru
mor mongering.” One such rumor
was that the young man who killed a
taxi driver was her son. " T h is ru
mor seemed to have come from the
police," she explained.
Ms. W illiam s considers the criti
cism of her to be a symptom o f the
hysteria that grasps Ivancie and Still
LINDA WILLIAMS
whenever their plans are challenged.
"Portland is a town that is going
through growing pains. T ra d itio n
ally it’s been all white, pretty homo
geneous. The people really believe it
is America’s most livable city. W ith
the school issues and the police
COMMISSIONER C. JORDAN
issue, the com m unity’ s perception
o f itse lf is being challenged. The
’old guard' is uncom fortable and
aH’ "itcd.
" T h e reporting ot the Oregoman
on police brutality issues— the idea
that the Oregonian was paying at-
MAYOR FRANK IVANCIE
CHIEF RON STILL
tention— was a turning point. It was
singled out for attack because she is
black and a woman. "There is some
a sign that criticism o f the police is
evidence that the administration has
being taken seriously by people
some problems with my race.”
dow ntow n. They could no longer
make excuses that if was o n ly 6 T ** T h e attack on M s. W ifitafns is
concern to a narrow segment.”
seen by many persons as an attack
She also feels that she has been
'Please turn to page 5 cot. O
School district, community call a truce
CHARLOTTE BEEMAN
The successful m ediation o f the
c o n flict over the site o f T u b m an
Middle School is seen as having the
potential to im prove the re la tio n
ship between the P o rtlan d School
Board and the black c o m m u n ity .
For many years, and particularly the
last 12 years, the community has felt
the brunt o f educational and politi
cal decisions by the School District
that generated anger and fru stra
tion.
The decision, fo llo w in g media
tion between representation o f the
community and o f the D istrict, fa
cilitated by the U.S. Department o f
Justice, places the middle school at
the Elio t site— the site selected by
the community and originally select
ed by the Board. Following the re
placement o f two Board members,
the Board had changed its decisions.
" T h is is really a victory for the
com m unity," Ronnie Herndon, co-
chairman o f the B U F told the Oh-
server. " I t is a victory fo r all the
people who came to the ra lly , the
dem onstrations, responded to the
boycott— but most of all for the chi-
dren.
" I t should be a good learning ex
perience, dem onstrating that if we
do stand up and fight for our chil
dren there is e good deal we can ac
complish; if we don’ t stand up we
gain nothing.
" T h e real credit goes to the par
ents who rallied around their chil
dren. They showed confidence in
the suggestions we made. It was a
lot to ask— to keep their children
out o f school.
" C r e d it should also go to the
ministers and the other org an iza
tio n s— P O IC , the Black Social
Workers, the Northeast Coalition of
N eigh b o rh o o ds— all those who
stood firm on this issue."
Herndon gave much credit for the
successful resolution to Prophet.
"Prophet did a superb job. I was ex
tremely impressed w ith more than
just his professional skills. I was im
pressed with his integrity and sense
o f fairness and justice. I think he
will be able to do a lot for the Port
land Public Schools if he is just giv
en a chance.”
The mediation process, Herndon
added, allowed for an exchange o f
views, ideas and philosophies over a
long period o f time. "D o in g this in
closed sessions, people did n ’t have
to protect their images. It could not
have taken place in pu b lic. Bob
Hughes did an excellent jo b ."
Herndon hopes for a more posi
tive and constructive relationship
between the School District and the
community in the future. "This is a
big step in reducing the wrongs o f
the past. W e w ill stay close to the
planning for Eliot and offer our as
sistance in every way possible."
Vesia Loving, a long-time fighter
for Boise School, said, " I feel pretty
good about it. 1 do feel that for the
first time we will have some stabil
ity. I f Eliot is moved to Boise with
its staff and all, it should be a better
program for Boise’s students.
" I t will provide a good program
in walking distance for the younger
children and a middle school in the
neighborhood. I can live with it.”
School Board Chairman Bill Scott
was very pleased with the mediation
process. " W e had an opportunity to
sit and ta lk about the issues. W e
were able to better understand the
depth o f feeling that each has and
the convictions with which we hold
our views. 1 think the process was
valuable and the outcome will please
the community."
C h arlo tte Beeman, w ho was on
the m ed iatio n com m ittee fo r the
School D istrict, said the discussion
and the public forums made it very
(Please turn to Sect. I I Page 8)
JOE RIEKE
British-Argentine war endangers US-Latin American ties
by Nelson Valdez
Pacific News Service
Secretary o f State Alexander Haig
recently assured Congress that rela
tions between the United States and
Latin America did not face a critical
ju n ctu re over the Falklands W ar.
This may be wishful thinking.
In fact, a c ritica l watershed in
U .S .-L a tin American relations was
crossed last A pril 30 whrn the Rea
gan Administration decided to sup
port the British in their conflict with
Argentina over the Falklands. From
now on, inter-American relations no
longer will be the same.
Never before in the history of re
lations between the two regions has
the United States found itself so iso
lated from Latin America. Twenty
members o f the 21-membcr O rgan
ization o f A m erican States have
now recognized the A rg en tin ian
claim o f sovereignty. Washington
alone casts its fate with Great B rit
ain.
The unanimous stance o f all the
Latin American countries is a most
unique situation. Conservative re
gimes such as H a iti have voted in
the same manner as revolutionary
Nicaragua, while independent Mexi
co sides w ith an A m erican client
state like El Salvador.
Indeed, something extraordinary
has been touched in all o f Latin A m
erica: their sense o f regional pride
and identity. The reaction goes far
beyond territorial or political defini
tions to the very deeply ingrained
cultural definition o f what it means
to be a Latin Am erican. The long
submerged but always volatile en
mity between the Hispanic and A n
glo-Saxon cultures has been brought
to the fore once again, and Latin
America may now define itself as a
cultural whole rather than a motley
collection o f independent and often
hostile slates.
Some fundamental practical con
sequences are apt to evolve from
this cultural and regional unity. The
O A S , for instance, may become a
very different kind o f forum. In the
future, the United States will find it
extremely difficult to preach convin
cingly to fellow O A S members on
the need for a collective security sys
tem that can defend the entire hemi
sphere against foreign aggression by
e xtra -c o n tin e n ta l powers. Over
time, it has become a ritual for Am
erican presidents to pay lip service
to this concept. The Soviet Union
and Cuba often were denounced be
cause they supposedly presented a
clear threat to the area. Needless to
say, the U .S . government posed it
self as the u ltim a te defender o f
Latin Am erica, a position that can
be traced all the way back to the
1823 M o n ro e D octrine. But now,
Latin America feels betrayed by the
United States.
In the eyes o f Latin America, the
American government has failed to
live up to those im portant declara
tions o f principle. For Latins, the
assumed community o f interests be
tween the U nited States and Latin
A m erica has been shown to be a
very expensive farce. W hen the
chips are down, W ashington cares
more for Europe than Latin Ameri
ca. The Latinos are at best merely
junior partners, not equals, on the
global stage.
U nder such circumstances, it is
n atu ra l to question w hether the
O A S can continue functioning as
before After all, the member states
are supposed to help one another in
cases such as this one. Latin Ameri
can intellectuals, as well as political
figures, are already posing the ques
tion and even suggesting that the
U n ite d States should be expelled
from the O A S. Although this is not
a new dem and, it may have much
greater support now.
But even if U .S . expulsion were
not to take place, the conditions for
inter-American relations have been
rad ically altered. It is d o u b tfu l
whether the Reagan Administration
w ill be able to continue to use its
cold war arguments o f m utual se
curity needs to ju s tify its own
foreign policy. I f it did so, it would
have a hollow sound. The American
alliance with Britain appears to Lat
ins to mean that the United States is
not truly com m itted to defense o f
the hemisphere except when it is
threatened by communism. In that
sense, what appeared to be a defense
o f principle was merely a rationaliz
ation for anti-communism.
In a d d itio n , ideological b o u n
daries in the hemisphere may be
more d iffic u lt to define in the fu
ture. Those accused until recently of
wanting to harm Argentina are giv
ing aid, while the traditional ally re
fuses to do so.
Already, Cuba has offered all the
assistance Argentina may need if the
rest o f Latin America approves.
One possible result fro m all o f
this may be a closer collaboration
between Latin America and the So
viet bloc. This may express itself in a
d rift tow ard non -alig n m ent and
neu tralism , or in an increase in
Latin commercial ties with the Fast.
A move tow ard non-alignm ent
w ould have to be a concerted re
gional e ffo rt to succeed, and for
that to happen countries such as
Mexico, Brazil and perhaps Venezu
ela would have to take the lead.
But the most fundamental breach
(Please turn to Sect. I I page 8/