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Portland Observer, August 4, 1982 Page 3 EDITORIAL/OPINION Release the Haitians now A lte r a four-m onth trial in M ia m i, U.S. D is tric t co u rt Judge Eugene Spellm an ruled that Haitian refugees had been illegally detained. On June 29 he ordered their release. Justice D e p a rtm e n t law yers im m e d ia te ly asked him to slay the execution o f his order. When Spellman refused, the government asked lo r a slay o f the ju d g e ’ s o rder fro m a Federal Appeals C ourt. Again, the government was re fused. W hile the Justice Department said it planned to appeal Spellm an’ s order to the 1 1 i l l C ircu it C ourt m Atlanta, it said it would not ask the Su preme C o u rt to stay release o l the H a itia n s IK00 refugees were Io begin being released ac cording lo a n eight-point Spellman parole pro gram. Instead, the Im m igration and N aturalization Service has refused thus far to assist w ith com pensation to voluntary agencies acting as spon sors who incur H aitian relocation costs. The a t torney fo r the H a itian Refugee Center, Inc., in M ia m i states that in all o th e r cases in v o lv in g refugees fro m other countries, the governm ent has paid part o f the relocation expenses. So, governm ent p olicy that has been illegal and im m oral in detaining I K<K) people in prison like d e te n tio n centers is six stales and P u erto Rico continues to discrim inate against H a itia n blacks. Il also continues its fiscal inefficiency by paving lo i costly dete n tio n fa c ilitie s . Beyond simple economics, the U.S. government c o n tin ues to dam age its re p u ta tio n lo r ju s tic e and compassion. Now is the time to release the Haitians. New facts on 3-Mile-island I he owner o f the Three M ile Island atom ic pow er p la n t. G eneral P u blic U tilitie s , denies that the uranium oxide fuel core had melted dur ing an accident three years ago. lin e to the ap parent code that allows owners o f nuclear plants cither to claim there was no accident or that an accident had no determ ined e ffe ct on hum an beings, a spokesman fo r the com pan y agreed that the center o f the core had been reduced to ’ ’abed o f ru b b le ." The core was examined July 22 by television, the first lim e it had been seen since the accident. Scientists present concluded that an almost corn plete m eltdown had taken place in the center o f the core. A t that tim e W illia m H a m ilto n , spokesman fo r G T U , said " th e uranium oxide fuel had m elted." The press was not allowed at the viewing and by the tim e o f the press co n fe re n ce the next m o rn in g , H a m ilto n had changed his m in d . "W h a t we have seen, does not suggest an ac tual melting o f the core.” Whether or not the uranium fuel melted is sig n ific a n t because m e ltin g w o u ld in d ica te that wuv pon í ime ispaelis just TALK ITOVtP WITU ÎUL PlO' temperatures in the reactor were m uch higher than previously thought, that the risk ol a radio active release was m uch greater, and that the population should have been evacuated. I he danger o f melt down, which some reactor owners still call impossible, is that the core w ill m elt th ro u g h the re a c to r vessel I lo o t, reach ground water, and set o f f gigantic eruptions o f contaminated steam. I he American people still have not been given the whole tiu th by the nuclear in d u stry. A c c i dents, large and sm all, are hidden fio n i public view , are considered ‘ ‘ r o u tin e ,’ ’ and ate d e scribed as holding no danger to people ot other livin g things. G overnm ent regulatory agencies are not much better. It w ill be 20 years ot more until cancer and related conditions appear in the residents o f the thre e M ile Island area; it w ill be three generations before the genetic effects are known. In the meantime the Am erican people have a right to know the truth so that they can make the ultimate decision on the future o f nuclear power in this country. BECAUSE ISRAEL SAVS TUT PLO POESN T EXIST AND TUE PlO SAVSISPAEL DOESN’T EXIST / J On November 3, 1979, television cameras docum ented one o f the most biutal executions in American h isto ry. Car loads o f Ku K lux Klansmen and Nazis raided a black housing p ro je ct in G reensboro, North ( arolina, k illin g five people and wounding nine others. A ll five demonstrators who were killed were members o f Ihe Com m unist W o rk ers P arty (C W P ). D espite o v e r whelming evidence, six racists even tually charged with first degree m ur der in the case were acquitted one yeai later by an all-white ju ry. M any c iv il rights activists have contended that the FBI and other Federal and local agencies conspired in advance to murder and maim the demonstrators. They have claimed, w ith su b sta n tia l d o cu m e n ta tio n , that a long tim e Klansm an and fo rm e r FBI in fo rm a n t E dw ard Dawson had organized Ihe 35 to 40 assassins. The FBI has issued con tradictory statements since Novem ber 3, 1979, about its role. One FBI agent slated im m ediately a fte r the massacre that the Bureau “ closed its investigation o f the C W P on N o vember 2, 1979.“ l ater, FBI o f f i cers stated that they “ had never in vestigated the group and could not have anticipated the November 3 v i olence ’ ’ In A p r il, 1980, the U.S. Justice Department exonerated the Greensboro police's role in the case h i a letter io ( ity Manager Tom Os borne I wo m a jo r developm ents have now nciutred which completely un d o mine the (ireensboro police and the I I l l ’ s denials. On July 8, 1982, a rade permit. Greensboro police were “ slow” to respond to the shootings, because as Dawson makes clear, they knew m advance that a massacre would take place. As Ihe Greensboro Justice Fund stales, “ the Kian caravan would no, have been organized and five mem bers would not have been co m m it ted w ithout the active intervention o f the Greensboro Police D e p a rt ment. It blasts the credibility o f the police excuse that they were c o n fused about the m arch s ta rtin g p o in t.” It also raises a number o f unan swered questions: What exactly did the FBI know in advance about the Greensbor massacre? Why did the G u ilfo rd County D istrict A ttorney refuse to subpoena Dawson in the 1980 tria l o f the six Klansmen and Nazi murderers? It is very clear that justice w ill not be served unless a special prosecutor is appointed to investigate a ll parties —including the F B I and Greensboro o fficials As the Institute o f South ern S tudies’ special report on the Greensboro massacre declares, “ We must not forget the Greensboro k ill ings. T oo many questions rem ain unanswered, and those that our re search answered pointed us toward deeper research, p a rtic u la rly in to the role o f the police, the prosecut ing a tto rn e y and c ity o ffic ia ls in managing the events surroundin g the killing, subsequent publicity and the tria l.” bv Congressman Pon H yden Q. I ast week, President Reagan certified that the FI Salvadoran gov ernment has made progress toward guaranteeing the human rights o f its people. I his certification opens the wav lor additional military aid from the U.S to FI Salvador. Do you think the President was justified in I I do not support the P re s i dent's certification o f human rights piogicss in I I Salvador for one sim ple reason: I here is no real p ro o f that .ins real progress has been made Consider the facts iw o years a f ter the ll.S began to put pressure on ihe I I Salvadoran government to recognize the hum an rig h ts o f its people, o p p o sitio n to the govern mem and its policies is s till being met with excessive violence. Reports continue unabated ot executions by the aimed loices, torture by the Na tional Police and kidnappings. And the promised land reform program TUEN SOMEONE 0U6WT V) FINI» OUT WUO’S POUNDING LEBANON TO PIECES! C annon M ills un io n organizer in Salisbury, N C , to ld the press that less than a week before the massa cre, tw o F B I agents visited her home. Ms. Daisy C ra w fo rd stated that the tw o F B I agents “ flashed th e ir badges,” and asked her to id e n tify a series o f photog ra phs. One photo was that o f Saudi Smith, one of the victims o f the November 3 massacre. “ They showed me pic tures of men which I did not identify at (he tim e, but I believe may have been CW P members." Ms. C raw ford, who is no, a mem ber o f the CW P, publicized the FBI visit “ so that people can understand my feelings that the FBI was in volved in the k illin g s in Greens b o ro .” The F B I's in te rro g a tio n "scared me,” and led her to cancel her plans to attend the November 3 rally. The FBI has refused to com ment on M s. C r a w fo r d ’ s state ments, pending her appearance be fore a Federal grand ju ry investiga tio n in to the k illin g s . H ow ever, shortly after her public statements, the Ku Klux Kian sym bol " K K K ” was written near her home. Accord ing to the C a ro lin a Pacem aker, “ some th in k it a w arning to C raw ford.” Edward Dawson’ s testimony be fore the grand ju ry on July 15 raises more questions. According to Daw son, the (ireensboro police paid him to com m unicate w ith local K lans men. Police asked Dawson to attend an October 20, 1979, Kian rally spe cifica lly to recruit Klansmen to at tack the November 3 rally, and even urged him to get a copy o f the pa Washington Hot Line taking this step.' 4 W U L.IF ISPALL DOESN'T EXIST AND M PLO DOESN’T EXIST. Government implicated in Greensboro massacre has suffered reversals and appears, at best, to be going nowhere. There is likewise little, i f any, evi dence that real progress has been made to w a rd in v e stig a tin g and bringing to justice those resjxmsible for killin g four U.S. church women in El Salvador some 18 months ago. In other words, we simply do no, have the kind o f p ro o f we should have for the President to certify hu man rights progress in El Salvador. W'hat we need is real proof. What we have are th in assurances. And that just isn't enough. We need real p ro o f because anything less makes this entire exercise a mockery, and i, fails to discharge the duty at hand That duty is both to ourselves and to the people o f El Salvador. I f the U nited States continues to provide m ilitary arms to El Salvador and the regime stifles reform s and continues its oppression, then we have fu rth e r tarnished the already darkened image o f Am erica in this hemisphere. And i f El Salvador doesn’ t move ahead w ith reasonable speed on re form s, it invites more insurgency, more in s ta b ility and more re vo lu tio n . By paying mere lip service to human rights progress in El Salva dor, the Adm inistration is handing a I lank check to (he right-w ing gov ernment o f Robert D ’ Aubisson and playing into the hands o f armed reb els. The U nited States and El Salva d o r have a re s p o n s ib ility to each other. But the U nited Slates has a larger responsibility as a world lead er and the major economic and m ili ta ry pow er in the western h e m i sphere. I w ill no, be party to a move that shirks either responsibility. There fore, I see no other choice than to oppose ce rtifyin g that FI Salvador has lived up to its prom ises o f re fo rm -p ro m is e s El Salvador must keep if it is to take its rightful place as a free and dem ocratic nation in the community o f nations. Protest rally Sat. noon, Waterfront Park: Groups oppose making N-bomb fuel in NW Letters to the Editor To Ihe editor: The fa m ily o f Shag Thom as would like to express our apprecia tio n to the many concerned people w ho showed us so much love and concern during the loss of our loved one. There are no words to express our feelings, t hank you just isn ’ t enough We hope that each o f you w ill realize how much it means to us. T o those who were p la n n in g to m em orialize him on August 8, we would like Io say we appreciate the beautifu l and sincere thought, but we, the fa m ily , w ould like Ihe ser vices conducted on July 28, to be the fin a l trib u te paid to our husband and father We w ill always be grate fu l to you fo r w anting to do this, and also for respecting our wishes. I f anyone w o u ld lik e to leave a m em orial in Shag's behalf, please contribute to the C om m unity ( arc Program c/e Mrs. ( lata Peoples, in his name. I hank you so very much Shirley Ihomas and family “ We oppose all these methods ol c o n tin u in g the escalating nuclear arms race . . , " said AFSC spokes person P a u lle tte W itlw e r. " A l l these options affirm the existence o f the direct and undeniable connec tion between nuclear power and nu clear weapons," she emphasized. Com m enting on the proposal by the DOF to use spent nuclear fuel fro m com m ercial nuclear power Subscribe today! Receive your Observer by mail. Only $10 per year Ih e P o r tla n d O b server (U S P S 959 6 8 0 ) is p u b lis h ed every Thursday by Fsie Publishing Com pany. In, , 2201 N ord, Killings w orth Portland. Oregon 9Z21Z Post Office How 313Z Portland Oregon 9Z208 Second , lass postage paid at Portland Oregon Sul»s, options $10 (X) per year in the Tri County area P o st m a s te r Send address changes to the Z’nrz/u zh/( , ' P O How 313Z Portland Oregon 9Z208 NMWA per Aisocitllon - Founded 1885 tion o f the term inated W ashington P u b lic Power S u p p ly System (WPPSS) Nuclear Power Plant No. 4 at H anford, W ashington; building a replacement for the N-reactor, als- so at H a n fo rd ; reprocessing spent fuel from commercial nuclear pqwer plants such as T ro ja n . The DOE is expected to m ake a decision sometime this December. plants such as the T ro ja n Nuclear Power Plant near P o rtla n d . Ms. W ittwer went on to say, " . such a move would be a violation o f inter national treaties and would be seen as a signal to the 35 other nuclear nations that nuclear power plants are suitable sources fo r nuclear bombs m aterial.” The groups urged others in the N orthw est to jo in w ith them " t o stop the nuclear madness o f the Reagan A dm inistration and its sup porters in the Northwest Congres sional delegation “ A ll three groups are co-sponsors o f a rally to be held in Portland on August 7th, calling for an end to nu clear power and nuclear weapons. The ra lly w ill be held at noon, Saturday. Aug. 7th. at the Burnside Stage Area o f W aterfront Park P ortland O bserver •?» M H I • MEMBER Saving that proposals now before the Dcpailmcnt ol I nergv (IX 'F .) to b u ild a new p lu to n iu m reactor to produce weapons grade plutonium tor nuclear bombs w ould tu rn the Northwest into a "nuclear weapons p ro d u c tio n fa c to r y ,” three a n ti- nucleat groups have said they w ill oppose any such move on Ihe part ol the IX )I and certain members o f the Northwest ( ongressional dele gation Representatives o f the A m erican frie n d s Sei v ice C om m ittee (A l S( ), the I ellowship o f Reconcil ia tio n (I U R ), and the T rojan De commissioning Alliance ( I D A ) an nounced their opposition at a P ort land press conference on Friday. Currently the D U I is considering several options to produce p lu to n i um and tritiu m fo r use in nuclear weapons, including: the m odifica- zl/ M etidberrv, I ddor/Publisher ■II I, Illinois, Advertising Manager 283 2486 Portland Observer Box 3137 Portland, OR 97208 Name Address N a tio n a l A d v e rtis in g R ep »e*ei ’ it.we A m a lg a m a te d Putitisi*«**** i New Vink City ______ State Zip