Page 2 Portland Observer. December 1,1982
Al seeks release of Namibian political prisoners
Amnesty International said Tues
day that it has appealed to the South
A frican government to end deten
tion without trial and the use o f tor
ture in Nam ibia, and to carry out a
thorough review o f the cases o f all
N am ibian political prisoners. The
appeal was made in a letter to Prime
M in is te r P .W . Botha fro m the
worldwide human rights movement.
C riticizing the sweeping powers
o f arrest given troops and police,
and the lack o f protection for those
seized, the letter said, “ This system
is bound to lead to abuse o f the
rights o f detainees and to result, as
it has, in cases o f torture and reports
o f ‘disappearances.* ’’
The use o f electric shock, beatings
and other forms o f torture have re
peatedly been reported to Amnesty
International and to church groups.
Shootings ot civilians have been
described by defectors fro m the
South African forces and by N am i
b ia n , British and South A fric a n
church representatives. Amnesty In
ternational’s letter called for an in
dependent inquiry into reported kill
ings o f this kind.
Urging a review o f political p ri
soners' cases, the letter said those
held only for non-vicieni expression
o f their views should be released im
mediately. Prisoners held without
tria l should either be charged and
tried or released, it said, and the re
view should also benefit convicted
prisoners whose trials failed to meet
international standards o f fairness.
The movement called for an inde
pendent judicial inquiry into reports
o f torture, often said to take place
at secret detention centers. Investi
gation o f torture reports is now in
the hands o f the South African m ili
tary, who are implicated in many o f
the reports.
In international negotiations for a
Namibian settlement, South Africa
has agreed in principle that the con
s titu tio n o f a fu tu re independent
N am ibia should include a declara
tion o f fundamental rights.
An A I representative pointed out
that these basic rights must be pro
tected at a ll tim es, and that they
were being violated by decrees and
procedures now in force.
South A frican forces, controlling
Namibia despite a 1966 United N a
tions decision to rem ove it from
South A fric a n trusteeship, have
been fighting guerrillas o f the South
West African People’s Organization
(S W A P O ). People suspected o f sup
This Thanksgiving had an extra
ordinary amount o f the giving and
sharing o f foo d by fam ilies and
friends with those who have less this
year than last. The news media was
awash last week with stories about
the depth o f local poverty and un
employment cleansed by the respon
ses o f those who read, saw and re
acted to the results o f Reaganomics.
(Th e Reagan A dm inistration took
Thanksgiving Day as appropriate to
announce consideration o f taxing
unemployment checks as a means of
discouraging unemployment.)
foo d d is trib u tio n program s, has
been distributing food since Clara
M ae People firs t paired O regon
farmers and urban poor in gleaning
programs.
Along with a large bag o f grocer
ies (which always includes fresh or
processed m eat) the
Bethel-
C om m unity Care food program as
it ’s called, includes freshly cooked
h o t, meaty meals s u fficien t fo r
every member o f the family except a
nursing baby. M ost hot meals
program s d o n ’ t provide a bag o f
groceries, and most grocery
program s d o n 't provide cooked
meals.
(an earlier injury had confined her
to a wheelchair), Peoples encour
ages and cautions her volunteers.
Someone shouts for her to sit down;
she smiles and moves out o f their
eyesight.
“ The reason we got this program
at the church is to feed those among
us who need h e lp ,” she said.
A lthough the program is self-sus
taining and low budgeted she admits
Under South African security de
cress, troops or police can arrest
people and hold them incom m uni
cado for 30 days, and detention can
then be prolonged under (he author
ity o f the A d m in istrato r-G en eral.
The lo catio n o f detention camps
and the number o f people in them
are closely guarded secrets, but
there are believed to be hundreds of
people held without trial at any one
time, and torture is reported regu
larly.
M ak in g public its app eal, A I
called attention to several cases in
which people had “ disappeared”
after being reported seized by secur
ity forces and to m ore than 43
known po litical prisoners serving
sentences ranging from five years to
life.
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I n YAW S R e s t a u r a n t
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ethel program feeds poor neighbors
by C. Eddie Edmondson
p orting or belonging to S W ^\P O ,
in clu d in g its legal p o litic a l wing,
have been prime targets o f arbitrary
arrests and detention.
Portland, OR 97212
some people just c an ’ t a ffo rd to
pay.
Her volunteers, she says, manage
to show every weekend the kind o f
community concern and giving (hat
is big news during m ajor holidays
like Thanksgiving and Christmas.
And if that’s true o f her volunteers,
and it appears to be the case, Clara
Peoples is the spirit o f holidays 32
Saturdays a year.
249-1888
We Deliver
Anywhere
Mrs. Carolyn Brown, a longtime community volunteer in several
food programs, oohs and ahs over a pan of chicken and noodles,
while Mrs. People smiles with satisfaction.
But at Bethel A .M .E . C h u rch ,
5828 N .E . 8th, church members and
Community Care volunteers contin
ued to operate their regular Satur
day morning food distribution pro
gram in the same m anner as they
had before and after Thanksgiving.
“ Except that we added a couple
o f turkeys the Saturday before
T h a n k s g iv in g ,*’ explained C la ra
Peoples, Com m unity Care director
and lifelong Bethelite. “ I have to
make sure my people get a turkey
dinner, to o ,” she shyly explained.
Tw o days after Thanksgiving a vol
unteer critically noted, “ C lara’s got
too much food out here; she forgot
these people just got through eating
a lot o f food and stuff.”
Community Care, the forerunner
o f many o f the nation’s non-profit
“ Some o f the participants bring
large plastic bowls and containers to
put their hot meals i n , ” M rs.
Peoples observes h a p p ily . " W e
want to make sure they get one good
fu ll meal for the w eek.” This em
phasis on service also includes free
coffee and pastry for those waiting
while their bags and meals are pre
pared.
“ I can’t do this without my vol
unteers,” said M rs. Peoples, who
can be seen directing and coordin
ating the activities o f groups o f vol
unteers preparing grocery bags,
cooking, making salads, bringing in
a truck load or car loads (whatever
tra n s p o rta tio n is a v a ilb a le ) o f
bread, boxes of fruits or vegetables.
Moving about with her cane in hand
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GIVE
TO PROJECT HELP.
This winter we want to try and help make sure
no one goes without heat.
That ’s why we created Project HELP a local
community emergency fuel assistance fund
to help people who need financial assist
ance to cover electric heat and other fuel
costs.
W l
To help fund local Project
HELP programs, we’ll match dona
tions from individuals and our em- /
nloyees with dollars from stock-
I
holders. All donations go right back
into the community they came
from. So it’s really a case of
neighbors helping neighbors.
Project HELP will be run by
existing local human services agen
cies who will manage and distri-
bute the funds to help deserving people pay for the
electricity, natural gas, fuel oil,
", wood or coal to heat
their homes.
You can help make Project HELP a suc
cess by adding your contribution. In your
next bill, you'll find information that tells
more about Project HELP. You’ll also find
an envelope for you to mail in your tax
deductible contribution. Envelopes are
also available in all our local offices.
Give any amount you want.
Because whatever you donate,
you’re helping people and families
in your community keep warm
who might be left in the cold
this winter.
And that should give you a
warm feeling all over.
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