Page 4 Portland Observer, August 31, 1963
EDITORIAL/OPINION
Democrats skirt responsibility
The Multnomah County Democratic Central
Committee failed miserably in its responsibility
to Democratic Party members and the citizens
o f Oregon in general when they so watered
down their resolution against a sales tax and its
supporters that they might as well have stayed
home.
The amendment approved by the executive
committee, and referred to the body, said the
county party would not acknowledge legislative
candidates who vote for placing the sales tax on
the ballot and would announce their lack o f sup
port prior to the primary election. It too gener
ously forgave those legislators for their wrong
votes during the session just ended.
The final version, adopted by the Central
Committee, says, "the Multnomah County
Democratic Central Committee provide all pre
cinct committeepeople with the voting records of
all Multnomah County State Representatives
and Senators on the priority issues adopted by
the State Central Committee on January 29,
1983 at least eight days prior to straw balloting
for M C D C C endorsement o f candidates in the
next primary elections___ "
Bid deal! The committee endorsements are a
farce because many times only half a dozen
people are present to vote on a specific race and
most voters never hear about the endorsement
anyway.
The only way the Democratic Party will have
any influence over the office holders who use its
name is to punish those who blatantly ignore the
party platform: denounce them, withhold
money and volunteer help, advise the voters not
to vote for them.
This namby pamby skirting around the issue
will not help the people of Oregon or the party.
The proof o f this is that the Democratic legisla
tive leadership is right now advocating placing a
sales tax on the ballot, while the Republican
legislators and a Republican governor are op
posing the sales tax.
The Democratic Party cannot condemn the
Democratic legislators for abdicating their re
sponsibility while avoiding its own.
The time has come for the voters to organize,
to form committees and coalitions, and to find
and support their own candidates. A real grass
roots movement could replace many of those
who are elected again and again based on a
familiar face and a pocket full o f money.
Workers still struggle for rights
Labor Day, September 5th, has been chris
tened Solidarity Day 111 by the A F L -C IO and
rallies are planned throughout the nation to pro
test the racist, militaristic, anti-poor, anti-labor
and sexist policies o f the Reagan administration.
The conditions of today closely parallel those
that existed when the first Labor Day was de
clared in 1882 by the New York Central Labor
Union. This was a 10-ycar period of violence
against labor, increasing technology, increasing
exploitation of workers and increasing monopo
lization.
The root o f the militant and independent ide
ology of labor leaders was the failure of the Civil
War to emancipate the working people of the in
dustrial North. Organized labor had supported
the North and filled the ranks of the Union
Army, believing workers could not be free as
long as slavery existed. W illiam Sylvis, organizer
of the firs, national union, repeatedly spoke of
the need for free Blacks and for workers o f all
races to unite in unions. When the war was over
the soldiers found the industrialists had made
fortunes and they were returning to be industrial
slaves.
An all-out drive to break the unions and cut
back wages and benefits is underway, using the
Reagan administration-induced unemployment
and poverty as leverage against workers who are
fighting to retain their hard-won rights.
Letters to the Editor
Fadeley supplies tax facts
To the Editor:
Oregonians have heard only
about twenty percent of ihe Facts
about the last legislative session.
Here are important facts they
haven't heard.
The sales lax passed by the House
in ihe Iasi session was designed to
increase Slate o f Oregon General
Fund taxes by $8(M) million a year.
This represents a proposed increase
o f over one-half in stale general
fund taxes The sales tax was much
broader in coverage than either
C alifornia or Washington sales
laxes.
Most
services like dry
cleaning, hair cuts, a house call by
your plumber, etc. were to be taxed
ai 4 cents on the dollar, as well as
retail sales. Some have said failure
o f that proposal was a failure to
provide lax relief.
The Stale o f Oregon has not
levied property taxes for over forty
years. However, local governments
and schools* property lax levies
have increased statewide by SI
percent in ihe last three years. At the
same lime the income of all O re
gonians statewide has remained
about level. It is easy to understand
why people feel pinched by the local
property tax growth rate and by tax
increases in general. They don’t
have any increased ability to pay
laxes.
The
legislature
provided
property tax relief, despite claims to
the contrary. Direct property tax re
lief totalling $ 4 11 million will be
paid to or for homeowners and
renters in this two-year budget
period through the existing H A R R P
program and the general all home-
MHI •
owners and renters program.
Other state payments for the next
two years which reduce the demand
for property taxes are $917 million
in aid to local school districts, $104
million for community colleges, $25
million o f local court costs, and m il
lions o f dollars o f other state pay
ments. A ll of these latter state-paid
amounts have increased since the
last state budget
Did the state have money to pay
these increases? Only by continuing
cigarette and income tax increases
made in 1981 -82, and by increasing
the tax per person. These totalled
$419 million. Direct payments to
homeowners and renters were $411
million which, with administrative
costs, almost equals the amount o f
increase voted.
Did the state government need
this money for its own operations?
No. General property tax relief was
started by slate government in 1978
Since then it has applied five billion,
one hundred forty-five million
dollars o f state-collected (axes to
fund direct property tax relief and
basic school support and other aids
to local government. I f stale govern
ment had kept back this money, it
would be enough to fund all state
government activities at current
levels for the next six years — w ith
out another nickel o f state taxes
being collected during that time
span.
Edward N. Fadalay
Praaldant
Oragon Stata Sanata
PORTLAND OBSERVER
saluting Ì
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Monday, Sept. 5th
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United Nations hears charge
of United States' Black genocide
Nelson Johnson, Co-Convener of
the National Black Organizers Com
mittee, and p la in tiff in the Greens
boro Civil Rights Suit, charged
genocide of Biack Americans by the
U.S. government in a speech before
the United Nations Second W orld
Conference to Combat Racism and
Racial Discrimination meeting in
Geneva, Switzerland.
M r. Johnson decried “ the dra
matic growth in racism and racist
violence in the United States which
.is fostered by the U.S. govern
ment and has profound implications
for racial groups within the U.S.
and for the peoples o f the w orld .”
The conference was the second to
be held as part o f the "Decade to
Combat Racism and Racial Dis
crim ination" sponsored by the
United Nations. Its goal is the eradi
cation o f racism worldwide and in
particular the end o f the policies of
apartheid in South Africa. The con
ference was attended by officials
from over one hundred countries,
with only the United States and
Israel boycotting the assembly and
the decade.
M r. Johnson cited at least 30 acts
of Ku Klux Kian violence and racist
terror occurring in his home state.
North Carolina, in 1983. He re
ferred to the evidence of federal in
volvement in the Ku Klux Kian that
has surfaced in investigations o f the
November 3, 1979, Greensboro
Massacre, as demonstration o f links
between the growing terror and fed
eral police agencies. Since 1979,
media reports and court testimony
have revealed that two federal
agents were actively organizing the
Kian and Nazi groups that came to
gether to shoot and kill a Black
woman and four white men at the
anti-Kian demonstration in Greens
boro. All five killed were textile
union and community organizers in
Ihe area
The attacks on Black people,
ho'vever, are not limited to Kian
violence, according to Johnson. He
referred to widespread legal attacks
on Black leadership that have left
more than 50*a o f all elected Black
officials under investigation or in
dictment. "This makes a mockery
o f the electoral process, not to speak
o f the right o f the African-A m eri
can nation to self-determination.”
The broadening o f FBI powers to
conduct domestic investigation o f
political groups under the new
"Sm ith Guidelines" — “ to spy, tap
phones, frame, and even murder
Black leaders" — is a potential esca
lation o f the F B I’s present illegal
conduct toward Black people and
their leadership.
In 1951 a petition charging geno
cide of Black Americans was pre
sented to the United Nations
General Assembly by 94 United
States citizens including Paul Robe
son and W .E .B . Dubois. The peti
tion documented thousands o f inci
dents o f racist violence and discrimi
nation. No action was ever taken by
the U .N . on the charge. M r. John
son said that his statement was a re
newal o f that original protest.
The United States government's
refusal to participate in this confer
ence or in the associated Decade to
Combat Racism was denounced in a
statement read by Johnson that was
prepared and signed by a group o f
individuals and Non-Governmental
Organizations attending the confer
ence from
the United States.
According to that statement, “ In re
fusing to participate in this confer
ence or the Decade, the United
States government is underscoring
its insensitivity to the causes and
effects o f racism and racial discrimi
nation This insensitivity comes at a
most critical time for race relations
within our own country; deteriorat
ing economic conditions are foster-
ing even more open and violent
manifestations o f racism.”
The citizens group denounced the
"extensive economic, social and po
litical ties with the apartheid regime
o f South Africa, lending support
which is critical to apartheid's sur
viv al." The statement called on
"people o f the United States of
America to demand that our govern
ment constructively participate in
future United Nations programs to
combat racism and racial discrimi
nation and in plans o f action
coming out o f this conference.”
Johnson, in his speech, also at
tacked and drew parallels between
racism in (he United Sûtes and
support o f apartheid by the U.S.
government
and
interventionist
plans in Central America. “ Th
United States government has to in
tensify racism and repression do
mesticallv in order to continue io
strengthen its support o f racism,
apartheid and oppression interna
tion ally." He cited a merger of the
ideologies o f racism and anti-com
munism by the Reagan administra
tion as cover for its policies -
A call was given to the body to
"condemn the dramatic increase in
racism, racial discrimination and
racist violence perpetuated and sup
ported by the United States govern
ment against racial groups within its
own borders,” to be coupled with
an acknowledgement o f the definite
relationship between the increase in
racism, racial discrimination and
racist violence within the United
States and the ability o f the United
States government to support apart
heid in Southern Africa; that it is
only with the strengthening of the
ideology and practice of racism
within the United States is the U.S.
government able to keep its people
confused, divided and unable to e f
fectively combat the continued sup
port of that criminal South A fric a ."
CIA busy in North Africa
W hile great attention is being
given by the U.S. press to the role ot
Libya in the civil war in Chad, the
role o f the C IA in setting up the
situation that now threatens to
spread into a major confrontation
goes largely unnoticed
The United States has had a long
standing interest in Chad as part of
its effort to expand U.S. presence in
North Africa The current escala
tion o f U.S. aid to Chad has met
with opposition by the Organization
o f African Unity, which has asked
for withdrawal of all foreign troops
and a negotiated settlement. France,
also, is angry because of reported
U.S. pressure to increase its own
military aid to its former colony.
A review of the history o f Chad’s
conflict demonstrates that the U.S.
has had direct involvement as well
as using surrogates.
In I960, Chad gained indepen
dence from France along with other
African nations. The landlocked
desert country had little opportunity
for economic development and re
mained
dependent
on
France.
Ngarta Tombalbaye was named
president, but there was mistrust be
tween the French-influenced south
and the Muslim north, which had
really never been conquered by the
French.
In 1965 the Chad National Liber
ation Front (F R O L IN A T ) was
formed and the rebellion began.
French troops intervened in 1968,
but the Front remained active.
President Tombalbaye was re
moved by a military coup in 1975
and replaced by General Felix
M alloum .
F R O L IN A T , in which Goukouni
Queddet and Hissein Habre were ri
vals, gained control of (he northern
third o f Chad
Habre joined
M alloum 's "national reconciliation
movement" but F R O L IN A T con
tinued to fight under Goukouni's
leadership. Another French inter
vention prevented victory.
By the time the government of
M alloum fell, in 1979, Habre was
his defense minister The neighbor
ing states of Nigeria, Libya, Sudan,
Camaroon and Niger set up a peace
conference under O A U auspices.
The Transitional Government of
National Unity (G U N T ) was estab
lished,
including eleven
major
groups, and Queddei became presi
dent.
Later that year Habre attempted
to overthrow the legitimate govern
ment, G U N T . In October o f 1980,
at Queddei's request, Libya sent sev
eral thousand troops to support
G U N T and by December Habre's
troops were pushed back to Sudan,
where they received aid from Sudan,
Egypt and the C IA .
Both France xnd the U.S. were
concerned about Libya's involve
ment in Chad. When Ronald
Reagan and Prime Minister M itter-
and met at Cancún in October o f
1981, France pushed for the estab
lishment o f an "in te r-A fric an "
peace force to replace Libyan troops.
Reagan pledged $12 million in m ili
tary aid and sent $10 million to
Habre through Sudan and Egypt.
In December Queddei and the
O A U agreed to the peacekeeping
force and Libyan forces withdrew.
France's former colonies, Zaire and
Senegal, sent the first troops. The
Reagan administration transported
these troops to Chad and used its
aid to justify stationing U .S. m ili
tary personnel in Chad to "m o n i
tor” its use. G U N T was still recog
nized as the goverment o f Chad
As soon as Libya withdrew
Habre, bolstered by $10 million in
U.S covert aid and arms for Sudan
and Egypt, launched an attack and
easily overcame the government
troops. Habre made himself presi
dent.
This summer, G U N T , led by
Queddei launched an effort to retake
Chad. Queddei called together the
leadership of the organization, reli
gious and ethnic groups and they
formed the "N atio n al Liberation
A rm y.”
The Reagan administration im
mediately approved $25 million in
military aid to Habre. This effort
was accompanied by troops from
Zaire, which are trained by Israel
and transported by the U.S. Foreign
mercenaries who have fought in
Congo, Angola, Seychelles and
Samores under the leadership of
Bob Devand, a man under a death
sentence in many nations in Africa,
were recruited along with Belgian
and French mercenaries.
The Reagan administration is
lined up with some o f the most reac
tionary forces in Africa, opposing
the legitimate government o f Chad,
and blaming the whole affair on
Libya's M oam m ar Khadafi.