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PORTLAND OBSERVER
USPS 959-68O-85Î
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Volume XIII, Number 47
September 7, 1983
25C Per Copy
C o . Mr. I9»J
U.S., Soviet stories on airline tragedy differ
Reagan charge* murder
The United States played eleven
minutes o f a tape it identified as a
recording
of
communications
between the Soviet pilot who shot
down a South Korean passenger jet
last week and ground control to the
United Nations Security Council.
U .S. Ambassador to the U .N .
Jeane Kirkpatrick said the tape
"establishes that the Soviets decided
to shoot down a civilian airliner,
shot it down, murdering about 269
persons aboard, and lied about it.”
The U .S . government indicated
that the pilot had the airliner in sight
for 20 minutes prior to firing,
and said their was no indication that
the Soviet pilot had attempted to
contact the airliner.
However.
Kirkpatrick late said the pilot had
said to ground control, " T h e target
isn't responding to I.F .F . (identify
friend or foe.)
Several members o f Congress
who returned to the U .S. from a
two-week visit to the Soviet Union
the
day
before
the
incident
RONALD REAGAN
occurred, predicted that the arms
talks w ill be adversely affected and
that the military build-up will be
given impetus. Senator Howard
Metzenbaum o f O hio said it will
have a "very, very negative impact
on the disposition o f the Am rican
people and our negotiations in the
arms control talks.”
Senator Dale Bumpers o f A rka n
sas said it w ill affect the political
dynamics in Washington and such
issues as the M X and other military
plans. Other Congressmen predicted
that it w ill become more difficult ot
oppose Reagan's military program.
American citizens are responding
by burning an effigy o f Andropov at
the W hite House, throwing out
Russian vodka, and cancelling trips
to the U .S .S .R .
The airline pilots o f Great
Britian, Australia, Denmark and
France have agreed to boycott
flights to the U .S .S .R . and some
NATO
nations are considering
restricting Soviet airlines flights.
U.S.S.R. levies spy charge
The Soviet government, Tuesday,
announced that a Soviet fighter was
ordered to "stop the flig h t" of a
South Korean airliner over the
island o f Sakhalin after it failed to
obey demands to land at a Soviet
airfield.
The statement charged that the
747 had been emitting coded
intelligence signals. It said the Air
Defense Forces in the area had
concluded that the plane was "a
reconnaissance aircraft performing
special tasks” while flying over
strategic nuclear bases and other
military installations.
The U .S.S.R expressed "regret
over the loss of life ” but added that
the United States, in dispatching a
civilian aircraft over Soviet strategic
bases knew what the outcome
would be and bore the ultimate
reaponsibility.
The U .S .S .R . said that at the time
the "in tru d er” plane entered Soviet
Air Space "another spy plane of the
U.S. A ir Force, an RC-135 that is
similar to it, was in the same area
near the Soviet border on the same
altitude. Several Soviet interceptor
planes were sent aloft. One o f them
controlled
the actions o f the
American RC-135. A second flew
into the area where the intruder
plane was and signalled to it that it
had intruded into the airspace o f the
U .S .S .R .
The
warnings
were
ignored.”
The Soviet government also
slated that there have been nine
incursions into their airspace by
U.S. military planes in the last six
months. The U.S. has admitted that
a reconnaissance plane was in the
area and that spy flights along the
coast are routine. It has also been
revealed in the U .S . press that
civilian planes are used by the U.S.
A ir Force for spy missions and for
cover for reconnaissance planes.
The U .S .S .R has raised several
questions:
- W ho programmed the Korean
plane to fly into Soviet airspace.
(Please turn to page 9 col. II
YURI ANDROPOV
State cites construction accident
*»y Robert Lothian
The Tri-M et board recently award
ed non-union R .A . Hatch Co. a
C6.9 m illion contract to build a 2.7
nilc section o f the Banfteld light rail
ne between 146th and 197th ave-
u es.
Local construction unions say
ley will picket Hatch’s work on the
ew contract, as they have on his
urrent $29 million contract to con-
ruct phase two o f the project be-
seen N .E . 39th and 82nd Avenues.
The unions, who say their mem-
ers are experiencing up to 75% un-
mployment, contend that awarding
.intracts to non-union employers
ikes their members' jobs away,
tiey also charge that Hatch can
nderbid the competition because
. cuts corners, subjects his workers
> unsafe working conditions, and
•es shoddy work which could
can cost overruns.
I ri Met and slate officials, on the
iher hand, say that Hatch's low
Jding will save taxpayers millions
a tight budget situation, that his
ork is ahead o f schedule and that
is safety record is no worse than
ither contractors.
Hut a string o f accidents and near
.atastrophes
on
the
Banfield
project has bee» well documented.
tending
to
corroborate
union
charges.
On August 13th, the boom o f a
Hatch Co. crane struck an overhead
powerline, sending five workers to
the hospital, two with serious burns.
Two state inspectors were among
the injured, and 1200 Pacific Power
and Light Co. customers were tem
porarily without power.
State Dept. o f Transportation
spokeswoman Vicky Rocker de
scribed the accident as a "fre ak
occurrence" and an "unavoidable
industrial accident." Rocker said
her department had no record o f o f
ficial violations regarding Hatch's
work on the project.
The Accident Prevention Division
o f the Oregon W orker's Compensa
tion Dept., however, has issued a
citation in connection with the acci
dent. According to A P D Portland
director Barbara W oodhull, details
will not become public until Hatch
receives the citation. She did say
that her office is classifying the acci
dent as a "catastrophe,” which is
the normal accident classification
when five or more workers are sent
to the hospital.
In another crane incident on April
16, no one was injured but the top
and back o f a moving semi trailer
were torn o ff when a Hatch Co.
crane toppled, sending its boom out
over the Banfield.
O n June 28. a 100’ section o f the
42nd Ave. off-ram p gave way, sec
onds after a car had passed over.
There were no injuries. State o ffi
cials said later that vibrations from
Hatch equipment working nearby
could have been responsible for the
collapse. A crack had appeared
earlier and had been painted white,
but Rocker said that such cracks are
not unusual and that Hatch officials
had indicated that they did not be
lieve the ramp to be dangerous.
In mid-July, residents o f an
apartment building adjacent to the
freeway were asked to move on
short notice when it appeared the
building might slide down an exca
vated embankment. Cracks from
floor to ceiling had appeared in one
apartment and in the wall of a ga
rage.
According to Accident Preven
tion Division records. Hatch has
been cited several times on the Ban
field and other projects for serious
and repeated trench shoring viola
tions. Inadequate trench shoring
and subsequent cave-ins are a major
(Please turn to page II col. 3/
Nana Akom. 4. and Alexander Shielda. 4. find
time to play while their parenta register them in
Humboldt Early Childhood Education Center
(Photo: Richard J Brown)
Council supplements MHRC staff but political fallout continues
Last week the Portland City
Council teturned two staff positions
to the M etropolitan Hum an Rela
tions Commission, bringing a con
troversy that has continued for sev
eral months to a close. Many o f
those closely involved believe the
compromise was merely a way to a l
low
Commissioner
Margaret
Strachan to save face after a bruis
ing public dispute.
In exchange for the return of two
staff positions, M H R C agreed to
develop staff evaluation and appeal
procedures. "There are no changes.”
>ne M H R C commissioner said.
'W e have evaluation procedures
and an appeal process; in fact.
Commissioner Strachan was in
volved in the evaluation of our
Executive Director, and her input
was very favorable A ll we did was
compile all o f our policies into one
statement and hand it to h er." The
fact that there were no changes
called for indicates that this issue
was only a method to allow Strachan
to rid herself o f a political em bar
rassment. the Commissioner said.
A ll M H R C employees are under
Civil Service and have access to
Civil Service procedures.
Armando La G uardia, M H R C
chairperson for three years ending
June o f 1983, said the incident has
demonstrated a real lack o f inde
pendence of C ity/C o u n ty commis
sions and their vulnerability to a dis
interested or hostile commissioner.
"T hey control through the bud
get,” La Guardia said o f City and
County government. "W h en they
shape your budget, that tells you
what you can do. The budget
process is a sham. We had to attend
20 to 30 meetings and then start all
over again. An inordinant amount
o f time is spent hassling over the
budget. Funding is too cumbersome;
we spend too much time trying to
keep afloat. They need to set a fund
ing base and if the City has money
they should increase M H R C 's bud
get by a percentage, and if they
don’ t, they should decrease it by a
percentage.”
The process leaves M H R C open
to the whims o f the liaison commit
sioner. La Guardia said. " I f you are
assigned by the mayor to a commis
sioner who is not interested, and
you have no choice, you end up
fighting them and getting screwed.
I f your commissioner doesn't sup
port you, the others don't care.
When your budget is cut it just
means there is more money for their
agencies. I f your own commissioner
doesn't support you. you are dead
in the w ater."
" It 's not just M argaret; Jordan
and Lindberg were not going to help
us get more. Ivancie doesn't support
us and Schwab tried to get rid o f us
several years ago.
" T h e City and the County have
got to be more responsible.”
The controversy between Strachan
and M H R C surfaced early in the
budget process when Strachan de
manded that the position o f coordi
nator held by Greg Gudger be elimi
nated from the budget. The M H R C
refusal led to numerous charges of
poor administration and lack o f
focus, all unsubstantiated, whereas
Strachan’s statements to and about
M H R C had been positive until that
time.
“ Margaret wasn't involved,” La
Guardia said. "She made off-the-
cu ff judgements. She said she
wouldn't support our budget."
Strachan said cuts in the budget,
staff and programs were M ayor
Ivancie's work but Ivancie quickly
disassociated himself from them,
saying they were Strachan's recom
mendations.
“ This was a destructive process
on Strachan’s part and that type of
leadership carries a great deal of
danger," Fred M ilto n , chairman of
the Committee for Restoration of
M H R C , said. " I t potentially pits
members o f the community against
each other.”
The controversy also demonstrat
ed confusion over the role of the
"liaison commissioner.” "Indepen
dence is in question; Margaret
thinks she is the commissioner-in
charge when she actually is the
liaison," La Guardia said "She
overstepped her bounds without
dealing in good faith. She circum
vented M H R C in dealing with our
staff and in the budget negotia
tions.”
A t no time did the other City
commissioners
or
the
County
commissioners, who also fund
M H R C , step in to define Strachan's
responsibilities toward M H R C
"T h is was an unprecedented
power p lay," M ilton said
“ Il
backfired because citizens came
forward
to
support
MHRC.
Strachan might have come to
understand that citizen input is a
part of the process.”
M ilton said Strachan's actions
had several destructive results: She
made an effort to divide the various
minority groups and turn them
against each other and the integrity
o f government and its attitude
toward civil and human rights is in
question. "T his type o f leadership
must be carefully scrutinized. Reli
gious and ethnic minorities need to
be aware that in city government
(Please turn to page I ! col. Il
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