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September 21,1983
EDITORIAL/OPINION
Are the Russians coming?
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The Olympic Game* could be the next victim
o f the anti-Soviet hysteria being whipped up by
the Reagan administration and others. Already
some Congressmen have suggested denying visas
to the Soviet team. This might insure a U.S.
victory, but it could also be the death nell o f the
Although U.S. athletes are still traveling to
the U .S.S.R ., some invitations to Soviet athletes
to compete in this country have been cancelled
by the U.S. and others have been withdrawn by
the Soviets due to public hostility. The Soviet
basketball team's tour o f the U.S. has been can
celled and the soccer team's tour is in danger.
The phenomenon is not limited to athletes —
visas to tourists and performers have also been
removed.
The future o f the Olympic Games may well be
at stake. In 1980, the U .S. boycotted the games
and in 1976 the African nations stayed home. So
far no boycott of the L .A . games has developed.
Apparently, the African nations will overlook
U.S. involvement with South African athletes.
There are legal questions: I f the U.S. were to
bar any country, would the games be moved or
cancelled? There is also a great deal o f dissatis
faction in other nations with the Los Angeles
site. There are serious concerns over the poten
tial effect o f L .A .’s smog on athletes* health and
an even more serious concern over the city's
high crime rate and the inability o f the authori
ties to protect the athletes from robbery and as
sault. Many o f the Third World nations are dis
mayed by the high price they will be forced to
pay for their athletes’ room and board.
There are others who decry the extreme com
mercialization o f the games, with official Olym
pic candy bars, pop, toilet paper, etc.
There are many questions to be raised about
the 1984 Olympic Games and one o f them
should not be whether the Soviet athletes are
welcome to participate. I f the Soviets are barred
from the games they will be joined by many o f
the socialist nations and the U.S. will be left to
compete with the small Third W orld nations and
a few athletes from Western Europe. It will be
like the Pan American Games without Cuba —
lots o f medals for the U .S. but not much in the
way o f athletic competition.
Those who are interested in the future o f the
Olympics and those interested in an economic
success in L .A . should fight any attempt to bar
the Soviets.
Support schools
The voters across Oregon have approved
school levies to insure the operation o f their
schools. The Newport schools can be reopened
and many other will remain open.
Those who continuously vote against school
levies and other taxes should search their hearts
and remember what the taxes o f others have
done for them. W e pay very little for the advan
tages we receive and appreciate them very little
until they are gone.
You will usually find that most of the com
plaining about high taxes comes from those with
the ability to pay and those who have benefited
most.
The gift of life
The latest scheme to get rich o ff o f illness and
misery is the proposal to buy and sell body
parts. W ith the discovery o f new drugs that pre
vent rejection o f transplanted organs, trans
plants will become more and more routine. The
only problem now standing between the patients
and recovery is the shortage o f available organs
and the high cost.
Across the nation many suffer and die
because an organ cannot be found or because
the cost is too great.
Rather than allow the sale o f body parts on
the market like a slab o f beef, the medical pro
fession should launch an educational campaign
and an all-out effort to obtain donors. Only
when the public is willing to participate like it
has in the call fot blood donations can there be a
supply o f organs available free or at low cost
that will insure the latest in medical care to those
in need.
You can provide the gift o f life. Call the
Health Science Center’s donor program.
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N a tio n a l A d v ertis in g R ap raeantatlve
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Puerto Rico and Black America
by Dr. Manning Marable
Last month, the Puerto Rico Soli
darity Committee requested that I
present an address before the United
Nations on the urgent necessity to
free Puerto Rico from American
control. For eight years, the Puerto
R k o Solidarity Comm ittee has lob
bied at the U N 's Special Committee
on Decolonization, and the issue has
rapidly acquired worldwide tup-
port. particularly among Third
W orld nations. W ithout hesitation.
1 agreed to add my presence to those
o f other Americans who advocate
independence for Puerto Rico Not
surprisingly, the U.S. Ambassador
boycotted the presentation.
A fter tracing the heritage of slav
ery and political oppression which
led to Puerto Rico’s evolution under
Spanish rule. I focused on the
racism and corporate exploitation
fostered by the U .S. Puerto Ricans
who actively denounce oppression
are subjected to U.S. repression, not
unlike that aimed at Black civil
rights activists. In October, 1977,
progressive trade union leader Juan
Rafael Caballero was kidnapped,
(ortured, and executed. The next
year, two independence leaders were
butchered in a police ambush in
Puerto Rico. In November, 1979,
Angel Rodrigues Cristobal was
beaten to death while in custody in
Tallahasec, Florida. Grand jury re
pression continues to mount: in
1993, criminal contempt charges
with demands for lengthy prison
terms were brought against "inde-
pendentistas” who have refused to
cooperate in the suppression o f their
freedom movement.
Tw o different concerns were
raised in the discussion before the
Special Committee. W hy docs the
U .S. insist upon maintaining that
Puerto Rico is an integral part o f
this country? And what is the rele
vance o f Puerto Rico's status to
Black America?
The ambassadors from Cuba, the
African nations and Latin America
could quickly answer the first ques
tion. W ith the advent o f the Reagan
administration. U .S . policy in the
Caribbean and Central America de
manded that Puerto Ricans be used
as cannon fodder and as a strategic
tool against liberation forces. In
1941 and 1942 the Puerto Rican
National Guard took part in war
maneuvers along with U .S . and
N A T O troops. These war maneuvers
were designed to develop the capacity
o f military intervention against
Cuba, Nicaragua and Grenada. In
February. 1943. the National Guard
was sent into Honduras. Simulta
neously, the Reagan administration
openly violated U .S. laws by con
ducting a vicious campaign against
Nicaragua, which involved the C IA ,
Somocista and counter-revolution
ary terrorists. The crucial function
o f the Puerto Rican Guardsmen is
to play the role o f a Spanish-speak
ing Foreign Legion, buttressing
local dictatorial regimes.
W hy is Puerto Rico relevant to
Black America? The A fro -A m eri
can community is also the historical
product o f slavery and racism; we
intimately understand the weight o f
political repression which has been
placed against our own leaders. W e
have experienced high rates o f unem
ployment, the lack o f adequate
human services, inferior schools,
and the racist attacks which Puerto
Ricans face, here and in their island.
The
greatest
Afro-Am erican
scholar. W .E .B . DuBois. took a
special interest in the plight of
Puerto Rico. DuBois supported
Puerto Rican rights activists, and
championed the independence o f
the island a half century ago. Black
Congressman Ron Dellums has in
troduced a bill in the House, which
calls for the "Transfer o f Powers to
Puerto Rico" in compliance with
U N requirements. In the bill. Con
gressman Dellums openly states that
"th e move toward the elimination
o f colonialism and all vestiges o f co
lonialism is now irreversible. The
practices followed by the U .S. with
respect to Puerto Rico have been de
veloped in open contradiction to the
principles upon which this nation
was founded. Puerto Rico consti
tutes a full-fledged Latin American
nation."
W e have an international respon
sibility to unite with oppressed peo
ples o f color across the world. As
M alcolm X noted, the United
Nations is the most appropriate
forum to charge the world's chief
perpetual or o f oppression, the U .S .,
with crimes against humanity. We
must seize every opportunity to de
velop international links with others,
and in doing so, we will advance our
own liberation struggle.
Syria: Crossroads of history
The Syrian Arab Republic is an
ancient land in the heart o f the M id
dle East at the juncture o f Asia,
A frica and Europe. Syria it located
in a limestone plateau with moun
tains on the western tide. Its main
river is the Euphrates. Other rivers
are the Assi, which flows from the
Beqaa Valley to the Mediterranean,
and the Barada which waters the
oasis surrounding the capital city,
Damascus.
An important crossroads through
out history, Syria has been the site
o f several ancient civilizations. Ils
cultures were contemporary to and
rivals o f those o f the neighboring
Mesopotamia. The w orld’s oldest
alphabet, written on clay tablets in
cuneiform script, was discovered in
Ugaret.
From 1200 B .C . to 634 A .D .
Syria was the battleground for many
struggles. The Hittites, Assyrians.
Chaldeans, and Persuns all marched
through Syria. Then came Alexander
the Great, the Romans, the Byzan
tines and the Persians.
The A rab conquest o f Syria came
in 636. only two years after the
death o f the prophet Muhammad.
In 661, M uaw iyah iba Abu Sufyan
became the fifth Caliph, or succes
sor to M uham m ad, and chose
Damascus as his capital, thus mak
ing Syria the center o f the spreading
Islam.
Between 661 and 7S0 A .D ., under
the Um mayad Dynasty, Syria was
the center o f a flourishing trade.
Muslim A rab armies pushed across
North A frica into Spain and France,
conquered central India and reached
the borders o f China.
In 750 A .D . the capital was
moved to Baghdad, Iraq and the
prominence o f Syria declined. It fell
prey to petty invaders, including the
Crusaders, and in 1516 was con
quered by the Turkish Ottom an
Empire which ruled it for 400 years.
The Syrians hoped for indepen
dence after the defeat o f the O tto
mans during W orld W ar I, but in
stead were placed under French
mandate. Revolts were frequent and
bloody but independence was not
achieved until the French
British left after W orld W ar I I .
and
G o v e rn m e n t
Following independence, in 1945,
Syria had several weak governments.
In 1958 it joined with Egypt in the
United Arab Republic but this alli
ance was ended by a military revolt
in 1961.
The Revolution o f March 8, 1963,
led by the Ba’ath Socialist Party,
began a new era in the country’s
history. The Ba’ath party has
worked for a socialist transforma
tion o f economic and social condi
tions to achieve political stability
and a higher standard of living.
The Constitution o f 1973 pro
vides for three branches o f govern
ment — legislative, executive and
judicial. The legislative authority is
embodied in the People’s Assembly,
chosen for a term o f four years
through direct general elections.
The system o f government is re
publican, with the president heading
the executive branch. On November
16. 1970 General Hafez al-Assad be
came Prime Minister and he was
later elected President. The presi
dent is chosen by popular referen
dum for a term o f seven years after
being nominated by the People's
Assembly on the recommendation
o f the Ba’ath Party. The president
appoints the prime minister and
members o f his cabinet.
The judicial branch is indepen
dent and the Constitutional Court
determines the constitutionality of
laws.
The national administration is as
sisted by Peoples* Councils, which
carry
out
local
administrative
duties. The councils include organi
zations elected by the people, who
thus are able to participate in the
administration o f their local affairs.
The political leadership is em
bodied in the National Progressive
Front, which was established in
1974 and includes five political par
ties. The N P F decides issues o f war
and peace, approves the state’s five-
year economic plans, debates eco
nomic policies and directs the coun-
Portland’s largest black-owñetTnewspaper.
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Nevus fo r and about
you.
try’s general political orientation.
The Constitution vests the Arab
Ba'ath Socialist Party with the lea
dership functions in the state and
society. The President is the secre
tary-general o f the Party and is the
leader o f the N PF.
E co n om y
Syria is ranked among the devel
oping nations but It is one o f the few
Third W orld nations that has no
population problem (9 million resi
dents) and whose development po
tential is equal to future needs.
Syria's extensive agriculture, its
oil and mineral wealth, and its in
dustrial potential, a population
open to progress, and its strategit
location guarantee economic devel
opment.
Economic and social plans are im
plemented through a series o f five-
year plans that began in I960. Petro
leum is the country’s major export
and its primary source o f hard cur
rency. The phosphate industry is
second and the textile industry
third. Thirty-two percent o f the
population is engaged in agricul
ture.
The new Euphrates Dam al
Tabaka is the cornerstone o f devel
opment. It irrigates 640.000 hectares
and produces 900,000 kilowatts of
electrical energy, some o f which is
exported to Lebanon, Jordan and
Turkey. Twenty-three new industri
al projects were spawned by the dam
and others are planned under the
1981-1985 plan.
E d ucation
There are nearly 1.9 million stu
dents in Syria. Primary education,
to the 6th grade, is compulsory. The
aim o f the education system is to in
crease the literacy rate and open ed
ucational opportunities to all. The
overall objectives emphasize the
need to nurture a sense of Arab
unity among the young, encourage
scientific development and widen
the scope of technical and vocation
al education. There are four majoi
universities and 40 colleges. Govern
meni scholarships are provided for
students studying abroad.
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