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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 26, 1983)
Page 4 Portland Observer, October 26, 1983 EDITORIAL/OPINION Ethnic politics in the E vil Empire by Dr. Manning M arable A common characteristic o f the infantile mind is the lack o f subtle ty, an inability to recognize distinc tions. Politics in the real world is the sum total of ideological, cultural and social conflicts, rooted within the economic organization of socie ty. For the simplistic and the dog matic, politics is reduced to a con test between good vs. evil, black vs. white. Ronald Reagan and the leading foreign policy advisers in his admin istration clearly adhere to the infan tile, dogmatic tendency o f political discourse. Late last year, the Presi dent stunned millions with a ram bling and somewhat incoherent ad dress delivered in Orlando, Florida Dubbed the “ Darth Vadar” speech by the media, Reagan lashed out against the Red Menace, claiming that the Soviets were responsible for virtually every conflict in the world today. Russia is an "E v il Em pire" bent on world domination, the Pre sident declared, squinting at his frayed and yellowing J-by-5-inch notecards. Since then, Reagan has repeatedly declared that Central American turmoil is fundamentally the product o f Cuban and Soviet in terference and subversion. For veterans of the Civil Rights Movement, Reagan's rantings sound distinctly fam iliar. Whenever historically oppressed people rise up to challenge their oppressors Am eri can reactionaries claim that C om munism is the source o f the rebel lion. When the sit-in movement erupted twenty years ago, former President Harry Truman denounced desegregation as a "Communist conspiracy.” When challenged by M artin Luther King and Roy W il kins, Truman admitted that he had no proof. However, " I know that Rainbow Coalition demonstrated Today’s demonstration against the invasion o f Grenada was a spontaneous, angry reaction to the latest manifestation o f Reaganism. O r ganized in less than 24 hours, it showed that Portland is blessed with a group o f determined, active, politically aware citizens who are in touch with each other and who can work to gether quickly and effectively. More, the demonstration made plain that there exists a coalition o f people—a Rainbow Coalition—who are conscious o f the pressing need to get Reagan out o f the White House in ’84. A Rainbow Coalition? Yes— the crowd spanned all racial hues. And the leading speaker — Ron Herndon, a Black man—brought a Black perspective to the invasion, pointing out that it was the Reagan administration’s response to the spectre o f a Black, English-speaking, liberation movement. This is the shape o f the coalition it w ill take to beat Reagan—a Coalition spanning all the issues o f the Rainbow it contains, with Black issues and a Black perspective in the forefront. Portland’s own Rev. John Jackson, in last A p ril’s March Against Racism, was the first to call attention to this Rainbow Coalition. And another Jackson— the Rev. Jesse Jackson— is the only politician o f national stature to publicly recognize its existence and its significance in beating Reagan. Whether or not Jesse runs— he’s to say next week— today’s action at the Federal Building was an important step in showing the existence and vitality o f the Rainbow Coalition in Port land and in the United States. W hy Grenada? The brutal invasion o f a small Caribbean is land with only 110,000 people, nearly all o f them Black, by the powerful U.S. Marines is blatant racism. Accompanied by token troops from nearby islands—all economic and political puppets o f the U .S .— the Reagan adm inistration launched this all out m ilitary attack on people who have had independence for less than ten years, who lived through a crim inal dictatorship imposed by the British Empire, and who gained real freedom and independence less than five years ago. Why? The people o f this small, poor island are no threat to the U.S. or to its neighbors. They have not forced out or nationalized U.S. investments; they have welcomed U.S. citizens. What the Grenadians have done too well is to serve as an example, an inspiration, to Black people in the U.S. They achieved their own liberation and used their resources to help their people. They became the first liberated, Black, English speaking nation in this hemisphere. And that was their crime. This is an invasion that strikes at every individual in this country, especially those who arc Black. It demonstrates that every progress ive movement, every attempt at reform , w ill be crushed by the might o f the U.S. m ilitary. Following the expample o f Grenada, we must seek our liberation and use our power to end this murder and subjugation o f our brothers and sisters around the world. usually when trouble hits the coun try the Kremlin is behind it ," he de clared. The vast majority o f ethnic and national conflicts in the twentieth century have nothing directly to do with Soviet Communism. Indeed, if recent experiences are reviewed, one rinds a complex pattern o f religious and national turmoil which is rooted in the political and economic expan sion o f ihe West into the Third W orld. Since early in the summer, Sri Lanka (formerly Ceylon) has been the scene o f brutal politcal violence The largest national group, the Sin halese, have pursued a policy of genocide against the minority Tam il community. Laws have been passed restricting Tamils from decent jobs and education, and Tam il farms are being illegally seized for the Sinhal ese. Probably one thousand Tamils have been murdered in cold blood this year, and tens of thousands are homeless The Sinhalese-controlled government has tortured its Tamil critics, and poll, e bury bodies o f its victims without any official in quests. The root of this violence is, how ever, British colonialism. The Brit ish brought the Tamils from India originally 150 years ago to work on their plantations. The Tamils were then placed into the colonial govern ment to dominate the majority Sin halese population by (he British. And English corporations still con trol the lucrative tea trade in Sri Lanka, and profit from the low wages and terror which is created to oppress local workers. In other parts o f the world a simi lar pattern emerges. In Northern Ireland, the conventional view is that religious differences are the ba sic factor in the state's political un rest. In fact, the origins o f the con flict are found in England's eco nomic and political exploitation of the Irish nation, and the colonial partition imposed there in 1921. In Kenya, last month's parliamentary elections shifted power away from the dominant Kikuyu group, toward the small Kalinjin and Kamba na tionalities aligned with President Daniel arap M oi. Although what the West calls "trib alism " is a factor, the real sources o f unrest in Kenya are economic and political. The country has the highest birthrate in the world, a dictatorial regime allied with the U.S. and England which suppresses political dissent, and a ruling Black elite which exploits the peasant majority. In neither o f these instances is political unrest fostered or created by the so-called Red M en ace. Oppressed people will not remain oppressed forever. Religious, cul tural and social distinctions divide natural allies from each other, as they are individually exploited of their human and economic re sources by outside powers. But the practical necessity for resistance has overcome historic differences among the exploited nations o f the world. Reaganites may still blame all their troubles on the “ Evil Em pire." Bui for a Black child growing up in rural Mississippi, the Evil Em pire is the United States. For w ork ers in Jamaica under Ihe Reagan- backed Seaga regime, for the pea sants o f El Salvador, for the mine workers in Chile under the bloody military junta, and for our sisters and brothers in South A frica— Ihe Evil Empire is the United States. South Africa pay-off scandal (C ontinuedfrom page I, column 3) provided with the free trips were some of the nation's most powerful and influential reporters, column ists, and newspaper and magazine editors. •T h e South African government purchased an interest in a chain of more than 60 newspapers in the U.S. to use as propaganda outlets in this country for their own regime. The South African government pro vided more than $11 million in sub sidies to Michigan newspaper pub lisher John M cG o ff to increase the holdings o f his newspaper company, the Panax Corporation. Subse quently, articles favorable to South Africa appeared in publications controlled by M cG o ff. • Beurt and Cory SerVaas, the two chief executives of The Satur day Evening Post, entered into busi ness deals engineered by the South African government. Following the business arrangements, The Satur day Evening Post routinely wrote favorably about South Africa In some instances, the magazine printed articles written by paid propagandists on the South African government's payroll. •The South African government funneled a secret $900,000 to the overseas enterprises o f Rev. Sun Myung Moon and his Unification Church in exchange for a part-in terest in The Washington Times, which is being published in the na tion's capital. •A fte r accepting a free trip to South Africa from the government there. conservative syndicated columnist James Kilpatrick at tempted to persuade U.S. govern ment officials that there was no basis for Justice Department investi gations into the operations o f a South African government front or ganization. And there is more. The National Leader's 6,000-word story, being printed over the next two issues, un covers a wealth o f never-before pub lished material linking U.S. citizens and officials to unknown and ques tionable links to the government of South Africa. The N ational Leader is available at many newsstands. For a copy of the next two special issues, how ever, you may simply call (215) 563- 6688. Crowd protests Grenada invasion__________ (Continued fro m page I, column 6) Letters to the Editor Understanding key to U.S./Soviet relations To the editor: In our relations with the Soviet Union, we need to practice putting ourselves in their position. For example, between September 25 and October 5 the U.S. and Jap an conducted joint military exercises in Japan and the surrounding wa ters, just o ff the Soviet Union's east coast. This is a regular occurrence, but this year’s exercises were the largest ever, with Japan contribut ing 150 ships, 117 aircraft and JO,000 military personnel, and the U.S. Seventh Fleet contributing ten warships, two submarines, and an undisclosed number o f aircraft (Oregonian. September 23). I won der how we would feel i f the Soviet Union staged comparable military exercises with Cuba in the Carib ill bean Also, beginning next year, the U.S. plans to base F-16 fighter- bombers capable o f carrying nuclear weapons in Japan and South Korea, from where they will be able to reach the Soviet Union. How would we react if the Soviet Union based such aircraft in Central America? Meanwhile, on the other side of the Soviet Union, we are getting ready to install over 500 land-based nuclear missiles capable of reaching the Soviet Union, for the first time since 1963. Some of these— the 108 super-accurate Pershing 2 interme diate-range missiles— will be capa ble of striking targets in the densely populated western part o f the Soviet Union within a matter of minutes from their bases in, o f all places. West Germany. I f the Soviet Union were to install comparable missiles a comparable distance from the U .S., I suspect that we would not stand for it, as President Kennedy did not when he learned o f the Soviet mis siles in Cuba in 1962. It dismays me that we are doing something to the Soviet Union which we ourselves might well regard as cause for war if they did it to us. Rupert Buchanan The Observer welcomes Letters to the Editor. Letters should be short, and must contain the writer's name and address (addresses are not p rint ed). The Observer reserves the right to edit f o r length. ... -, The P o r tla n d O bserver 1USPS 959 680) i t published «very Thurtdey by E n t Publishing Company. Inc 2201 North Killings worth Portland Oregon 97217 Post Office Boa 3137 Portland Oregon 97208 Second class pottage paw.' M Portland Oregon . ” W N Q * '. The Portland O b ^ rs rr was established m 1970’ Subscriptions 116 00 per year >n the Tri County area Post m aster Send address changes to the Portland Ofltsrrver, P O Bos 3137, Portland Oregon 97208 MEMBER A lfred L. Henderson, Editor/Publisher A l Williams, Advertising Manager Association - fo u n d e d tSSS | Franklin in order to avoid arrests having to be made M ore than a dozen protesters left (he office un der the agreement that 15 could re main to talk. As soon as only 15 per sons remained Franklin said they should meet with her in another room— thus apparently violating the agreement. The protesters remained in the office and were taken, one by one, to be arrested. Then Senator Packwood called. Once on the telephone, Packwood simply repeated State Department releases and restated his position that "the U .S. Marines are at least doing what they are trained to do best— that is not what they are do ing in Lebanon ” Several media-persons were asked to leave by Federal officers during the course o f the continuous ex change between Franklin and the protesters. Reporters for the Port land Stale Vanguard, the Portland Observer, and the !L W C Dispatcher were asked for their press cards. Portland’s largest black-owned sewspaper. ! PORTLAND OBSERVER Portland Observer Oregon Newspaper 1 Publishers Asso. .ibón m as," Herndon noted that the U.S. is more afraid of the Grenadian rev olution than those in Cuba or Nica ragua because Grenada is 95 percent Black and 100 percent English speaking Speaking o f the Reagan administration, he pointed out, " I f they are so concerned with democ racy then why aren't they sending troops into South A frica?" People began to move into the Federal Building soon after Hern don finished speaking. Their goal was to enter Senator Packwood's office and demand to speak with the Senator by telephone. Once about 60 people had enetered the office Federal officers blocked the door way. For Ihe next two hours the people in the office were threatened with arrest, told that some could stay, and then were in the process of being arrested when the Senator called. An agreement had been reached between the protesters and Pack wood's office manager Elaine 283 2486 N atio n a l A d vertising R ap rasantativa A m a lg a m a te d Publishers Inc N a w York ! News fo r and about :______ you..______ I ! - ■ ■ Mail to Portland Observe! Box 3137 Portland Oregon 9??08 PLEASE PRINT Nam e _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ A d d ress _________________ C i t y ________________________S tate . When none could be provided, the reporters were told: "Y o u have a choice: either you leave now or you join them (the protesters).” A n O b server reporter joined the protesters and was one o f three prople being placed under arrest when the Pack- wood call came in. The protesters disbanded shortly after the conversation with Pack- wood but promised to be back in force at noon this Saturday in front o f the Federal Building, 1220 S .W . Third Avenue. You help more The United Way Subscribe today! ■ Yea, I would like a su bscrip tion ! to the Portland Observer. I □ I have enclosed my check or money order for 8 15, for a one year J ~
