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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 1983)
Page 2 Soction I Portland Observer, December 21,1963 The remaking of Grenada EDITORIAL/OPINION by B ill Bigelow Artists should refuse blood money In spite of the efforts of the Special Com m it tee, many entertainers continue to perform in South Africa. The Committee is publishing reg isters of these performers and asking that they be boycotted. Among the prominent Americans on the list are: Shelly Berman, Cher, Joe Henderson, Frank Sinatra, Francis Grier, Willis "G a to r” Jackson, Curtis Mayfield, the America Country Rock Group, Ray Charles, Shirley Brown, Glen Campbell, the Beach Boys, Johnny Mathis, Telly “ Kojak” Savalos, Efron Zimbalist, Ann Margaret, Kenny Rogers, the Staple Singers, Neil Sedaka, Paul Anka, Shirley Scott, Jimmy Smith (singer), Stanley Turrentine, Dolly Par- ton, Linda Ronstadt. These people, their products and the products they endorse should be boycotted. American ci tizens must push our government to act on the U .N . Resolution 2396 ( X X I I I ) of December 2, 1968, that requests "all States and organizations to suspend cultural, educational, sports and other exchanges with the racist regime and with organizations and institutions in South Africa which practice apartheid." An increasing number of artists, writers, play wrights, entertainers and other cultural person alities are placing their commitment to humanity above dollars and are refusing to travel to South Africa. For years the cultural boycott of South Africa has been an important part of the international campaign against apartheid. In the past four years the South African regime has undertaken a massive effort, through false propaganda about •■reforms," and exhorbitant fees, to lure artists to South Africa. A big role in this effort is being played by "Sun C ity,” a gambling and entertainment complex in the bantustan of Bophuthatswana. Bophuthatswana is one of the "homelands" that South Africa tries to label as "indepen dent," a designation not accepted by the govern ments of the world. However, some entertainers have seen through this ploy. " I have a moral commitment that supercedes money," said Roberta Flack, who reportedly turned down a $2.5 million of fer. Eddy Ams of the British group The Real Thing, said, “ Sun City is an Afrikaner’s para dise in a Black man’s nightmare." ÎXD YbUR PARENTS LET YoU WATtH W Television show a & xjt nuclear war ? wttfcr fa . rt made 'WA scared ? YEAH - AMD THEY WERE THE ONES W 6öT SCARED THE PART WHEN 1 ASKED THEM WHAT THEY WERE 6 o \ n 6 T o D o ABOUT \T The State Department assures that Grenada is now safe for A m eri can tourists as Reagan's "restora tion of democracy” begins to take shape. Though the nominal head of state. Sir Paul Scoon, is in charge o f restructuring Grenada, reporters on the scene say that real power lies with U.S. Ambassador Charles G il lespie and U.S. military commander M ajo r General Jack Farris. In addi tion to the 300 Caribbean policemen who accompanied the American in vasion, about 1200 U .S. troops still remain on the island. According to the Reagan Administration, U.S. military forces will be cut to around 400 by Christmas. U .S. ships still patrol o ff Grenada's coast. The strategy of the United States appears to be to wipe out all in flu ence o f the New Jewel Movement (the political party o f assassinated Prime Minister Maurice Bishop), es tablish a government allied w ith— if not actually controlled by— the U .S ., and turn the Grenadian econ omy away from the socialist pro jects it had begun. O n November 10, Governor Gen eral Scoon gave himself broad emer gency powers, including ihe right to censor the press, ban public gather ings and authorize warrantless ar rests. Over a thousand people have been at least temporarily detained — an estimated 60 to 200 remain im prisoned without charge. The main targets o f the round-up are former members o f the Peoples Army and the m ilitia. But in addi tion to these. New Jewel members, trade unionists, activists in the mass organizations (such as the National Youth Organization and National Women's Organization) have also been held for interrogation. Ken drick Radix, and N U M founder, was arresied by the U .S. military lie- cause he was "an instigator in spreading bad will among the people in public places," according to a U.S. captain. U.S. forces have tried to silence all voices but their own on the island. The Washington Post re ports that the sole radio station is entirely manned by U .S. Navy per sonnel and "public service an nouncements” directed by special ists from the U.S. Arm y Psychologi cal Operations Battalion. This one- hundred-person crew has also plas tered the island with pro-American and anti-New Jewel Movement pos ters. U.S. troops are ferreting out all centers of opposition to the new or der. For example, soldiers ran sacked Pope Paul's Ecumenical Center, an educational and commu nity service project. Calling it a "center for communist propagan d a ." The "evidence" he found con sisted of books on Central America, a map o f Puerto Rico, Cuban litera ture and " a list o f Spanish-type names.’’ The center's staff was evicted and the building occupied by armed guards. The Center for Pop ular Education, Grenada's highly successful adult education program, has also been closed down, the di rector deported. In nearby Barbados another criti cal voice was suppressed when Prime Minister Tom Adams ordered newspaperman Ricky Singh deport ed. Singh was the editor o f the C ar ibbean Contact, a newspaper pub lished by the Caribbean Conference of Churches, and ecumenical organ ization o f twenty churches in the re gion. Singh’s crime: writing articles critical o f the U.S. invasion of Grenada and the role played by Bar bados in that action. Shortly after the invasion, Rea gan promised speedy elections for Grenada. But the U.S. is now w or ried that holding elections too soon could bring the New Jewel Move ment back to power. Governor General Scoon hopes to avoid this by having all former N JM members. and would-be candidates, screened by a special commission to check their ideological credentials. In any event, a date for elections has not been set and they likely w on't be held for quite some time. On this matter, Scoon has run into opposition from his own ap pointees. Attorney General Antony Rushford resigned i t disgust De cember 5th, complaining o f Scoon's "to ta l indifference and lack o f co operation" with Rushford’s efforts to establish a civilian government. Rushford lashed out at Scoon, de claring that, " I have never known a situation in which a governor-gener al appoints himself savior o f his people, calls in foreign armies and then does very little to bring about the restoration o f constitutional civ il government." N o replacement has been found for the departed attor ney general. Economically, the halting of work on the new international air port and suspension o f the tourist trade has pushed the island's un employment rate to an estimated 25 percent Reagan has announced an economic aid package of $15 million (in addition to $15 million in m ili tary equipment and training). He has also met with U.S. businessmen to encourage investments in the "new Grenada.’’ and has urged Grenada to revise its tax code to make the spice island more attrac tive to U.S. capital. But will the American aid pack ages and new foreign investment pa cify Grenadians who had benefited from the social changes initiated by the New Jewel government in their four-year tenure? Free education, free health care, enhanced union rights, access to new farm land, participation in grassroots organiza tions, respect for women’s rights— whether or not people will allow these to be buried and forgotten re mains to be seen. Washington Hot Line by Congressman Hon Wyden Reducing the federal deficit top priority for 1984 session District 1 Viewpoint />>' Boss Danielson Democratic District Leader As the year comes to an end, tax- pacing Democrats find themselves searching through receipts and loose change, wondering if they have made their JSO.Oo worth ot cam paign contributions to qualify for 1983 income tax credits. (Qualified campaign contributions up to $50— $100 for couples— may be subtracted from income tax.) l olks who have not made their ’83 campaign contributions are likely to end the year searching out their freferred candidate, political action committee, or political party to make a last minute 1983 contribu tion. I've even heard of people bor rowing money to make their contri bution, knowing that they could pay it back in reduced taxes or larger tax returns next spring. This last minute flurry o f 1983 green stuff is an optimistic begin ning for 1984, a year o f great chal lenge for Democrats who depend on many small contributions by w ork ing people to match the easy wealth of the Republican establishment. Letters to the Editor To the editor: I appreciated Nathaniel Scott's article on Sisters of the Road Cafe. The reporting was accurate, and I recognized myself in the quotes, an — - ■ ■ ÍO 'P q t i'i « F ■ ■ u SB p,'i i B il tfl experience not always achieved after an interview. This is a critical time for the Cafe, so thank you for the coverage! Gmn v Nelson The Observer welcomes Letters to the Editor. Letters should be short, and must contain the writer's name and address /addresses are not p rin t ed). The Observer reserves the right to edit f o r length. “ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™ ™s ™ lâ iT -ô w ^eT n e wspaptr. PORTLAND OBSERVER News fo r and about you. please print I ! M itr i In 283 2486 B os 3137 Portland Oregon 97208 «itociat.on • Pounded 1M5 I I I I ■ I I I I duced the call for more advisory type commissions to report on ways to balance the budget. I support these efforts, but at the same time I think the basic answer to the ques tions is obvious: W e must he willing to put all government programs on the operating table and squeeze, squeeze, squeeze until we produce further economies. The defense budget, the largest government spending program ever this year at some $249.8 billion this year, cannot he considered a sacred cow. We cannot afford a “ buy everything” policy for defense now or in the future. In short, if we are serious about cutting deficits, and I believe we must be, every aspect of federal ex penditure must come under scrut iny. That is the only way we can re duce deficits, and the only way we can do it fairly. T h r l ‘n r lla n il It h s e r t r r IU S P S 959 6 8 0 i i , published T h u 'v id , by I lie Publishing Codipenv Inc 2201 North Killings wtnrth Portland O ib q o ii 97217 Post Office H o i 3137 Portland O n -lio n 9720« Sec oral c lass posiagp pent at Portland Oregon A lfred I Henderson. Editor/Publisher A l H illiams, Advertising Manager ■ “ “ approached the task o f balancing the budget doomed the project to failure. Most obviously, all the cuts were in social programs and specifical ly social programs which aided the poor and near poor. Medicaid spending was cut 5 percent, food stamps 10 percent. Aid to Families with Dependent Children 13 percent and the major subsidized housing project was brought to a halt. The list goes on to include jobs spending, child nutrition, education aid for the poor and college student aid. The point is fairly clear: social programs have suffered in the last three years under the banner o f re ducing deficits, yet the deficit has tripled under ihe current Adminis tration. The Reagan Administration's failure to decrease deficits has pro Portland Observer The I* eila nil Observer wes established in 1970 Subscriptions »15 00 per rear m the Tri County area Post m aster Send address changes to the Pitrllanil Observer P O MEMBER When Congress reconvenes in January, 1984, several issues will be screaming for attention. Yet none will be as important for the long term health of our nation as cutting the deficit. In the three years since the Rea gan Administration assumed con trol of the national government, many citizens in all parts o f the country have been called upon to make sacrifices and expect less from their government. In short, we have asked to bite the bullet to advance the cause o f a balanced budget. The sacrifices have been made, the benefits cut, the bullet bitten, but the budget has not been bal anced In fact, it is looming close to $200 billion a year for the next sev eral years. I would suggest the lack o f fair ness with which (he Administration P o H la n d O b s e rv e ! ! B in 3 1 3 7 ■ » 'i.rti.i ul O rn u irit 9 7 2 U 8 N o m e _______ A iltlte s s _______ . N a tio n a l A dvertising R ep resentetive A m a lg a m a te d Publisher« Inc N e w York I Subscribe today! I Yes. I would like a aubacrlption to the Portland Observer. 1 1 I have enclosed my check or money order for $15. for a one year subscription I I I I I I I I I I I I I HWE YOU BEEN PLAYING WITH THOSE COMPU’ ACCESS COPES A G A IN ?:,
