6 ~— Wednesday, February 14, 1990 - North Shore News HE WHO rides a tiger can never dismount, goes the old Chinese proverb. If he falls, or is pushed off, the results can be very unpleasant all round. Even the tiger may suffer acute indigestion. For the tiger substitute the dream of democracy after decades of oppression and you have an ac- curate picture of the perilous balancing act being performed by Mikhail Gorbachev, the new East- ern European leaders and, since Saturday, President Frederik de national issues. But this clearly Klerk. doesn't come anywhere near As much as we may loathe and condemn apartheid, make no Though de Klerk hasn't been of racially-based, semi- autonomous ‘‘counties’’ with a central government overseeing mand — equal national voting mistake about one thing: at least in rights for the 24.5 million blacks, 6.5 million whites, and 4.7 million the short term, the release of Nelson Mandela spells more trou- ble, not less, in South Africa. Within an hour of Mandela’s motorcade leaving the prison two people were reported killed and up to 200 wounded in demonstrations. In Pretoria 2,000 marching white extremists chanted ‘‘Hang Mandela.”’ And the world’s most famous prisoner celebrated his lib- erty with a show of uncompromis- ing intransigence. Mandela gave the traditional clenched fist salute of international communism, praised the South African Communist Party and the now legalized African National Congress, and warned of further armed violence by the ANC — the reason for his life term 27 years ago — unless ‘“‘total democracy’’ with no special treatment of whites comes quickly. Meanwhile, radical, Nazi-type white supremacists and the opposi- tion Conservative Party are press- ing for an early election to throw out de Klerk’s government, whose white support is said to be uncer- tain. The ANC and other anti- apartheid groups are themselves deeply split between moderates, those favoring violence as a bargaining tool and those opposed to any negotiations at all. Calm, please T’S TIME cooler heads prevailed over The Lan- guage Issue. Sault Ste. Marie’s decision to declare itself **English only’’ has set off a knee-jerk chorus of rac- ism charges from self-appointed defenders of public morality. But what is needed is some thought and some perspective. : Language always has been, and always will be, an issue in Canada. Tkis country was a 19th century ex- periment in forging cultures, and that experiment is far from complete. Sault Ste. Marie and the other Ontario municipalities adopted English-only policy simply to avoid having bilingual legislation rammed down their throats by Toronto Grits. The communities have tiny francophone populations. They want tax dollars spent on more pressing municipal matters. They are not racist. Canada is a bilingual country and both languages are guaranteed equal status on the federal level. But bilingualism doesn’t always belong on the provincial and municipal Sevels. if makes no sense for com- munities to adopt bilingual status where populations of English or French are insignificant. Gn the other hand, it makes sense for these communities to adopt lan- guage legislation if other tongues make up significant numbers. So, no one need feel threatened over the Sault Ste. Marie decision. Neither French nor English will disap- pear soon from the national scene. But what is needed is less emotion and more constructive input while Canada’s language experiment unfolds. Freed Mandela may mean wild ride for de Klerk specific as yet, his National Party's plan is believed to be a federation economic cooperation and other Mandela's ‘‘total democracy”’ de- INSIGHTS coloreds and Asians. Gorbachev and his disciples heading the new East European governments are at least quite clear about the nature of the democracy they’re seeking. THEIR tough problem is simply to make it work in economic terms: the production of food, housing and consumer goods. In South Africa — whose top- performing economy (despite sanc- tions) draws thousands of blacks there from elsewhere on the conti- nent — the problem is the op- posite. The renewed surge of ideology and racism sparked by a freed Mandela may pose a far big- P me Were Vine aed Publisher Associate Editor Pre: envelope Peter Speck Managing Editor Timothy Renshaw Noel Wright Advertisiag Director Linda Stewart North Shore News, founded in 1969 as an independent suburban newspaper and qualified under Schedule 111 ger threat to peaceful change than Moscow's food line-ups. {t could mean a wild ride for de Klerk on a particularly vicious cat! et GRANDPA’S HOUSE: The Jap- anese, whose house and condo prices make ours look like fire sales, have come up with a new way to get young families into their own home without bankrup- ¥ NEWS photo Neil Lucente EV¢N LIONS LOVE THOSE DUCKS!...Lions kicker Tony Martino signs an autograph for Ryan Meilty, 7, at Cap Msi, where Tony and several team mates turned up last week to help sell ducks for this Sunday's Great Capit: > River Duck Race (see column item). -.& wednesday world e LURE ting them: the 100-year mertgage — repayable over three or even four generations. Interest rate is one percentage point above prime (in Japan now 7.5 per cent), mon- thly payments are comfortable and you may choose to deter repaying principal. In that case your grand- kids can eventually pay it off by selling the place. Singles, of course, are not eligible — but all you and your spouse need is to be pro-creative! eit WRAP-UP: Only a couple or so days left to enter your little yellow $5 quacker in North Van Rotary Club’s Great Capilano River Dack Race for the chance of up to $40,000 in prizes — hurry to any of the three major North Shore malls, Stong’s, Save-On-Foods, Totem Color, Model Shipyard or the ‘Y’ for tickets, then join the fun Sunday at I p.m. on the banks of the Capilano ... With teachers, parents and trustees in a lather over Victoria’s controversial new plan for funding schools, educa- tion ‘‘is everybody’s business.”’ That's the topic at tomorrow's, Feb. 15, lunch meeting of the North Van Chamber of Commerce in the North Shore Winter Club with guest speaker Chris Kelly, North Van’s Assistant School Su- perinterdent ... And happy first anniversary today to North Van's Ken and Claudette Pratt who chose St. Valentine’s Day 1989 as the ideal date to tie the knot! ake WRIGHT OR WRONG: Some people will believe anything, as long as you whisper it to them. IY hz saris. satentasonetcots ote YATRA bike | OEE ae SUNDAY - WEONESOAY « FHIDAY 1139 Lonsdale Avenue, Faraqraph Wt of the Eecise Tae Act is gublsned each Wednesday. Friday and Sunday by North Snore Free North Vancouver, BC. Lid and dutibuted to every door on tne tionth =V7M 2H4 Snore Second Ctr hurmber 3885 Subscriptions North 1325 per year 28,170 {ayerage. 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