All Material Copyright by Latin America Data Base. 
Latin America Data Base News Items [PeaceNet]
July 1987


PANAMA: NOTES ON CONTINUED POLITICAL TENSIONS, JULY 5-8 1987

July 5: Panamanian President Eric Arturo Delvalle ordered an 
investigation of a series of accusations against defense forces 
commander-in-chief Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega. The accusations 
include electoral fraud, murder, and drug trafficking. Delvalle's 
move was immediately criticized by the political opposition because 
he did not appoint an independent prosecutor.

July 7: President Eric Arturo Delvalle's spokesman announced late 
Tuesday over national television a decree prohibiting public 
demonstrations in public places. The decree specifically banned a 
pro-government anti-US demonstration scheduled for July 8 by the 
ruling party coalition, the National Democratic Union (UNADE), and 
a counter-rally organized by the opposition for July 10.

The president said government authorities would adopt necessary 
measures to ensure that political rallies do not take place. The 
ban was not extended to political meetings indoors. Delvalle's 
statement said he feared violence could erupt during the rallies, 
which were shaping up as a popularity test for both sides. In a 
communique, the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), which is 
aligned with the Defense Forces, agreed to suspend the rally and 
put its members on alert for a new call to action. 

In the hours before Delvalle's decree, pro-government civilian 
gunmen firing rifle rounds broke up an opposition car caravan on 
the Via Brazil, a main thoroughfare. July 8: Opposition protesters 
took to the streets in horn-tooting car caravans in defiance of the 
presidential decree. Meanwhile, in an unusual display of dissent 
within the government, Vice President Roderick Esquivel called on 
President Delvalle to form an independent commission to investigate 
public accusations raised against the top military commander, Gen. 
Manuel Antonio Noriega.

--Panama's special envoy to the US, Aquilino Boyd, who is seeking 
to counter criticism in Washington of Gen. Noriega, charged that 
the US Senate's calls for Noriega's ouster "have thrown a shower of 
acid rain that has poisoned the waters of friendship between our 
two nations." 

At a meeting with reporters, Boyd, a former foreign minister and 
ambassador to the United States, attacked two recent Senate 
resolutions critical of Noriega and the 20,000-member Panamanian 
Defense Forces. Boyd said they were the work of Americans who want 
to prevent Panama from gaining control of the Panama Canal in 2000 
and "bad Panamanians who believe that getting the blessing of 
American politicians" is the way to win the elections that are 
supposed to take place in Panama in 1989. 

Panama's ambassador to the Organization of American States, Roberto 
Leyton, who also took part in the meeting, said the administration 
is too much on the defensive in its Latin American policies to come 
to Panama's defense. He noted that the Iran- contra hearings have 
produced congressional calls for dismissal of Elliott Abrams, 
assistant secretary of state for inter- American affairs, for 
misleading Congress.

"Do you think Mr. Abrams, in the position he is in right now, would 
dare to speak against the Senate?" Leyton asked. "The administration 
has been accused by the Senate. The administration won't sacrifice 
(its remaining influence) with the Senate to defend Panama." 

In a speech last week, Abrams sent an unmistakable signal of the 
administration's view that the growing tensions between those who 
are pro- and anti-Noriega within Panama underscore the need for the 
defense forces to drop Noriega and get out of politics. US 
officials said that in a July 6 meeting with Boyd, Abrams 
reaffirmed that position, although he still did not mention Noriega 
by name. 

In March the Senate charged that Panama was a major center for 
narcotics trafficking. On June 26, after three weeks of violent 
demonstrations triggered by charges that Noriega had been involved 
in electoral fraud and the murder of a political opponent, the 
Senate adopted a resolution calling on President Delvalle to 
suspend Noriega from his command pending impartial investigation of 
the charges.

"This type of resolution is no way to treat a friend. As a proud 
nation, we are the one who should demand apologies and 
reparations," Boyd said. But he acknowledged that as a gesture 
toward easing tensions, he had apologized for damage done to the US 
Embassy in Panama last week by Noriega supporters. Boyd said the 
principal "bad Panamanian" was Gabriel Lewis, another former 
ambassador here, who fled Panama June 13 after trying 
unsuccessfully to mediate between Noriega and the opposition. Lewis' 
arguments that Noriega has lost the confidence of the Panamanian 
electorate and must go were an influential factor in passing the 
Senate resolution. (Various sources, PRENSA LATINA, WASHINGTON 
POST, NEW YORK TIMES)

NOTES: PANAMANIAN POLITICAL CRISIS, JULY 9-14 1987

The political unrest in Panama erupted in early June after 
Panamanian Defense Forces Chief of Staff Col. Roberto Diaz Herrera 
was forced to resign by commander-in-chief Gen. Manuel Antonio 
Noriega. Diaz Herrera publicly accused Noriega, who in practice 
controls the government, of being involved in murders and rigging a 
1984 election. Noriega is also suspected of running guns and drugs.

A new round of pro- and anti-Noriega demonstrations came after a 
June 26 US Senate resolution calling on the general to step aside 
pending an independent investigation of Diaz Herrera's charges. 
President Eric Arturo Delvalle, warning of possible violence, had 
issued a decree July 7 banning a July 10 anti-government protest 
and another large demonstration planned by pro-government groups 
for July 9. The latter rally, expected to draw more than 100,000, 
was cancelled. The opposition National Civic Crusade, led by 
business and professional groups, rejected Delvalle's decree as 
unconstitutional. 

July 9: According to a report by the WASHINGTON POST (07/10/87), as 
of July 9 there was no sign of panic among the 120 foreign banks, 
with assets of nearly $39 billion, that make Panama the most 
important international banking center in Latin America. However, 
as the crisis entered its fifth week, bankers sent alarm signals to 
their home offices and the Panamanian government. Banks in Panama 
handle off-shore accounts for US companies, Latin funds and bank-
to-bank transactions. The banking center flourished over the past 
decade because of strict secrecy laws and negligible taxes on 
deposits and income. US dollar bills are used as the local 
currency. An atmosphere of political calm compared to other nations 
in the region was also an important factor. All banks were closed 
June 11 and 12 during a nationwide business strike, mainly because 
employes did not appear for work. Some Latin American bankers based 
in Panama said the government threatened to cancel their visas if 
they did not reopen after those two days. 

As a result of many bank employes' active participation in the 
protests against Noriega, many banks were targeted by police and 
pro-government vandals. During the protests in mid-June, police 
stormed the offices of the Panamanian-owned Banco del Istmo, 
clubbing several employes. 

Last week pro-government squads broke the Bank of America's ground 
floor windows and tossed a Molotov cocktail into a second- floor 
office, although it did not ignite. They also splattered paint 
across Citibank's facade. Police arrested four Chase Manhattan 
employes and beat several others. 

One bank executive reported a string of withdrawals by nervous 
foreign firms totaling $10 million to $20 million. Panamanian 
depositors withdrew millions in cash from individual accounts in 
local banks. In June, fiscal authorities ordered several emergency 
shipments of dollar bills, worth $20 million, from commercial banks 
in the United States, a bank treasurer said. 

Bankers noted that since Panama has no local paper currency and, 
therefore, no central bank, a liquidity shortfall in a small bank 
can easily snowball.

The sense of unease in the banking community was exacerbated by 
Luis Alberto Arias' abrupt resignation with no explanation July 3 
from his post as director of Banco Nacional, the government bank. 
The move by Arias fueled speculation he had been pressed to 
overdraw funds for the government. 

Bankers monitoring the $3.8 billion foreign debt said the crisis 
has greatly complicated Panama's compliance this year with a World 
Bank austerity program in order to qualify for a $50 million 
bailout loan. Panama agreed in 1985 with the World Bank to reform 
its social security system, which was close to bankruptcy. In the 
past two years, Panama has met other World Bank and International 
Monetary Fund program requirements and has received loans totaling 
almost $200 million. Scheduled payments on the debt for 1987 total 
$420 million. There is widespread resistance to the social security 
reform, which would make many Panamanians work longer for smaller 
pensions.

July 10: At midnight President Eric Arturo Delvalle met with his 
cabinet, reiterating an earlier official decree banning public 
demonstrations by both anti- and pro-government forces. 
Instructions were issued to the Panamanian Defense Forces "to take 
measures" toward assuring that the decree would be observed. In an 
effort to reduce the possibility of violent confrontations, the 
government closed schools in the capital, nearby urban areas 
(Colon, La Chorrera and San Miguelito), and the western city of La 
Cabecera, Chiriqui province; closed government offices; and, 
secured an agreement by the National Banking Commission that banks 
would not open their doors before 11 a.m. 

--Riot police firing buckshot and tear gas prevented anti-government
protesters in Panama City from holding a planned nonviolent demonstration
that had been expected to draw tens of thousands. White-clad demonstrators,
most of them of middle-class background, waved white handkerchiefs as they
paraded down streets in the central financial district, but police drove them
back as they tried to march toward the rally site.   

While seven military helicopters buzzed overhead throughout the 
afternoon, the blasts of shotguns and grenade launchers resounded 
continuously for several hours. Clouds of smoke obscured the sky in 
various locations, result of demonstrators' attempts to construct 
street barricades by burning tires and trash. According to first 
reports, at least a dozen protesters and one policeman were injured 
and police made several dozens of arrests. In contrast to the 
disturbances in June, opposition mobs did not throw rocks, and the 
riot police--known as Dobermans--did not freely use clubs and 
rifles.   The Crusade called for marchers to converge from five 
outlying assembly points toward the financial district's Del Carmen 
Roman Catholic church. Fully armed regular combat troops stationed 
at two of the meeting points, El Dorado and Betania, searched and 
arrested anyone honking a car horn or waving a white handkerchief, 
the hallmark Crusade signals. 

Archbishop Marcos Gregorio McGrath, in remarks to the press before 
the march began, said he met for several hours on the evening of 
July 9 with Delvalle, the Cabinet, US Ambassador Arthur Davis and 
other Panamanian officials in a high-tension debate about the 
march. Government officials objected strongly, the Roman Catholic 
Church leader said, because their own rally had been cancelled. 

--An employee of the Nicaraguan Embassy told the Associated Press 
that in the early morning hours, unknown persons threw a home-made 
bomb into the patio of the embassy. No damages or injuries were 
reported.

--Parties pertaining to the opposition Democratic Alliance (ADO), 
led by the Christian Democrat Party of Ricardo Arias Calderon, and 
the Authentic Panamanian Party of former president Arnulfo Arias 
Madrid, called for the formation of a new government. --According to 
a report by daily newspaper LA CRITICA, at dawn police seized two 
pickup trucks loaded with grenades and other weapons. Quoting 
reliable sources, the newspaper said the police had also arrested 
five men of Cuban origin who had entered the country illegally. The 
five reportedly confessed to "links" with opposition legislator, 
Omayra (Mayin) Correa, and were hired as agents provocateur. Their 
objective was allegedly to foment a political crisis producing the 
ouster of the current government. State-owned RADIO NACIONAL 
confirmed that late on July 9, three light pickup trucks were 
"sighted, containing grenades and high-powered weapons." The radio 
station also reported the illegal entry of the five foreigners.

--About a dozen anti-government demonstrators broke into and looted 
the Bertucci store, owned by the wife of legislator Alfredo 
Oranges, who represents the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), 
the Panamanian Defense Forces' political front.

Oranges acknowledged that although Guillermo Cochez, an opposition 
Christian Democrat, was not at the store when the attack occurred, 
he charged Cochez with inciting opposition sympathizers to disobey 
the law. Oranges estimated damages at his wife's store at $100,000, 
including $35,000 in stolen jewels. Witness to the incident, 
retired schoolteacher Julia Amador, said she did not see 
demonstrators leaving the store carrying stolen goods. 

--A spokesman for Gen. Noriega said the military chieftain is 
seeking to postpone his retirement to complete 30 years of service 
instead of the regulation 25. Technically Noriega was due to retire 
in May. 

July 11: Reacting to the ransacking of his family's jewelry store 
during an anti-government protest, PRD legislator Alfred Oranges 
said he will file criminal charges against opposition leader 
Guillermo Cochez for instigating the attack. 

Panamanians on both sides of the dispute have apparently been 
shocked by incidents of property damage and violence during the 
past month. An instance here was the burning and looting of a 
luxury department store on July 2 belonging to an opposition 
newspaper publisher.

--The government released all 10 US citizens arrested in roundups 
the previous day by police. In addition, 133 Panamanians detained 
at the Modelo prison were released from a total of about 300 
arrested during Friday's turmoil. 

A US military spokesman said one US airman and three other US 
citizens with ties to the Southern Command and the Panama Canal 
Commission were among those detained. He said two of the men, 
apparently civilian US Army employes, were spotted by Panamanian 
police while tearing down a "Yankee Go Home!" poster.

July 12: 145 Panamanians remained in jail after being detained in 
the July 10 disturbances, and several opposition leaders were in 
hiding. Among the prisoners were 15 singled out as "rabiblancos" 
(white tails), a slang term for affluent Panamanians, according to 
a pro-government newspaper account.

--At least 75 Panamanians were treated in hospitals during the 
weekend for buckshot and beating injuries sustained on Friday, 
medical authorities said.

--Several leaders of the opposition National Civic Crusade were in 
hiding because Alfredo Oranges, a top PRD legislator, said he was 
filing criminal charges against them after his family's jewelry 
store was attacked during the frustrated demonstrations. Oranges 
blamed the crime on Guillermo Cochez, and three Crusade leaders, 
Aurelio Barria, Cesar Tribaldos and Eduardo Vallarino. Tribaldos 
and Vallarino learned July 11 that police had orders to arrest them 
and sought refuge away from their homes, relatives said. Cochez 
remained in public and accused the government of sponsoring the 
recent violence. 

July 13: On Monday evening, members of the government's Executive 
Council--consisting of cabinet ministers and staff, the Defense 
Forces commander-in-chief, and representatives of provincial 
governments--met with President Eric Arturo Delvalle to assess the 
current political situation. According to a statement released by 
the presidential press secretary, the council "voiced its 
confidence" that the government is exerting adequate control over 
the situation.

The communique mentioned that council members agreed to step up 
social programs, such as education, health and housing projects, 
particularly those oriented to the poor. Next, the Council 
reportedly examined the maintenance of selected measures to reduce 
political tensions, including the suspension of public 
demonstrations in effect since July 7.

July 14: The National Civic Crusade called on Panamanians to 
participate in another anti-government demonstration to take place 
after 4 p.m. local time, in defiance of the government ban on all 
public rallies. The Crusade's decision was announced by opposition 
daily newspaper LA PRENSA. 

--Participants in the Crusade, the Association of Physicians and 
Odontologists within the government's social security system, 
called a 24-hour strike for July 15. The strike was to protest the 
decision by the Panamanian Defense Forces to prevent the anti- 
government/Noriega demonstration last Friday. (Various reports, 
AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE, ASSOCIATED PRESS, PRENSA LATINA, WASHINGTON 
POST)

PANAMA: NOTES ON RECENT EVENTS IN ONGOING POLITICAL CRISIS  

July 12: The Panamanian Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Trade has been 
at the center of the anti-Noriega protests. To the present, most 
Panamanians who came to its meetings were white. In a television 
interview Noriega called the opposition "racist" and dismissed the 
protests as the work of about 5,000 members of the largely light-
skinned upper class.

July 13: The pro-government newspaper LA CRITICA, reproduced a 
document signed by over 400 businesspersons advocating the creation 
of a new "non-political" Chamber of Commerce, Trade and Industry, 
as the best defense of the free enterprise system. According to the 
document, the signatories' position is based on fears that the 
political activism demonstrated by current leaders of the Chamber 
will lead to significant business losses, and affect the good 
relations the Panamanian business sector has "always maintained 
with all governments."

Alongwith other business associations, the Chamber's current 
leadership played a leading role in the formation of the National 
Civic Crusade which has organized anti-government demonstrations 
since early June.

July 14: Judicial authorities told the relatives of dozens of 
Panamanians detained during anti-government protests July 10 that 
the detainees have been sentenced to as much as 18 months in 
prison. To the present, during five weeks of protests thousands who 
were arrested were released after a few hours. Prolonged detentions 
and stiff sentences appear to be new tactics adopted by the 
Panamanian Defense Forces to quell discontent over commander-in-
chief Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega. There also have been allegations 
by some former prisoners of beatings in jail. 

Ignacio Garcia, 37, a mill chief at a General Mills flour plant in 
Panama City, was picked up as he emerged from a bar wearing a white 
factory uniform, his sister Graciela said. White handkerchiefs are 
the emblem of the opposition National Civic Crusade. Anyone wearing 
white last Friday ran the risk of arrest. A judge told Graciela 
Garcia on the evening of July 13 that her brother was sentenced to 
a year in jail for sedition and vandalism. 

One of those released July 14 was student Jose Benjamin de Gracia, 
19, who was arrested July 10. He said he was taken to three Defense 
Forces garrisons Friday afternoon, where he said he was repeatedly 
kicked and punched and fondled in his genital area. One uniformed 
soldier who discovered de Gracia had twisted an ankle during his 
arrest kicked him in the ankle, he said. He said prison guards 
forced de Gracia to watch as they stripped another prisoner naked, 
put their boots on the man's neck and beat him with rubber hoses. 
Police found a white handkerchief in de Gracia's pocket and told 
him it constituted evidence against him, he said. 

Leida Ortaz, 31, six months pregnant, said her husband, factory 
worker Carlos Castillo, 31, went out Friday to buy medicine. Police 
fired on him and beat him with rubber truncheons, she said. When 
Ortaz came out to help her husband, she was beaten on the legs and 
back, she said. 

Ortaz said she took her husband to the emergency room of a public 
hospital and then went to the maternity ward for treatment for 
stomach pains. By the time she returned to the emergency room, 
police had taken her husband to prison, she said. He has not been 
sentenced, she said. 

--According to Chamber of Commerce vice president Raul Mendez, the 
chamber received 221 complaints from relatives of detainees between 
Sunday and noon July 14. Some of those may have been released in 
recent hours, he said. On July 13 the Chamber presented 85 writs of 
habeus corpus to the Supreme Court. 

--Defense Forces spokesman Maj. Edgardo Lopez said 136 prisoners 
were freed over the weekend. At least 39 more, mostly students, 
were freed at noon July 14 from the Modelo prison, where most are 
being held, some of the released prisoners said. 

--US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Inter-American Affairs 
William Walker arrived for two days of meetings with Panamanian 
leaders. 

July 15: Anti-government protesters said that their movement may 
have been temporarily set back by abusive treatment in jail of 
demonstrators. 

--The US State Department and both Houses of Congress have 
criticized Noriega's rule recently, but there appears to be concern 
in the Pentagon about the direction Panama could take if Noriega is 
forced to leave power. There are nearly 10,000 US troops based in 
the Canal Zone, and many sensitive intelligence operations are 
directed from American bases along the Panama Canal. 

"The American military people say that the most organized group in 
Panama is the defense forces," said a businessman who is in regular 
contact with senior US officers. "Their position is that Noriega is 
all they've got. They don't want to go through a period of change 
that could be painful, embarrassing and threatening."

--In response to a request by members of the Catholic Church 
hierarchy, the National Civic Crusade suspended an anti- government 
demonstration scheduled for July 16. Statements by opposition 
leaders, supported by politicians belonging to the Opposition 
Democratic Alliance (ADO) made it clear, however, that the decision 
was only a postponement. The Crusade urged Panamanians to continue 
civic disobedience actions initiated on June 10, i.e., banging pots 
and blowing car horns and midday and 6 pm, and to prepare 
themselves for a "major total strike."

The Crusade also called on Panamanians to delay tax payments, and 
to congregate on the streets after completing the workday. On July 
14, large numbers of people gathered on the streets after work 
hours waving white handkerchiefs in several areas of Panama City, 
including the financial district.

--Waving white handkerchiefs in groups on the street, pot banging 
and horn blowing as expressions of protest against the government 
have been undertaken largely by middle-class citizens. These 
actions have not been widespread in low-income neighborhoods and 
suburbs in the capital and other cities and towns. (Various 
reports, PRENSA LATINA, AP, WASHINGTON POST, NEW YORK TIMES)

PANAMA: SUMMARY OF RECENT EVENTS IN ONGOING POLITICAL CRISIS  

July 20: The anti-government National Civic Crusade--made up of 
business, professional, teacher, physician, student and civic 
groups--issued a communique demanding that the government dismiss 
all persons implicated in the 1984 electoral fraud by former 
Panamanian Defense Forces chief of staff, Col. Roberto Diaz 
Herrera. The Crusade also called on the business community and 
workers to participate in another 48-hour general strike to protest 
the government's refusal to prosecute military officers and others 
accused of electoral fraud and corruption.

July 21: Students of the University of Panama clashed with riot 
police in a demonstration protesting alleged human rights 
violations suffered by persons detained in recent street 
disturbances. Riot police deployed in locales surrounding the 
university campus in Pamana City threw tear gas canister and fired 
buckshot at the students.

According to witnesses, some 600 students sought refuge on campus 
grounds from where they threw rocks at the police. The university 
rector requested that the police withdraw from the area. Police 
spokespersons responded by saying they would not withdraw until the 
students left the campus and gave up the street demonstration. The 
students refused, and the confrontation continued for several 
hours.

Witnesses said five automobiles were damaged by rocks and several 
students sustained injuries from flying buckshot. The anti-
government National Civic Crusade--made up of business, 
professional, teacher, physician, student and civic groups--
condemned the police repression.

For its part, the National Council of Organized Workers (CONATO), 
the country's largest labor organization, said in a communique that 
the need for dialogue was urgent. The communique said, "The working 
class believes in a peaceful solution to the present crisis, since 
further violence would be suicide for our country, and the working 
people would ultimately pay the price." CONATO said it would not 
support the Crusade's recent call for another 48-hour business 
strike.

--The Coordinating Body of Popular Organizations (COPP) also 
refused to support the Crusade's call for a general strike. Hector 
Aleman, COPP leader and chairman of the Public Servants and 
Employees Federation (FENASEP), announced a plan of action with the 
aim of presenting the workers' demands to the authorities. Among 
possible actions are demonstrations in front of government 
buildings, the Chamber of Trade, Industry and Commerce, and the US 
Embassy. 

Aleman said COPP members are determined to present concrete demands 
to further their historical position which has deteriorated in 
recent years. The Crusade and opposition parties, he added, are 
more interested in gaining US support for changes in government 
than in the living and working conditions of the majority of 
Panamanians.

CONATO coordinator Alvaro Munoz said the major leaders of the 
Crusade are the same business owners who deny wage and working 
condition improvements to their employees, order mass layoffs, and 
reject any measure which favors the majority of Panamanians. Both 
Munoz and Aleman stated that they do not support solutions to the 
current political crisis which do not derive in part from 
consideration of workers' interests. They pointed out that to the 
present, President Eric Arturo Delvalle's government has not 
invited them to participate in its proposed national dialogue. --
About 200 attorneys met with Crusade leaders to elaborate criminal 
charges against the Panamanian authorities for human rights 
violations.

--According to an editorial broadcast in the evening by government 
station, RADIO NACIONAL, the opposition has had six weeks--"time 
enough"--to produce evidence supporting the charges presented 
against government officials. (AP, PRENSA LATINA, 07/20/87, 
07/21/87) 

PANAMANIAN POLITICAL CRISIS: SUMMARY OF RECENT DEVELOPMENTS  

July 23: Panamanian authorities have not yet publicly reacted to reports 
of a cutoff in US economic and military aid following the June 30 
attack on the US Embassy. When asked if such reports were accurate, 
presidential spokesman Jose Hernandez said he knew nothing about 
it.

Commander-in-chief of the Panamanian Defense Forces, Gen. Manuel 
Antonio Noriega, after a meeting with labor leaders, declined to 
respond to questions about the suspension of military aid.

The Panamanian Foreign Ministry has not responded to reports of the 
aid suspension, although the ministry recently indicated that the 
government will pay damages to the US embassy, estimated at over 
$100,000.

--Romulo Betancur, president of the Revolutionary Democratic Party 
(PRD), said in an interview with the press that "we are confronting 
a situation of destabilization that has been coming since we 
approved the 1977 Panama Canal treaties, signed by former President 
Jimmy Carter and the late Gen. Omar Torrijos." He claimed that the 
US has been involved in destabilizing Panama since 1981 when 
Torrijos died in an air accident, and that at present Washington is 
imposing increasing pressure because in 1990 the top administrative 
position on the Panama Canal Commission must go to a Panamanian. 
The US government, he said, intends to install a docile government 
in Panama to assure acceptance of its decisions in 1990 and beyond.

Betancur claimed that while the pressure exerted on Panama City is 
the strongest thus far since Torrijos' death, the pressure will 
escalate even further during the remainder of the 1980s. --Kathleen 
Barmon, of the US State Department's Office of Human Rights, met 
with leaders of the National Civic Crusade, and with citizens who 
have declared their human rights were violated while being detained 
at the Modelo prison in recent disturbances. --University students 
threw rocks at riot police in streets adjacent to the University of 
Panama campus while attempting to set up barricades in the streets. 
The police dispersed the students who sought refuge inside the 
campus.

--Hector Aleman, leader of the Coordinator of Panamanian Popular 
Organizations (COPP), told Cuban news agency PRENSA LATINA that the 
principal "external" causes of the present crisis derive from 
Washington's interest in ensuring its continued presence in Panama, 
including the continuity of strategic military installations after 
the year 2000, and US Central America policy. Panama, he said, is a 
member of the Contadora Group. Washington, according to Aleman, 
would like to see Contadora disbanded, or at least wholly 
discredited. Panama, he added, would appear to be the easiest 
target in the Reagan administration's campaign to discredit 
Contadora.

Regarding domestic causes of the crisis, Aleman cited the 
acceleration of a process to destroy "Torrijismo," or a nationalist 
political movement that emerged after Torrijos' death in 1981. The 
labor leader said political structures to sustain participation of 
the majority of people in national political and social life-- 
established by Torrijos and his followers and then continued after 
the general's death--have been undermined.

Aleman announced that the COPP plans to launch a series of public 
protests to demand participation in the process to define a 
solution to the political crisis.

Next, he said implementation of economic policies prescribed by the 
International Monetary Fund (IMF), he said, have sparked 
dissatisfaction because living standards for the majority of 
Panamanians are on the decline. Aleman pointed out that more than 
150,000 Panamanians are un- or underemployed, the nation faces a 
housing shortage, and prices for subsistence goods are continually 
rising.

According to statistics elaborated by COPP, the cost of living has 
doubled in the past five years. Prices for subsistence products, 
such as rice, beans, and beef, have increased by over 50% since 
January. The government has reported that inflation since the 
beginning of the year is virtually zero. The US has allies in 
Panama, said Aleman, largely among the "national oligarchy," who 
are interested in maintaining their positions of privilege. The US 
administration, he said, has committed itself to turn the Canal 
over to Panama on December 31, 1999. However, "Washington wishes to 
maintain its military bases here, and is seeking a mechanism--a 
docile government--that would permit a long-term presence in 
Panama. The reasons for this are US strategic, political and 
military interests in Central America." Aleman said the Panamanian 
Defense Forces have become the principal targets of US attacks, 
because of the military's nationalism and its support for peaceful 
dialogue as the means to resolve the Central American conflict. 
Aleman chairs the National Federation of Public Servants and 
Employes (FENASEP). (AP, PRENSA LATINA, 07/23/87)  

 =============================================
 from The NY Transfer BBS 718-448-2358
 Source: NY OnLine BBS 718-852-2662

