Panama Troops Use Force on Protesters : Tear Gas, Shotgun Pellets Prevent Anti-Noriega Demonstration

Government troops used tear gas and birdshot Friday to keep demonstrators demanding the ouster of Panama’s strongman, Gen. Manuel A. Noriega, from gathering in peaceful protest.

The troops, armed with M-16 rifles and compressed-air shotguns, numbered in the thousands. They formed phalanxes behind metal shields to keep marchers from converging on the Del Carmen Catholic Church, where they had planned a major anti-government rally.

Soldiers launched tear-gas canisters at groups of protesters, beating a few whom they caught during sweeps on streets and neighborhoods. Fleeing demonstrators took refuge in buildings and homes. And when the police withdrew, the protesters emerged to wave white handkerchiefs and flags, bang on kitchen pots and yell, “Down with Noriega!”

The protesters also set trash bonfires in the streets and occasionally pelted soldiers with rocks.

Financial District Affected

Most of the turmoil took place in Panama City’s financial district and adjacent neighborhoods, waterfront residential areas near the U.S. Embassy buildings and near the campus of the University of Panama.

By late afternoon, troops seemed to have succeeded in keeping the marchers from gathering in force at any single location. No demonstrator reached the twin-spired Del Carmen Church near the heart of one of the Western Hemisphere’s most important offshore banking centers.

Several people were reported injured in the clashes, but their exact number could not be determined.

Friday’s were the latest in more than a month of disturbances that have posed the stiffest challenge in 19 years to military domination of politics in Panama. The protesters acted in defiance of President Eric A. Delvalle’s flat ban on demonstrations announced Tuesday and repeated Thursday.

Delvalle, an elected civilian official, governs in the shadow of Noriega, commander of Panama’s Defense Forces, the source of effective power in this small but strategic Latin American nation for nearly two decades. Called the National Guard until 1983, the Defense Forces’ 20,000 members make up the nation’s only military and police organization.

Charges Sparked Protests

The protests began after a newly retired military officer, who had been Noriega’s second in command, accused his former boss of complicity in crimes ranging from political assassination to election fraud. Others, including some U.S. officials have, among other things, accused Noriega of having ties to drug trafficking.

Business, professional and trade groups, with student and middle-class support, have banded together in a self-styled National Civic Crusade and are trying to get Noriega removed from the top military post and place government in the hands of elected, civilian authorities.

In holding the marchers at bay Friday, the Defense Forces used tactics that further tarnished Panama’s image of civility. This capital was also brought to a standstill as banks, schools and government offices were ordered closed by Delvalle, and stores and other businesses followed suit.

As night fell, bonfires continued to burn on many streets, while soldiers and demonstrators kept up their dangerous game of tag.

2 Urged Caution

In meetings with Civil Crusade leaders Thursday night, U.S. Ambassador Arthur Davis and Panama’s Roman Catholic primate, Archbishop Marcos G. McGrath, reportedly urged caution.

Davis, according to a source who took part in the meeting, warned of the consequences of violence on Panama’s image as an international financial center and site of the strategic Panama Canal. He told the protest leaders they were taking on a “grave responsibility,” the source said.

McGrath also cautioned the marchers but did not suggest they call off their demonstration, church sources said.

The protest marchers were undeterred.

“Any deaths or wounded are the exclusive responsibility of the National Guard,” said Fernando Boyd, a physician and member of the Civic Crusade at the height of Friday’s skirmishes.

Protest leaders said that by deploying troops to cope with the demonstrations, the government was demonstrating weakness.

‘The Regime Is Defeated’

“What is clear is that the regime is defeated,” Gilberto Mallol, another Civic Crusade leader, said.

On the streets, the rank and file of the marchers were equally defiant.

“The pain from tear gas lasts just a minute,” law student Roy Phillips said as he led 50 students from Santa Maria Antigua University into town. “But we have had a thorn in our side for 19 years.”

An 80-year-old retired Panama Canal worker, who declined to give her name, said, “I am just mad. They won’t let us even go to church.” The woman was dressed in white, as were many of the marchers. White flags, handkerchiefs and attire have become a kind of unofficial symbol of the protest.

Late in the day, Noriega was interviewed on a local television news program. Asked if he would step down, he replied: “The question reveals an incorrect attitude. Only 5,000 people in Panama want me to resign. If a plebiscite were held, that would be very clear.”

Otherwise, there was no comment from government officials on Friday’s events.