Panama Police Rout Protest by 600 Teachers

Riot police used tear gas today to disperse about 600 teachers demanding their salaries and shouting “Noriega must go!”

Strikes and disturbances broke out when some workers demanded cash instead of the bags of food the government today began distributing to public employees until it has the money for salaries.

For the first time, the disturbances reached into the central business district.

Police, armed with rubber truncheons and tear gas grenades, forcibly removed the teachers, who were blocking traffic in front of the Ministry of Education. The teachers also shouted, ‘We want our pay!” “Books yes, arms no!” and “Justice!”

Emergency Meeting

The nation’s military strongman, Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega, its new civilian chief executive, Manuel Solis Palma, and other top government officials ended an emergency meeting at 2 a.m. today. There was no immediate comment on what action, if any, they took to overcome U.S. economic sanctions aimed at bringing down the military regime.

The government has said it does not have enough money to meet this week’s public payroll of $33 million for its 130,000 public employees.

Horacio Rodriguez, director of the Ministry of Farm and Dairy Products Marketing, said his agency had prepared 12,000 of the bags of food for distribution this week.

They contained basic staples of the Panamanian diet such as rice, beans, flour, potatoes, fresh vegetables and beef.

‘Dignity Bags’ Offered

The “dignity bags” were being sold by the government for between $15 and $16 each. It was believed that officials were not demanding cash, and it was not clear how the workers were paying for the supplies.

The crisis arose after Noriega was indicted by grand juries in Florida on drug smuggling and racketeering charges.

Meanwhile, 785 dockers at the Panama Canal port of Balboa stopped work today after port authorities failed to make their biweekly wage payments.

Ernesto Meza, union representative of the Balboa port, said 1,500 workers at the port of Colon, on the Caribbean end of the canal, had also begun a strike after failing to be paid.