Panama Declares State of Emergency, Assails U.S.

The government charged Friday that the United States is waging a “non-declared war” against Panama and decreed a state of emergency amid growing signs that Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega is seeking to leave the country.

The decree was issued after a Panamanian newspaper and U.S. military officials disclosed that four U.S. soldiers were arrested and detained for nine hours by Panamanian police on Thursday.

Meanwhile, several diplomatic sources said there were indications that Noriega, Panama’s de facto leader and chief of the nation’s armed forces, has begun negotiations that could pave the way for his departure from the country.

A presidential decree read over state radio said, “The government would adopt any necessary measures to preserve public order” under a provision in the constitution allowing the government to suspend civil liberties.

But the decree did not specify how the population would be immediately affected.

The decree said unspecified measures would be adopted under a “state of urgency,” which is provided for under Article 51 of the constitution and is synonymous with a state of emergency. The article states the executive branch must inform the legislature of its reasons for imposing a state of urgency within 10 days.

The decree further said, “There exists a real situation of a non-declared war” because for several weeks “the United States has been attacking Panama” with the goal of abrogating the 1979 Panama Canal Treaty.

Those attacks, it said, included the freezing of Panamanian assets in the United States.

Diplomatic sources said Noriega has put out feelers in the last few days seeking guarantees from the United States that drug-trafficking charges filed against him in two Florida courts would be dropped if he agreed to leave Panama.

U.S. officials have denied that they are considering dropping the charges against Noriega, who elicited increased U.S. pressure for his removal by ousting President Eric Arturo Delvalle Feb. 25. Delvalle is thought to be in hiding in Panama.

Diplomatic sources said Noriega’s negotiations about leaving Panama are “well-advanced.”

In Washington, Assistant Secretary of State Elliott Abrams said in an interview with the Cable News Network that the United States “never seriously contemplated quashing the indictments” against Noriega.

“I think we should publicly and privately say, ‘That’s not in the cards,’ ” he said.

President Reagan would have to decide whether the United States would try to extradite Noriega if he fled to Spain, which Abrams said has agreed to grant Noriega asylum.

“So the question that the President has to decide is . . . would the President agree to that--would we agree that we would not extradite him if the Spanish agree to take (him) and he agrees to leave now?” he said. “And on that I really have no comment, except to say it’s a presidential decision.”

In Honduras, Gen. Fred Woerner, the head of the U.S. Southern Command, expressed skepticism about whether U.S. efforts to oust Noriega would bring quick results, according to a Pentagon media pool report from Palmerola Air Base.

Failed Coup Attempt

“Putting a time line on General Noriega is probably one of the greatest hazards of our profession,” he said while observing U.S. troops in Honduras.

But, Woerner said, the failed coup attempt against Noriega last week showed that the “solidarity of the Panamanian Defense Forces has been ruptured.”

The Southern Command said three U.S. Army military policemen and a member of the Oklahoma National Guard in Panama City were arrested by police Thursday while the soldiers were checking on the security of U.S. military dependents living in the capital.

The Southern Command said the four soldiers were held from about 2.30 p.m. until 11.30 p.m. at a Panamanian Defense Forces facility before being released to U.S. officials.

The Southern Command did not identify the four soldiers, but the pro-government newspaper Critica published photographs of the four and said they were “acting suspiciously in an area near the University of Panama where anti-government demonstrations have been held in recent weeks.”

Critica identified the soldiers without giving their ranks or hometowns as Danny Feltro, William Jerry, Tammy Markley and Richard Virts.

One diplomat with ties to Noriega said the general “realizes he has to go and he is just looking for guarantees that he would be able to find a safe place to go and enjoy his fortune.”

Diplomatic sources said there would be few countries willing to accept Noriega while the drug charges are pending against him.

“No country is going to want to get involved in an extradition battle with the United States over Noriega,” a diplomat said.

Noriega’s associates would not comment on reports that he is seeking to leave the country, but state television reported Thursday night that “the government may soon take steps that would make possible an agreement with opposition forces.”

Opposition businessmen said they were planning a general strike that would shut down commerce and industry to step up the economic pressure on Noriega.

A businessman said the new strike, following the successful four-day stoppage that began Feb. 28, could come as early as this week.

Panama’s economy already is reeling under a cash shortage resulting from a U.S. court order freezing Panamanian assets deposited in American banks.

Banks have been closed since March 3 and the economy has been operating on a cash-only basis. With stores and businesses not accepting checks or credit cards, commerce virtually has ground to a halt.