Declaring Victory Over Foes, Noriega Regime Rejects Church’s Call for Him to Quit

The government of Panama, declaring victory over strikes organized by its opponents, Thursday rejected a call by Roman Catholic bishops for military ruler Manuel A. Noriega to step down.

In addition, a high-ranking government official said in an interview that the church has disqualified itself from performing any mediation role in Panama’s political conflict by demanding Noriega’s resignation.

Panama City quieted noticeably Thursday, and the country limped into the Easter holidays, which are traditionally quiet here. Only the blockage of traffic on two streets by retired government workers and the continued presence of soldiers at key intersections throughout the city reminded passers-by that Panama had just undergone some of the most tumultuous weeks in its history.

Many Stores Still Closed

Many stores were still closed, although it was difficult to tell whether their doors were shut by the waning commercial strike or by a vacation exodus to the countryside.

The Catholic bishops, led by Archbishop Marcos G. McGrath, had met with Noriega last week and urged him to resign. On Monday, the bishops offered to mediate peace talks between the government and its foes in a bid to end nine months of turmoil here.

But Manuel Solis Palma, the nominal civilian president of Panama, responded, “We hope that the true sense of our nationalistic battle be understood by the Catholic Church and that its local dignitaries . . . not try to impose decisions that imply a challenge and de-recognition of the authorities.”

Solis, who called the bishops’ action “strange,” made his response by letter to the Vatican ambassador to Panama. In responding to the Vatican envoy rather than to McGrath, Solis appeared to be trying to characterize the bishops’ activity as foreign. Most of the clergy in Panama come from abroad.

Church ‘Already Taken Sides’

In any event, Commerce Minister Mario Rognoni told The Times that the church could not mediate talks because “it had already taken sides.” He said the rejection of church involvement opens the way for the government to hold its own peace talks, with the participation of groups that support Noriega. These talks, billed as a “national dialogue” by the government, are scheduled to open Monday, Rognoni said.

Opponents of Noriega have refused to participate in any such talks and say they only serve to buy time and shield the general from mounting criticism.

To Rognoni, the absence of the opposition means only that the government is free to pursue its own plans to end the political conflict.

‘Get Solutions Under Way’

“If not everyone shows up, it doesn’t matter. The strategy is to get political solutions under way,” he said.

Rognoni reacted triumphantly to the opening of many stores earlier this week. “For all practical purposes, the strikes are over. We are very optimistic,” he declared.

A general commercial strike that lasted 10 days was called by the Civic Crusade, an anti-Noriega alliance of business, professional and trade groups.

Retired government workers complained Thursday that the government had given them retirement checks they were unable to cash.

On Monday, the government had paid cash to retirees whose biweekly pensions amounted to $150 or less. Those owed more than that were supposed to be able to cash their checks at various sites in the city but on Thursday found no one dispensing money to them.

“We have been fooled,” said Xiomara Pinilla, a former schoolteacher who was trying to cash a $160 check.

50 Retirees Protest

About 50 retirees gathered on Central Avenue, a main shopping district, and on Via Porras, another main thoroughfare, to block traffic in protests. Each demonstration disintegrated on its own as tropical heat took its toll on the aging demonstrators.

“The police do not have to drive us away. They know we get tired,” said Edurado Dominguez, 62, a retired national bank employee.

In Washington, meanwhile, a Pentagon spokeswoman confirmed reports that U.S. military dependents in Panama City were called in for meetings Thursday morning. But she denied that the meetings were aimed at training or planning for the evacuation of the dependents.

“These were small, informal meetings with family members at which safety precautions were discussed,” said Capt. Nancy LaLuntas. “These sessions are typical before a three-day weekend.”

Earlier this week, the Pentagon announced that there would be a naval exercise, called “Ocean Venture,” in the Caribbean beginning today.

Triggered by ‘Real World’

According to Pentagon spokesman Dan Howard, American troops are scheduled to conduct a mock evacuation of dependents from Puerto Rico to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Howard said that vacationing service members and their families will play the role of dependents. He added that the evacuation exercise is “simply prudent in light of the fact that situations like this do happen in the real world.”

The pensioners’ protest here in Panama City was the last pre-Easter echo of a month of strikes, demonstrations and police repression.

Opposition to Noriega had intensified after the ouster of nominal civilian President Eric A. Delvalle, who was dismissed by the pro-Noriega National Assembly when he tried to fire Noriega as commander of the 15,000-member Panama Defense Forces.

After Delvalle’s ouster, Noriega’s foes succeeded in blocking transfer to Panama of government funds held in U.S. banks, creating an instant cash shortage because the American dollar is this nation’s legal currency.

Surviving Cash Crunch

The government has been able to survive the cash crunch by paying some salaries and pensions in cash while paying others in checks that, it hopes, merchants will eventually accept for retail purchases.

The government is also trying to round up aid from abroad, notably from Latin America, Rognoni said.