Ex-Panama President’s Funeral Becomes Forum for Noriega Foes
Tens of thousands of people turned the funeral for three-time President Arnulfo Arias Madrid into a huge but peaceful anti-government demonstration Monday.
It was one of the largest demonstrations in 14 months of protests against the rule of Gen. Manuel A. Noriega.
Arias, elected three times and overthrown each time by the military, died Wednesday in Miami. He would have been 87 Monday. He spent more time in jail and in exile than in office, but he was credited with founding Panama’s social security system and introducing women’s suffrage here.
A vast crowd gathered in the plaza in front of the Metropolitan Cathedral for the funeral that was conducted from the church steps. As the service ended and the coffin was placed aboard a fire truck, a roar went up from the crowd, with shouts of “Justice!”
Thousands followed the cortege on the three-mile journey to a cemetery. With each block, the procession became longer until people filled the four-lane avenue for nearly a mile.
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