Noriega Foes Propose a Short-Term Coalition : Opposition Leaders Say They Would Serve in a Provisional Government if General Steps Down

Panamanian opposition leaders said Thursday that they would join in a short-term provisional government with members of the country’s current military regime, but only if strongman Gen. Manuel A. Noriega agreed to step down and acknowledge that his foes won Sunday’s presidential election.

“The Democratic Alliance for Civic Opposition is willing to negotiate with the military regime a provisional government,” said Ricardo Arias Calderon, a vice presidential candidate for the anti-Noriega coalition known as ADOC. He told a news conference, however, that any talks would have many conditions. As a beginning, Arias Calderon said, Wednesday’s decision by the government to nullify Sunday’s voting must be reversed.

Arias Calderon, who still bore the face wounds he suffered a day earlier when beaten by government forces, made his defiant declaration just before President Bush said in Washington that nearly 2,000 U.S. combat troops are being sent to Panama.

Although the opposition has said repeatedly that American military intervention is unwanted and would be counterproductive, the coalition’s leaders did not condemn Bush’s move. “It keeps the pressure on Noriega and keeps him from consolidating his position,” said one opposition analyst.

But Arias Calderon’s coalition intends to use the weight of public and international opinion as well as the threat of new street demonstrations to pressure the government.

“We have won,” he said of the election, “and we want the government to abide by the will of the people.” This echoes the statements of many governments which have condemned Noriega’s efforts to fix the voting results.

Late Wednesday, the government declared the election null and void on grounds that opposition fraud had made it impossible to determine a winner. However, the Roman Catholic Church, many diplomats and hundreds of international observers and journalists saw overwhelming evidence of a massive effort by Noriega to defraud the opposition coalition and its presidential candidate, Guillermo Endara, of victory.

If the government acknowledges the opposition victory and agrees to turn over power on Sept. 1 as legally required, the coalition “is willing to negotiate with the Panama Defense Forces (now headed by Noriega) as long as he (Noriega) leaves,” Arias Calderon said.

But opposition sources, along with American and European diplomats, saw little chance that Noriega would be willing to quit, although he might buy time by making overtures to the opposition.

“Buying time is a game that Noriega is an expert at playing,” one European diplomat said, noting that the military leader successfully frustrated American efforts to remove him last year by proposing and then abandoning negotiations.

“There is no sign that Noriega (and his military supporters) have any will to step down,” he said. “The only arrangement Noriega wants (out of talks with the opposition) is to stay in power.”

When asked about speculation that Noriega might suspend the constitution and declare martial law, thus taking official control of the government, some diplomats said that such an action could be even worse than declaring his handpicked candidate, Carlos Duque, the winner of the elections or calling for a new vote that might also be rigged.

“That would give the military a clear and easy control,” the European diplomat said.

Even though they knew the election was going to be nullified, Duque and his followers are still trying to convince diplomats, particularly from Latin America, that they won or that the opposition was guilty of fraud.

Arias Calderon was the only opposition leader to appear in public Thursday. Endara and Guillermo (Billy) Ford, the coalition’s other vice presidential candidate, were in hospitals recovering from the beatings they received Wednesday, reportedly from government military and security forces.

Ford, who was arrested by police after he was beaten almost senseless during an opposition street march, was dumped at his home by police at 5:30 a.m. Thursday. He was then hospitalized for treatment of extensive cuts and possible internal injuries.

Endara, who had left a hospital for a few hours after the Wednesday attack, returned for observation after he lost some motor control. A doctor said the presidential candidate will be kept for treatment until the weekend.

Bush said the additional troops sent to Panama are to ensure the safety of American military and government personnel and their families, but there were no indications of imminent danger here.

In fact, Col. Ron Sconyers, spokesman for the U.S. Southern Command based in Panama, said after the presidential announcement that “there is no present threat to the U.S. community.”

However, the military and other American government dependents living in Panama were being moved onto U.S. bases.

“This is not an evacuation--simply a measure to keep family members as safe as possible,” Sconyers said.

Between 40,000 and 50,000 Americans live in Panama, including the U.S. military forces and their families. And although the Southern Command said any American citizen is welcome to seek refuge, few if any citizens asked for protection.

Several diplomats discounted the importance of the added American troop presence.

“No one believes the United States will invade, or is even capable of invading at this stage,” said one diplomat. “It would destroy American credibility in Latin America, wreck the opposition’s claim that it is not a Washington tool and could endanger the canal.”

Furthermore, he said, “Noriega survived a similar move last year, and he knows that the Defense Department and even the Southern Command itself opposes any military action.”

Panama City appeared calmer Thursday than on any day since Sunday’s election. There were few troops on the streets, although large numbers of civilian-dressed paramilitary forces could be seen roving the city.

The situation was different in the countryside, according to various sources. Paramilitary units called Battalions of Dignity reportedly attacked offices of the opposition coalition in the port city of Colon and intimidated other opposition supporters in other towns and cities.

One European diplomat said there is “a wave of government persecution” going on outside the capital.

Noriega’s civilian officials decried the attack on Endara and his running mates, but they said the violence was provoked by the opposition and that the beatings came from civilians beyond government control who were outraged by charges that the opposition had tried to steal the election.

However, diplomats said examination of photographs taken at the time of the attack showed clearly that not only were government security agents involved, but that at least one of those who beat Ford was an army sergeant who was out of uniform.

Western diplomats, who admittedly want to see Noriega deposed, said many of the plainclothes attackers were members of Noriega’s army and that the so-called Battalions of Dignity are under the direct control of the military.

Nevertheless, reports circulated all day that Noriega was facing dissatisfaction in the military. One European diplomat noted that soldiers voted against the general’s candidate, and he said there was evidence that even members of the government’s tough riot squads, known as Dobermans, tried to restrain the attack on Endara.

U.S.-PANAMA TIES: DAYS OF STRIFE June, 1987: Col. Roberto Diaz Herrera, the retiring second-in-command of the Panama Defense Forces, accuses Gen. Manuel A. Noriega of drug-related activities, of rigging the 1984 election in favor of government candidates and of murdering Dr. Hugo Spadafora, a former vice minister of health who had accused Noriega of drug trafficking. June 9, 1987: A protest movement headed by the National Civic Crusade, a grouping of professionals and students, demands a probe into Herrera’s allegations. Feb. 4, 1988: Two federal grand juries in Florida indict Noriega on drug charges. Feb. 25, 1988: President Eric A. Delvalle, who was put in place by Noriega, announces he has fired his patron. Eight hours later, the National Assembly meets, ousts Delvalle and names Manuel Solis Palma as minister in charge of the presidency, a title he retains. The United States refuses to recognize Solis Palma. April 9, 1988: The United States announces economic sanctions that prohibit American companies and the government from making payments to the Panamanian government. About $56 million in Panamanian funds in American banks are frozen. The United States tries to negotiate the departure of Noriega without success. April 9, 1989: Economic sanctions are renewed for one year on the basis that Washington considers Panama a threat to American security. April and May: The United States accuses Panama of planning to win May 7 presidential elections by fraud. May 7-9: The elections are held, but Noriega’s victory claim is countered by the opposition as well as international observers who say the ballots were rigged. The protests are echoed in Congress and at the White House, which says independent exit polling showed Noriega’s slate losing by a 3-to-1 margin. May 10: As defense forces look on, thugs loyal to Noriega beat opposition candidate Guillermo Endara and his two running mates, and one of their bodyguards is killed. The Noriega-controlled electoral tribunal declares the elections null and void “in their totality.” May 11: President Bush orders almost 2,000 additional U.S. troops to Panama, to join 10,000 already there, and decides to evacuate more of the American dependents. Source: Associated Press