Nations of the Hemisphere Find Commitment to Democracy Tested

As the tragic events in Panama move the United States toward a historic confrontation, the moment has arrived for the nations of the Americas to act through the Organization of American States.

There is no ambiguity about the current issues. Gen. Manuel A. Noriega tried to use the instruments of democracy to mock democracy. He failed. His failure has been witnessed by the entire world. Exit polls conducted under the auspices of the Roman Catholic church have affirmed the will of the Panamanian people in favor of the opposition candidate, Guillermo Endara. Two former U.S. Presidents, Republican Gerald R. Ford and Democrat Jimmy Carter, have confirmed the observations of all election observers that a clumsy election fraud was perpetrated. The outrageous brutality of last week, attacking the opposition leaders and other people with steel rods and iron pipes, demonstrates that the Panamanian military, led by Gen. Noriega, is at war with its own people. The aggression is as real as the more traditional aggressions by other states, only in this case it is by another, more insidious foe, an international drug Mafia.

The nations of the Americas know that the United States has vital national interests in Panama. They are real and deeply felt. But it is no longer only the Panama Canal. Two other issues give the tragedy its full meaning: drugs and democracy. Given the circumstances, President Bush has done well with his measured response in order to give the nations of the hemisphere time to accept regional responsibility.

Democracies in Latin America are especially vulnerable to armies with guns. Unless they show resolve, no democracy is safe. In this case, we are in direct confrontation with one of the major drug criminals in the world who holds an entire nation hostage. Past Latin American hesitancy to countenance intervention in internal matters meets a severe test in the unique circumstances in Panama. A coherent hemispheric policy in favor of democracy in which all of the nations participate is the best protection that Latin America could have against unilateral action.

This is the role for the Organization of American States. Unless it stands for hemispheric cooperation in defense of freedom and democracy, it stands for nothing. The words of its charter couldn’t be clearer. “The true significance of American solidarity . . . can only mean the consolidation on this continent . . . of democratic institutions, of a system of individual liberty and social justice based on respect for the essential rights of man . . . The solidarity of the American States and the high aims which are sought through it require the political organization of those States on the basis of representative democracy.”

The Rio Treaty is equally unequivocal. It states that “the American regional community affirms . . . that peace is founded on . . . the international recognition and protection of human rights and freedoms . . . and on the effectiveness of democracy for the international realization of justice and security.” It adds that “the obligation of mutual assistance . . . is essentially related to their democratic ideals.”

Contrary to popular mythology, the nations of the hemisphere have repeatedly taken firm action for democracy when faced with blatant abuse of power. Ten years ago, through the OAS, they took the courageous step to condemn the dictatorship of Nicaragua’s Anastasio Somoza by clearly asking him to step down. They did the same in the case of the military coup in Bolivia a year later. Throughout the 1970s, the OAS was the major force to focus attention on human rights abuses in the hemisphere.

Today, as President Carlos Andres Perez of Venezuela has recognized in his call for hemispheric action, the OAS has been given another chance. All the rules and the precedents are in place. It is the nations of the hemisphere that bear a heavy responsibility. The OAS is but an euphemism. It is the American governments themselves, nothing more, nothing less. The challenge is whether they are prepared to deal with serious issues on a multilateral basis. Will they move to affirm their commitment to democracy in substance as well as in rhetoric? From the Latin American point of view, the United States could not have adopted a better stance to give them time to do what they have always claimed they were ready to do.

A wide range of measures--diplomatic, economic and political--are available to help force Noriega from power. It would be difficult for anyone to criticize action to fulfill the will of the Panamanian people and place in power the president they have honestly elected. In recent years, the people of all the nations of the Americas have repeatedly staked their lives to affirm their commitment to democracy. The OAS will not get a better second chance.