Arias Sees Democracy Prevailing in Panama

Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez, who won the 1987 Nobel Peace Prize for his successful sponsorship of a regional peace plan in Central America, predicted Wednesday that democracy will ultimately prevail in turbulent Panama.

“Sooner or later, the Panamanian government has to find a democratic path,” Arias said during a visit to San Diego. “Otherwise, the instability will continue for many years in the future.”

Arias, in town to receive an award from the Institute of the Americas, a policy research group based at UC San Diego, told a news conference that he believes the days of Gen. Manuel A. Noriega’s rule in Panama are numbered. But he expressed his opposition to any military action against that regime, which Washington has denounced as criminal--an allegation that has sparked countercharges of U.S. interference by Noriega and his allies.

“I would never be in favor of military pressure,” Arias said, clearly alluding to suggestions that the U.S. armed forces take a more active role in undermining Noriega’s rule.

His comments reflect a widespread fear in Latin America and elsewhere that direct U.S. military action in Panama could backfire, casting Noriega in the role of a victim of U.S. aggression.

The comments by Arias came a day after an attempted military coup in Panama City collapsed, leaving Noriega in power.

True democracy, Arias said, is the only antidote for the cycle of warfare and repression that grips much of Central America. He expressed considerable optimism about elections scheduled for February in Nicaragua--elections that he assisted in bringing about--but he acknowledged feeling “saddened” by the continuing violence in El Salvador.

Peace With Democracy

“There will never be peace if there is not democracy” in Central America, said the president of Costa Rica, which is often cited as a singular example of stability in a tumultuous region.

Arias, who addressed the United Nations in New York on Tuesday, stopped in San Diego to receive the second Award for Democracy and Peace given out by the institute, which is officially nonpartisan and is funded through grants and contributions. In 1987, Raul Alfonsin, then president of Argentina, won the first award, for his contribution to the restoration of democracy and respect for human rights there.