Statement of Anglican Primates on Panama
Episcopal News Service. March 20, 1989 [89069]
Most Rev. Edmond L. Browning, Presiding Bishop and Primate, Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Most Rev. Orland U. Lindsay, Archbishop and Primate, Church of the Province of the West-Indies, Most Rev. Michael Peers, Archbishop and Primate, Anglican Church of Canada, Most Rev. Desmond M. Tutu, Archbishop of Capetown and Metropolitan of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa
We are delegation of Anglican Primates who are making a pastoral visit in the Diocese of Panama at the invitation of the Episcopal Bishop, James H. Ottley. Bishop Ottley invited us to the Diocese at the conclusion of our pastoral visit in the Diocese of Nicaragua.
We have come to rejoice in the courage and liveliness of the people in the face of great difficulties and to be a witness to do all that we can to assist in the struggle of all people for justice, with a hope that their differences can be reconciled.
During our brief stay in Panama, we were able to meet with a range of the Episcopal Diocese of Panama; General Manuel Noriega; officials of the Canal Commission; representatives of the ecumenical community, both Protestant and Roman Catholic; the Apostolic Nuncio and Msgr. Marcos McGrath, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Panama; representatives of Accion Civilista and a human rights group.
In our meeting with General Noriega, we raised the issues of press freedom, political detainees, the May elections (particularly the question of independent observers), and the difficulties canal workers have had in obtaining "paz y salvo."
From our two-day visit, we would like to address these specific concerns: human rights, the May 7 election, sanctions and canal-related issues and the Role of the Church.
We have been informed by various groups and organizations of the disastrous effects of the U.S. sanctions against Panama. These sanctions have led to the destruction of the country's economy, caused immense suffering on the poorest of the poor, increased-unemployment, and aggravated social problems. It is also apparent to us that the government of Panama uses the effect of these sanctions to rally nationalist support against the United States. This paralyses many people who, like the majority of Panamanians, are opposed to sanctions, but who are restricted from speaking out on this issue for fear of being labeled in favor of General Noriega. We can therefore say that these sanctions inflict a double oppression on the citizens of Panama.
We believe that these sanctions, opposed by the general population, and inflicted by the United States in an attempt to force the ouster of General Noriega, must cease. The U.S. policy has failed, and their continued imposition helps the government to direct attention from the real, serious internal economic and political crisis. We call upon the U.S. government, therefore, to immediately end the sanctions placed on Panama, so that the unjust suffering can be alleviated and so that the overwhelming domestic problems can be brought to light and addressed by the people of Panama, as a sovereign independent nation, without external oppression and interference.
During our visit, we heard allegations of serious human rights abuses perpetrated by the government. We were told that political prisoners were being held in jail without trial, specifically that soldiers accused of trying to overthrow General Noriega had been jailed for more than a year. We also heard of activists being forced to leave the country and go into exile.
We call for the release of prisoners held without trial and for an end to persecution of opposition party members.
We have also heard that newspapers, radio stations, and a television station had been closed and that those still operating were subject to censorship. General Noriega's explanation of the closure was that psychological war was being conducted against the government. Despite this explanation, we believe the media should be allowed to operate freely.
We commend the holding of the general elections set for May 7, 1989. They are a sign of hope for the society, and the fact that all Panamanians have been promised the right to vote is one of the reasons we can oppose the implementation of sanctions on Panama while supporting them against apartheid in South Africa.
However, their legitimacy will be open to question both in Panama and in the international community if they are conducted with the media restricted and in the absence of credible international observers. We therefore urge the government of Panama to lift all restrictions on the media with immediate effect. We further request the Electoral Court to allow observers from different international organizations to guarantee just elections. Arising from discussions at our meeting with General Noriega, we as Primates of the Anglican Communion intend asking the world church community to appoint a delegation of election observers to travel to Panama and observe the elections on our behalf.
We finally issue an appeal for the results of just elections to be respected as the will of the people of Panama.
One cannot visit Panama without reflecting on the canal and its history as it has been a source of great opportunity and great dismay. As a matter of fact, the Anglican-Episcopal Church came to Panama to minister to many of the workers who had come from the Caribbean Islands at the time of its construction.
The current joint management of the Panama Canal while presenting greater opportunity for many Panamians also produces certain dichotomies for the work force. Panamanian employees of the commission do not enjoy all the benefits that employees of United States citizenship enjoy. We urge the Congress of the United States to review employee benefit packages for all Canal Commission employees in order that citizens of the United States and citizens of Panama working for the Commission may obtain the same employee benefits. We urge General Noriega to follow through on his promise to review the policy of denying a "pas y salvo" to Panamanian employees of the Canal Commission by lifting the restrictions on obtaining that document in order that Panamanians working in the Canal Zone enjoy equal privilege with all other Panamanian citizens.
We have visited with the churches and heard their concerns and hope and agreed that, if the Church is to help bring about reconciliation and peace between brothers and sisters in Panama, between opposition and government differences, it is necessary to work without taking partisan positions in the political arena. Trust needs to be planted, so that reconciliation can be attained.
Therefore, as Primates of the Anglican Communion visiting Panama March 19-21, 1989, we commend and encourage the work being done by the Christian Churches together in their effort to attain this reconciliation and peace among the Panamanian family, and we will urge our churches to be fully supportive of the Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Panama in its mission and ministry.