Panama elections, the canal,the US Via NY Transfer News Collective * All the News that Doesn't Fit source - jclancy@peg.apc.org Thu, 10 Jun 99 (Original sender name misplaced--JC) Panama elections, the canal, the US The central challenge faced by Mireya Moscoso the first woman president of Panama, will be to restore the nation's sovereignty over the Canal Zone, for which she must ensure the fulfilment of the 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties stipulating that on December 31, 1999, Washington hands over the inter-oceanic waterways, various military bases and extensive neighbouring areas valued at some 40 billion dollars. Moscoso, who won the May 2 elections and who will be inaugurated as president on September 1, has stated that she will make every effort to promote a positive image of the country, with that aim of dispelling doubts as to Panamanians ability to efficiently manage the Canal, through which approximately 14,000 ships pass per year. However, the United States could be the main enemy in terms of the local fulfilment of the Panamanians dream. Various U.S. legislators have been pressuring for their country to prolong is military presence in the isthmus beyond December 31, using the pretext of the flight against drugs. Two days after Moscoso's electoral triumph, at the instance of a House of Representatives subcommittee, Ana Maria Salazar, assistant undersecretary of Defence for narcotics at the Department of State, declared that aerial surveillance operations to detect drug trafficking in Latin America had been halved, due to the closure of the Howard Base in Panama, which occurred a few weeks ago as part of the U.S. withdrawal from the isthmus. Last month, in a letter published by the PANAMA-AMERICA daily and quoted by the IPS new agency, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott and House Speaker J. Dennis Haster urged President Clinton to take full advantage of the election situation to reach an agreement permitting the United States to remain fully committed to the war against drug trafficking from its front-line bases in Panama. Last year, an attempt to establish a multinational anti-drug centre on the bank of the Canal filed, given that Panama only agreed to accept the US military presence for three years, as opposed to the 12-year period demanded by the Pentagon. Washington announced afterwards that it was seeking alternative locations in other Central American countries. Kenneth Buddy Mackay, Clinton's special envoy arrived in the Panamanian capital four days after the elections, declaring that his visit was essentially to orient himself, so that he would have a firsthand appreciation of the highly particular challenges entailed by the end of the Canal's occupation. Prior to Mackay's visit, Peter Romero, undersecretary of state for hemispheric affairs, admitted that Washington is preparing a report on the situation along the Colombian-Panamanian border and its implication for Canal security, with the aim of supporting Panama with equipment and police training. Experts quoted by Prensa Latina believe that implicit in that report is an intention to dispute the Panamanians' capacity to guard their borders and protect the inter- oceanic waterway. The remaining months until the ends of the year are passing faster than ships through the isthmus. But in reference to Uncle Sam, seeing is believing. ================================================================= NY Transfer News Collective * A Service of Blythe Systems Since 1985 - Information for the Rest of Us 339 Lafayette St., New York, NY 10012 http://www.blythe.org e-mail: nyt@blythe.org ================================================================= nytcamer-06.14.99-23:34:09-17877