European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 22, 1989, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 the stars and stripes William f. Buckley or. Administration outspoken against Noriega you cant get much More pro Vocative than George Bush & co. Have got in their War of words against Gen. Manuel Noriega. Brent scowcroft said of the regime in Panama that it is being run by a gangster. And or. Bush invited the people of Panama using their own de vices to replace the regime. After All indications arc that in the election of May 7, an election officially vaporized by Gen. Noriega the people voted 3-to-l to oust Noriega. The result As we All know was that Noriega opted to assault physically the principals involved in opposition to destroy ballots by the thou Sands and to declare the election null and void. We have avoided a military confrontation in Panama for pretty Good reasons. The first of these is superficially understood by americans who know that . Intervention in latin America is All but universally deplored by latin americans. Americans who have lived there know the special in Tensity of the feeling. To avoid a damaging hispanic Back lash it requires that a Challenge to american responsibilities should be judged both grave and reasonable. Such a Challenge brought on the land ing of the marines in the dominican Republic in 1965. Ordered by presi Dent Johnson when he feared a Mili tary move there might have had the effect of doing to the dominican re Public what was done to Cuba namely Valelli action by the soviet Union. When it came to a vote of the organi Alion of american states Only Mexico which in foreign policy has been fellow travelling since the defeat of the loyalists in Spain refused to condone the american move. The difficulty the Bush administration now faces is that it has honed All of its rhetoric on the theme of the anti democratic character of general Noriega. In the recent season. Latin America has been Gung to for democracy but this enthusiasm is not Universal and May in any event prove As episodic As bolivian democracy Bolivia watchers George Gedda await with ceremonial interest the Day when they can celebrate the 50th Mili tary coup since Bolivia s Independence. Latin americans do not want . Marines to land in Panama to instruct panamanians on How to enforce a democratic polity. But there arc reasons for sending troops to depose Noriega that arc unrelated to our preference for political democracy and these have to do with the Panama canal treaties. Article in of the .troopsinpamama. First treaty denies to Panama any right under any circumstances to interfere with . Lights to protect the canal and personnel necessary to administer the canal. Article Iii obliges Panama to pro vide police and other protections and article Viii specifics that . Installations within Panama shall be i Viola now the army times beginning last april has patiently chronicled a 13 month Campaign of violations by the Tutt us.tcoor5 a Efto Bodjo .Tbx is in by mama. To Tom us.1bjcps seut16 backup .ittops Sev jul backup .Ifeoofs sent1& blk up government or Panama of its obligations under the treaty. Eight to Tousand worker responsible for the operation of the canal and 25,000 . Residents have in diverse ways been harassed. The army times estimates at Well Over 1.000 the violations of general Noriega s Panama defense Force of rights that the treaty obliges them to respect. William Gianelli. The chairman of the Panama canal commission said in March that the commission May be unable to guarantee unimpeded passage to ships using the canal. It would be quite mistaken to Abro Gate the treaty in reaction to these in fractions nothing would More quickly propel the three quarters of the Pana Manian Community that dislikes no Riega to return to his fold. Ukrainians fought for Stalin god help them thanks to the stupidity with which they were treated by the nazis. But to assert our own rights under the treaty by bringing Down the tyrant recently rejected by has own people would be intervention in the form of an assertion of rights guaranteed by the treaty s sponsors. Gen. Omar Torrijos the dead tyrant revered by the panamanians for negotiating the treaty said of it on one occasion that we Are agreeing to a treaty of neutrality which places us under the Protection of the it is at this Point that the Bush administration should consider a better use for Jimmy Carter than to Send him Down As a redundant witness to the corruption of the electoral process. Carter negotiated the treaty and is held in great re Spect in the area for having done so. It is entirely appropriate that he should Call for the removal of the panamanian impostor who has committed acts of aggression in violation of the explicit commit ments of the Panama canal treaty. We need a better springboard for action than any we can get from our differentiated Calls for democracy Why did t we insist on it in Paraguay. Or. Carter can Render us useful service and this is the perfect time to hear More from him. Universal press Syndicate Panama Issue a ves Oas much needed boost Kokk Demirali cd and ignored the organization of american Stales needed a spirit nourishing Issue. Manuel Antonio Noriega May have provided it. The Oas has been unable to accomplish much of anything this decade. One of the organization s Princi pal Aims is to keep the peace but it has been on the Periphery of the continuing bloodshed in Central America and was irrelevant at the time of the British Argentine War in 1982 Over the Falkland islands and the .-led invasion of Grenada a year later. Ai one Point several years ago an Oas official said the organization was so feckless that it was unable to agree on a Resolution commemorating the upcoming 500th anniversary of the discovery of America. But for the Oas. Noriega has been heaven sent. The organization which seemed paralysed by factionalism was Able to close ranks against the panamanian Leader wednesday night. With Only Panama and Nicaragua dissenting. Oas foreign ministers agreed to blame Noriega for the grave events and abuses that have occurred since the May 7 National elections in Panama. International organizations normally arc loathe to single out leaders of member states for criticism but the scenes of opposition candidates and Ordinary Citi Zens being bludgeoned by government agents turned stomachs from one end of the hemisphere to the other. It was time for the Oas to drop its genteel guard. The foreign ministers approved a Resolution that not Only held Noriega personally responsible for the blood shed but also appointed a mediating team to take Steps aimed at ensuring a Transfer of Power in Panama. That is quite a departure for an organization that normally has As its highest principle the right of Mem Ber Stales to be spared outside intervention. Noriega of course will put his own spin on the Resolution. He is expected to Tell the mediators that he is a Soldier for democracy who wanted nothing More than to Sec a Transfer of Power resulting from the May 7 elections. On that basis Noriega s foreign min ister was Able to go along with the Resolution wednes Day night. Secretary of state James a. Baker Iii has shown interest in reviving the Oas. He is planning to appoint one of the state department s most accomplished latin american hands Luigi Einaudi As . Ambas Sador to the Oas. But Baker did t take office soon enough to head off the layoffs earlier this year of 300 Oas employees about 30 percent of the total. That step was largely brought on by . Arrearage amounting to More than $50 million. More layoffs Are expected next month. The Oas heyday was the 1960s. It was the cold War Era and . Administrations were Able to forge an anti communist consensus with rightist dictators and hawkish democratic governments which dominate the hemisphere at the time. Cuban president Fidel Castro was everybody s Vil lain. The Oas expelled him from its ranks a few years after his revolution and 25 Summers ago. The organization slapped a mandatory economic and diplomatic embargo against Cuba. In 1965, the United states invaded the dominican Republic a seeming violation of the Oas charter. Buttas nations albeit reluctantly gave their Blessing to the . Action rather than siding with the target of the invasion. With the demise of rightist dictatorships in latin America and their replacement by elected govern ments the anti communist consensus in the Hemi sphere has unravelled. Never has latin America been More democratic Orless willing to go along with Washington s policies. Support for president Reagan s Central America poli cies in the hemisphere was virtually invisible. The special session on Noriega recalled the time 10 years when the Oas decided to move against nicaraguan president Anastasio Somoza. A month after the Oas foreign ministers called for Somoza s resignation he fled to Paraguay. Now the question is whether the Oas stand against Noriega will contribute to a similar result. One of the Oas mediators who will sit Down with Noriega this week is ecuadoran foreign minister Diego Cordoviz the principal architect of the agreement that led to the withdrawal of soviet troops from Afghanistan starting a year ago. If Cordoviz was Able to get More than 100.000 rus Sian troops out surely he can do the same with one panamanian. Or can he editor s note George Gedda has covered foreign a lairs Lor the associated press since 1968
