European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 15, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday june 15, 1992 the stars and stripes a Page 13 commentary Tom Rau image of president in distress May linger again it was a scene played repeatedly for television viewers Back Home president Bush being hustled off a stage by secret service agents amid tremendous confusion. Six months ago it was Tokyo and an unforgettable stomach ailment that caused Bush to collapse virtually into the arms of a horrified japanese prime minister. Thursday it was a downtown Plaza in Panama City with government dignitaries gunshots and police tear Gas fired at anti american demonstrators. Bush and his wife were unharmed in thursdays incident but like Tokyo the image of a . President in distress will linger in an election year. Bush aides even joked that the incident a the first time a . President has been so much in harms Way since then president Reagan was shot outside a Washington hotel in March 1981 a would make the Earth Summit in Brazil a relative picnic for Bush. Blish was Able to make Light of the episode saying a no tiny Little left Wing demonstration would set Back the cause of panamanian democracy a or cause him to lose his stride. Spokesman Marlin Fitzwater offered a whimsical comment a a it a been a very Good trip with the exception of the tear Gas and the  but it served to Point up a serious problem for a president who a year ago was the Toast of the world for is successful conducting of the persian Gulf War. Bush had hoped that a warm Welcome in Panama where the United states in 1989 removed a dictator would help offset the criticism the president would get on the environment in Rio de Janeiro. Instead it Only served to show still More problems in an area usually regarded As his Strong suit a foreign policy. Although Friendly crowds lined the streets Between the Panama City Airport and the presidential Palace on Bush a arrival after his lunch with president Guillermo Endara he encountered far More hostility from those on the streets on his Way to downtown por Ras Plaza. Some scowled others held aloft anti american banners. There already was smoke from burning tires and garbage in the air As Bush mounted the platform in the packed Plaza for an address to the people of Panama. Suddenly there was a series of Small explosions from an intersection near the Plaza. The air quickly filled with tear Gas and Bush rubbed his eyes. Bush Rose and headed toward the microphone As if he were going to address the crowd. Suddenly agents circled Bush. One draped a Long bulletproof coat around his shoulders. The president waved off an agents offer of a handkerchief to wipe his eyes while Barbara Bush who has an Eye condition rubbed her eyes and looked startled. Onlookers described the president As Pale. Agents had handguns and automatic rifles drawn As they led the Bushes to a waiting limousine and rushed them to Albrook fab. A the situation was really a result of the tear Gas a Fitzwater told reporters. The Eye stinging tear Gas was apparently All fired by local police in an Effort to control demonstrators. But John Magraw head of the secret service and the agent in charge of Bush a detail suggested there was actual gunfire in addition to the explosion of tear Gas canisters. A there was local authorities gunfire and other gun fire we  identify a he said. He said the gunfire propelled the decision to move Bush out of the Square. The base was to be Bush a next Stop anyway Anil he told an already assembled audience of several thousand . Scricc members and their families a a done to let this Little Ripple that happened out there today in the Plaza a handful of people trying to disrupt this wonderful Welcome done to let it discourage  c Tho associated  Joseph b. Frazier Panama has love hate attitude about . On a Street littered with debris from anti Bush demonstrations Sergio Montenegro Ruiz remit a half smoked cigarette Ana considered America. He would like to go to school in the United states one Day a electronics maybe a even though he had just spent three hours thursday shouting insults against its president. Montenegro Ruiz who works As a clerk and attends night school said he sees no discrepancy. A America Isnit  it wont let Panama be Panama and i am a panamanian and with Pride a he said. The demonstrations during president Bush a visit thursday have roots that go Back decades. Many Here believe americans close ties with Panama and military presence in the isthmus nation have created a dependency that undermines their own sovereignty. The feeling peaks from time to time. On thursday it was triggered by memories of the 1989 . Military invasion which Bush ordered to capture dictator Gen. Manuel Antonio Noriega. At least 325 panamanians died in the fighting. Some put the figure much higher. A the killer always returns to the scene of the crime a said a flier from the association of University of Panama professors. Yet like Montenegro Ruiz panamanians reveal ambiguous feelings about the United states. Polls still show most favor keeping the 10,000 american troops in their country past the end of the Century when by treaty they Are to be withdrawn. The . Presence has raised the Standard of living. Withdrawal of the troops will Cost about 12,000 jobs in a country where unemployment is endemic. President Guillermo Endara a office thanked panamanians for their Good behaviour during the Bush visit saying it was a a lamentable that Small groups tied to Noriega a impeded the Happy culmination of the ceremonies through which the panamanian Community wanted to show its togetherness with the North american  during Bush a visit officially invited crowds cheered in the Square where Bush sat. Small groups of Well wishers formed along the motorcade route. Panamanians danced in the streets when the United states carted Noriega off to Miami to face drug trafficking charges. He was convicted on april 9. Today Many of the same people who quietly yearned for an american invasion in 1989 feel they have been treated shabbily. Some shopkeepers still Are filing lawsuits claiming the United states is liable for the tens of millions of dollars they lost to civilian looters. . Appeals courts have ruled there is no liability family members of political prisoners arrested after the fighting blame their plight on Bush. Many of the 2,700 families who lost Homes in Panama City Shi Corillo slum where the fighting was heaviest say the indemnity of about $6,800 per family for new housing and lost belongings was not enough. They want another $3,500. The ambiguous feelings go Back a Long Way. The United states helped Panama break away from Colombia in 1903 so it could negotiate a Deal to build the Panama canal. American troops have been in Panama since 1911, along with a canal zone in which american Law ruled until it was dissolved in 1979. I his has riled Many panamanians Over the years. In 1964, at least 18 panamanians and four . Soldiers were killed in clashes that erupted after a panamanian Flag was torn As students tried to raise it outside Balboa High school in the canal zone. National outrage sparked by the incident Lias slept but never died. In thu Aas Ouatu pro is