PANAMA-US: Talks on Anti-Drug Centre on the Verge of Breakdown

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Silvio Hernandez

PANAMA CITY, May 26 1998 (IPS) - The negotiations between Panama and the United States on the possibility of a multilateral anti-drug centre are on the brink of failure once again, with only six days to go to the deadline set by the two countries for reaching an agreement.

A recent article in the U.S. specialised bulletin Inside the Pentagon says Washington is considering renting the Howard Air Base from Panama to install the anti-drug centre, because the negotiations “are about to sink.”

But a communique released by the Panamanian Foreign Ministry Monday emphatically rejected any possibility of foreign military bases remaining in Panama after the deadline set by the 1977 canal treaties, which stipulate that the United States must have withdrawn its troops and handed over the canal and military bases to Panama by Dec. 31, 1999.

“The possibility of a U.S. military base remaining in Panama beyond Dec. 31, 1999 is not, nor can it be, an issue at the negotiating table, because that possibility was formally ruled out by the government over a year ago,” says the Foreign Ministry statement, which adds that the anti-drug centre “can never be used for missions other than efforts against drug trafficking.”

Panamanian President Ernesto Perez Balladares suggested the idea of an international anti-drug centre to the rest of Latin America and the United States more than two years ago with the condition that it would be run by civilians and used only for anti- drug efforts.

According to Inside the Pentagon, the United States aims to launch a range of operations, not only linked to drug enforcement efforts, from the Howard Air Base – where the centre would be set up – towards different areas of the region.

Several of the conditions set by the United States for it to participate in the project are a 12-year agreement, rather than the three years proposed by Panama; that U.S. military personnel would remain exclusively under Washington’s jurisdiction; and that the U.S. staff assigned to the anti-drug centre would enjoy diplomatic immunity.

Inside the Pentagon also published statements by unnamed “U.S. officials” who accused the government of Perez Balladares of using the centre as “a figleaf” to mask the permanence of U.S. troops in Panama after Dec. 31, 1999.

There is support in Panama for a limited U.S. military presence in Panama beyond the year 2000, but the government of Perez Balladares fears that this support will evaporate if those opposed to the idea stage loud protests, the publication adds.

Former Panamanian president Jorge Illueca called the Inside the Pentagon report part of a U.S. “interventionist” campaign to try to force Panama to modify its position on the anti-drug centre.

Illueca, who is opposed to the creation of an anti-drug centre, said the “offensive and insulting” campaign launched by Washington has included personal attacks against Perez Balladares and other officials.

U.S. officials say the United States “has lost confidence in the government of Perez Balladares due to his candidacy for re- election” for a new five-year term – remarks that according to Illueca are part of the campaign to “twist Panama’s arm.”

The new friction arose just a few days after Panama’s top negotiators for the anti-drug centre, Foreign Minister Ricardo Alberto Arias and Minister for Canal Affairs Jorge Ritter, released contrasting versions on the progress of the talks.

While Arias said the two countries were “very close” to reaching an accord, in spite of the persistence of “a few differences,” Ritter maintained that the United States was “reluctant” to accept the three year agreement proposed by Panama.

Meanwhile, the General Central union of Panamanian Workers (CGTP) warned Saturday that they were gearing up for an all-out fight against the anti-drug centre.

The CGTP is a member of the National Coordinator against Military Bases, which is comprised of around 40 organisations of civil society. “We will do everything possible to get the people to say ‘no’ to the surreptitious military bases” that would house the anti-drug centre, said CGTP Secretary-General Mariano Mena.