Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1989
PANAMA
.
The Constitution provides for a representative democracy, with
direct popular election of the president and legislature, an
independent judiciary, and a broad range of civil and
individual rights, but in practice Panama was ruled during
most of 1989 by a military dictatorship under General Manuel
Antonio Noriega, the Commander of the Panama Defense Forces
(PDF). On December 19, Guillermo Endara, who was widely
credited with having won elections in May that were
subsequently annulled at Noriega's behest, was sworn in as
President. The Noriega regime was ousted by U.S. forces that
entered Panama on December 20 to protect U.S. lives, ensure
U.S. ability to meet its obligations under the Panama Canal
Treaties, help restore democracy to Panama, and bring Noriega
to justice on narcotics-related charges in the United States.
Under the Noriega dictatorship, Panama's security and police
institutions both fell under the PDF, which was composed of
Army, Navy, Air Force, and police components consisting of
approximately 15,000 members, all responsible to the PDF
Commander. One of the Endara Government's first acts was to
disband the PDF and replace it with a new organization, the
Panamanian Public Force (FPP) , under direct civilian
authority. Although the precise structure and
responsibilities of the FPP were still being worked out in
early 1990, the Panamanian Government indicated that the FPP
would be a national police organization, with a national air
service and a national maritime service established as
separate entities.
The continuing political crisis throughout 1989 had a deep
impact on Panama's service-oriented economy, which is
sensitive to public and international confidence. Panama's
gross domestic product dropped by 20 percent in 1988 and an
additional drop was projected for 1989.
Human rights under the military dictatorship steadily
deteriorated throughout 1989. Elections were annulled,
protest brutally repressed, and an unconstitutional regime
that ruled by decree was installed. A rebellion led by PDF
officers failed and many participants were tortured, killed,
or imprisoned. The Noriega dictatorship closed all the
country's opposition media, took over two television stations,
and intimidated a third. The Inter-American Commission on
Human Rights (lACHR) concluded in its 1989 report that
Noriega's de facto regime violated the rights to humane
treatment, personal liberty, movement and residence, and
thought and expression. On the most basic level, the report
stated that the Noriega provisional government was "devoid of
constitutional legitimacy." Upon taking office. President
Endara made the observance of human rights, the correction of
prior human rights abuses, and the prosecution of human rights
violators matters of the highest priority for his
administration.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
The Panamanian Human Rights Committee (CPDH) confirmed a
number of killings in connection with the May 1989 elections,
including Nicolas Van Kleef , a Dutch priest killed on election
day and Alexis Guerra, an opposition vice presidential
candidate's bodyguard, killed during a political rally on
May 10. According to CPDH lawyers, the regime made no effort
to investigate these deaths. Relatives or organizations
representing the victims tried to pursue their rights through
the Noriega-controlled courts, but without success. The new
Attorney General named by President Endara immediately began
investigating human rights abuses, with over 50 cases being
handled as of early January 1990.
On August 3, eyewitnesses reported, that in reaction to a
large demonstration the PDF illegally entered the University
of Panama campus and deliberately shot to death a student,
Luis Antonio Gonzalez Santamaria, with birdshot at point-blank
range. Gonzalez apparently was picked at random for execution
to deter protests on the campus. Two other students were
reported wounded in the attack.
After the October 3 military uprising, there were reports that
rebel soldiers who led the effort to oust General Noriega were
alive when they laid down their arms. The Noriega regime
later announced that 10 of them had been killed in the
fighting. The new Attorney General announced that his
office's investigation had found evidence that Major Giroldi
Vera, who led the coup attempt, had been shot to death in jail
the day after he was placed in detention.
Officials of human rights groups and the Catholic Church
indicated that from 90 to as many as 233 military personnel
may have been summarily executed after the military rebellion
on October 3. Many are believed to have been tortured before
death. Bodies returned to families reportedly had multiple
fractures, cuts, evidence of severe beatings, and bullet
wounds inflicted at point-blank range.
b. Disappearance
People in Panama seldom disappeared permanently under the
Noriega regime, although there were a few cases in past
years. CPDH lists only two persons who are believed to have
disappeared, of whom only one is thought to have political
implications. By the end of 1989, a University of Panama
student rights group began circulating names and pictures of
several persons thought to have disappeared.
Throughout the year, the Noriega regime arrested and held
incommunicado a number of political opponents. Information on
the whereabouts of many of these detainees was kept from
family members and lawyers, and habeas corpus applications and
appeals for the protection of constitutional rights were
ignored.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
General mistreatment, physical and mental abuse, and outright
torture at the hands of the PDF was comjnon in 1989. After
both the May 7 elections and the October 3 rebellion, many
Panamanians reported waves of deaths, arrests, detentions, and
torture by members of the PDF or paramilitary groups under
their control. Victims commonly reported that they were
robbed, held in extended solitary confinement, often in cells
too small to permit standing up or lying down and filthy with
human excrement, and denied the opportunity to bathe. They
were frequently stripped naked and exposed alternately to cold
and heat, or deprived of food, sleep, and medical treatment.
Other forms of severe abuse reportedly included using electric
shocks to various parts of the body; handcuffing arms into
extremely painful postures; burning the feet or buttocks with
heaters, cigarettes, or branding irons; threatening homosexual
rape; threatening death by holding a gun to the head; and
employing vicious beatings.
Less commonly, victims charged that they were forced to listen
to or witness the torture of others, including relatives, to
be tortured in front of relatives, to sit naked on blocks of
ice, to have fingernails or toenails extracted, and to suffer
male and female rape, victims also had fingers or other
appendages amputated, or were cut with razor blades (in one
case the word "yanqui" was carved on a victim). There was a
report that four rebel military personnel were stuffed alive
into body bags and placed in freezing morgue lockers until
they died of suffocation or cold. During public
demonstrations, common PDF tactics included the use of
birdshot, rubber truncheons, water cannons using water laced
with acid, and tear gas. Many of these charges were covered
in the lACHR report.
After the May elections, opposition legislative candidate
Olimpo Saenz was arrested and taken to Carcel Modelo prison in
Panama City, where for 8 hours he was suspended by his
handcuffed wrists from the rim of a basketball hoop, with his
toes barely touching the ground and his neck wrapped tightly
in an American flag. He was beaten repeatedly with rubber
hoses, and his screams were reported from nearby apartment
buildings. He suffered a similar, second round of beatings
the following day, in which he was forced to remain standing
during the duration of the torture which lasted 14 hours.
This treatment resulted in internal injuries and his
subsequent hospitalization.
On October 3 Christian Democrat Raul Ossa, a former
legislator, was incarcerated and physically and
psychologically tortured for 6 days. He was denied food and
sleep, punched, beaten, and continuously interrogated.
Another Christian Democratic activist, Gustavo Cedeno, was
abducted, interrogated, and beaten on December 5 and 6 before
he was released.
Prison conditions under the Noriega regime were generally
inadequate and in some cases constituted cruel or inhuman
treatment. Most prisoners in Panama City's Cercel Modelo
prison had no beds, only blankets, and one U.S. citizen
imprisoned there contracted tuberculosis from poor nutrition,
unsanitary conditions, and the lack of beds. Prisoners at
Carcel Modelo reported that they could hear the screams of
persons who were being tortured or beaten. Conditions at the
prison on the Island of Coiba were believed to be so bad that
threats of being sent there were often used to subdue
prisoners in other facilities. The Endara Government has
publicly declared its intention to reform Panama's prison
system.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
The Constitution establishes the right of a detainee to a
judicial determination of the legality of the detention and
requires a warrant for arrest, except in cases of persons
arrested during the commission of a crime. A suspect may not
legally be detained for more than 24 hours without being
charged and brought before a magistrate. Police are required
to inform accused persons immediately of the reason for theirdetention. After being charged with a criminal offense, an
accused person may be held until authorities conduct an
investigation and bring the case to trial.
In practice, the Noriega regime routinely disregarded
constitutional requirements and due process for persons
incarcerated for political offenses. Frequently, prisoners
were moved from one place of detention to another while
authorities were denying to attorneys and family members that
the detainees were in custody. A favorite tactic was to have
night courts impose lengthy, "noncommutable" sentences
(criminal sentences are otherwise routinely commuted for good
behavior). For example, in several cases a year-long,
noncommutable sentence was imposed for the distribution of
opposition newsletters. In many cases, prisoners were never
charged and had to file a writ of habeas corpus, which can
take as long as 6 weeks to process and was regularly ignored
by PDF authorities.
The judicial system suffered from a chronic backlog under the
Noriega regime, resulting in as many as 3 years' incarceration
of prisoners awaiting trial. Such prisoners constitute a
large portion of the prison population. Time spent in jail
awaiting trial counts toward completion of the final sentence
for those convicted.
In 1989, by conservative estimates, 300 Panamanians went into
exile and three times as many were incarcerated (military
prisoners are included in the estimate) . Approximately 300
persons were jailed during the elections in May, and another
100 civilians were incarcerated thereafter. In the wake of
the October 3 military insurrection, reported estimates of PDF
personnel arrested and incarcerated varied from 200 to 600.
The persons who went into exile in 1989 included three key
opposition figures: Aristides de Icaza, owner and director of
Radio Exitosa radio network; Jose del Carmen Serracin, of the
opposition Authentic Panamenista Party (PPA); and newspaper
publisher Jaime Padilla Beliz. (All three returned to Panama
after December 20.) The Noriega regime attempted to deport
two members of the Catholic clergy: Spanish priest Jose
Majadas and Peruvian nun Elsa Maria Schaus, the principal of a
Catholic school (who was actually forced to leave Panama for a
few days). In both cases, public pressure resulted in the
return of the clergy to their communities.
During 1989 the PDF was involved in hundreds of incidents of
harassment of U.S. military personnel and dependents in
Panama, often culminating in illegal detentions and denial of
due process under the Panamanian Constitution and the Panama
Canal Treaty. A U.S. citizen and military dependent, Kurt
Muse, was arrested in April, subjected to sleep deprivation,
intimidation, and interrogation, and held without charge in
solitary confinement until December 20, when he was freed by
U.S. forces. Another American citizen, Leonard Accles, was
also held without charge in similar "preventive detention" for
over a year, with lengthy periods of solitary confinement,
until after the U.S. intervention when he was released. He
was physically and psychologically abused when arrested, and
consular access was denied for long periods.
with regard to forced or compulsory labor, see Section 6.c.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The Constitution provides that persons charged with crimes are
presumed innocent until proven guilty and have the right to
counsel. The local bar association and National Universitylaw
school offer legal counsel at nominal fees. The
Government provides public defenders for indigent defendants,
but only after the pretrial phase. A new judicial code, which
became effective April 1, 1987, provides for public trials
based on oral testimony and argument. However, most trial
procedures are still conducted with written presentations by
the prosecution and defense without the presence of the
accused. The documents produced are available for examination
by both sides. In general, the burden of proof rests on the
prosecution. The right to appeal a verdict is available to
the prosecution and the defense.
The Constitution provides a number of safeguards designed to
maintain the independence of the judiciary: the Supreme Court
is chartered to uphold the Constitution and laws; magistrates
are barred from simultaneously holding other public office or
otherwise participating in politics; Supreme Court
magistrates, who are nominated by the President and ratified
by the Legislative Assembly, nominate all lower court judges.
The Attorney General, appointed by the President and confirmed
by the Legislative Assembly, appoints Superior Court District
Attorneys, who in turn nominate Circuit District Attorneys. A
system of magistrates, named by mayors, deals with a high
volume of minor civil and criminal cases. Magistrates are
empowered to impose fines of less than $600 and to order
detentions of up to 1 year, and their decisions can be
appealed only to the mayor and not to any judicial official.
However, the Constitution's provisions for an independent
judicial system were largely ignored by the Noriega regime.
The most serious obstacle to obtaining a free and fair trial
lay in the interference of the PDF. The military not only
meddled with the outcome of specific trials, but in practice
appointed judges and transferred or dismissed those who did
not respond to PDF directives. This influence extended to all
levels of the court system.
In June the CPDH asserted that the Noriega regime had violated
many provisions of the country's legal code by its practices
of holding mass trials without due process, refusal to
recognize habeas corpus writs, detention and sentencing of
persons without charges, sentencing of minors as adults, and
rejecting or ignoring evidence offered in defense of accused
persons.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
There were credible charges that the Noriega regime routinely
tampered with mail and that telephone calls were extensively
monitored. The CPDH reported that one regime official
publicly admitted this in a radio interview. Under the
Constitution, judicial warrants must be issued before
officials may enter homes. However, warrants to search homes
of regime opponents were freely granted to the PDF by the
PDF-controlled courts. The military and paramilitary forces
also frequently searched homes, destroyed or removed private
property, and detained persons found on the premises without
appropriate warrants or court orders.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, and
in the past Panama traditionally enjoyed free media which
engaged in spirited and open criticism of the Government. The
Noriega regime responded to the ongoing political crisis by
subjugating the media, both electronic and print, either to
complete regime control or severe self-censorship. All
opposition media were closed in February 1988. At that time,
the regime also eliminated local distribution of foreign news
publications.
In 1989 the Noriega regime further tightened control of the
media by prohibiting opposition newsletters, closing a
semi-independent radio network, and attempting to curb the
international press. By December 19, there remained only one
nonregime radio program of news commentary, and it stayed on
the air by never criticizing the military. In November an
earlier prohibition against live call-ins for radio news
commentary programs was extended to sports and general
entertainment programs as well. Many Panamanians listened to
frequently jammed Radio Impacto, which broadcast news and
anti-Noriega information from Costa Rica, and to the Voice of
America. Any Panamanian caught with a copy of the Tropic
Times, the English-language newspaper of the U.S. Southern
Command, was subject to a $300 fine. Regime commentators
launched a campaign of personal attacks against some
Panamanian journalists who worked for international wire
services or otherwise tried to maintain some objectivity in
reporting.
Before and during the May elections, foreign journalists were
allowed to come to Panama, but 10 of them were expelled
immediately afterward. Also during the elections, Panamanian
cameraman Fernando Arauz was severely wounded when he was
reportedly shot in the chest by armed government supporters.
French journalist Bertrand de la Grange, a Le Monde reporter,
was hit in the waist by birdshot fired by a soldier.
The Endara Government has declared its full commitment to
freedom of the press. Since it assumed power on December 20,
three newspapers, (La Prensa, El Siglo, and El Panama America)
which had been banned by the Noriega regime, have reappeared
and are being operated by their rightful owners. A fourth
paper, Critica Libre, has been returned to its rightful
owner. Soon after the December 20 U.S. military intervention,
the owner of television channel 4 took possession of that
station's facilities and began broadcasting freely. The
Endara Government has taken possession of a number of radio
stations that had been confiscated by the Noriega regime for
distribution to Noriega's followers, pending investigations to
determine the rightful owners. Former Noriega supporter Tomas
Altamirano "Fito" Duque continues freely to publish his
newspaper. La Estrella de Panama.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The Constitution provides for the right of peaceful assembly,
but the Noriega regime continued to interfere with this right
on a systematic basis. Harassment--including attacks on
demonstrators by brutal paramilitary squads and random
detentions--was used to disrupt protests or even peaceful
assemblies. In 1988 the PDF formed "dignity
battalions"—paramilitary groups of civilians, PDF members,
unemployed persons, released criminals, and government
employees charged with political or publicity functions. The
dignity battalions received small arms and other military
training from the PDF. In 1989 the PDF increasingly used
these groups to harass political opponents and public
demonstrators and to commit other human rights abuses. For
example, dignity battalions participated in the attack against
opposition political candidates at the Santa Ana Plaza on May
10, where at least one opposition supporter died and many
people—including an opposition candidate for vice
president—were bloodied and injured in events covered by the
world media. The PDF also responded to peaceful protests with
the use of tear gas, baton charges, birdshot, and water
cannons using water mixed with acid.
Meetings of professional, social, and civic groups were
severely restricted by the Noriega dictatorship in 1989. A
1988 decree prohibited nonprofit groups (which range from
charities and church organizations to civic clubs such as the
Lions) from supporting or engaging in any activity the regime
considered threatening to the security of the State. On
October 5, 1989, Noriega announced so-called war laws, which
forbade political gatherings by any civic organization and
eliminated all government employee associations that
functioned like unions. (Unions legally registered with the
Government were exempted from this law. An exception was also
made for the public employee umbrella group FENASEP, which has
a history of government control.) With an elaborate system of
informants in the student and teacher ranks, frequent school
closings, and repeated arrests, antiregime student leaders
were effectively intimidated.
The Endara Government, in response to the breakdown in public
order immediately following the December 20 U.S. intervention,
declared a temporary curfew from 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. The
new Government stressed that the curfew was temporary and was
designed to protect lives and property in an uncertain
security situation.
For a discussion of freedom of association as it applies to
labor unions, see Section 6. a.
c. Freedom of Religion
The Constitution provides for religious freedom, and there is
no state religion. Although Roman Catholicism is predominant,
there are no restrictions on the free exercise of religious
beliefs, including proselytizing. The Catholic Church took a
strong anti-Noriega moral position, and its leadership was
attacked sharply by the Noriega-regime press. Priests (many
of whom are foreigners) were threatened with expulsion to
deter them from speaking out against the Noriega regime.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
The Constitution permits Panamanians to move freely within the
country and to emigrate. However, freedom of movement was
curtailed severely in the days before and after the May
elections. PDF members manning checkpoints searched vehicles
and asked for passenger identification. Election observers
were frequently escorted away from the interior of the
country. In one case, their airplane was confiscated, and the
observers had to return to the capital by road. The
authorities interfered with and detained opposition leaders
attempting to visit constituencies in the interior.
Following the December 20 military action, U.S. forces
temporarily blocked certain roads and established a number of
vehicular and pedestrian checkpoints. The Endara Government
worked with U.S. military authorities to remove obstacles when
no longer needed and to replace U.S. troops with FPP personnel
at the few checkpoints that remained as of January 15, 1990.
Panama has accepted refugees of widely differing ideological
persuasions, and hundreds of displaced persons and exiles from
other countries reside in the country.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
In early 1989, faced with approaching elections, the Noriega
regime launched a wave of repression, closed most opposition
media, limited the opposition's access to the media, and
attempted to keep the foreign press out of Panama. Although
some opposition rallies were permitted, free campaigning was
clearly restricted. Despite massive regime fraud, the Civic
Democratic Opposition Alliance (ADOC) won the election by a
three-to-one margin, according to independent observers,
including the Catholic Church. The Catholic hierarchy, an
international observer delegation led by former President
Jimmy Carter, and the official U.S. delegation headed by
Congressman John Murtha (D-PA) denounced the electoral fraud.
After the elections, in which vote counters were attacked and
four people were murdered, many opposition candidates and
participants were forced into hiding and exile or were
arrested and tortured. On May 10, the winning opposition
slate leaders were publicly beaten, and one was hospitalized.
One of their bodyguards was killed and another wounded. The
CPDH reported that by June 1 over 140 persons had been
detained in postelection roundups of political opponents.
The May 1989 elections removed any remaining pretense of
quasi-legal civilian government. Provisional President
Francisco Rodriguez was installed by General Noriega on
September 1 as the regime's chief executive. New elections,
although alluded to by the regime, were not scheduled. On the
civilian side, the PDF wielded its control in part through the
governing Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD). Although the
legislature was disbanded in September, the PRD continued to
play an important role because its members filled most key
positions in the Government.
On October 3, a group of PDF officers led an unsuccessful
attempt to overthrow the Noriega regime. Thereafter, Noriega
and his loyalists reportedly killed as many as 90 PDF
personnel and arrested or dismissed several hundred others for
their alleged involvement in the rebellion.
On December 20, the ADOC candidates for President (Guillermo
Endara), First Vice President (Ricardo Arias Calderon), and
Second Vice President (Guillermo "Billy" Ford) took their
oaths of office. The Electoral Tribunal announced that its
annulment of the May 7 election had been coerced by General
Noriega and the PDF, and issued a new decision recognizing the
victory of the ADOC candidates. As of January 15, 1990, the
Electoral Tribunal was engaged in issuing the official
election results of the May 7 legislative elections. Most
legislative races were expected to have clear winners. In
cases where doubt existed, new elections were to be held.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
The lACHR in November issued a severely critical report on
human rights violations in Panama, calling on the Noriega
regime to restore political rights, return to constitutional
order, stop all violence against the civilian population,
release political prisoners, authorize the return of exiles,
and open the media.
Other international human rights groups were critical of
Panama, but during the past year, only the lACHR visited the
country and carried out an investigation. The lACHR
delegation visited prisons and spoke with political opponents
but was prevented by the regime from visiting the opposition
newspaper La Prensa. The International Committee of the Red
Cross requested but was denied access to political prisoners
in 1989.
Several private human rights groups operate in Panama,
including one organized by students at the University of
Panama. Since the political crisis began in June 1987, these
groups have collected data about individual cases of abuse,
acted as advocates for detainees, observed opposition
demonstrations, and voiced concern about human rights
violations. Toward the end of 1989, many of these human
rights activists were harassed and arrested by the Noriega
regime. Two private groups that are generally respected both
within and outside Panama are the CPDH and the Center for
Investigation of Human Rights and Juridical Assistance of
Panama.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Language, or Social Status
The Constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of
race, birth out of wedlock, social class, sex, religion, or
political views. Owing to traditional bias and general
economic conditions, Panamanian women generally do not enjoy
the same economic opportunities as men. Panamanian law does
not recognize community property, and divorced or deserted
women are often left destitute. Although the Constitution
mandates equal pay for equal work, wages paid to women are
lower than those for equivalent work performed by men and
increase at a slower rate.
According to local officials of the Catholic Church, violence
against women and children in the family is a serious problem;
however, there are few published statistics. A 1985-86 study
funded jointly by the Government and the University of Panama
entitled "Exploratory Study on the Physical Mistreatment of
the Panamanian Woman," by Dr. Carmen Anthony and Gladys
Miller, used data gathered from hospitals. The study
concluded that the problem was serious and needed to be
addressed by the Government and social agencies. Both the
Catholic Church and the Ministry of Social Welfare have
programs directed at the problem. Church officials state that
their program mainly serves poorer women because upper-class
women tend to seek private medical assistance.
Panama is a racially mixed country. The traditional monopoly
of power by persons of European descent effectively ended with
the ouster of the civilian government by the military in
1968. People of mixed race are active politically and are
represented in senior civilian positions in the executive
branch and in the PDF.
The law does not discriminate against any social, religious,
or cultural group. However, naturalized citizens may not hold
certain categories of elected office, and the Constitution
reserves retail trade to native Panamanians.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
Historically, Panamanian workers enjoyed a wide range of
benefits under the law. The rights to organize labor unions
and to strike were generally unrestricted in the private
sector as well as in certain public sector agencies specified
by law. Elections within Panamanian labor organizations, as
well as employer and professional associations, were generally
democratic and free from government interference. These
organizations were unrestricted in their right to affiliate
with international bodies, and their members freely
participated in political parties and other aspects of
Panamanian political life. However, the political crisis has
had a severe negative impact on workers' rights in Panama.
Workers have been fired, arrested, and jailed for exercising
their labor rights. The Noriega regime effectively controlled
almost all labor organizations and leaders. Within this
constraint, workers remained generally free to join the union
of their choice.
Four decree laws handed down in October gave the Noriega
regime added power to dismiss public employees, suspend the
award of legally mandated bonuses, hire and fire free of
traditional restraints, and regulate employee meetings. The
regime subsequently used all of this authority.
Most public-sector employees are forbidden to form unions or
to strike. The "war laws" enacted by the Noriega regime in
1989 abolished public employee representative associations,
which functioned like unions. Only the regime-controlled
public employee umbrella association, the Federation of Public
Sector Employees (FENASEP) , was granted an exemption. Legally
registered unions also were exempted from these laws.
In an October speech to labor leaders, Noriega told them that
they no longer had the right to strike. This was echoed by
then Government and Justice Minister Renato Pereira in an
October 1989 television address, when he said that "it is no
longer legally possible to declare a strike." No major strikes
occurred in 1989.
The Endara Government has indicated its receptivity to labor
concerns, including revising labor decrees and laws. Exiled
labor leader Isaac Rodriguez returned to Panama soon after
December 20 and has led labor efforts to persuade the new
administration to rescind the Noriega regime's antilabor
provisions.
In its 1989 report, the International Labor Organization (ILO)
Committee of Experts (COE) reiterated its observation that
certain provisions of the law do not conform with Convention
87 on Freedom of Association, including: a requirement of 50
workers (or 10 employers) in order to form a union (or
employer organization) ; prohibition of more than one union in
an enterprise; a requirement that 75 percent of the members of
a union be Panamanian; automatic removal from office of union
officials dismissed from their employment; extensive powers of
the authorities over records and accounts of unions; and the
exclusion of public employees from the labor code and,
consequently, from the right to organize and bargain. The
committee urged the Noriega regime to bring its legislation
into compliance.
A complaint filed by the International Confederation of Free
Trade Unions, and the World Confederation of Labor and its
regional organization for Latin America, the Confederation of
Latin American Workers, allege that the Noriega regime
arrested 4 trade union officials and 50 members of the Water
and Electrical Workers Union, searched and closed the union's
offices and confiscated its funds, and arbitrarily discharged
50 trade union officials and 350 workers. At its May-June
1989 session, the ILO Committee on Freedom of Association
asked the Noriega regime to supply details of the judgments
and the status of the cases against the union officials and
v7orkers and urged the regime to reply to the other allegations
in the immediate future.
In June 1989, the ILO Conference Committee on the Application
of Conventions and Recommendations considered the same issues
regarding Panamanian labor law that were addressed by the COE
and repeated its request that Panamanian law and practice be
brought into conformance with the Convention.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
Denial of the right to organize in two important private
sector areas, the Colon Free Zone and offshore banking, has
long prompted concern among labor leaders. In other areas,
the Noriega regime selectively denied, or interfered with,
this right. During 1988 and 1989, the Noriega regime
succeeded in illegally gaining control of the elections and
the leadership of the largest private sector labor central,
the Confederation of Republic of Panama Workers (CTRP) . The
right to bargain was in jeopardy in those cases in which the
Noriega regime perceived that its economic or national
interests were at stake. Labor leaders charge that the regime
used the Ministry of Labor to protect extensive economic
interests of regime members in violation of the labor code.
c. Prohibition Against Forced or Compulsory Labor
Panama has an extensive labor code, which prohibits forced or
compulsory labor. There was no forced labor in Panama in 1989,
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
The law prohibits work by children under 14 years of age or
under the age of 15 if the child has not completed primary
school. Both hazardous and night work are prohibited for
persons under age 18. Children between ages 12 and 14 may
perform farm or domestic labor as long as the work is light
and does not interfere with schooling. However, in the
deteriorating economic climate, some children worked in
violation of the existing law.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
Panama has a comprehensive labor code, which in theory gives
extensive rights and benefits to workers. The maximum legal
workweek is 48 hours. The law has established a minimum wage
for most work categories and requires that substantial bonuses
be paid for overtime. According to Panamanian labor leaders,
the minimum wage is sufficient to provide at least a minimally
decent standard of living for a worker and his family.
Although changes in the labor code in 1986 released employers
from the obligation to pay certain bonuses and overtime
premiums, employers still are required by law to provide
workers with compensation adequate for a decent standard of
living. The economic downturn resulting from the political
turmoil since mid-1987 has caused many employers to reduce
work hours or employee pay in order to stay in business, and
many workers accepted the nonenf orcement of certain labor code
provisions to prevent a permanent loss of their jobs.
The labor code details numerous health and safety standards
for all places of employment. Female employees are entitled
to receive 12 weeks' mandatory maternity leave and the right
to return to their jobs. The Ministry of Labor and Social
Welfare is responsible for ensuring compliance with these
regulations, but too few inspectors and widespread corrupt
practices have hampered strict enforcement of the labor code
