US 1989 Panama Invasion
to Be Probed
The unicameral National
Assembly of Panama began
discussing a bill Friday
to create a national
commission to
investigate the victims
provoked by the US
invasion of Panama on
December 20, 1989, and
to declare this a day of
national mourning.
The bill establishes
that such a national
commission will
determine how many
Panamanian citizens died
because of the US
invasion, with the
Public Ministry exhuming
common graves to this
end, and declare those
people martyrs and the
survivors as national
heroes.
The commission would
have government
financing and be
supported by the
Statistics and Census
Office of the Panamanian
Controllership.
The Executive would have
a year and a half from
passage of the law to
raise a monument in El
Chorrillo with the names
of the victims.
According to Panamanian
Deputy Juan Manuel
Peralta, who presented
the project to the
legislature, the day of
national mourning should
promote reflection on
what happened on
December 20, 1989.
Although there is just a
brief period for
legislative debates and
to send to the president
for approval before
year's end, the bill's
promoters are confident
it will be approved. |
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