Panama Workers, Police
Clash; Hundreds Arrested
Nearly 300 protesters
were arrested in Panama
on Friday as
construction workers
clashed with police for
the third day running
over the shooting death
of a fellow worker
earlier this week.
A dozen police were
injured in Friday's
protest, which kept much
of the capital
paralyzed, with piles of
tires burning on busy
roads and highways
across the city.
Police reported 286
arrests, bringing the
number of people
detained since Tuesday
to around 780, police
said.
Protesters also threw
stones at riot police in
the affluent Paitilla
area of the city, home
to many of Panama's
glass-covered
skyscrapers, local
television images
showed.
It was the latest in a
series of clashes since
the fatal shooting of a
construction worker from
the SUNTRACS union
during a demonstration
on Tuesday over safety
conditions.
A construction boom has
boosted the country's
economy and created a
shimmering skyline in
Panama City, but union
members have been
protesting at they say
are lax safety standards
at the city's many
building sites.
SUNTRACS leaders accuse
the police of killing
Airomi Smith, a union
leader, during Tuesday's
confrontation as part of
an orchestrated
campaign. The government
says it will
investigate.
Speaking to RPC TV on
Friday, Panama City
Mayor Juan Carlos
Navarro called for calm
and for the union to
return to the
negotiating table.
Hundreds of workers
marched to the
presidential palace late
on Thursday to present a
series of demands to the
government.
They called for new laws
governing building-site
safety and the
resignation of the
minister of justice and
the head of the national
police force. (Reporting
by Andrew Beatty) |
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