The political analysis magazine El Periódico de Panamá in its editorial this Sunday noted that on December 20, National Day of Mourning, a window opens for recognition of the patriots who defended the Isthmus land and others who, being innocent, were victims of a criminal and treacherous aggression that destroyed institutions and the peace of the country.
In 1989, according to the news report, there were no sanctions against the perpetrators, nor did anyone tear their clothes to claim the serious violation of national sovereignty; and since then, until now, “we remain under the dominion of the pawns of the invaders, the Panamanian oligarchy that now wants to finish off the Social Security Fund,” the text stressed.
For her part, in statements to Prensa Latina, the lawyer Gilda Camargo, who represents victims of the aggression, recalled that in 2018 they managed to get the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) of the Organization of American States (OAS) to hold Washington responsible for compensating the victims and survivors of that cruel act, however, such achievement is not publicized.
The IACHR ruling, she specified, recommends full compensation for some 272 families who suffered harm in the aggression.
In 2024, Camargo urged to continue organizing more actions through the petitioners who make up the Salas Anti-Imperialist Front until achieving full compensation and gathering the solidarity of other peoples who are victims of similar violations and aggressions such as the Palestinians by the world’s greatest power.
The Executive created a mechanism here in an attempt to distract and usurp the role of the victims and their struggle at the national level to establish December 20 as a Day of National Mourning, she said in relation to Executive Decree 121 of 2016 that established the December 20 Commission of 1989.
The lawyer called on the current government authorities to respect international law and that of the Panamanian people to access the real knowledge of what happened during the North American invasion, the so-called Operation Just Cause.
For the upcoming Friday, December 20, several popular and union organizations have called for a Black March in honor of the victims, which will start from the monument that perpetuates their memory in the humble neighborhood of El Chorrillo, in this capital -devastated during the bombings 35 years ago- to the National Assembly (parliament).
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