“Don’t forget” chants in Panama over the US military invasion – Periódico Invasor

33 years after the US military invasion of Panama, the phrase “forbidden to be forgotten” is echoed throughout all scenarios of the isthmus to encourage the search for the truth about that fateful day.

Message from the Palacio de las Garzas (Seat of the Executive Power) confirming that the activities on the occasion of the National Day of Mourning will begin with a visit to the Jardín de Paz cemetery, in this capital, to honor the victims of the attack of December 20 of the year 1989.

The Acts of Protocol also include a religious invocation to the Archbishop of Panama, Monsignor José Domingo Ulloa.

Also speaking will be Trinidad Ayola, President of the Association of Fallen Relatives, and the new chair of the December 20 Commission, Rolando Morgas. While the President of the Republic, Laurentino Cortizo, addresses the nation.

About this event, lawyer Gilma Camargo told the newspaper Panama star That an assessment should be opened that includes compensation for the victims, after years of consequences due to inaction and obstruction by the United States.

Historians estimate that the so-called Just Cause, whose purported goals were to put an end to the supposed dictatorship, arrest former General Manuel Antonio Noriega, restore democracy and provide welfare to the people, actually brought death to the martyred neighborhood of El. Curillo.

In addition to the human losses, this invasion caused the destruction of a large part of the infrastructure in Panama, leaving thousands of people homeless, forced to flee their homes, and seek refuge in other areas.

Although the capital was most affected by this war operation, there were also casualties in the Caribbean province of Colón and in Rio Hato, where slums were bombed and burned.

The large number of homes and buildings destroyed by the invasion shows that the Pentagon forces made no effort to limit themselves to military objectives, avoiding harm to the lives and property of the Panamanian civilian population.

For social activists, the invasion did not draw the necessary international condemnation, although a 2018 report by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights judged Washington for the abuses committed and urged his government to compensate the victims.