Demonstrations Panama

Five of six businessmen leading a fight to oust Panamanian strongman Manuel A. Noriega went into hiding Wednesday after the government issued an order for their arrest for conspiring to overthrow the government. The mayor of Panama City, meanwhile, banned a rally that the opposition National Civic Crusade had scheduled for today and outlawed car caravans, one of the middle- and upper-class Crusade's principal forms of protest against the government. Although civilian President Eric A.

Widespread violence broke out Monday after a jury cleared seven former soldiers of the grisly 1985 torture-killing of an outspoken opponent of former dictator Manuel Noriega. Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets of Panama's main cities to protest the seven-member jury's acquittal of the soldiers on charges of killing Panamanian physician and former guerrilla leader Hugo Spadafora.

Students in Panama returned to class for the first time in six months, starting the academic year three months late because of the country's political and economic crisis. Diplomats and other observers said the resumption of classes indicated an easing of tension in Panama after months of protests and pressure from the United States to oust military strongman Manuel A. Noriega.

American military and security agencies warned the White House more than a week earlier that President Bush faced serious danger if he carried out plans to speak at a public rally during his brief stop in Panama, and they urged that his appearance be canceled, U.S. and diplomatic sources say. "Within 72 hours after Bush's staff told us he would be coming here, SouthCom (the U.S.

A war of nerves between the United States and Panama took shape Tuesday as newly dispatched American troops landed in the country, and strongman Manuel A. Noriega began training neighborhood militias to defend the capital city. The streets of Panama City grew tense again as Noriega's soldiers moved to divert protesters from holding rallies. For the first time, a demonstration against Gen. Noriega took place in what was formerly the U.S. Canal Zone.

Opposition leaders in Panama expressed worries Thursday about White House willingness to let Gen. Manuel A. Noriega remain in Panama, even for several weeks, if and when he finally relinquishes power. One said that his continued presence here could block the transition to "true democracy." The softening of U.S.

An economic squeeze on Panama imposed by the United States and foes of Gen. Manuel A. Noriega has begun to cause severe hardship among the poor in Panama City, overwhelming private relief efforts and stimulating calls for faster action to bring down the military strongman. In squatter neighborhoods of San Miguelito, a township on the capital's northern outskirts, penniless mothers stood in line Wednesday to await handouts of groceries supplied by the Roman Catholic relief agency Caritas.

The United States has sent modest military reinforcements to Panama to guard against growing unrest. The Pentagon on Monday said a 55-man Marine anti-terrorist unit and a 45-man Air Force security group were sent to Panama to beef up U.S. forces already there. "This is just a prudent measure to augment the security personnel that are currently down there," said Cmdr. Robert Prucha, a Pentagon spokesman.

The country's banking system, a pillar of Panama's economy, reopened Monday amid dwindling support for a work stoppage to protest the country's military leadership. The decision by the private Banking Assn. was a setback for the National Civic Crusade, an alliance of 35 business, professional and student groups seeking the ouster of military strongman Brig. Gen. Manuel A. Noriega.

Government officials on Friday demanded to know why tear gas was fired, and in such large quantities, to disperse anti-American demonstrators who disrupted a planned speech by President Bush on Thursday. Vice President Guillermo (Billy) Ford was among the Panamanian officials asking for an investigation. He told a news conference he was not yet blaming police, "but this deserves a major investigation."

Gunshots and tear gas fired by local authorities and maybe others drove President Bush from a stage in a downtown plaza here Thursday when he was just moments away from delivering a speech in praise of the revival of democracy in Panama. Secret Service agents carrying automatic weapons led a chaotic evacuation from the plaza, whisking the President and his wife, Barbara, to a nearby American air base for safety.

A U.S. soldier was killed and another wounded in Panama on Wednesday in violence sparked by anti-American demonstrations demanding that President Bush cancel his visit to that strategically located country. According to the U.S. Department of Defense and news agency reports from Panama, the soldiers were hit as they rode in a military vehicle near the town of Chilibre, about 30 miles north of Panama City.

About 200 protesters staged a noisy but peaceful demonstration Saturday evening outside the Peruvian ambassador's house, where five former officers of the Panama Defense Forces have sought refuge. The demonstrators, most of whom were residents of the Cangrejo neighborhood where the residence is located, banged pots and pans and chanted slogans against Peruvian President Alan Garcia.

Hundreds of laughing, cheering Panamanians poured into the streets of Panama City on Wednesday night, celebrating the news that former strongman Manuel A. Noriega had handed himself over to the United States. "We are relieved to be rid of this criminal. The important thing was that he should leave our national territory. It's a great moment," President Guillermo Endara said. "We have to feel happy. God has blessed us in these last few days."

For 10 days after being overthrown in a U.S. military invasion and taking refuge in the Vatican embassy, Manuel A. Noriega lived a secluded, Spartan life, sealed off from the outside world by the reluctant host of his diplomatic sanctuary. Three times a day, the deposed dictator of Panama opened the door to his sweltering second-floor room in the Vatican nunciature, accepted a meal on a tray and shut himself in again, according to visitors to the embassy compound.

If the Bobby Fuller Four singing "I Fought the Law and the Law Won" over and over and over won't drive Manuel A. Noriega out of the sanctuary of the Vatican's embassy here, American military psychological experts may think they can bore him into giving up. "We're hitting him with President Bush's speeches now," said an Army sergeant from Chicago who was standing guard at a road barricade a block from the Vatican mission, where Noriega has been a refugee since Christmas Eve.

Manuel Antonio Noriega, ousted as Panama's dictator five days ago by a U.S. invasion force, surrendered Sunday to the Vatican's embassy here and asked for sanctuary from his American pursuers. The development sparked a spontaneous demonstration of pot-banging and horn-honking elation as the news spread quickly through the city. Noriega's surrender came near the end of a day that for the first time since the U.S. invasion began was unmarred by reports of serious violence. Archbishop Marcos G.