Ministers signing a fake agreement with a bribed Ngöbe impostor wearing a hat made in Korea.
In case you missed it: Lybian dictator Gaddafi just today blamed "outside agitators" for feeding the youth of Libya drugs and setting them up against his dictatorship. Also guilty of the - for him - unfortunate turn of events in Libya are the media. Egyptian ruler Mubarak just weeks ago made similar comments, and before him Zine El Abidine Ben Ali of Tunisia and before him - it is, in short, what dictators and rogue political figures always say when the people protest.
Here in Panama things are no different. Our minister of the presidency, former Karl Rove employee Jimmy Papadimitriu (who himself holds dual nationality and is thus in a way a foreigner) complained on RPC radio that the protests against the recently adopted mining law are due to outsiders telling lies to those ignorant indians. Subsequently, Minister Roxana Mendez ordered all foreigners out of the Ngöbe Bugle comarca (reservation), supposedly to maintain peace and tranquility.
Such paranoia and xenophobia is common in Panama, and in the case of our government it includes racism and discrimination against our indigenous peoples.
MARTINELLI'S FRAUD
As Eric Jackson reported, Martinelli and his band of thugs had a bit of trouble getting Ngöbe leaders in place that would blindly facilitate their plans to sell part of the comarca to South Korean mining giants. But if you are a corrupt supermarket tycoon-turned-president, the solution is simple: You just buy an indian chieftain. And so it came to be that we saw this picture published by the Presidencia of ministers Roxana Mendez and Roberto Henriquez committing fraud.
Fraud? Yes. Martinelli's appointing of some bribed Ngöbe - Rogelio Moreno - is against the law, the guy isn't even of the legal age to be a Ngöbe chief, it's a violation of every election law on the book and thus, logically, the government can't legally enter into any kind of agreement - supposedly to end the protests against the mining sell-out - with this character without committing fraud.
Needless to say, the people of the Ngöbe Buglé tribe have given this fake agreement a status somewhere below that of toilet paper and continue to protest.
On what legal grounds could Mendez possibly order foreigners out of the comarca? I’d love to see someone test this order and get arrested for being a “foreigner” in the comarca. Then have the government explain that to that persons governement. Does she ever have jurisdiction to limit freedom of movement? Or is this government giving up any pretense to care about even the most fundamental rights and laws? Pathetic!
We’ll find out soon enough: Your Bananama Republic is planning a trip to the Comarca to report what’s going on there.
By keeping these Marches and Demonstrations continuing daily!
As long as these demonstrations continue the World Financial Community will not lend monies to keep this greedy corrupt Oppressive Martinelli Mafiaized Government and his personal Gang of cowardly thieves in Power!
This Overly greedy corrupted Oppressive Martinelli Government can not function or exist without foreign influence, foreign monetary support and loans, Period.
These Marches and Demonstrations can now force this Government and It’s Businesses to capitulate to the demands of the true Panamanian People to stop promoting the rape and pillage of Panama Natural Resources for their personal monetary gain and to stop this massive Corruption within this Panamanian Government and it’s Businesses!!
Panama is monetarily broke!
These Marches and Demonstrations will put a huge amount of Monetary Pressure on these Corrupted Politicians, assemblymen, Ministries, Courts, Police and Businessmen who can only operate with the help of foreign banks, Capital, and foreign monetary influence!
This corrupted Martinelli Government will stoop to pure deceit, lies, Maiming, Shooting, Killing, the use of Pepper spraying, the use of tear gas, and the jailing and imprisoning of Peacefully Demonstrating Citizens to stay in Power!
May the True People of this Country of Panama continue this struggle peacefully within their pure conviction for true moral legal process and law under the real Constitution of Panama and Morality we all deserve!
“Panama where the numbers never add up”
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I spoke to a friend of mine who works in the Comarca (a peace corps volunteer), and in all fairness, gringos are not very welcome up there at the moment. This is thanks to the Canadian mining companies, and they have actually been asked to leave by the Ngobe themselves. Any white people in the area are now assumed to be connected to mining and may be subjected to heckling.
Faustino, I agree there is no freedom of movement here based on what is considered in the free world. Random road blocks for Pele Police without probable cause etc. Technology that is close to 40 years old based on US police standards BTW.
The Greek Minister (yes, Papadimitriu, who can run to Greece if he is ever indicted for anything…Anyone say ‘Fujimori’?)), a seasoned demagogue, IS telling the truth when he says the “protests are due to outsiders telling lies to the Indians”….Mr. Papadimitriu, Mr. Martinelli (another one who can run, this time to Italy, to escape any indictment) and their Cadre DO represent not only their own interests but those of outsiders, i.e., FOREIGNERS…And yes, as I mentioned in another post, their sole purpose is to divide and conquer, to weaken the Indigenous People’s resolve and unity of purpose. Roxanna Mendez has absolutely no right whatsoever to order anyone out of Comarca territories. That right belongs SOLELY to the Comarca Chiefs AND no one else. Every move that the present Panamanian administration makes is patently illegal, and only serves to stir up radical responses.
I don’t see how this situation can end well, given the Martinelli government’s continued tendency of engaging in clearly illegal, and anti-Constitutional maneuvers. Most people in the Republic of Panama do not approve of the mining law, do not want open mining in Panama, and support the Indigenous People in their protests. I fully expect a fraudulent opinion poll to appear soon, falsely stating that the majority of the Panamanian people approve of the mining law and the fake decree that Martinelli signed with his Ngöbe paid-for employee, Rogelio Moreno. As for Mr. Moreno, I don’t feel he will fare very well with the Indigenous People of Panama: The don’t take too kindly to one of their own selling out.