Panama yesterday was to mark the 25th anniversary of the US’ handover of its interoceanic canal, a milestone overshadowed by US president-elect Donald Trump’s threat to demand control be returned to Washington.
The anniversary comes two days after the death of former US president Jimmy Carter, aged 100, who signed the canal treaties that led to the vital waterway’s transfer on Dec. 31, 1999.
Trump, who is to return to the White House on Jan. 20, sparked anger among Panamanians by saying that Washington would demand the canal “be returned to us” if Panama could not ensure its “secure, efficient and reliable operation.”
Photo: Bloomberg
The US president-elect slammed what he called “ridiculous” fees for US ships passing through the canal and even alleged, without evidence, that Chinese troops were “lovingly, but illegally, operating” the channel.
“There’s nothing that unites Panamanians more than the defense of the canal, but having a tense relationship with the superpower, the main trading partner and main user of the canal, is a very disadvantageous situation for a country like Panama,” political scientist Sabrina Bacal said.
Francisco Cedeno, a 51-year-old graphic designer, described Trump’s threats as “completely nonsensical.”
“He should first try to resolve his country’s many problems and forget about the canal,” Cedeno said.
An estimated 5 percent of global maritime traffic passes through the Panama Canal, which was inaugurated in 1914 and allows ships to avoid the long, hazardous route around the southern tip of South America.
The US is its main user, accounting for 74 percent of cargo, followed by China with 21 percent.
The canal generates 6 percent of Panama’s national economic output and 20 percent of its fiscal revenues. Since 2000 it has pumped about US$28 billion into state coffers.
However, many Panamanians say they have not felt the benefits.
“We Panamanians should not be as poor as we are because the canal brings in a lot of money,” said Clotilde Sanchez, a 55-year-old cleaner in Panama City’s banking district.
“The people don’t benefit from the canal, only politicians do,” her colleague Nadili Perez, 40, said.
“This feeling of not benefiting from the canal has existed for years, but the reality is that the canal is the main source of wealth for Panamanians,” Bacal said.
The anniversary was to be celebrated with a ceremony led by Panamanian President Jose Raul Mulino and canal administrator Ricaurte Vasquez.
A march was planned in honor of about 20 Panamanians killed in 1964 after students tried to raise a Panamanian flag in the former “Canal Zone,” a US enclave that had its own military bases, police and justice system.
The canal handover came after Carter went back on a campaign promise during his first year in office and decided to cede management of the waterway.
The treaties he signed with Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos on Sept. 7, 1977, “put an end to an era of subjugation and began a period of independence and dignity,” said former Panamanian president Martin Torrijos, the nationalist leader’s son.
“Any attempt to reverse or violate our sovereignty will be condemned and rejected by all Panamanians,” he said.
Mulino has ruled out negotiations with Trump over control of the canal, and denied that China had any influence over it.
“There are no Chinese soldiers in the canal, for the love of God,” he said.
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