Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 4, 1990 TAG: 9003042227
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: PANAMA CITY, PANAMA LENGTH: Medium
There were no injuries or serious damage in the incident. U.S. soldiers and Panamanian police restored order.
The protest was organized by widows of Panamanian soldiers slain in the Oct. 3 attempt to topple Noriega. They are angered that Gonzalo Gonzalez and Heraclides Sucre, who are accused of killing coup leader Maj. Moises Giroldi, have taken refuge in the embassy.
Protesters also said they were concerned that the Panamanian government guaranteed safe passage Wednesday to Noriega's family and several other Noriega associates. Noriega's family left into exile Friday night.
Giroldi's widow Adela led about 70 protesters, including other widows and relatives of officers executed after surrendering during the insurrection against Noriega, who headed Panama's military until he was overthrown by the United States in a Dec. 20 invasion.
The Defense Forces under Noriega had said 10 officers were killed in the coup attempt. A human rights official estimated the total number dead at 77.
Adela Giroldi said she doesn't know who threw the firebombs. "It was peaceful and that the incidents were provoked by unknown people," she said.
"The pressure that we have been applying is sufficient. It's a matter of being firm with the Peruvian government," she said.
After the embassy incident, the protesters met with Ricardo Arias Calderon, first vice president and minister of justice and security. Arias Calderon guaranteed the widows that the government would not grant safe conduct to Gonzalez and Sucre.
"I, along with the foreign minister [Julio Linares], are offering our apologies to the government of Peru," he said. "It was a sad incident; it violated international law. There were troublemakers, unknown people."
No Peruvian diplomats were available for comment.
Also on Saturday, officials and witnesses to Friday night's explosion at a Panama City discotheque said two men yelling "Long live Noriega!" threw a grenade into the disco frequented by U.S. soldiers. The explosion wounded 27 people, including 16 American military men.
The attack late Friday was believed to be the first such raid on U.S. servicemen since the United States invaded Panama and overthrew Noriega. One of the Americans was reported seriously injured.
"I heard something come in that broke the glass, hit the table and then I heard the explosion," said Eric Quintero, one of the wounded. "There was a lot of confusion, people screaming . . . people on the floor."
"There were people bleeding everywhere," he said.
by CNB