Episcopal Press and News
Episcopal Bishop Says Panama Still Hurting from U.S. Invasion
Episcopal News Service. April 26, 1990 [90115]
Robert Melville
PANAMA CITY -- Episcopal Bishop James H. Ottley is openly critical of the U.S. invasion of his country, and is pessimistic about Panama's future.
"War for me," he said in a recent interview at his diocesan office, "is not the way to solve problems, because war is evil." He disputes the official death toll of 700 plus, and believes it is closer to 1,000. "But the sanctity of life is so important to me, that if it was only one life, the invasion would have been wrong."
The bishop saw the war at close range. His house shook from the bombing of Noriega's comandancia, about a mile away. The day after the invasion he walked alone two miles through streets of anarchy to check on the girls and staff at the Bella Vista home. His son, Luis, escaped death when Panamanian militia riddled the American car he was driving with bullets.
Later that day, at a roadblock near St. Luke's Cathedral, a U.S. soldier commanded the bishop, "Just don't move" when he started to reach for his papers. "The look on his face and the submachine gun confirmed for me that there is nothing ethical about killing, that war is evil," Ottley said.
"The United States," he continued, "is now morally obligated to provide compensation for loss of life, for injuries, and for the destruction of property." He went further. "If it is true, and it appears to be true, that the United States had a very close relationship with Noriega and the national guard and the defense forces, then the United States is not only part of the solution, it is part of the problem."
Ottley, who is 53 and who has been Panama's bishop for six years, also blames the media, both in his country and in the United States, for hyping Noriega into the sole villain in the situation. He said the media gave the sole impression that Noriega became rich only on drug traffic profits when it appears he was paid $200,000 a year for 10 years by the United States. "He could, with all his power and clout, have become one of the richest men in the world by simply investing that and other resources in this country."
"The media said he [Noriega) practices witchcraft, but 90 percent of the people in Panama read palms, go to fortune-tellers, or consult the stars in some way. The media," Ottley said he had concluded after three months of reflection, "poisoned our view of Noriega to help to justify the U.S. action."
"The thing to remember," Ottley said, "is that because of past agreements between the United States and Noriega, it is impossible to condemn Noriega without condemning the U.S."
The bishop said he also regrets the invasion because it returns Panama to the same state of dependency that existed when the country was formed in 1903. The only country offering assistance is the United States, so after achieving a certain amount of independence, our legal, economic, political, education, and military systems are all back at the beginning."
Ottley said the Panamanians "were, like the Jewish people, always looking for a messiah, and the messiah is Uncle Sam." He likened the relationship between Panama and the United States to one "between a mother and a child. It is hard for me to say that, but that is what I conclude after looking at the whole panorama of events."
Ottley is skeptical that the United States, because of its own economic troubles, will help as much as it should and believes Panama should also turn to other countries, especially Japan, for assistance. "What is needed now," he said, "is both immediate emergency help and long-range planning. We need emergency funds to help people believe in the future. We especially have to design ways for the poor to be able to sustain themselves."
"The present Endara government has said a lot about [its] concern for the poor," Ottley concluded. "I hope that as resources are found that there will be tangible evidence of a response to the needs of the poor."