YouSaid · the spoken record

Guillermo Endara Galimany

THE RECORD WRITES THIS SPEAKER AS GUILLERMO ENDARA GALIMANY

lines on the record: 47
first: 1990-09-24
most recent: 1991-09-24
sittings or episodes: 2
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“Humanity is not a question of size. We have the Netherlands, Greece, Switzerland and Japan as timeless reminders of the strength of the small countries. On behalf of my Government and all the peoples who have benefited from his constant concern for the peace and well-being of all nations, I wish to pay a sincere tribute to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar. He has courageously taken up the reforms of the Organization. He has left the proof of his dedication and his ability in Afghanistan, the Middle East, Cambodia, Cyprus and Central America, to mention only a few places. Panama offers him, as always, all its support, so that the record may show that we recognize his life as one devoted first to the service of his country and then to the service of mankind.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Therefore, the Panamanian delegation has consistently made clear its willingness to support any measure that could contribute efficiently and effectively to the restoration of democracy in Haiti. I am not upholding a false concept of the principle of non intervention, for sovereignty is founded on the self-determination of a people, not that of any Government. I note with pleasure that on the initiative of the Latin American and Caribbean Group the General Assembly will shortly be considering a resolution expressing the concern and solidarity that our peoples and Governments feel for Haitian democracy. It is customary for the President of Brazil to open the general debate. Today, for the first time, a Head of State will close it. It is significant that, following a large country, a small one like ours should make the final statement.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“The enjoyment of freedom involves the commitment to defend everyone's freedom; otherwise we run the risk of excluding ourselves from civilized society. My Government supports all necessary measures to restore constitutional order in Haiti. We would do the same in any other case; we accept no formal concessions that betray the will of the people. In the Organization of American States, we have maintained an unequivocal position order that the tragedy that my country experienced in 1989 will not be repeated in any other country. The Organization of American States cannot fail in its duty to re-establish democracy in Haiti. This would endanger democracy in this continent and would undermine the existence of that organization.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“I have left this point for the end of my statement because it has to do not only with the situation of a small Caribbean country; it also has a direct relationship with our efforts to restructure the United Nations and to create a new world order based on justice. Here we have heard applause for the statements of those who have advocated the supremacy of a fair international order over internal injustice. As recently as Monday, the King of Spain moved the Assembly when, on behalf of his ancient kingdom he said, and I quote, "... human rights are not the internal problem of any country". The tragedy in Haiti is something known to all Ibero-Americans, as well as many Africans, many Asians and many Europeans.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“We know that a handful of arrogant soldiers are doing the same thing in Port-au-Prince that other arrogant soldiers did in Panama two years ago. We are here to state clearly that a democratic government cannot permit, for whatever reason, the flouting of the popular will in this manner, not in Haiti, not in Panama not in any part of the world. All the statements about poverty, underdevelopment ox equality would be meaningless if we were to allow the will of the people freely expressed in exemplary elections to be defied, if we were to allow the heroes of Haitian freedom to he defeated by sophistry that has nothing to do with reality.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Moreover, the Republic of Panama is working out a mechanism that will allow us to engage in cooperation with users so that the Canal can fulfil its double function as a national resource and as an international instrument. We hope to be able to submit an original plan at the second Ibero-American Summit at Madrid as a Panamanian contribution to the great community of peoples linked by the two great oceans. I have not forgotten that here a year ago I committed the Panamanian Government to the cause of freedom in our neighbouring country, Haiti. International determination and the Haitian will for freedom led to an historic election in which a humble citizen was constitutionally elected President. We know what Haiti feels today.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“It should be stated in this body that, contrary to what is sometimes heard, the Republic of Panama is preparing itself responsibly for the administration of this national resource, which also constitutes a resource of mankind. It has always been said to date that the land was ours and the capital belonged to the United States. The work conducted in the Culebra Cut at the cost of more than $200 million, which was necessary for several years, was paid for by the collection of tolls through the Canal; what amounts to the same thing, Panama has made the economic sacrifice implied by waiving that income from now until the year 2000. This participation is proof of our seriousness.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Our decision gradually and in a complementary way to become part of the Central American group is based on the trend towards regional grouping. We are furthermore convinced that the countries of the area are moving in a democratic direction. We are proceeding cautiously, but our decision demonstrates a firm political will, We are aware of our function as a link to the South American continent, to which we are bound by centuries of relationships, and to a Caribbean area that has since colonial times been related to us by blood, customs and interests. The Panama Canal is preparing to be Panamanian not only in name but in reality as of 31 December 1999.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“It had no other purpose than illicit enrichment and the waste of national capital. Thus, it neither paid the debts it had contracted nor encouraged the development of the economy. My Government was obliged simultaneously to tackle unemployment, declining investments, an incomprehensible political hostility and the payment of the debt we inherited from the previous regime. Our efforts have in an orderly fashion produced some concrete results because our domestic economy is recovering. The fiscal situation is gradually becoming normalized. We have already achieved agreements with international financial bodies and with the countries of the Paris Club. Finally, we have prepared a programme of economic adjustment to free our economy within the plan of international cooperation, restructuring of debt and new plans for investment.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Aware of the implicit danger for all mankind, we have adopted the measures recommended by this Organization concerning dumping and incineration of toxic and dangerous waste in the region of the Greater Caribbean. We have also taken special precautions in the transport of oil and other chemicals that pass through the Canal. We are committed to the protection of our water resources and especially the preservation of the hydrographic basin of the Canal. The World Conference on Environment and Development, to be held in Brazil in 1992, will be of decisive importance on this topic and Panama supports all measures to assure its success. The military Government that preceded my own ceased to comply with the obligations of the State towards international organizations and other creditors.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Upsetting the ecological balance in this area would affect fisheries in both oceans, the operation of the Canal and inter-ocean trade. My Government placed these facts on record at the recent meeting in Madrid. I wish to state decisively before this body the urgent necessity of quantifying the value of those reserves for mankind. They should be taken advantage of by all equally, by those of the North and those of the South, so that the land may have neither owners nor exploiters. The painful measures that we small countries are taking in this area call for the cooperation of the developed countries in both the technical and economic spheres.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“We Panamanians are doubly concerned because of our position, because of the nature of our natural resources and because of the impact that their deterioration would have for the planet, but especially for Panama. We live between two seas united by a canal. The canal is at the same time a Panamanian resource and an instrument of world trade. Our fisheries encompass the Greater Caribbean and the Humboldt Current. We are literally the forward defence of Amazonia. Our Darien area has for several decades constituted a resource reserve of the first order. It is governed in the Pacific and Atlantic areas by organisations with the participation on an equal footing of all groups of indigenous peoples living there. They are represented at every level of Government, from local municipalities to the national Legislative Assembly.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“This is a matter not of paternalism but of justice, for that reason it is Important that trade negotiations in the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade should not become bogged down, and it is vital that regional economic groups should not became so many more zones of protectionism. Last year I suggested that a decade against poverty should be declared with a view to checking the spread of poverty, disease and ignorance around the world. Today, in recognising the efforts of the United Nations in this noble endeavour, I insist that we move forward and that the new era of international cooperation should extend to the poor. We are all concerned about the deterioration of the environment and about the harmful consequences that that may have for present and future generations.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“We shall ensure that next century's world is better than this one if we understand that we cannot create in one part of society wealth that is based on poverty in another part - either internationally or nationally. Relationships between North and South must change on the basis of mutual respect and acceptance of the just value that human labour deserves in every region. We need a new approach to the prices of our commodities. We need truly to expand international trade and investment. We need a generous vision concerning the use and distribution of wealth.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“In our subcontinent the United Nations Development Programme and the regional projects concerning critical poverty help us to tackle the problem, but they are not sufficient. They must be supplemented with other measures of international cooperation. We in Panama have adopted a set of measures in the framework of a national strategy to reduce poverty. These include projects over the next five years focusing on health, education, housing and employment, with the emphasis on programmes for mother-and-child nourishment, popular housing and job creation. The support of non-governmental organizations has been demonstrably important and constitutes a mechanism for extra-governmental participation without which the democratic process would be incomplete.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“If the political problems of Europe and the eastern Mediterranean are of unquestionable importance to us all, I wish to refer to two other obstacles that we must overcome in this Organization and within each State. I refer to the poverty of man and to the impoverishment of the environment. Poverty is making inroads every day. In the developing countries 1,000 million people are living in conditions of dire need. In South America and the Caribbean more than half the population is having difficulty surviving. In the developed countries, statistics conceal broad areas of human misery in the midst of apparently general wealth. The efforts of the United Nations to reduce poverty are worthy of praise and support.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“It is necessary not only for the region and for the peace of the planet but also for the sake of programmes aimed at the salvation of mankind and the defence of our environment. The surest road to a lasting peace is a negotiated solution that will satisfy the specific aspirations of all the peoples concerned. Our Government has closely followed political developments in southern Africa. We believe that a serious effort is being made to revise the apartheid system. The Pretoria Government has adopted significant measures that call for impartial study, taking into account the interests of the South African peoples. A solution should be sought that is more in tune with the present international situation.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“As part of greater Colombia, we lived through the dismemberment of a dream and the confinement of a continental vision. Today we are trying to recapture these, having paid the high price of fragmentation. Against this background, we view with concern and pain the struggles of Yugoslavia. We are aware of the roots of the ethnic problem but, at the same time, we harbour the hope that the centrifugal forces of development will overcome the fragmentationist forces of division, both in that country and in the emerging regions of Africa. Peace in the Middle East calls for a new tolerance between Israel and the Arab countries. A conference to examine the present situation and to help to overcome decades of enmity is essential.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“We understand that this is a complex situation, but we observe that positive results have already emerged with regard to relations among States and the freedom of peoples. The changes in the Soviet Union, in Eastern Europe and in Asia give rise to optimism, and they should prompt us to cooperation. The international community understands this and is supporting the positive change. For the Republic of Panama, the establishment of diplomatic and consular relations with the Soviet Union is the door to a new and significant relationship on the eve of the twenty-first century. It is in the framework of this flowering of freedom that we must confront the crises presented by national identities. Those crises are as understandable as were the divisions that ensued upon our independence from Spain in the last century.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Among these are our love for democracy, our commitment to human dignity and our devotion to individual freedoms. On the other side of the coin is our aversion to poverty, sectarianism and disease. In defence of those values, and in the struggle against those scourges, the Republic of Panama will always be prepared to contribute, with honesty and determination, not only domestically but also as a member of the world community. A year ago we were looking forward to the opportunity of enjoying an era of peace and cooperation between nations. Today we are beginning to build the road to a new society for mankind. Here, the relationship between the super-Powers could prove to be an effective instrument.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania constitute an example of faith and courage in regard to liberation, culminating in recognition by the international community. We are fully confident that at the next session of the General Assembly we shall have another new Member as a result of the plebiscite to be conducted in Western Sahara under the auspices of the United Nations to secure the right of self-determination for the Saharan people. A year ago, from this rostrum, I gave a brief account of the recent history of our Republic. The vicissitudes we have experienced can be understood only in the light of our internal reality, which quite often is ill understood in certain circles. On that occasion I sought to emphasize certain of the national values we treasure.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“The Republic of Panama is deeply gratified at the election of Mr- Samir Shihabi as President of the General Assembly, and we are confident that under his able guidance this forty-sixth session of the Assembly will be one of great importance for our Organization. The work of his predecessor, Mr. Guido de Marco, has laid the bases upon which to deal with the changes called for by the new international situation. My people are very happy at the admission of the new Members. We have always maintained cordial relations with the Republic of Korea, and we now have the hope that the Korean peninsula will be reunified. The Republic of the Marshall Islands and the Federated States of Micronesia are our neighbours of that Pacific Ocean which has linked us with Asia for so many centuries.”
1991-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 46 (1991)
“I wish to have even better relations with those countries which share similar interests. Panama will prosper and will enjoy peace because its people is hardworking and because Panamanians share in the ideals of democracy, justice and freedom, and always seek the truth. May God always enlighten all Panamanians so that we do not deviate from this path. May God enlighten the Governments of the world so that they share the aspirations, ideals and hopes of the Panamanian people and its Government.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“We view this willingness on the part of the United States with optimism, even though the problems which we must still discuss with the United States are many. The reference to our inter-oceanic waterway leads me to define our concept of the Panama Canal in the twenty-first century. It is a Panamanian canal, and it will be managed by Panamanians, but based on the multilateral interests of all its users. We will take into account the needs of the world and, most especially, the needs of the friendly countries of the hemisphere. For this reason, the Government of Panama will periodically consult with the Governments of Latin America and the Caribbean so that Canal policies will take into account the interests of all. I wish to have good relations with all countries.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“I reaffirm my Government’s complete respect for the 1977 Canal Treaties and my country's international obligations. I wish to see Panama respected by all nations, and we will achieve this because Panama respects itself, and the Government respects its people. We participate, without fear or complexes, in all our international relations because we are confident and aware of our own worth. I am especially pleased to announce a historic fact: at the head of the administration of the inter-oceanic waterway there is, for the first time in history, a Panamanian citizen designated by my Government. Observance of the corresponding provisions of the Canal Treaty shows the intention of the Government of the United States of America to fulfil all its obligations and commitments under the 1977 Treaties.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“We have recognised that the loss of freedom, no matter how small the country where it occurs, can jeopardise social peace and prosperity even in larger countries. The Government of Panama has faithfully complied with measures adopted by the Security Council to put an end to the Gulf crisis. It also firmly supports the actions taken thus far under United Nations authority and is willing to support any additional measures it may authorise. I wish to note that Panama has made much progress in the last few months end will continue to do so. Panamanians want to see Panama sovereign over all its territory - in undisputed possession of all its resources, developing the, all for its own benefit primarily, but also for the benefit of the world.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“In the post-cold-war environment there is a sombre black cloud. We arc meeting at a time of grave crisis in the Middle East. The future of a nation and the lives of thousands of innocent people hang by a thread. I wish to take this opportunity to express the unconditional support of my Government for the commendable actions taken by the Security Council in defence of Kuwait's sovereignty and independence. The level of co-operation it has achieved, its serious deliberations and the worth of its decisions have raised the authority of the United Nations to unprecedented levels. It has won universal respect. The cruel invasion of its neighbour by Iraq has reminded us how fragile peace is in our world. This crude aggression has not only provoked our condemnation, but has shown, as never before, the interdependence of the nations of the world.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“In this post-cold-war environment the time is right for ending one of the last legacies of that past era: the exclusion of the Republic of Korea from this Organisation. The Republic of Korea is willing to contribute, as an active member, to promoting world peace and international co-operation, and it should not be excluded for a moment longer. Its full participation will represent an important commitment to facilitating the process of reconciliation in the Koreas Peninsula in accordance with the principles and objectives of the Charter. Panama confidently supports the incorporation of the Republic of Korea into the Organisation as soon as possible. We also support implementation of Security Council resolutions aimed at solving the question of Cyprus in order to eliminate the last vestiges of the cold war.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“I should like the General Assembly soon to declare a Decade on Poverty, dedicated to concentrating our efforts to stop the increase in poverty, illness and illiteracy in our world and to reduce them to a minimum. We are taking part in this forty-fifth session of the General Assembly in a year of extraordinary transformations, which have brought about a rebirth of the United Nations as an organisation with renewed functions and tasks. At the end of the cold war this Organisation in emerging into a world in which peace and international co-operation are truly feasible. Free of the tensions between the super-Powers, the United Nations can now devote itself fully to promoting social peace, human development and respect for human rights. The road is open for enhanced action leading to positive results.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“Sixthly, we believe that this Organisation and all the bodies linked to it should continue their work on priority matters of universal concern, such as the freedom of the individual, the eradication of poverty and human development with participation, to give a human perspective to economic growth. Action taken by the United Nations, together with parallel action at the national level by leaders truly committed to the achievement of their peoples' well-being, will lead us, in what remains of this century, to make up for lost time. We should welcome the twenty-first century in a more constructive environment, in which people are less anguished and less anxious and are more satisfied with what they can achieve by their own efforts and with God's help.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“We are signatories of the United Nations Convention against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, which should soon be submitted to our legislative branch for study and ratification. Fifthly, we agree on the need to supervise the production of arms worldwide and the trade in arms for terrorist and anti-democratic purposes. We, who played a part in the arms trade under the military government, are drawing up measures to prevent the illegal movement of arms and military material. We must stop this deadly trade, as the Federal Republic of Germany recently suggested here.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“We also believe in the work of the bodies dealing with civil and political rights within the United Nations, which will receive the full and constant support of the Panamanian Government. Fourthly, we shall use all the means available to us to fight the drug traffic and its financial instruments, because our country was one of the direct victims of the drug economy, as a result of the actions of the military Government. We have taken measures in our domestic legislation to combat the laundering of drug money, by requiring that all bank transactions exceeding a certain amount be registered. We are willing to co-operate in international efforts in this regard.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“We unreservedly support all measures conducive to a rapid solution of any electoral problem. We are pleased by the readiness of the Security Council and the Secretariat to find a viable solution to the case of Haiti, especially because Panama did not have the benefit of the same treatment when it needed it recently. Thirdly, we support all actions that will contribute to ensuring political, civil and human rights, guaranteed by international conventions. We are committed under the San Jose Convention to respect the competence and decisions of the Central American Court of Justice, which we are sure will become the highest guarantor of the human rights of all the people of our continent.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“I believe that our experience is enriched to a greater or lesser degree, by all the countries represented here. First, because we have suffered at first hand, we have established by law the principle that we shall never recognise any Government originating from a military coup against a legitimate regime elected in popular elections or a Government holding power as, result of electoral fraud or its prevention of elections provided for by the domestic 1m of the State in question. We shall make no exception; we shall be inflexible. We who deceives and rejects the will of his people will find no encouragement or support from either my people or my Government. Secondly, we are concerned about the present situation of democracy throughout the world and especially in the countries of the American continent.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“We must bring about a successful democracy that really meets the needs of the population. I know that is this task we can count on the help of the Governments of the developed countries of our continent, Europe and Asia and the goodwill of international associations in terms of financing and technical co-operation. This help and co-operation acquire a new meaning in the post-cold-war world, which we celebrate in 1990. I shall return to this subject later. So far I have spoken of Panama’s recent history and its present experiences, because they explain our firm positions on many items on the international agenda and because we consider that the United Nations should be the sounding-board for the ideals and aspirations of the men and women of the world.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“We are putting into effect a modest but efficient public investment programme that satisfies the most urgent needs of the community. We want political democracy to be accompanied by economic democracy. All opportunities should be open to all citizens. We believe in economic growth, but also in human development. Our main concern is unemployment and the poor. We have a very large unemployed labour force - men and women - many of them heads of household, with a high level of education hoping to find decent jobs. We have to meet enormous housing, health, nutrition and education needs, above all for the children, who are the future. We fully aware that investment in our human capital is a priority if we are to achieve sustained economic development, to benefit all sectors of the population.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“In the banking sector, restrictions that had existed for two years on certificates of deposit were lifted a few months ago with no adverse effect on the liquidity of the system. On the contrary, bank deposits grew in 1990. The construction industry, which directly and indirectly generates many jobs, is being reactivated, as seen by the increase in the number of construction permits issued this yea?, Tourism in Panama and hotel occupancy are increasing daily. The volume of business of the Colon Free Zone has increased considerably. We shall soon have a new law permitting the establishment of industries in multi-sector zones for export. We have an aggressive policy to stimulate our exports. We are arranging our public finances, putting things in order and facing - responsibly - the huge external debt we inherited.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“Only a few days ago, in an unprecedented act in our history, the civil authorities proclaimed the retirement of 142 officials who had been a part of the former army. In that way we are demilitarizing the structures charged with the maintenance of public order. In Panama today there no generals or colonels. There are no lieutenant-colonels either. There is full freedom of speech and total respect for human rights. The gaols house only common criminals. Only Panamanians who do so of their own free will live outside their homeland. In the economic sphere, we are already feeling a resurgence of suppressed energies. Confidence on internal and external matters is growing.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“Those are voices I want to make heard in this Hall, which houses the conscience of mankind. That is the flag I want to raise. That is the cry I wish to be heard in all corners of the world: There is suffering in the world, and we have to end it. Fortunately, in Panama there is a fresh breeze filling us with hope and optimism. We are breathing the air of freedom in a climate of democracy. We Panamanians today control our future. Democratic institutions are working. Democracy must respond to the material and spiritual needs of the Panamanian people. The three duly established branches of Government are working independent of one another, in an awareness that the concentration of power is a danger we must avoid by all means. We have abolished the army because the Panamanian people does not want any more armies - much less the cost of one.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“I want to bring before the representatives of all the world's countries the voice of the Panamanian people, which suffers but which has hope; the voice of the peasant who works from morning to night under the hot sun or in the tropical rain to survive in his poverty; the voice of the worker, used to hard work, who searches for the decent job he has yet to find; the voice of the mother who puts her children to bed at night without any food in their stomachs; the voice of the child who sells newspapers, of the shoeshine boy, or of the child who stands on the street-corner selling anything to take a crust of bread back to his family, his childhood and his education cut off, forced to be an adult before his time; the voice of the ill without medicine and without the need to be ill; the voice of the poor man without a roof over his head, or a bed to sleep in, or shelter for the night.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“Poverty and unemployment most harshly affect young women from 15 to 24 years of age. There is a great scarcity of housing, reflected in a growing shortage of accommodations and in dehumanizing overcrowding. The difficulty of financing the construction of housing for the poor has led to the proliferation of shanty towns. A lack of investment in health and education, especially in recent years, has caused a deterioration of services for the poor. Malnutrition, a lack of drinking water and poor education are problems we inherited from the dictatorship and from the difficulties of recent years. I must note with regret that social problems affect primarily children, youth, women, the indigenous population and senior citizens. Today I want to speak in the name of my people.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“Payment of the public debt had been completely disregarded in the last three years, and consequently all sources of new credit had disappeared. Political instability in the last years, together with the economic sanctions imposed on the Panamanian Government by the United States Government in 1986, produced a sudden depression in the national economy, which suffered a fall of soma 16 per cent of gross domestic product in that year alone. Public revenues were reduced by half. The unemployment rate went up to 18 per cent, a figure never before seen in our history. Unemployment became the most serious problem we faced. The decrease, or absence, of income caused the basic needs of the population to remain generally unmet. Forty-five per cent of our people are considered poor; the vast majority of children live in poor homes.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“When force and arrogance gave way to madness, the final outcome was irreversible. With all the constitutional, legal and moral rights given us months before by the overwhelming popular mandate, we took power under the most chaotic of circumstances. There were no basic institutions to support a democratic' government. There was no structure capable of assuring even the minimum' public order required. There was no legislative branch, inasmuch as its orderly reorganization had been prevented. The Supreme Court of Justice was without a leader. The Government Treasury had been virtually looted, since public funds had been controlled and directly abused by military headquarters, Public employees were not paid in full or on time.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“The rest of the story is known: more persecutions and more exiles, murders, harassment and violations of human rights. How sad it was for the Panamanian people to find itself alone. The international community did not realize the vital importance our fight had for us, nor did it see it in its full dimension as a lamentable example for other peoples. International diplomacy gave us a choice between accepting the conditions which the illegitimate government imposed in order to stay in power and having recourse to the human slaughter that would result from a civil war between a defenceless people and an army equipped with weapons. Only a few friendly countries really understood the full extent of the suffering of our people and its legitimate aspirations and supported us.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“From this rostrum and in the name of all Panamanians, I would like to thank all friendly peoples, all Governments, all international institutions and all those people of good will which, with their presence in our country, testified to the result of those elections in May and with their moral authority strengthened our spirit of struggle. But when fraud, coercion and downright cheating were not enough to deflect the desire for change clearly shown in the electoral process, the tyranny turned to farce. In a blatant and shameful act, the Government annulled the elections. It told the people that the elections which it had itself called, organised and administered were not valid. Then with a stroke of a pen, through a decree that lacked any legal or moral backing, they slapped down the highest moral and civic values of Panamanians.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“The concepts of justice, ethics, the common good, development and democracy during those years had the meaning that those usurpers wanted to give them. They did not have the true meaning reflected in the conscience of the people and in the values of the nation. On 7 May last year, the citizens of Panama went to the polls an masse and in an orderly way, displaying an exemplary public spirit. Those elections were called by a military dictatorship that was worn out and repudiated and which thought to cling to power through trickery and coercion before and during that public referendum. The people expressed its will overwhelmingly against the dictatorial regime and in favour of democracy, freedom and hope.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)
“Let me begin by saying we are very pleased at the election of Guido de Marco as President of the General Assembly. I must also recognise the efforts of the Secretary-General, Javier Peres de Cuellar, on behalf of peace and of the renewal of this Organisation. Let me also express our satisfaction over the admission of Namibia and Liechtenstein to membership of this Organisation this year. For the first time in 22 years the people of Panama is legitimately and authentically represented in this world Organisation. From 1968 - when a leader newly elected by the people was the victim of a crude military coup d'etat - until the end of last year, force of arms and the constant threat of its use dominated the Panamanian people and stole the government of my country.”
1990-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 45 (1990)