By Elida Moreno
Panama City (Reuters) – Hundreds of Panamanians marched Thursday to mark the anniversary of a deadly uprising against US rule over the Panama Canal in 1964, with some protesters burning a statue of the president. Elected Donald Trump, who threatened to take back the important world. Waterways.
More than 20 Panamanians, mostly students, were killed during violent clashes across the country in January 1964, which escalated after US security forces opened fire in response to mass protests. Against the US presence in the country and the management of the canal. At least three American soldiers were also killed.
The incident, which commemorates January 9 as “Martyrs’ Day”, is considered a milestone for the transfer of the canal to Panama in 1999. It also serves as a reminder of the bloody past that still dominates the national mood on the creek. In Panama, as tensions rise with Trump.
“Today is a day to remember the sacrifices of our martyrs, but also to tell the world that Panama is a sovereign state and a canal,” said Sebastian Quiroz, an 84-year-old retired student during the uprising. “It is ours.” .
Crowds chanted “Spilled blood will never be forgotten” and “handed over Panama” as they approached the Palace of Eternal Flames, built to commemorate those who died in 1964. The day before, President Jose Raul Mulino laid a wreath at the venue during the official ceremony.
Trump on Tuesday refused to reject the use of military or economic pressure to seize control of the canal, an 82-kilometer (51-mile) artificial waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean, an international shipping lane. Core.
The president-elect has criticized the cost of transporting goods through canals and underestimated China’s influence in the region. China does not control or control the canal, but Hong Kong-based subsidiary CK Hutchison Holdings controls two ports on the canal’s Caribbean and Pacific entrances.
Panama has strongly condemned Trump’s threats.
“The only hand in control of the canal is Panama and that is how it will continue,” Foreign Minister Javier Martinez-Acha told reporters on Tuesday.
Ivan Quintero, a 59-year-old university employee who took part in the march, said no government could take away what Panama people have been fighting for so long.
“Trump is very disrespectful in threatening to take the canal out of us,” he said. “He has to learn to show respect.”
#canal #Reuters
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