Rehman Yar
Donald Trump is getting lost in the lust to dominate the world within a year. He proclaimed taking back the Panama Canal which was handed over to Panamanians after a treaty was signed between the United States and Omar Torrijos in 1977. In his inaugural speech, President Trump claimed that Panama had broken a promise to remain neutral, alleging that China is operating the Panama Canal. He said that we didn’t give it to China, we gave it to Panama, and we’re taking it back. How can you take it back when it wasn’t even yours? If Panama had the broken promise then what about the promise that the US has made in the treaty of not intervening in the Panama Canal anymore? But why is the Panamanian Canal important? Why does America want it back and feel threatened about China’s operating in the canal?
Panama Canal is one of the world’s most important shipping trade routes. It serves as a vital link between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, enabling ships to avoid the lengthy and hazardous voyage around Cape Horn at the southern tip of South America. The canal’s strategic significance extends beyond economic benefits and encompasses national security, defense capabilities, diplomatic relations, and logistical resilience. Panama was overall under the influence of the US and other foreign corporations. They were depriving the people of Panama of their rights and were utilizing the resources for their benefit until Omar Torrijos took power in 1968 as a dictator and changed the history of Panama.
Panamanian families were well rewarded for their support to the US. A dozen times US intervened in Panamanian independence. But 1968 was the year that changed the history of Panama. Torrijos was highly regarded by the Panamanian middle and lower classes. He earned a reputation for listening to the dispossessed who were deprived of homes, lands, and property. He did many reforms in his tenure from 1968 to 1981 and one of his most popular and remarkable achievements was his ‘Panama Canal Treaty’. He signed a treaty with Jimmy Carter in 1977 in which the stipulation was that Panama Canal would be handed over to the Panama by the year 2000. It was signed and the control was transferred from the US to Panama. It was a big achievement in terms of sovereignty, national security, and economic control. For the first time in history, Panama was not a puppet of Washington. He was determined to win freedom from the US without forging alliances with the United State’s enemies. He was simply saying that Panama has its rights to sovereignty over its people, its land, and the waterway and these rights were valid. He’s still remembered as ‘Hero of Panama’. He was later assassinated in a suspicious plane crash.
However, Panama’s current President has rejected the plan of Donald Trump and said Panama “is and will remain” in the country’s hands. It was and is sovereign and no country is allowed to intervene. Trump should remember that the treaty was signed by the US president himself. Breaking the treaty would be inadequate. Panamanians have the privilege to utilize their resources. To face the conspiracies of Trump, Panama needs more Torrijos to secure the Canal’s sovereignty.
The writer is a Student of Public Policy from Government College University, Lahore
