Martyrs' Day
Encyclopedia
Martyrs' Day is a Panama
nian holiday
which commemorates the January 9, 1964 riot
s over sovereignty
of the Panama Canal Zone
. The riot started after a Panamanian flag
was torn during conflict between Panamanian students and Canal Zone Police officers, over the right of the Panamanian flag to be flown alongside the U.S. flag
.
U.S. Army
units became involved in suppressing the violence after Canal Zone police were overwhelmed, and after three days of fighting, about 21 Panamanians and four U.S. soldiers were killed. The incident is considered to be a significant factor in the U.S. decision to transfer control of the Canal Zone to Panama through the 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties
.
gained independence from Colombia
in 1903 with the assistance of the U.S., there was much resentment amongst Panamanians as a result of the Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty
, which ceded control of the Panama Canal Zone
to the U.S. "in perpetuity". The Canal Zone, primarily consisting of the Panama Canal
, was a strip of land running from the Pacific Ocean
to the Caribbean
and had its own police, post offices, courts, television and radio stations. The Canal Zone became U.S. territory (de facto
if not de jure
).
In January 1963, U.S President
John F. Kennedy
agreed to fly Panama's flag alongside the U.S. flag at all non-military sites in the Canal Zone where the US flag was flown. However, Kennedy was assassinated before his orders were carried out. One month after Kennedy's death, Panama Canal Zone Governor Robert J. Fleming, Jr.
issued a decree limiting Kennedy's order. The U.S. flag would no longer be flown outside Canal Zone schools, police stations, post offices or other civilian locations where it had been flown, but Panama's flag would not be flown either. The governor's order infuriated many Zonians, who interpreted it as a U.S. renunciation of sovereignty over the Canal Zone http://www.blythe.org/nytransfer-subs/99ca/Panama_Canal_Zone:_Beginning_of_the_End-part1_.
In response, outraged Zonians began demonstrating
with the U.S. flag. After the first U.S. flag to be raised at Balboa High School
was taken down by school officials, the students walked out of class, raised another flag, and posted guards to prevent its removal. Most Zonian adults sympathized with the student demonstrators.
In what was to prove a miscalculation of the volatility of the situation, Governor Fleming departed for a meeting in Washington, D.C.
on the afternoon of January 9, 1964. For him and many others, the U.S.-Panama relationship was at its peak. The exploding situation caught up with the Governor while he was still en route to the U.S. over the Caribbean.
The news of the actions of the Balboa High School
reached the students at the Instituto Nacional, Panama's top public high school. Led by 17-year-old Guillermo Guevara Paz, 150 to 200 students from the institute marched to Balboa High School, carrying their school's Panamanian flag and a sign proclaiming their country's sovereignty over the Canal Zone. They had first informed their school principal and the Canal Zone authorities of their plans before setting out on their march. Their intention was to raise the Panamanian flag on the Balboa High School flagpole where the Americans
had raised theirs. http://www.blythe.org/nytransfer-subs/99ca/Panama_Canal_Zone:_Beginning_of_the_End-part1_
At Balboa High
, the Panamanian students were met by Canal Zone
police and a crowd of Zonian students and adults. After hurried negotiations between the Panamanian students and the police, a small group was allowed to approach the flagpole, while police kept the main group back.
A half-dozen Panamanian students, carrying their flag, approached the flagpole. In response, the Zonians surrounded the flagpole, sang the Star Spangled Banner, and rejected the deal between the police and the Panamanian students. Scuffling broke out. The Panamanians were driven back by the Zonian civilians and police. In the course of the scuffle, Panama's flag was torn.
The flag in question had historical significance. In 1947, students from the Instituto Nacional had carried it in demonstrations opposing the Filos-Hines Treaty and demanding the withdrawal of US military bases. Independent investigators of the events of January 9, 1964 later noted that the flag was made of flimsy silk
, thus easily torn. http://www.blythe.org/nytransfer-subs/99ca/Panama_Canal_Zone:_Beginning_of_the_End-part1_
There are conflicting claims about how the flag was torn. Canal Zone Police Captain Gaddis Wall, who was in charge of the police at the scene, denies any American culpability. He claims that the Panamanian students stumbled and accidentally tore their own flag. David M. White, an apprentice telephone technician with the Panama Canal Company, stated that "the police gripped the students, who were four or five abreast, under the shoulders in the arm pits and edged them forward. One of the students fell or tripped and I believe when he went down the old flag was torn."
One of the Panamanian flag bearers, Eligio Carranza, said that "they started shoving us and trying to wrest the flag from us, all the while insulting us. A policeman wielded his club which ripped our flag. The captain tried to take us where the others Panamanian students were. On the way through the mob, many hands pulled and tore our flag."
incident spread, angry crowds formed along the border between Panama City
and the Canal Zone. At several points demonstrators stormed into the zone, planting Panamanian flags. Canal Zone police tear gassed them. Rocks were thrown, causing minor injuries to several of the police officers. The police responded by opening fire.
Canal Zone authorities asked the Guardia Nacional (Panama's Armed Forces) to suppress the disturbances. The Guardia stayed away from the fighting.
Meanwhile, demonstrators began to tear down the "Fence of Shame
" which
separated the Canal Zone from the Republic of Panama. Panamanians were tear gassed, and
then several were shot, for pulling or climbing on the chain link fence.
One of the most famous photographs of what Panamanians know as Martyrs' Day shows two demonstrators, one bearing a Panamanian flag, climbing over the Fence of Shame at Ancon. The opinion of most Panamanians, and most Latin Americans generally, about the fence in question was expressed a few days later by Colombia
's ambassador to the Organization of American States
: "In Panama there exists today another Berlin Wall
."
The Panamanian crowds grew as nightfall came, and by 8 p.m. the Canal Zone Police Department was overwhelmed. Some 80 to 85 police faced a hostile crowd of at least 5,000, and estimated by some sources to be 30,000 or more, all along the border between Panama City and the Canal Zone. When the lieutenant governor came to survey the scene, a Panamanian mob stoned his car.
At the request of Lieutenant Governor Parker, General Andrew P. O'Meara
, commander of the U.S. Southern Command, assumed authority over the Canal Zone. The US Army's 193rd Infantry Brigade
was deployed at about 8:35 p.m.
American-owned businesses in Panama City were set afire. The recently dedicated Pan American Airlines building (which, despite housing an American corporation, was Panamanian-owned) was completely gutted. The next morning, the bodies of six Panamanians were found in the wreckage.
Some reporters alleged one giant communist plot, with Christian Democrats, Socialists, student government leaders and a host of others controlled by the hand of Fidel Castro. However, it seems that Panama's communists were caught by surprise by the outbreak of violence and commanded the allegiance of only a small minority of those who fought the Americans on the Day of the Martyrs. A good indication of the relative communist strength came two weeks after the confrontations, when the Catholic Church sponsored a memorial rally for the fallen, which was attended by some 40,000 people. A rival communist commemoration on the same day drew only 300 participants.
Whether or not for fear of an imminent communist takeover, the US embassy was ordered to burn all sensitive documents. A number of American residents of Panama City, particularly military personnel and their families who were unable to get housing on base, were
forced to flee their homes. There were many instances in which Panamanians gave refuge to Americans who were endangered in Panama City and elsewhere.
The confrontation was not contained in the Panama City area. Word of the
fighting quickly spread all over Panama by radio, television and private
telephone calls. The incomplete censorship had the side effect of contributing to wild rumors on all sides. One popular but inaccurate Zonian rumor, fueled in part by references to the "American Canal Zone" in US news media, that the
Panama Canal Zone had been renamed "United States Canal Zone" and would
henceforth be an outright possession of the United States.
News and rumor instantly traveled the 50 miles from Panama's south coast to
its north coast. The country's second city, Colón
, which abuts the city of
Cristóbal, then part of the Canal Zone, erupted within a few hours after
the start of hostilities on the Pacific side. Intense fighting continued for the next two days.
Unlike in Panama City, Panamanian authorities in Colón had made early attempts to separate the combatants. Some incidents also happened in other cities all over Panama.
against targets in Panama City, a number of people were shot to death under
controversial circumstances.
Ascanio Arosemena, a 20-year-old student, was shot at an angle from behind, through the shoulder and thorax. He became the first of
Panama's "martyrs," as those who fell on January 9, 1964 and the following few days were to become known. Witnesses say that Arosemena died while helping to evacuate wounded protesters from the danger zone. The witnesses appear to be corroborated by a photograph of Arosemena supporting an injured man, said to have been taken shortly before he was shot. The building where it all started, the former Balboa High School today bears his name, and is one of the buildings of the Panama Canal Authority, the Panamanian Government Agency created to run the Canal starting from mid-day December 31, 1999.
A six-month-old girl, Maritza Avila Alabarca, died with respiratory problems while her neighborhood was gassed by the U.S. Army with CS tear gas
. The U.S. denied that the infant's death was linked to the use of CS tear gas
, in keeping with its claim that it is not a lethal agent. On September 28, 2000, Prof. Dr. Uwe Heinrich released a study to investigate the use of CS by the FBI at the Branch Davidians' Mount Carmel compound. In summary, he concluded that if no gas masks were used and the occupants were trapped, then "...there is a distinct possibility that this kind of CS exposure can significantly contribute to or even cause lethal effects.".
Various U.S. accounts claim that all Panamanians who were shot to death were either rioters or else shot by other Panamanians.
Various Panamanian versions, also inaccurate, blame all Panamanian deaths
on U.S. forces, though those who died in the Pan American Airlines building
fire can not reasonably be said to have died at the hands of American
forces. Panamanians did fire shots at other Panamanians on the Day of the
"Martyrs", and some may have been killed or wounded that way. Some
Panamanians may have been hit by bullets fired by Panamanians but intended
for American targets. A definitive accounting of all deaths in the events
of January 1964 has yet to be published, and may never be published.
The official Canal Zone Police version is that the police did not shoot directly at anybody, but only fired over the heads or at the feet of rioters. The police version was discredited by independent investigators, who found that the police fired directly into the crowds and killed Arosemena and a number of other Panamanians. DENI ballistics experts claim that six Panamanians were killed by .38 caliber Smith and Wesson police revolvers fired by the Canal Zone Police.
Though some Panamanian sources give different names and numbers, the list
of Panama's "martyrs" can be found at the "martyrs" Memorial in the former Balboa High School in Panama City. The 21 as listed there
include: Maritza Alabarca, Ascanio Arosemena, Rodolfo Benitez, Luis Bonilla,
Alberto Constance, Gonzalo Crance, Teofilo De La Torre, Jose Del Cid ,
Victor Garibaldo, Jose Gil, Ezequiel Gonzalez, Victor Iglesias, Rosa Landecho,
Carlos Lara, Gustavo Lara, Ricardo Murgas, Estanislao Orobio, Jacinto Palacios,
Ovidio Saldaña, Alberto Tejada and Celestino Villarreta.
Most US accounts put the number of Americans killed in these events at
four, though others put the death toll at three or five. Those who died
on the American side include Staff Sergeant Luis Jimenez Cruz, Private David Haupt and
First Sergeant Gerald St. Aubin who were all killed by sniper fire on the 9th and 10th in Colon and Specialist Michael W. Rowland, whose death was caused by an accidental fall into a ravine on the evening of the 10th. Another 30 US military personnel were wounded in operations to separate the Panamanian and Canal Zone protesters. Most of the 17 injuries suffered by U.S. civilians resulted from thrown rocks or bottles.
When the fighting was over, DENI investigators found over 600 bullets
embedded in the Legislative Palace. Santo Tomas Hospital
reported that it
had treated 324 injuries and recorded 18 deaths from the fighting. Panama
City's Social Security Hospital treated at least 16 others who were wounded
on the first night of the fighting. Most of those killed and wounded had
suffered gunshot wounds. Some of the more seriously injured were left with
severe permanent brain damage or paralyzing spinal injuries from their
bullet wounds.
After the fighting, American investigators found over 400 bullets embedded
in the Tivoli Hotel. Years after the events of January 1964, a number of US Army historical documents were declassified, including Southcom's figures for ammunition expended. The official account has it that the US Army fired 450 .30 caliber rifle rounds, five .45 caliber pistol bullets, 953 shells of
birdshot and 7,193 grenades or projectiles containing tear gas. Also, the
army claims to have used 340 pounds of bulk CN-1 chemical (weak tear gas)
and 120 pounds of CS-1 chemical (strong tear gas). The same account said
that the Canal Zone police fired 1,850 .38 caliber pistol bullets and 600
shotgun shells in the fighting, while using only 132 tear gas grenades.
. The British
and French, who had been criticized by US administrations for their
colonial policies, pointed to the hypocrisy of a power whose Zonian
citizens were as obnoxious as any other group of colonial settlers.
Egypt
's Nasser suggested that Panama nationalize the Panama Canal
as they had nationalized the Suez Canal
. Not surprisingly, the People's Republic of China, the Soviet Union
and Cuba
denounced the U.S. in strident terms. From the other end of the ideological spectrum, Spanish dictator Francisco Franco
's right-wing Falangist Party joined in accusing the United States of
aggression against Panama
.
Significantly, other governments in the western hemisphere which had long
backed US policies declined to back the American position. Venezuela
led a
chorus of Latin American criticism of the United States. The Organization of American States
, on Brazil
's motion, took jurisdiction over the dispute
from the United Nations Security Council
. The OAS in turn put the matter
before its Inter-American Peace Committee. The committee held a week-long
investigation in Panama
which was greeted by a unanimous 15-minute
Panamanian work stoppage to demonstrate Panama's united opinion. No action
was taken on Panama's motion to brand the United States
guilty of
aggression, but the committee did accuse the Americans of using unnecessary
force.
The President of Panama at the time, Roberto Chiari
, broke diplomatic relations with the United States on January 10. On January 15, President Chiari declared that Panama would not re-establish diplomatic ties with the U.S. until it agreed to open negotiations on a new treaty. The first steps in that direction were taken shortly thereafter on April 3, 1964 when both countries agreed to an immediate resumption of diplomatic relations and the United States agreed to adopt procedures for the "elimination of the causes of conflict between the two countries". A few weeks later, Robert B. Anderson, President Lyndon Johnson's special representative, flew to Panama
to pave the way for future talks. For these actions President Chiari
is regarded as "the president of dignity". The role played by the Panamanian ambassador to the UN, Miguel Moreno is also worth mentioning. Mr. Moreno is remembered for his strong speech against the United States at the UN General Assembly.
This incident is considered to be the catalyst for the eventual U.S. abolition of the "in perpetuity" control of the Canal Zone, with the 1977 signing of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties
, which dissolved the Canal Zone
in 1979, set a timetable for the closing of U.S. Armed Forces Bases and transferred full control of the Panama Canal
to the Panamanian Government at noon
, December 31, 1999.
Two monuments have been built in Panama City
to commemorate these events. One was built where the flagpole incident happened, the former Balboa High School, today a Panama Canal Authority building that bears the name of Ascanio Arosemena, known as the first "martyr" and maybe the most famous one. It was built by the Panama Canal Authority and consists on a covered entryway containing the memorial, which has a name of a "martyr" on each column, and a eternal fire (not unlike the eternal fire for U.S. President John F. Kennedy) in the middle, and the Panamanian flag afterwards, in a sort of open-to-the-sky (i.e. no roof) "square", on a flagpole.
Another monument, built in front of the Legislative Assembly, on the former Panama City-Canal Zone limits consists on a life-sized monument in the form of a lamppost, with three figures climbing it to raise their flag. The monument reflects the photograph that was on the cover of LIFE magazine, in which three students climbed a lamppost and the one in the top had a Panamanian flag.
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
nian holiday
Holiday
A Holiday is a day designated as having special significance for which individuals, a government, or a religious group have deemed that observance is warranted. It is generally an official or unofficial observance of religious, national, or cultural significance, often accompanied by celebrations...
which commemorates the January 9, 1964 riot
Riot
A riot is a form of civil disorder characterized often by what is thought of as disorganized groups lashing out in a sudden and intense rash of violence against authority, property or people. While individuals may attempt to lead or control a riot, riots are thought to be typically chaotic and...
s over sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
of the Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
. The riot started after a Panamanian flag
Flag of Panama
The flag of Panama was made by Maria Ossa de Amador. It has been officially adopted by the "ley 48 de 1925"; the flag is celebrated on November 4, one day after Panamanian independence from Colombia....
was torn during conflict between Panamanian students and Canal Zone Police officers, over the right of the Panamanian flag to be flown alongside the U.S. flag
Flag of the United States
The national flag of the United States of America consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the canton bearing fifty small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars alternating with rows...
.
U.S. Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
units became involved in suppressing the violence after Canal Zone police were overwhelmed, and after three days of fighting, about 21 Panamanians and four U.S. soldiers were killed. The incident is considered to be a significant factor in the U.S. decision to transfer control of the Canal Zone to Panama through the 1977 Torrijos-Carter Treaties
Torrijos-Carter Treaties
The Torrijos–Carter Treaties are two treaties signed by the United States and Panama in Washington, D.C., on September 7, 1977, which abrogated the Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty of 1903...
.
Background
After PanamaPanama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
gained independence from Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
in 1903 with the assistance of the U.S., there was much resentment amongst Panamanians as a result of the Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty
Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty
The Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty was a treaty signed on November 18, 1903, by the United States and Panama, that established the Panama Canal Zone and the subsequent construction of the Panama Canal...
, which ceded control of the Panama Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
to the U.S. "in perpetuity". The Canal Zone, primarily consisting of the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
, was a strip of land running from the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
to the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and had its own police, post offices, courts, television and radio stations. The Canal Zone became U.S. territory (de facto
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...
if not de jure
De jure
De jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".De jure = 'Legally', De facto = 'In fact'....
).
In January 1963, U.S President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
agreed to fly Panama's flag alongside the U.S. flag at all non-military sites in the Canal Zone where the US flag was flown. However, Kennedy was assassinated before his orders were carried out. One month after Kennedy's death, Panama Canal Zone Governor Robert J. Fleming, Jr.
Robert John Fleming
Robert John Fleming was Governor of the Panama Canal Zone from 1962 to 1967 although his largely successful tenure was marred in 1964 by the issue over whether the Panamanian Flag should be flown alongside the Panama Canal Zone Flag on public buildings...
issued a decree limiting Kennedy's order. The U.S. flag would no longer be flown outside Canal Zone schools, police stations, post offices or other civilian locations where it had been flown, but Panama's flag would not be flown either. The governor's order infuriated many Zonians, who interpreted it as a U.S. renunciation of sovereignty over the Canal Zone http://www.blythe.org/nytransfer-subs/99ca/Panama_Canal_Zone:_Beginning_of_the_End-part1_.
In response, outraged Zonians began demonstrating
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...
with the U.S. flag. After the first U.S. flag to be raised at Balboa High School
Balboa High School (Panama)
Balboa High School was a public high school in the former Canal Zone on the isthmus of Panama.-Early history:The history of Balboa High School is intimately bound to the history of the Panama Canal and the Canal Zone. Given the temporary nature of the enterprise, public secondary education for...
was taken down by school officials, the students walked out of class, raised another flag, and posted guards to prevent its removal. Most Zonian adults sympathized with the student demonstrators.
In what was to prove a miscalculation of the volatility of the situation, Governor Fleming departed for a meeting in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
on the afternoon of January 9, 1964. For him and many others, the U.S.-Panama relationship was at its peak. The exploding situation caught up with the Governor while he was still en route to the U.S. over the Caribbean.
The Flag Pole Incident
While a Panamanian response to the flag raisings by the Zonians was expected, the crisis took most Americans by surprise. Several years later, Lyndon Johnson wrote in his memoirs that: "When I heard about the students' action, I was certain we were in for trouble."The news of the actions of the Balboa High School
Balboa High School (Panama)
Balboa High School was a public high school in the former Canal Zone on the isthmus of Panama.-Early history:The history of Balboa High School is intimately bound to the history of the Panama Canal and the Canal Zone. Given the temporary nature of the enterprise, public secondary education for...
reached the students at the Instituto Nacional, Panama's top public high school. Led by 17-year-old Guillermo Guevara Paz, 150 to 200 students from the institute marched to Balboa High School, carrying their school's Panamanian flag and a sign proclaiming their country's sovereignty over the Canal Zone. They had first informed their school principal and the Canal Zone authorities of their plans before setting out on their march. Their intention was to raise the Panamanian flag on the Balboa High School flagpole where the Americans
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
had raised theirs. http://www.blythe.org/nytransfer-subs/99ca/Panama_Canal_Zone:_Beginning_of_the_End-part1_
At Balboa High
Balboa High School (Panama)
Balboa High School was a public high school in the former Canal Zone on the isthmus of Panama.-Early history:The history of Balboa High School is intimately bound to the history of the Panama Canal and the Canal Zone. Given the temporary nature of the enterprise, public secondary education for...
, the Panamanian students were met by Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
police and a crowd of Zonian students and adults. After hurried negotiations between the Panamanian students and the police, a small group was allowed to approach the flagpole, while police kept the main group back.
A half-dozen Panamanian students, carrying their flag, approached the flagpole. In response, the Zonians surrounded the flagpole, sang the Star Spangled Banner, and rejected the deal between the police and the Panamanian students. Scuffling broke out. The Panamanians were driven back by the Zonian civilians and police. In the course of the scuffle, Panama's flag was torn.
The flag in question had historical significance. In 1947, students from the Instituto Nacional had carried it in demonstrations opposing the Filos-Hines Treaty and demanding the withdrawal of US military bases. Independent investigators of the events of January 9, 1964 later noted that the flag was made of flimsy silk
Silk
Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...
, thus easily torn. http://www.blythe.org/nytransfer-subs/99ca/Panama_Canal_Zone:_Beginning_of_the_End-part1_
There are conflicting claims about how the flag was torn. Canal Zone Police Captain Gaddis Wall, who was in charge of the police at the scene, denies any American culpability. He claims that the Panamanian students stumbled and accidentally tore their own flag. David M. White, an apprentice telephone technician with the Panama Canal Company, stated that "the police gripped the students, who were four or five abreast, under the shoulders in the arm pits and edged them forward. One of the students fell or tripped and I believe when he went down the old flag was torn."
One of the Panamanian flag bearers, Eligio Carranza, said that "they started shoving us and trying to wrest the flag from us, all the while insulting us. A policeman wielded his club which ripped our flag. The captain tried to take us where the others Panamanian students were. On the way through the mob, many hands pulled and tore our flag."
Violence Breaks Out
As word of the flag desecrationFlag desecration
Flag desecration is a term applied to various acts that intentionally destroy, damage or mutilate a flag in public, most often a national flag. Often, such action is intended to make a political point against a country or its policies...
incident spread, angry crowds formed along the border between Panama City
Panama City
Panama is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 880,691, with a total metro population of 1,272,672, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province of the same name. The city is the political and administrative center of the...
and the Canal Zone. At several points demonstrators stormed into the zone, planting Panamanian flags. Canal Zone police tear gassed them. Rocks were thrown, causing minor injuries to several of the police officers. The police responded by opening fire.
Canal Zone authorities asked the Guardia Nacional (Panama's Armed Forces) to suppress the disturbances. The Guardia stayed away from the fighting.
Meanwhile, demonstrators began to tear down the "Fence of Shame
Panama Canal fence
The Panama Canal fence, also known as the "Fence of shame", is a separation barrier built by the US in the Panama Canal zone that divided the Republic of Panama in two separate sections. Its construction started at the end of the 1950s when Panamanian students threatened with a "patriotic invasion"...
" which
separated the Canal Zone from the Republic of Panama. Panamanians were tear gassed, and
then several were shot, for pulling or climbing on the chain link fence.
One of the most famous photographs of what Panamanians know as Martyrs' Day shows two demonstrators, one bearing a Panamanian flag, climbing over the Fence of Shame at Ancon. The opinion of most Panamanians, and most Latin Americans generally, about the fence in question was expressed a few days later by Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
's ambassador to the Organization of American States
Organization of American States
The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
: "In Panama there exists today another Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
."
The Panamanian crowds grew as nightfall came, and by 8 p.m. the Canal Zone Police Department was overwhelmed. Some 80 to 85 police faced a hostile crowd of at least 5,000, and estimated by some sources to be 30,000 or more, all along the border between Panama City and the Canal Zone. When the lieutenant governor came to survey the scene, a Panamanian mob stoned his car.
At the request of Lieutenant Governor Parker, General Andrew P. O'Meara
Andrew P. O'Meara
Andrew Pick O'Meara was a United States Army four star general who served as Commander-in-Chief, United States Southern Command from 1961 to 1965; and Commander-in-Chief, U.S...
, commander of the U.S. Southern Command, assumed authority over the Canal Zone. The US Army's 193rd Infantry Brigade
193rd Infantry Brigade (United States)
The 193rd Infantry Brigade is a United States Army infantry brigade, which was originally constituted in the Army's organized reserves on 24 June 1922 as Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 193rd Infantry Brigade and assigned to the 97th Division. The brigade was reorganized and reconstituted in...
was deployed at about 8:35 p.m.
American-owned businesses in Panama City were set afire. The recently dedicated Pan American Airlines building (which, despite housing an American corporation, was Panamanian-owned) was completely gutted. The next morning, the bodies of six Panamanians were found in the wreckage.
Some reporters alleged one giant communist plot, with Christian Democrats, Socialists, student government leaders and a host of others controlled by the hand of Fidel Castro. However, it seems that Panama's communists were caught by surprise by the outbreak of violence and commanded the allegiance of only a small minority of those who fought the Americans on the Day of the Martyrs. A good indication of the relative communist strength came two weeks after the confrontations, when the Catholic Church sponsored a memorial rally for the fallen, which was attended by some 40,000 people. A rival communist commemoration on the same day drew only 300 participants.
Whether or not for fear of an imminent communist takeover, the US embassy was ordered to burn all sensitive documents. A number of American residents of Panama City, particularly military personnel and their families who were unable to get housing on base, were
forced to flee their homes. There were many instances in which Panamanians gave refuge to Americans who were endangered in Panama City and elsewhere.
The confrontation was not contained in the Panama City area. Word of the
fighting quickly spread all over Panama by radio, television and private
telephone calls. The incomplete censorship had the side effect of contributing to wild rumors on all sides. One popular but inaccurate Zonian rumor, fueled in part by references to the "American Canal Zone" in US news media, that the
Panama Canal Zone had been renamed "United States Canal Zone" and would
henceforth be an outright possession of the United States.
News and rumor instantly traveled the 50 miles from Panama's south coast to
its north coast. The country's second city, Colón
Colón, Panama
Colón is a sea port on the Caribbean Sea coast of Panama. The city lies near the Atlantic entrance to the Panama Canal. It is capital of Panama's Colón Province and has traditionally been known as Panama's second city....
, which abuts the city of
Cristóbal, then part of the Canal Zone, erupted within a few hours after
the start of hostilities on the Pacific side. Intense fighting continued for the next two days.
Unlike in Panama City, Panamanian authorities in Colón had made early attempts to separate the combatants. Some incidents also happened in other cities all over Panama.
Death Toll
As the shooting became a two-way affair and the crowds turned their wrathagainst targets in Panama City, a number of people were shot to death under
controversial circumstances.
Ascanio Arosemena, a 20-year-old student, was shot at an angle from behind, through the shoulder and thorax. He became the first of
Panama's "martyrs," as those who fell on January 9, 1964 and the following few days were to become known. Witnesses say that Arosemena died while helping to evacuate wounded protesters from the danger zone. The witnesses appear to be corroborated by a photograph of Arosemena supporting an injured man, said to have been taken shortly before he was shot. The building where it all started, the former Balboa High School today bears his name, and is one of the buildings of the Panama Canal Authority, the Panamanian Government Agency created to run the Canal starting from mid-day December 31, 1999.
A six-month-old girl, Maritza Avila Alabarca, died with respiratory problems while her neighborhood was gassed by the U.S. Army with CS tear gas
CS gas
2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile is the defining component of a "tear gas" commonly referred to as CS gas, which is used as a riot control agent...
. The U.S. denied that the infant's death was linked to the use of CS tear gas
CS gas
2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile is the defining component of a "tear gas" commonly referred to as CS gas, which is used as a riot control agent...
, in keeping with its claim that it is not a lethal agent. On September 28, 2000, Prof. Dr. Uwe Heinrich released a study to investigate the use of CS by the FBI at the Branch Davidians' Mount Carmel compound. In summary, he concluded that if no gas masks were used and the occupants were trapped, then "...there is a distinct possibility that this kind of CS exposure can significantly contribute to or even cause lethal effects.".
Various U.S. accounts claim that all Panamanians who were shot to death were either rioters or else shot by other Panamanians.
Various Panamanian versions, also inaccurate, blame all Panamanian deaths
on U.S. forces, though those who died in the Pan American Airlines building
fire can not reasonably be said to have died at the hands of American
forces. Panamanians did fire shots at other Panamanians on the Day of the
"Martyrs", and some may have been killed or wounded that way. Some
Panamanians may have been hit by bullets fired by Panamanians but intended
for American targets. A definitive accounting of all deaths in the events
of January 1964 has yet to be published, and may never be published.
The official Canal Zone Police version is that the police did not shoot directly at anybody, but only fired over the heads or at the feet of rioters. The police version was discredited by independent investigators, who found that the police fired directly into the crowds and killed Arosemena and a number of other Panamanians. DENI ballistics experts claim that six Panamanians were killed by .38 caliber Smith and Wesson police revolvers fired by the Canal Zone Police.
Though some Panamanian sources give different names and numbers, the list
of Panama's "martyrs" can be found at the "martyrs" Memorial in the former Balboa High School in Panama City. The 21 as listed there
include: Maritza Alabarca, Ascanio Arosemena, Rodolfo Benitez, Luis Bonilla,
Alberto Constance, Gonzalo Crance, Teofilo De La Torre, Jose Del Cid ,
Victor Garibaldo, Jose Gil, Ezequiel Gonzalez, Victor Iglesias, Rosa Landecho,
Carlos Lara, Gustavo Lara, Ricardo Murgas, Estanislao Orobio, Jacinto Palacios,
Ovidio Saldaña, Alberto Tejada and Celestino Villarreta.
Most US accounts put the number of Americans killed in these events at
four, though others put the death toll at three or five. Those who died
on the American side include Staff Sergeant Luis Jimenez Cruz, Private David Haupt and
First Sergeant Gerald St. Aubin who were all killed by sniper fire on the 9th and 10th in Colon and Specialist Michael W. Rowland, whose death was caused by an accidental fall into a ravine on the evening of the 10th. Another 30 US military personnel were wounded in operations to separate the Panamanian and Canal Zone protesters. Most of the 17 injuries suffered by U.S. civilians resulted from thrown rocks or bottles.
When the fighting was over, DENI investigators found over 600 bullets
embedded in the Legislative Palace. Santo Tomas Hospital
Hospital Santo Tomas
Hospital Santo Tomás , is the largest Public hospital that the Panamanian Health Ministry has. Its long history goes as far as 1703.-History:...
reported that it
had treated 324 injuries and recorded 18 deaths from the fighting. Panama
City's Social Security Hospital treated at least 16 others who were wounded
on the first night of the fighting. Most of those killed and wounded had
suffered gunshot wounds. Some of the more seriously injured were left with
severe permanent brain damage or paralyzing spinal injuries from their
bullet wounds.
After the fighting, American investigators found over 400 bullets embedded
in the Tivoli Hotel. Years after the events of January 1964, a number of US Army historical documents were declassified, including Southcom's figures for ammunition expended. The official account has it that the US Army fired 450 .30 caliber rifle rounds, five .45 caliber pistol bullets, 953 shells of
birdshot and 7,193 grenades or projectiles containing tear gas. Also, the
army claims to have used 340 pounds of bulk CN-1 chemical (weak tear gas)
and 120 pounds of CS-1 chemical (strong tear gas). The same account said
that the Canal Zone police fired 1,850 .38 caliber pistol bullets and 600
shotgun shells in the fighting, while using only 132 tear gas grenades.
International reactions and aftermath
International reaction was universally unfavorable against the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The British
and French, who had been criticized by US administrations for their
colonial policies, pointed to the hypocrisy of a power whose Zonian
citizens were as obnoxious as any other group of colonial settlers.
Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
's Nasser suggested that Panama nationalize the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
as they had nationalized the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
. Not surprisingly, the People's Republic of China, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
denounced the U.S. in strident terms. From the other end of the ideological spectrum, Spanish dictator Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco
Francisco Franco y Bahamonde was a Spanish general, dictator and head of state of Spain from October 1936 , and de facto regent of the nominally restored Kingdom of Spain from 1947 until his death in November, 1975...
's right-wing Falangist Party joined in accusing the United States of
aggression against Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
.
Significantly, other governments in the western hemisphere which had long
backed US policies declined to back the American position. Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
led a
chorus of Latin American criticism of the United States. The Organization of American States
Organization of American States
The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
, on Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
's motion, took jurisdiction over the dispute
from the United Nations Security Council
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
. The OAS in turn put the matter
before its Inter-American Peace Committee. The committee held a week-long
investigation in Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
which was greeted by a unanimous 15-minute
Panamanian work stoppage to demonstrate Panama's united opinion. No action
was taken on Panama's motion to brand the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
guilty of
aggression, but the committee did accuse the Americans of using unnecessary
force.
The President of Panama at the time, Roberto Chiari
Roberto Francisco Chiari Remón
Roberto Francisco Chiari Remón was the President of Panama in 1949 and from 1960 to 1964. He belonged to the Liberal Party.-Before being president:...
, broke diplomatic relations with the United States on January 10. On January 15, President Chiari declared that Panama would not re-establish diplomatic ties with the U.S. until it agreed to open negotiations on a new treaty. The first steps in that direction were taken shortly thereafter on April 3, 1964 when both countries agreed to an immediate resumption of diplomatic relations and the United States agreed to adopt procedures for the "elimination of the causes of conflict between the two countries". A few weeks later, Robert B. Anderson, President Lyndon Johnson's special representative, flew to Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
to pave the way for future talks. For these actions President Chiari
Roberto Francisco Chiari Remón
Roberto Francisco Chiari Remón was the President of Panama in 1949 and from 1960 to 1964. He belonged to the Liberal Party.-Before being president:...
is regarded as "the president of dignity". The role played by the Panamanian ambassador to the UN, Miguel Moreno is also worth mentioning. Mr. Moreno is remembered for his strong speech against the United States at the UN General Assembly.
This incident is considered to be the catalyst for the eventual U.S. abolition of the "in perpetuity" control of the Canal Zone, with the 1977 signing of the Torrijos-Carter Treaties
Torrijos-Carter Treaties
The Torrijos–Carter Treaties are two treaties signed by the United States and Panama in Washington, D.C., on September 7, 1977, which abrogated the Hay-Bunau Varilla Treaty of 1903...
, which dissolved the Canal Zone
Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone was a unorganized U.S. territory located within the Republic of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles on each side of the centerline, but excluding Panama City and Colón, which otherwise would have been partly within the limits of...
in 1979, set a timetable for the closing of U.S. Armed Forces Bases and transferred full control of the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
to the Panamanian Government at noon
Noon
Noon is usually defined as 12 o'clock in the daytime. The word noon is also used informally to mean midday regarding the location of the sun not the middle of a persons day. Although this is a time around the middle of the day when people in many countries take a lunch break...
, December 31, 1999.
Monuments
Panama City
Panama is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Panama. It has a population of 880,691, with a total metro population of 1,272,672, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, in the province of the same name. The city is the political and administrative center of the...
to commemorate these events. One was built where the flagpole incident happened, the former Balboa High School, today a Panama Canal Authority building that bears the name of Ascanio Arosemena, known as the first "martyr" and maybe the most famous one. It was built by the Panama Canal Authority and consists on a covered entryway containing the memorial, which has a name of a "martyr" on each column, and a eternal fire (not unlike the eternal fire for U.S. President John F. Kennedy) in the middle, and the Panamanian flag afterwards, in a sort of open-to-the-sky (i.e. no roof) "square", on a flagpole.
Another monument, built in front of the Legislative Assembly, on the former Panama City-Canal Zone limits consists on a life-sized monument in the form of a lamppost, with three figures climbing it to raise their flag. The monument reflects the photograph that was on the cover of LIFE magazine, in which three students climbed a lamppost and the one in the top had a Panamanian flag.