Word: vaticans
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Care for a used dictator, courtesy of the Vatican? Not if he is Manuel Antonio Noriega, replied leaders of Spain, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua and perhaps other nations last week. None wanted any part of the busted Panamanian strongman, accused drug dealer and alleged black-magic practitioner. Only Cuba showed even a grudging interest in enabling Noriega to leave the Vatican embassy in Panama City, where he had taken refuge from invading U.S. troops on Christmas Eve. "We wouldn't do it for Noriega the man," said a Cuban diplomat. "This would be our way of standing up for nonintervention...
Meanwhile, Washington and the Vatican were trying to find a way out of their diplomatic deadlock. A Vatican statement asserted that Laboa was "doing his best to convince General Noriega to abandon the nunciature on his own," though it added that the legate "cannot force Noriega to leave." The White House for its part declared its "appreciation" of Vatican efforts and reassured the papacy that "there are no fixed deadlines...
...softer words did not change the official positions. The U.S. was demanding that the Vatican hand over the dethroned dictator so that he could be flown to Florida for trial on charges of facilitating or arranging the smuggling of drugs into the U.S. Noriega was not a political refugee, Washington insisted, but a common criminal fleeing prosecution. In a letter to Vatican Secretary of State Agostino Cardinal Casaroli, U.S. Secretary of State James Baker argued that Noriega's alleged involvement in drug dealing and murder violated all moral standards of the Roman Catholic Church and of civil society, and deprived...
...though, has a tradition of giving asylum to Latin American politicians on the run. Among them: Guillermo Endara, the U.S.-installed current President of Panama, who took shelter in the nunciature from Noriega thugs after he had won an election last May that the dictator annulled. One high-ranking Vatican official summarized the thinking: "The right to asylum must be defended, even for Lucifer." Moreover, contended a church statement, Noriega's surrender to the papal legate "helped in a very positive way to put an end to the conflict ((with invading American troops)) and to hasten the time of peace...
...takes charge of the country. But the shape of the new order is far from clear. -- In Timisoara, cradle of the revolution, people ricochet between agony and elation, fear and hope. -- Panama's strongman has fallen, but Manuel Noriega takes refuge in the papal embassy, sending Washington and the Vatican into diplomatic deadlock. -- As a military operation, the U.S. invasion gets a glowing assessment from the brass and the experts...