of the proposed treaties and their minutes, notes and subordinate agreements would remain in full force and effect. 3. The treaties should be amended further to provide that Panama agrees that she will not grant or accord to any other nation any military, naval or air bases in Panama or in Panamanian waters and that she will not permit the stationing of naval, air or military forces or of quasi or paramilitary forces of any other nation in Panama or of such individuals or units, other than individual diplomatic personnel, except as agreed to by the United States during the transition period ending December 31, 1999. 4. Article XII, paragraph 2(b) should be deleted. The United States should be free to negotiate for and build an Isthmian Canal if it so desires outside of Panama. 5. The neutrality treaty should be amended to make clear that the United States may take such measures as it believes necessary for the defense of the Canal at any time after the year 2000 and to this end as in the case with other friendly countries, Panama should in the mutual defense interest of the parties, provide after the year 2000 air, naval and military bases in order to give meaning to the defense of the Canal following its surrender at the start of the year 2000. 6. The treaties should be further amended for the payment of an increased annuity to Panama during the transition period but no other payments should be made. Accordingly, Article XIII, paragraph 4, should be deleted. 7. Specifically, the protocol of 1914 which provides the United States with treaty rights to deny belligerent ships of any class or nature, whether warships supporting logistic ships, maintenance ships, fleet trains, etc. the use of the waters of Panama and of the Canal, should remain in full force and effect. To this end, the treaty should be amended so as to strike the provisions by amending Article I, paragraph 1, as follows: Strike the words "Upon its entry into force," and sub- Strike Articles III, IV, V, VII, VIII, IX. Amend Article X by striking paragraph 1 thereof and substituting therefor the following: "During the transition period ending December 31, 1999, the United States agrees Strike Paragraph 8 of Article X Strike from Paragraph 9 of Article X the words "Panama Canal Commission" wherever it appears therein or elsewhere in the treaty and substitute "Panama Canal Company." Strike Article XI Strike Article XII Strike Article XIII 8. Add an additional Article providing that all minutes, executive agreements, implementation agreements, letters of understanding and all other understandings associated with the pending treaties, including the agreements and implementation of Article III and Article IV are to be set forth in detail as an attachment to the proposed treaties and incorporated by reference in the Panama Canal Treaty so that any and all amendments to any of the foregoing will require the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States of America. V. RECAPITULATION A. While the treaty of 1903 was not signed by a Panamanian as designated by the government of the New Republic of Panama, namely Philippe Bunau-Varilla. The Panamanian government ratified the treaty December 2, 1903. The United States Senate did not ratify it until February 23, 1904. B. Thereafter, Tomás Arias, the Secretary of the new government of Panama sent a note to the United States government: "The Government of the Republic of Panama considers C. As cited above, in 1907 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Canal Zone was "ceded" and that the United States owned it absolutely. D. The presence of the U.S. Naval forces off of Colon and Panama City were to prevent the landing of Colombian troops. No United States troops were landed. Panama was neither under duress nor coerced. It sought independence and avidly sought the treaty. In fact, some Colombian troops joined the Panamanians. E. In 1936 and 1955, the 1903 treaty was expressly reaffirmed in further treaties which made certain minor adjustments to the treaty of 1903. The amendatory treaties were duly ratified. F. One expects remarks from Torrijos such as he made during the September signing ceremonies that "United States recognized the need to correct an error instead of prolonging for an eternity an injustice and to correct an historical mistake." This is the kind of language he uses to fire up his people. What error? What injustice? What historical mistake? Where would Panama be today were it not for the events of 1903? Probably still a part of Colombia. If thinking Panamanians were really aware of their history, they would feel gratitude toward the United States. Both Panama and Colombia have derived tremendous benefits from the Canal. So has the rest of the world. G. Shortly after the Wilson Treaty with Colombia mentioned above which was not ratified until 1922, and sometime during 1923, Charles Evans Hughes, then Secretary of State, said "It is an absolute futility for the Panamanian no matter what it is, any President, or any H. Closing Summary Congress in 1902 in the Spooner Act empowered President Roosevelt to acquire from Colombia land across the Isthmus of Panama for a ship canal if Colombia would grant perpetual control. A treaty for a 10-mile wide zone was negotiated by the On November 3, 1903, Panama, a restless province of Colombia, started a revolution, wholly bloodless as it turned out. President Roosevelt, to protect the Panama Railroad and to protect American citizens from imminent violence, kept Colombian troops at a distance with a nearby show of gunboats and marines. No United States forces were landed. Some Colombian troops joined the revolution. A new Panamanian government was formed on November 4, 1903. On November 18, 1903, Secretary Hay concluded and signed a treaty with the Panamanian Minister Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary in Washington, D. C. on substantially the same terms and on identical money terms previously offered Colombia. It guaranteed the independence of Panama. The treaty was unanimously ratified by the new Panamanian government on December 3, 1903; the U.S. Senate gave its advice and consent to the treaty on February 23, 1904. The United States under the treaty paid $10 million The U.S. Supreme Court in 1907 ruled the Canal Zone Under Articles VI and XV of the 1903 treaty through Having first rendered the disease-infected Canal In 1922, Colombia, the nation that felt aggrieved by the events of 1903, made a complete settlement fully adjusting all differences in a treaty negotiated during the Wilson administration and ratified in 1922 for which the United States paid Colombia $25 million. Before closing, I comment on the report concerning the alleged bugging of the Panamanian negotiations. There was no finding that such did NOT occur. If it did and if pressure was applied by the Panamanians to Bunker and Linowitz upon discovery of the bugging by the Panamanians, who could be naive enough to suppose that either Bunker or Linowitz would reveal that they have been blackmailed into proposing the pending treaties and implementing agreements in their present form? Incidentally, the latter can be freely amended so as to modify the treaties themselves once the treaties are ratified. |