27
106.
To carry out the agreement signed March 23, 1990, on July 16, 1991, the indigenous
peoples signed the “Working Agreement for the New Land Use Management of the Upper Bayano signed
by the Provincial Government of Panamá and the Kuna People of Wacuco, Ipetí, and other
Communities,” in which the state agencies involved undertake to “make efforts to relocate the invader
settlers from the protected lands for the conservation of the flora and fauna of the Bayano watershed.” To
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that end, September 15, 1991 was set as the deadline for carrying out what was provided for.
Nonetheless, the relocation did not take place on the date indicated. As a result of this new failure to
perform, the Kuna people blocked the highway that goes around Lake Bayano.
107.
The result of this action was the issuance of Resolution 002 and Resolution 63. The first
of these was adopted on January 24, 1992, by the Director General of the Corporación del Bayano,
ordering the relocation of the “Ipetí Emberá settlers to undisputed areas” and the “recovery of all the lands
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that are property of the Corporación Bayano and that have been compensated or reoccupied.”
In
addition, Resolution 63, of March 17, 1992, adopted by the Ministry of Interior and Justice, it was resolved
to confer to the office of the governor of the province of Panamá and to the office of the mayor of Chepo
the powers, and the economic and logical support necessary for ordering the relocation of the settlers in
the disputed areas to which Resolution 002 makes reference. In addition, instruction was offered to the
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police to facilitate the mobilization and protection of the settlers and to maintain order in the area.
108.
Despite such resolutions, once again the settlers were not removed. In the face of this
situation, in May 1993 the Kuna and the Emberá staged public demonstrations demanding
implementation of the agreements reached with the State, which led to a national strike organized by
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indigenous leaders from different parts of the country.
109.
Due to the pressure generated by these public demonstrations, President Guillermo
Endara created a Mixed Commission entrusted to a presidential delegate, Miguel Batista, and made up of
state and indigenous representatives. This Commission prepared a study on the reforms should have
been implemented by January 1994. These included “the creation of a reserva de comarca for the Kuna
of Madungandí and of the Bayano region” and the “demarcation of the collective lands of the 42 Emberá
communities that were outside of the Comarca de Emberá-Drua, which was created by Law 22 of
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1983.”
The State did not carry out the actions needed to effectively implement these commitments.
110.
On December 5, 1994, the Corporación del Bayano issued a resolution prohibiting the
establishment of new human settlements, logging, burning, and the expansion of the agricultural frontiers
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on the existing farms. On December 13, 1994, the Minister of Interior and Justice, through the National
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Bureau of Local Governments, instructed the mayor of the district of Chepo to carry out that resolution.
The IACHR was not informed of effective actions taken to carry out the resolution.
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Annex 31. Working Agreement for Renewed Land Use Management of Alto Bayano signed by the Provincial
Government of Panamá and the Kuna People of Wacuco, Ipetí, and Other Communities, July 16, 1991. Annex to the summary of
the petitioners’ intervention during the admissibility hearing of November 12, 2001.
122
Annex 32. Resolution 002 of January 24, 1992. Annex 19 to petitioners’ initial petition of May 11, 2000; and Annex 14
to the State’s communication of June 29, 2001.
123
Annex 33. Resolution 63 of March 17, 1992. Annex 20 to petitioners’ initial petition of May 11, 2000; and Annex 13 to
the State’s communication of June 29, 2001.
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Petitioners’ initial petition of May 11, 2000. p. 23. Annex 34. Articles titled “Panama: Indians say blood will flow unless
they get land rights,” Inter Press Service, May 18, 1993; “Antimotines enfrentan a los indígenas que se toman Puerto Obaldía,” El
Siglo, May 29, 1993; and “Panama: Tensions Between Government and Amerindians Subsides,” Inter Press Service, June 3, 1993.
Annexes 40, 41, and 42 to petitioners’ initial petition of May 11, 2000.
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Petitioners’ initial petition of May 11, 2000. pp. 24-25.
126
Annex 11. Final assessment document of the Mesa de Concertación of the Bayano Zone, July 2, 1999. Annex 31 to
petitioners’ initial petition of May 11, 2000. p. 25.
127
Annex 35. Communication from the Minister of Interior and Justice, December 13, 1994. Annex 14 to the summary of
the petitioners’ intervention during the admissibility hearing of November 12, 2001.