The Supreme Court has reject a claim that Law 407, enacted in November and which banned open-pit metal mining throughout the country. The claimants had argued that the law was unconstitutional. The claim was not lodged by the large Canadian-owned company whose operations had triggered last year’s massive protests and, in due course the enactment of Law 407.
In the US, a Representative from Texas is said to be leading a bipartisan campaign to get healthcare benefits for Panama Canal Zone veterans who served from 1958-1999, with claims that the US military used Agent Orange and other toxic herbicides to control vegetation growth and kill mosquitos – these now having been linked to diseases among veterans and Panamanian citizens. It seems that the the Veterans’ Administration does not recognise herbicide use in Panama, despite the first-hand accounts.
In other news, it is reported that the Panamanian Government has said that it had asked First Quantum Minerals to suspend a visitor program launched last month at the disputed Cobre Panama mine, saying the company did not consult the government before starting the community relations initiative.
8 MARCH 2024
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