PANAMA CITY, Jan. 9 (Xinhua) -- The United States has never stopped interfering in the complaints of witnesses of the "Flag Movement" in Panama, a Latin American country
Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Haogan
On January 9, in Panamanian capital, Panamanian City, the Panamanian government held a ceremony to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the "Flag Movement" next to the "Eternal Flame" monument, and the stone pillar in the photo commemorates Arosemena, the first student to die in a U.S. military police crackdown. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Haogan
On January 9, 1964, 18-year-old Panamanian high school student Eric Peña and his classmates made a decision: they wanted to raise the Panamanian flag on a piece of Panamanian soil.
What seemed like a no-brainer was a fantasy at the time, as the Balboa High School they were going to was in the Canal Zone, which was under American control. Although Pakistan and the United States had agreed at the time that flags would be raised simultaneously in public places in the Canal Zone, the school, which is exclusive to white American expatriates, refused to fly the Panamanian flag.
On the 9th, Peña and her classmates escorted their country's flag into Balboa High School under the watchful eye of the Canal Zone military police. The action was thwarted by American students, parents and others, and the Panamanian flag was eventually torn apart on Panamanian soil.
After the news broke, tens of thousands of Panamanians took to the streets with national flags to demand the resumption of sovereignty in the Canal Zone, which was violently suppressed by the US military and police, resulting in more than 20 deaths and hundreds of injuries.
On January 9, in Panama City, the capital of Panama, two soldiers laid a wreath at the "Eternal Flame" monument commemorating the "Flag Movement". Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Haogan
In 1903, Brazil and the United States signed the Panama Canal Treaty, and the United States obtained the monopoly right to dig and operate the Panama Canal, as well as the right to occupy and use the canal zone. Panama was divided in two, and the American-controlled Canal Zone became "Guochina", in which American-style towns were built, and high-end restaurants and sports clubs serving only "canal people" were bustling every day.
Panamanians were severely restricted from entering the Canal Zone. "We Panamanians suffer racial discrimination on our own soil. Peña said in an interview with Xinhua News Agency a few days ago. He still remembers that he would be reprimanded by the U.S. military police whenever he approached the border of the Canal Zone.
After the Canal Zone came under the control of the United States, the Panamanian people never stopped fighting. Robinson Marin, who works in the construction industry, recalls that since elementary school, he had followed adults in demonstrations demanding the closure of the U.S. military base in Panama.
In 1964, at the age of 22, Marin also took to the streets to participate in the "Flag Campaign". He and his college classmates were crushed by U.S. military and police as they tried to enter the Canal Zone, killing and wounding the students, and Marin was also hit by bullets, but fortunately his life was saved in time.
The atrocities of the United States have been strongly condemned by the international community. The Panamanian people have waged an indomitable struggle to abrogate the unequal treaties between the two countries and to reclaim sovereignty over the Canal Zone. In 1999, the United States returned the Panama Canal, which had been occupied for nearly 100 years, to the Panamanian government.
A soldier stands in front of the "Eternal Flame" monument to the "Flag Movement" in Panama City, the capital of Panama, on January 9. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Chen Haogan
Today, the history of this struggle can be felt in many parts of Panama City. The participants of the Flag Movement and their families formed the Canal Guardians Association, which is dedicated to telling this history to the younger generation.
"Sixty years ago, a group of young people fearlessly braved the bullets in the United States to fight for the life we have now. Today's young Panamanian people should follow their example. Joaquín Vázquez, head of the Canal Guardians Association, told reporters.
Sixty years have passed since the "Flag Movement," but in Peña and Marin's view, the hegemonic interference of the United States in Latin American countries has not stopped.
Marin said that the United States has not yet abandoned the "Monroe Doctrine" mentality. "Latin American countries need to unite and stand together against US hegemony. ”
"The United States still regards Latin American countries as its own 'back garden' and has never stopped violating its sovereignty and interfering in its internal affairs. Peña believes that the United States today is still the same as 60 years ago, fantasizing about maintaining world hegemony by force, "but the times are no longer the same, and now is no longer the era when the United States is the dominant power, and the hegemonic policy will not work."