Rapport intérimaire - Rapport No. 253, Novembre 1987

1. 392. The complaint is contained in a communication from the International Organisation of Employers (IOE) dated 7 August 1987. The IOE supplied additional information and new allegations in communications dated 8, 11 and 18 September and 27 October 1987. The Government replied in communications dated 12 August and 28 September 1987.
2. 393. Panama has ratified both the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

A. The complainant's allegations

1. 394. The International Organisation of Employers (IOE) alleges in its communication of 7 August 1987 that on Wednesday, 5 August 1987 the government authorities of Panama ordered the arrest of Eduardo Vallarino, President of the National Council of Private Enterprise (CONEP), Aurelio Barria, President of the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture (both of whom are at present fugitives), Gilbert Mallol and César Tribaldos, former Presidents, Rafael Zúñiga, Executive Director, and Roberto Brenes and Carlos González de la Lastra, members of the same Chamber of Commerce. The IOE also alleges that the premises of the Chamber of Commerce and the Association of Managers of Enterprises affiliated to CONEP were searched and documents confiscated. According to the IOE the employers' leaders were accused of sedition and the attempted overthrow of the Government whereas in fact CONEP, on behalf of its 28 groups of affiliated employers representing almost all the business world in the country, had simply protested publicly against the suspension of constitutional guarantees, and in particular freedom of the press, the brutal repression practised by the armed forces during peaceful, popular demonstrations for the restoration of civil liberties, government incitement to class conflict, and the economic paralysis of the country and its long-term effects on employment. In particular CONEP demanded an examination by an independent and impartial commission of the accusations made against the Government and against the military leaders who supported it, the application of constitutional provisions and civil law to the armed forces and the restoration of democracy and individual freedoms in Panama. According to the documentation provided by the IOE, the searches and arrests referred to occurred after a major demonstration had been convened for 6 August 1987 by the National Civil Crusade (consisting of various groups of employers, civic leaders, teachers and professional workers).
2. 395. The IOE encloses a "Manifesto to the country" which was adopted by the National Council of Private Enterprise on 15 July 1987 and published on 16 July in the now banned newspaper La Prensa. The text of the manifesto reads as follows:
3. We condemn the bestial manner in which the armed forces repressed the peaceful demonstration which Panamanian citizens attempted to hold last Friday, 10 July, to defend their principles and their rights.
4. We also condemn the fact that, in their attempt to use terror to break the spirit of the more than 600 persons arrested in reprisal for the 'crime' of demanding the rule of law, the armed forces savagely degraded their human dignity.
5. We do not accept the open incitement to a class war that has never existed in our country, especially as it is dramatically obvious that the peaceful protests were made by representatives of absolutely all the social and economic sectors of the nation.
6. The economic paralysis of the country, in both the private and public sector, merely foreshadows the terrible nightmare that awaits us in the immediate future. The lack of investments resulting from the chaos produced by state terrorism and the absence of a state of law is bound to cause more and more extensive unemployment which will take years to remedy.
7. If the accusations of government corruption, assassination and other crimes are not resolved by the most pristine legal procedures, we shall not be able to save ourselves from the vicious circle of violence which is threatening to engulf us.
8. The National Council of Private Enterprise, aware of the serious nature of the situation, therefore reiterates its support for the National Civil Crusade (Cruzada Civilista Nacional) and its demands for:
9. a) an immediate reorganisation of government institutions enabling the country to embark on a truly democratic path;
10. b) an inquiry by an independent and impartial commission into the crimes recently confirmed or denounced;
11. c) the immediate removal from their public office of the persons implicated in the crimes under investigation by the independent inquiry;
12. d) the subjection of the defence forces to the Constitution and their answerability to the civil authorities so that they become a professional and non-political institution whose members are protected by the normal military rules and regulations;
13. e) the immediate reorganisation of the legislative and judicial bodies as well as the electoral tribunal;
14. f) the full restoration of the civil liberties and fundamental guarantees embodied in the national Constitution.
15. Done in the City of Panama on 15 July 1987.
16. 396. In subsequent communications dated 8 and 11 September 1987, the IOE points out that five CONEP leaders are still being detained despite repeated requests for the cancellation of these warrants for arrest by the National Civil Crusade which groups together more than 100 private associations in Panama, employers' organisations for all the countries of Central America, Mexico and Venezuela and the IOE on behalf of its members in 96 countries. According to the IOE the President of the the Republic of Panama stated on at least two occasions, at a meeting he called on 7 August 1987 which was attended by five former presidents of the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama, and in an interview granted to the Los Angeles Times a few days later, that he had personally ordered the Public Prosecutor to cancel the warrants for arrest but that on the instructions of General Noriega he had refused to obey.
17. 397. The IOE adds that the newspapers El Extra, El Siglo, La Prensa, El Quiubo and La Gaceta Financiera, as well as broadcasts by the radio stations Continente, Mundial and Sonora, and by two television channels, have been banned.
18. 398. As regards the search of the premises of the Chamber of Commerce and the Panamanian Association of Managers of Enterprises (APEDE), the OIE states that both searches were ordered by the Office of the Public Prosecutor of the Third Instance and were carried out on 4 August 1987. The warrant handed over to the APEDE contains the following remark concerning the purpose of the search: "search for any documents containing subject-matter which the Office of the Public Prosecutor may deem to constitute a threat to the internal security of the State". The warrant (which the complainant attaches) confirms that the search was concluded "without anything being found". However, six hours later the Public Prosecutor's Office informed the state controlled media (and the latter duly reported) that a large quantity of subversive material and detailed plans for the overthrow of the Government had been found during the searches. The IOE stresses the flagrant contradiction between the report on the search which was made in situ and the statement by the Public Prosecutor (of the Third Instance) several hours later without the representatives of the two organisations whose premises were searched having witnessed any such "discovery" of allegedly subversive documents.
19. 399. In its communication of 18 September 1987, the IOE encloses documents on which it makes the following comments:
20. - Copy of a letter dated 11 September 1987 to the General-Secretary of the IOE from the Acting President of CONEP, Mr. A. Boyd (there is still a warrant out for the arrest of the President, Mr. E. Vallarino, who is in hiding). The letter explains in detail the harassment and acts of violence initiated or tolerated by the police against the leaders of the Chamber of Commerce and its undertakings during the months of June and July.
21. The letter notes that after a series of public demonstrations and a general strike called by the National Civil Crusade, the Panamanian Government resolved by Decree No. 56 of 10 June 1987 to declare a state of emergency and suspend individual guarantees such as the right of assembly, association, free expression and private property. Furthermore, a campaign of implacable persecution was launched against employer leaders of the Crusade which resulted in the arrest of the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Aurelio Barria, and Mr. Carlos Henréquez, Director of the said association, who were taken away by persons unknown to a military installation belonging to the defence forces. The employer leaders were ordered to undress in front of their captors and were subjected to serious moral abuse. Subsequently, following pressure by union leaders, diplomatic officials accredited in Panama and the Catholic Church, both leaders were released. On Thursday, 2 July 1987, a group of persons belonging to organised paramilitary groups, observed and protected by units of the defence forces, appeared in the shopping centre known as Danté, where various kinds of commercial establishments operate, and threw fire-bombs and used weapons, some of them automatic, to fire on the shops and on vehicles parked in front and nearby. The armed group immediately headed towards the Danté establishment, removed the boards which were protecting the windows and threw in fire-bombs which resulted in the total destruction of the establishment which until then had operated normally. All this occurred without any of the units of the defence forces stationed near the shopping centre making any move to prevent the destruction and burning of the property. These events were witnessed by hundreds of people who at that moment were protesting against the facts that had been denounced by the National Civil Crusade. This shopping centre is owned by, among other persons, Roberto Eisenmann, former President of CONEP and the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama and President of the newspaper La Prensa, David Eisenmann, President of the Kiwanis Club of Panama, and César Tribaldos, Jr., former President of the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama and member of the executive committee of the National Civil Crusade. Official complaints were duly lodged with the bodies responsible for judicial inquiries but to date no satisfactory reply has been given and no attempt has been made to clarify the events denounced.
22. - Copy of a letter dated 27 August 1987 to the Secretary-General of the IOE from Mr. W. Durling, former President of the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama and substitute Employers' member of the Governing Body of the ILO. The letter provides details on the meeting convened by the President of the Republic, Mr. E. Delvalle, mentioned in the communication from the IOE dated 8 September 1987. The letter confirms that, under orders from the army, the State Prosecutor openly refused to carry out the instructions of the President and states that, according to the latter, the documents confiscated from the headquarters of the Chamber of Commerce were not sufficient grounds for accusing it of plotting against the Government. The letter further mentions the fact, which has been denounced by witnesses, that the police made an unsuccessful attempt to introduce weapons into the headquarters of the Chamber during the search.
23. - As regards the contradiction between the report on the search of the APEDE premises, which states that no subversive documents were found, and the accusation of the Public Prosecutor of the Third Instance which states the contrary, the IOE encloses the communication from the Prosecutor published by the newspaper La República on 5 August.
24. - As regards the search of the premises of the Chamber - on which no report is available - although it is true that the police took away documents, they apparently found it necessary and indeed tried - in vain - to introduce arms into the premises, as Mr. Durling points out. The documents in question were confiscated and examined without the indispensable basic guarantees to substantiate the accusations made several hours afterwards.
25. 400. In its communication of 27 October 1987, the IOE alleges the arrest of Mr. Conte, CONEP's Public Relations Adviser, when he was disembarking from a plane coming from the United States. According to the IOE, there has been no indication of his place of detention or the reason for this arrest; the attitude of the police shows that the harassment of CONEP is continuing and that the campaign for the defence of civil rights, particularly those linked to the exercise of trade union rights, is still subject to repressive measures.
26. B. The Government's reply
27. 401. In its communication dated 12 August 1987, the Government states that during the afternoon of 7 August 1987 the duly authorised Public Prosecutor of the Third Instance of the First Judicial District conducted a search of the premises of the Chamber of Commerce and Industries of the Panamanian Association of Managers of Enterprises. During the search he found seditious documents, ranging from a complete plan to overthrow the national Government to printed matter explaining how to manufacture blunt weapons, make home-made fire-bombs build barricades, and leaflets to be distributed in primary and secondary schools to foment agitation. The plan to overthrow the Government took the form of a pyramid drawn on graph paper and was written in English. The ten steps to be followed in the plan, described on separate sheets, included the removal of the Commander-in-Chief and senior staff of the defence forces, as well as lieutenants and colonels, the creation of a government junta, the dissolution of the Legislative Assembly, the Supreme Court of Justice and the Electoral Tribunal, the abolition of political parties, the convening of a constituent assembly, the holding of a referendum on a new electoral law and the holding of elections within ten to 12 months. Furthermore, there were video recordings and copies of telexes addressed to foreign governments requesting the suspension of all military and economic aid to Panama. During the search documents were also found showing that permanent communications had been maintained with the United States Senate and an office of the Civil Crusade in Washington. A seal of the Public Prosecutor of the Third Instance, which had disappeared on the day in which the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture, Mr. Aurelio Barria, had been called in to make a statement, was also found. The Minister of Government and Justice said in a press conference on 6 August that "all the laws had been violated," whilst the State Prosecutor declared: "We found documents that were a major threat to the stability of the State". The Public Prosecutor of the Third Instance, Mr. Ballesteros, then ordered the arrest of several citizens directly implicated by the documents, pending investigation of the criminal responsibility of the authors and instigators of the confiscated subversive plans. Section 306 of the Penal Code provides for prison sentences of between six months and two years for persons found guilty of such charges. According to the Public Prosecutor, measures were being taken to prevent some of them from leaving the country. The Office of the State Prosecutor has also investigated the seditious acts which took place in June and July in order to determine who is responsible, and public opinion has followed with special interest in the hearings of ex-Colonel Roberto Dias Herrera who, after making accusations that almost dangerously paralysed the country, now repeatedly asserts that he had no proof of any kind to support his claims, and explains that his accusations were based on opposition newspaper articles and on conversations with well-known opposition leaders.
28. 402. After describing in detail the organisation of the public authorities in the Constitution of Panama and the scope of individual freedoms and guarantees, the Government explains in its communication of 28 September 1987 that on 18 June 1987 the State Prosecutor instructed the Public Prosecutor of the Third Instance of the First Judicial District to investigate the supposed participation of a group of persons known as the "Civil Crusade", led by the executive of the Chamber of Commerce or certain members thereof and other groups, in a series of unlawful acts involving incitement to civil disobedience.
29. 403. On 19 June 1987 the Public Prosecutor of the Third Instance of the First Judicial District, acting on this instruction, ordered the necessary steps to be taken to determine whether or not any such crime or crimes had been committed, who committed or took part in them and any other relevant facts pursuant to section 2071 of the Judicial Code. These steps included the decision to hear the representatives or leaders of the member bodies of the "Civil Crusade", created and headed by the executive of the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama. In accordance with the provisions of section 2112 ff. of the Judicial Code, the Public Prosecutor of the Third Instance heard statements from Aurelio Antonio Barria Mock, Carmen Cecilia Capriles Estrada, Víctor Manuel Falcón Paz, Juan Ramón Quintero Medina, Roberto Gonzalo Brenes Pérez, Eduardo Vallarino Arjona, Gilberto Joaquín Mallol Tamayo, Raúl Ernesto Méndez Anguizola, Jaime Penedo Martínez and César Augusto Tribaldos Giraldez. The Prosecutor also compiled a certain amount of documentary evidence.
30. 404. On 4 August 1987 the Public Prosecutor of the Third Instance of the First Judicial District, after being informed that the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama and the Panamanian Association of Managers of Enterprises (APEDE) were issuing and distributing leaflets whose contents constituted an attack on the internal integrity of the State, ordered searches to be carried out in the above-mentioned premises in accordance with the provisions of section 2185 and related sections of the Judicial Code, with a view to establishing the unlawful acts in question, finding the equipment used in carrying out such acts and discovering who committed or participated in them.
31. 405. On 5 August 1987 the Public Prosecutor of the Third Instance of the First Judicial District ordered the large volume of documentation collected during the search and which confirmed the carrying out of crimes against the internal integrity of the State and against the national economy, to be included in the evidence. During the search of the premises of the Chamber of Commerce the Public Prosecutor found and confiscated an enormous quantity of documentation advocating the overthrow of the national Government and leaflets containing instructions to subvert the public order and specific details regarding the organisation of violent confrontations during the public demonstrations of the "Civil Crusade"; thousands of copies of these leaflets had been reproduced on the printing equipment of these organisations.
32. 406. The confiscated documentation also defined the political guide-lines of the "Civil Crusade" for forming a new government following the violent overthrow of the present constitutional order. Furthermore, since the evidence obtained both from his investigations, from the documents seized and from the search carried out at the time confirmed that crimes had been committed against the internal integrity of the Panamanian State and against the security of its economy, contrary to sections 301, 306 and 372 of the Penal Code, and since these unlawful acts were attributed to members of the "Civil Crusade", the executive of the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama or certain members thereof, the Panamanian Association of Managers of Enterprises (APEDE) and other groups, the Public Prosecutor ordered the preventive detention of Aurelio Barria Mock, Raúl Ernesto Méndez Anguizola, Gilberto Joaquín Mallol Tamayo, Rafael Zúñiga, members and leaders of the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama as well as of Roberto Gonzalo Brenes Pérez and Eduardo Vallarino Arjona, Vice-President and President respectively, of the Panamanian Association of Managers of Enterprises (APEDE).
33. 407. On 13 August 1987 the Second Higher Court of Justice of the First Judicial District examined the appeal lodged against the decision of 7 August 1987 whereby the Ninth Circuit Court decided to grant bail to the plaintiffs while the indictment was being examined. The substance of its ruling, reads as follows: A significant fact which emerges from the decision appealed against is that the criminal offences examined by the competent court are precisely covered by the generic offence defined as a crime against the internal integrity of the State and have extremely broad and serious implications that are evidenced by the documents confiscated during the search carried out on the afternoon of 4 August of the present year on the premises of the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama.
34. (...)
35. 'The purpose of the action taken by the Public Prosecutor's Office is to establish the relation of causality between the offence in question, the persons who took part in it and their intention since, although the various reports on the large volume of documents contained in the file stated that the said documents were evidence of a plan to change the present constitutional order, it remained to be shown that it was indeed the intention of the persons concerned to take such specific action as would bring about the objectives set out by the participants in the documentary evidence brought forward in this case.'
36. 'The fundamental grounds for the Public Prosecutor's contention that the regulation infringed is provisionally restricted to section 301 of the Penal Code is that the offences perpetrated by the persons against whom charges have been brought continue to constitute a genuine threat. In the light of the foregoing, and in so far as this contention has not been refuted, it is perfectly justifiable to refuse bail in accordance with the law that protects in all instances those government institutions which depend on the constitutional order currently in force (section 2181 of the Judicial Code).
37. As is apparent from the entire file on the case, the 'anti-juridicial' nature of the generic crime referred to both by the Public Presecutor and by this court has been established, and the decision against which an appeal has been lodged must therefore be amended accordingly unless the investigation currently under way shows that the circumstances call for the application of section 2178 of the Judicial Code.
38. Operative part:
39. Consequently, the Second Higher Court, resolves the following:
40. a) that, in view of the annulment of criminal sentence No. 100 of 7 August 1978, the Court refuses to grant bail to the above-mentioned persons for the reasons adduced above;
41. b) that the persons concerned be notified of the terms of the law. Law: section 301 Penal Code, sections 2162, 2177, 2178 Judicial Code, section 159(16) of the Judicial Code in force.
42. 408. The IOE's complaint mentions the warrant for arrest issued on 5 August and draws attention to the violation of the premises and confiscation of documents of the Chamber of Commerce and the Association of Managers of Enterprises affiliated to CONEP. This communication employs arguments in an attempt to deny the criminal acts perpetrated by the five employers whose arrest was ordered.
43. 409. It should be noted in this connection that, as a state body responsible for investigating offences, the Public Prosecutor's Office is called upon to undertake certain tasks set forth in the Constitution and in the laws of the country and thus, in the present case, is unquestionably empowered to carry out the criminal investigation in the case under examination. Sections 301, 306 and 372 of the Penal Code stipulate the following:
44. Section 301: Any person who encourages or directs an armed uprising to overthrow the legally constituted national Government or to change by violent means the political Constitution shall be punished by imprisonment of 15 to 20 years and disqualified from exercising public office for a like period of time.
45. Section 306: Any person who in a public place or through the press, radio, television or any other means incites to rebellion, sedition or riot, shall be punished by imprisonment of between six months and two years and fined between 20 and 100 minimum days' wages.
46. Section 372: Any person who through the press or any other means of information disseminates false, exaggerated or tendentious news or propogates rumours which jeopardise the national economy or undermine confidence in the State shall be punished by imprisonment of between six months and three years.
47. 410. The file of the criminal investigation shows that, by means of the mass media, citizens grouped together in the movement known as the Civil Crusade took action designed to incite to rebellion, sedition and riot and to the non-payment of public services. Specifically, these acts of incitement consisted in urging citizens not to pay their water, electricity and telephone service charges and in disseminating false information liable to undermine the reputation of the state banks and to encourage the massive withdrawal of funds from the said banking institutions, all of which constitute crimes against the security of the economy as defined in Chapter 1 of Title XII of Book 2 of the Penal Code, and in particular in the provisions of section 372 quoted above.
48. 411. Through the mass media certain members of the movement known as the Civil Crusade, incited citizens to hold public demonstrations in protest against government institutions and advocated, inter alia, the overthrow of the national Government and the organisation of violent acts in the streets, such as the construction of barricades, the burning of property and the use of firearms. Those responsible for these incitements went so far as to describe in detail how to make home-made fire-bombs and the kind of espionage techniques to employ to locate vulnerable points in the barracks of the Defence Forces and armaments in these barracks and to identify the names of the officers.
49. 412. These acts unquestionably constitute crimes defined by the Penal Code as crimes against the internal integrity of the State in Chapter 2 of Title IX of Book 2 of the Penal Code, sections 301 and 306 of the Penal Code, quoted above.
50. 413. Since it had been established that the mass means of communication used by the so-called "Civil Crusade" had for the most part been reproduced on the printing equipment of the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture and the Panamanian Association of Managers of Enterprises, searches were carried out of their premises in accordance with the provisions of section 2185 of the Judicial Code, which reads as follows:
51. Section 2185: The investigating official may search any building, establishment or property where there is serious reason to believe that they house the presumed perpetrator of a crime, equipment or instruments used for committing illegal acts, books, papers or any other object that may substantiate the existence of a punishable offence or serve to discover the perpetrators of or participants in an offence. These searches shall normally be conducted between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. but may be carried out at any time in places to which the public has free access in cases of flagrante delicto or where urgent reasons so dicatate. In all events, the search must be ordered by the investigating official.
52. 414. According to the Government, during both searches lawyers representing the institutions searched were present and signed the respective reports; all the documents confiscated during the searches are included in the criminal investigation file and belong to the so-called "Civil Crusade", of which the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama and the Panamanian Association of Managers of Enterprises are members. Not only were searches carried out in accordance with the applicable laws and regulations, but the corresponding reports were signed by representatives of the bodies located in the premises that were searched. The documents that were seized and included in the criminal investigation file fully justify the legal action taken. The statements heard by the Public Prosecutor in connection with the investigation were in accordance with applicable legal procedures and took place in the presence of lawyers representing the persons making the statements. The warrants for arrest were issued by the Public Prosecutor's Office in accordance with the relevant legal provisions and have not so far been declared illegal by the competent courts; furthermore, no appeal has been lodged to challenge the legality of the warrants. To date, some lawyers have consulted the investigation file and others have requested and received copies.
53. 415. In accordance with the Panamanian criminal procedure, a request was made for bail on behalf of the persons for whose arrest warrants had been issued; however, the competent jurisdictional body denied these requests on the basis of section 301 of the Penal Code and sections 2162, 2167 and 2168 of the Judicial Code.
54. 416. To conclude, states the Government, the present criminal proceedings have been carried out in accordance with all applicable constitutional and legal procedures and the persons under investigation enjoy all the rights, means and guarantees applicable to criminal proceedings. The proceedings are not the result of any complaint regarding the infringement of freedom of association of any association or person; on the contrary, they are the result of crimes against the internal integrity of the State and crimes against the national economy, as demonstrated by the evidence in the investigation file. The search and the arrest warrants were issued in accordance with the legal powers of the Public Prosecutor in the present criminal investigation, which has in no way infringed the rights and guarantees of the persons under investigation. Article 8 of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), stipulates clearly that "in exercising the rights provided for in this Convention workers and employers and their respective organisations, like other persons or organised collectivities, shall respect the law of the land". In the present case, the employers' leaders implicated have obviously committed offences laid down in Panamanian legislation. The present criminal proceedings have nothing to do with their activity as trade union leaders. The Panamanian Government has always respected and continues to respect the activities of trade unions and employers' associations, providing them with guarantees and various kinds of support for their development.
55. 417. Finally, the Government attaches copies of the confiscated leaflets and instructions inciting citizens to civil disobedience and acts of violence.

C. The Committee's conclusions

1. 418. In the present case, the complainant organisation alleges the issuing of warrants of arrest against seven employers' leaders (three of whom are said to have been arrested and two who are fugitives from justice) accused of committing crimes of sedition and of attempting to overthrow the Government; the search of the premises of the Chamber of Commerce and the Panamanian Association of Managers of Enterprises and the confiscation of documents; the banning of certain newspapers, radio stations and television channels; and the encouragement or tolerance by the police of measures taken against certain employers' leaders and their undertakings during the months of June and July 1987. According to the complainant, the confiscation of documents and issuing of warrants for arrest were the outcome of a public demonstration by employers' and other organisations demanding the restoration of civil liberties, the termination of the suspension of constitutional guarantees and a campaign against the economic paralysis of the country and its consequences on employment; the deomonstrators called, inter alia, for investigations into accusations of government corruption, murders and other crimes, the application of constitutional provisions to the Defence Forces and the reorganisation of government institutions, the legislative and judicial bodies and the electoral tribunal.
2. 419. The Government emphasises in its reply that the warrants for arrest and the searches were part of an investigation conducted by the Public Prosecutor of the Third Instance of the First Judicial District in full compliance with the legislation in force regarding the legal rights and guarantees, following the perpetration of acts defined in the Penal Code as crimes against the internal integrity of the State and against economic security. In its reply the Government states in particular that citizens grouped together in a movement known as the National Civil Crusade, of which the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama and the Panamanian Association of Managers of Enterprises are members, were guilty of inciting to rebellion, sedition and riot and to the non-payment of public services, and that leaflets were written, reproduced and distributed on the premises of the above-mentioned employers' organisations. The Government states further that mass means of communication used by certain members of the Civil Crusade had been found on the premises and that the population had been incited to hold public demonstrations to protest against government institutions, advocating, inter alia, the overthrow of the national Government. The movement also incited citizens to carry out acts of violence in the streets, such as the erection of barricades, setting fire to property and the use of firearms. The Government points out that the legal proceedings instigated are in no way related to the activities of the persons concerned as the officials of occupational organisations and that the Public Prosecutor of the Third Instance of the First Judicial District has placed in the penal investigation file a large quantity of documents and leaflets collected during the search of the premises of the Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture of Panama (some of which the Government encloses), which according to the Government, confirm that crimes conducive to the overthrow of the Government were committed against the internal integrity of the State and against the national economy.
3. 420. The Committee notes that, according to the Government, the employers' organisations and the employers' leaders implicated in the present case had their rights curtailed within the framework of a criminal investigation because of their links with the National Civil Crusade and their presumed criminal activities within the movement, whose members include various occupational organisations. The Committee takes note of the Government's explanations concerning the nature and objectives of the National Civil Crusade, but observes that some of these objectives comprise aspects of interest to occupational organisations, such as the restoration of civil liberties and constitutional guarantees and the fight against the paralysis of the economy. However, there is nothing to indicate that the National Civil Crusade is protected by the guarantees afforded by the Conventions respecting freedom of association. It is, nevertheless, the responsibility of the Committee to determine to what extent the measures taken by the authorities to punish the activities organised or carried out in support of the objectives of the National Civil Crusade have hampered the exercise of the rights of employers' organisations and their leaders.
4. 421. The Committee wishes to emphasise that, although the Government has provided general information on the warrants for the arrest of the employers' leaders Barria, Vallarino (both at present in hiding), Brenes, Mallol and Zúñiga, it has not indicated the specific acts of which they are accused individually; nor has it sent information regarding the allegations with respect to the warrants for the arrest of the employers' leaders César Tribaldos and Carlos González de la Lastra. The Committee notes further that the Government has not made any specific observations on the comments of the complainant organisation concerning the search of the premises of the two employers' organisations and the confiscation of documents. Indeed, according to the IOE, the report of the search carried out on the premises of the APEDE states that nothing was found, whereas the officials of the Public Prosecutor's Office who supervised the search claimed that a large quantity of subversive material had been found. As regards the search of the Chamber of Commerce, the IOE maintains that the police attempted - in vain - to introduce arms into the premises and that no report is available on the search.
5. 422. In these circumstances, the Committee invites the Government to send further detailed information on the specific acts which led to warrants being issued for the arrest of each of the seven employers' leaders, on the state of the proceedings initiated and on the searches conducted and documents confiscated on the premises of the APEDE and of the Chamber of Commerce (including the report on the search of the latter's premises), with specific reference to the points raised by the complainant organisation. Furthermore, noting the social unrest (particularly within employers' organisations) which led to the events of recent months and aware that the points noted above still need to be clarified, the Committee considers that social tension would be relieved if the employers' leaders under arrest, or for whom warrants have been issued, were granted on bail and if those who have left the country are allowed to return. While noting the Government's explanations concerning the refusal to grant bail to those involved, the Committee calls on it to study the possibility of doing so.
6. 423. Finally, the Committee requests the Government to send its observations on the allegations to which it has not replied, namely those relating to the arrest of Mr. Conte, a CONEP official, the banning of certain communication media and the harassment and violence perpetrated or tolerated by the police against leaders of the Chamber of Commerce and their undertakings during the months of June and July (see IOE communication dated 18 September 1987).