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editorial

Obstruction of justice in the guise of a “New Country”

In any normal country with the rule of law, it's a crime for a public university to issue a diploma, other than an honorary one, to someone who has not fulfilled the academic requirements to earn it. Here it amounts to the crime of falsification of public documents --- but only to the extent that the law is enforced, which it rarely is against the politically connected.

In any normal country with the rule of law, it's a crime to intimidate someone for filing a criminal complaint. But Miguel Antonio Bernal, the noted law professor,  journalist and president of the disciplinary board of the nation's bar association, has been the target of harassment and intimidation for filing a criminal complaint about the bogus diploma that the University of Panama's pompous “Rector Magnifico” Gustavo García de Paredes signed. First, García de Paredes and his pathetic sycophants on the University General Council declared Bernal “persona non grata” for calling the administration on its corruption and filing a complaint. Now, the entire PRD legislative caucus has been called upon by the discredited university administraion to join in this criminal effort to obstruct justice.

The university's secretary general sent a letter to Rogelio Paredes, the president of the National Assembly's Human Rights Committee, seeking to impugn Bernal's position on the list of candidates for national Ombudsman by invoking the administration's infamous “persona non grata” resolution.

At first it was reported that the PRD caucus had decided to remove Bernal from consideration, but then Paredes said that this had not been done. In so doing he invoked and extended a notorious pro-corruption dodge by arguing that the university administration couldn't impugn Bernal's candidacy without attaching to its objections full summary proof of some crime. On that sour note Paredes invited Bernal to stay in the race.

Of course, Bernal wasn't intimidated by the University General Council resolution or its most recent use by the García de Paredes gang. For one thing, he knows and always knew that he probably won't get the Defensor del Pueblo job. There's too much bad blood, shed over too many years, for Bernal and the nation's ruling party to patch up their differences to that extent. The professor doesn't get along very well with the opposition parties either, because he's an independent who follows his principles rather than partisan loyalties. Moreover, Bernal has through beatings, arrests, exiles, bannings and countless administrative hassles over the course of several decades proven to be a most difficult person to intimidate.

President Torrijos, pretending to exist silently above the fray, is playing a particularly disgraceful role in this growing scandal. The party that he leads has already made the University of Panama a pariah among the world's institutions of higher learning. His silence in the face of such corruption emanating from his own camp can only reasonably be interpreted as his support for the falsification of university diplomas and the intimidation of those who file complaints about it. It adds up to a reason for foreign governments and universities, as well as both national and international private companies, to think twice before assisting or cooperating with Panama's public educational institutions.

Now the ball is in Attorney General Ana Matilde Gómez's court. Since last May she has had the false diploma case before the Public Ministry. Another criminal complaint, about intimidation, was filed shortly after the University General Council's action against Bernal. In the wake of this latest incident Bernal filed another complaint of his own, this time alleging abuse of authority and other offenses by members of the university administration.

Now we shall see just how independent, how sincere and how brave Ana Matilde Gómez really is.

But of course, even if Gómez does all the right things, the courts here run largely on bribery and influence peddling. The entire political class, embodied in a legislative Credentials Committee that unanimously took the position that high court magistrates are above the law, is determined that things should remain that way. The odds are that if anybody is charged in connection with the false diploma or for the intimidation of Bernal, the courts will in effect find that public university administrators are privileged to make corrupt uses of their offices, just like many judges do. It would be easy, and maybe even politically astute, for the attorney general to fall back on the maxim that she's not required to engage in futile acts and let these cases die.

But even though the “zero corruption” campaign pledge looks ever more like a cynical lie and the courts and legislature stand solidly in favor of corruption with impunity, it does matter whether officials charged with fighting crime in high places say or do anything when caught in such an impossible situation.

For one thing, it informs the public so that people can more wisely exercise their democratic rights.

There will be a referendum this year, not about the fundamental problems that the nation faces but on a canal expansion proposal that has not been published. Polls indicate that support for this unspecified proposition is sinking. It's not because people have increasing doubts about the need to modernize the canal but because they are unsure that they want to trust a guy who reneged on his “zero corruption” pledge. After all, billions of dollars worth of contracts and the possibility of unpayable debts are at stake. Corruption is inevitably an issue to be considered in this referendum, and because of the PRD's brazen pro-corruption stands of late, it is shaping up to become the central issue.

How sad it is that under Martín Torrijos's leadership the likes of Gustavo García de Paredes are allowed to play games befitting high school bullies. Diplomats and politicians may whine about how unfair it is, but the University of Panama scandals have come to symbolize the state of the nation.

What we're seeing are all the old abuses, privileges and immunities that have plagued this country since the days of the Spanish Conquest, now repackaged as “Patria Nueva.” It's unacceptable, both to the majority of Panamanians who derive no benefit from the system and within the community of nations. Torrijos had better change the realities behind the images before they catch up with him and destroy his presidency.

Bear in mind...

...a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires....

US Declaration of Independence

Soon enough centralism, army and absolute authority had become related ideas, inseparable, sisters like the Furies, and destined bring ruin and humiliation to the people.

Justo Arosemena

It's hard to be funny when you have to be clean.

Mae West