The government in Panama has banned the showing of a critically acclaimed documentary on the 1989 US invasion of the country, which put the present government in office.
The film, The Panama Deception, has been nominated for an Oscar as well as receiving support from a wide range of jurists, public figures and human rights groups in the US who will be petitioning the US and the United Nations, seeking the reversal of the censorship order.
In Panama, a group of journalists and other supporters were planning to show the film publicly on March 18, sponsored by Panama's journalists union, in defiance of the government ban.
According to Graciela Dixon, A Panamanian lawyer and spokesperson for the Committee for Panamanian Sovereignty, "There are clear political motives behind the censorship board's decision, given the film's very critical look at US-installed Endara government and the strong anti-government political climate in Panama today."
"To think that this is the same Panamanian government the United States told us was needed to restore democracy is laughable", said David Kasper, writer, editor and one of the producers of the film.
"Its purpose is exactly the opposite: to carry out a deliberate system of repression and human rights violations on behalf of the U.S., in order to guarantee continued U.S. military control of Panama and the entire Latin American region."