Martinelli compares Gaddafi regime with Panamas military dictatorship

Panama’s president, Ricardo Martinelli,  on Sunday, March 20, compared Libya with the military regime in Panama, which was ended by a U.S. invasion in December 1989.

He said:  "What the Libyan regime has done has no name. It is a merciless destruction of the Libyan population and deserves the punishment and condemnation of the entire international community."

Expressing his support for the UN intervention in Libya, Martinelli told local media: "It is very unfortunate that a country like Libya had attacked and massacred its own citizens, has not respected democracy, and – for 42 years, has had a dictator like Gaddafi."

But already concerns are being voiced in some quarters about the intensity of the coalition strikes on Libya and the possibility of collateral civilian deaths.

The U.S. invasion of Panama, which removed Manuel Noriega from power, led to the deaths of hundreds of Panamanian citizens.

Panama established diplomatic relations with Libya and Gaddafi in the 1970s, when President, General Omar Torrijos, ruled the country after a military coup