Security Minister attacks citizen participation

SECURITY Minster Jose Raul Mulino labeled Panamanian society “corrupt and violent” and questioned the meaning of “citizen participation” at a business conference on Tuesday July 9.

He was standing in for President Ricardo Martinelli at a the Annual Conference of Executives (CADE), organized by the Panamanian Association of Business Executives (Apede )

In an aggressive speech he questioned the decisions made in previous sessions, Mulino, questioned the meaning of "citizen and institutional participation" the main themes of the conference, which runs until Thursday April 11.
The minister said that such events "must take off their masks" because, "this scenario lends itself to arguments for incoherent political sectors and civil society."
He said in these forums lack "morals", and he called civil society, “actors that finance subversive groups."
Mulino, who was part of the Civil Crusade under Noreiga’s rule, downplayed the spokespersons for the civil society. "The testimonies of the people are different," he said noting that many of those who question "do not know this country."
Th, President of Apede, Roberto Troncoso, said Mulino statements contributed to the sensitivity about the issue of institutionalization.
"I do not understand that citizens do not have an important space and their role as the source of power. The president is not in charge " said Troncoso.
He told Mulino  that participation is an individual judgment, and that this view is consistant with reality. "If Iwere asked when I was in the Civil Crusade,  what was a citizen’s participation, I would say it was that he had a voice in the struggle for the restoration of democracy," he reflected.
"I worry that you say we are corrupt and violent because we are a safe country, so people come," he argued.
 Ana Matilde Gómez, fomer Atorney General considered that institutions and citizen participation are cornerstones of democracy, which should be promoted through public and private forums.
Edmundo Jarquin, former presidential candidate in Nicaragua, who was the opening speaker at the forum, said that public participation is important, both in  negotiations and at the time of presidential elections.