Martinelli advertising manipulating Church and Truth – Archbishop

The Martinelli government’s political advertising  “manipulates the Church and the truth” said the Archbishop of Panama, José Domingo Ulloa, on Saturday  June 30 on the eve of a rally to celebrate three years in power.

With the government  under attack from civic and business groups, environmental organizations and unions, and opposition parties forming a united front for democracy  obliging President Martinelli to make several U-turns, including apologizing to Electoral Tribunal judges,  the Archbishop’s comments on Twitter made June  a month to  forget for government supporters.

The comments, coming from  the Church leader in a Catholic country, will cast a shadow over the July 1 mass rally of CD party supporters and government workers reportedly forced to attend if they wish to keep their jobs.

Archbishop Ulloa, who has  frequently played a conciliatory role between the government and conflicting groups  said that the use by the Government of the image of the Catholic Church in television spots in which it accused the Front for Democracy of inciting the violent actions that took place in the National Assembly on June 18 and 19 June was “a disrespect  and manipulation of the Churchby the Government to create a wedge" said Ulloa through the twitter account of the Archdiocese of Panama @ ArquiPanama. Ulloa said that the political advertising, which began  to appear on Friday, June 29, in which Martinelli appears with Church leaders  during a meeting held in the middle of crisis "manipulates the Church and the truth."

Ulloa said that the Church is only an instrument of God, not the government nor the opposition" , and the Church will continue to seek ways of dialogue and reconciliation."

Labor Minister, Alma Cortez, said  that the “spots only seek to send a message to the Front for Democracy to change its  attack and confrontation message to a conciliatory speech.

"We want peace and we expect them to build peace," Cortez told RPC TV.