Mass anti mining protests to continue in face of Martinelli promises

Panama’s president, Ricardo Martinelli, stood on the steps of the presidential palace on Tuesday, February 22, and promised that no mining concessions will be “initiated, encouraged or approved” in the Ngäbe Buglé region or any other indigenous region, during the administration of his government.

The present administration will be in office until 2014.

Martinelli was accompanied by his Ministers of State when he made the statement in an attempt to quell the fears of indigenous people, environmentalists and human rights groups who have been demonstrating across the country since the introduction of a bill amending and softening, the country’s mining code.
The bill was rushed through the National Assembly in five days and signed into Law 8 by Martinelli within 24 hours.
The “watch my lips” statement seems to have fallen on deaf ears in the indigenous community who, in the past have suffered from false promises. They are planning to go ahead with the “massive” demonstrations have called for February 24 in an effort to get the law repealed. {jathumbnail off}
During his statement, Martinelli delivered a message, which spelling out the Government's commitment to form a high-level committee including representation by the Ngäble Buglé community to definine the framework for a social development program in the region. 
The government ministries that will make up the committee are: Health, Labor, Public Works, Education, Housing, and Social Development, and will be coordinated by the Ministry of Government which later moved to force non indigenous groups from the Comarca.
Martinelli said that the State, and the Panamanian population as a whole, has a great "social debt" to all inhabitants of these indigenous regions, and, the government is committed to ensuring they have "good health, education, and quality of life."