Opposition claims six dead and over 1,000 injured in Bocas strike

The secretary general of the Democratic Revolutionary Party (PRD), Mitchell Does, who heads  the Panamanian opposition, said on Monday that clashes between protesters and police in Changuinola in Bocas del Toro Province, killed six people and wounded more than a thousand.

"Today we have the sad reality of Bocas del Toro, where there are six dead, more than a thousand wounded and  of hundreds of detainees as a result of  this bad law"  Does told reporters.

Banana workers had staged a ten-day protest against the controversial Bill 30 that resulted in clashes with police, leaving an official  toll of two dead and 141 injured on Thursday and Sunday, according to the Government..although earlier reported injuries were much higher and Santo Tomas Hospital on Panama, alone accounted for rnearly 130.At least 18 people were totally or partly blinded by lead shot fired by the police.

The srike in Changuinola ended with an an agreement for the temporary suspension of some parts of of Bill 30, which introduced restrictions on the right to strike and modification of union provisions.