Tense Calm in Panama After Violent Street Clashes

Panama City woke up on Thursday in a tense calm following the violent clashes taking place Wednesday evening between hundreds of protesters and the Police, which left an indeterminate number of detainees, while the government was silent so far.

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Lacking an official report, a list of at least 47 prisoners was posted on social media, some of them denounced the policemen's abuses in videos filmed before they were taken to the police stations of the city, University authorities stated.

Among the detainees is Richard Morales, former presidential candidate in the primaries of the Broad Front for Democracy. He said on a Sunday television program that the solution within the institutions immersed in the political crisis will hardly arise and advocated for an Original Constituent Assembly.

Eduardo Flores, rector of the University of Panama (UP), accompanied by other officials from the higher education center, appeared at one of the barracks to learn about nine students, and told the press that they were accused of public disorder and damage to social property.

During the fourth consecutive day of protests, led by university students, many popular sectors joined and responded to the call of the newly-formed National Front Pro-Constituent Assembly to reject reforms to the Constitution, which legislators approved at all races on Wednesday's session.

In a demonstration that 'violence gives rise to violence', after Wednesday's repression, many of the participants called again Thursday afternoon to resume the protests and the union members of the longest construction guild are among them.