WASHINGTON (AP) - With barely 20 days left in a 20-year countdown to turn over control of the Panama Canal, opponents are undertaking a final effort to protect U.S. interests in the waterway. They insist it will fall under Chinese rather than Panamanian control. A federal court suit, a petition by members of Congress and anti-turnover speeches and seminars are questioning transfer of the 85-year-old American-built waterway to Panama, scheduled for noon Dec. 31. A ceremonial turnover is scheduled Tuesday in Panama City - two weeks early to avoid conflicts with millennium celebrations. The furor is fueled in part by concern over China and in part by regret among conservatives over loss of the vital link between the Pacific and Atlantic, heavily used by U.S. commercial and military ships. The Clinton administration says the transfer of the canal to Panama was the right thing to do and is a done deal that has nothing to do with China. ``I feel comfortable that our commercial and security interests can be protected under this arrangement,'' President Clinton said last week. He retracted his own earlier statement that China would be running the canal as erroneous. The fear of Chinese control is being voiced by several members of Congress and by top former military officers affiliated with the National Security Center, a conservative advocacy group which also opposes U.N. influence over the U.S. military. It is based largely on the fact that a subsidiary of a Hong Kong-base company, Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., operates port concessions at both ends of the canal. The company denies it is controlled in any way by the Chinese government or military. ``It appears we have given away the farm,'' said Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, who raised questions on the canal takeover with Defense Secretary William Cohen last summer. ``U.S. naval ships will be at the mercy of Chinese-controlled pilots and could even be denied passage,'' Lott said in a letter to Cohen. Hutchison's port facilities, however, compete with a much larger American-owned operation and another operated, ironically, by a Taiwanese company. Unlike the United States, Panama has diplomatic relations with Taipei rather than Beijing. A top concern among critics is the pullout of all U.S. troops from the Caribbean country at the end of U.S. operation and ownership of the canal. Retired Adm. Thomas Moorer, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs, called the loss and the specter of a Chinese takeover ``the greatest threat that exists worldwide to the United States today. ``Not only are we turning over control of the Canal, but we are providing a launching point for missiles against the United States,'' Moorer said at the second of two days of special congressional hearings last week. The sparsely attended hearings were called despite the congressional recess by Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala., chairman of the House Banking subcommittee on domestic and international monetary policy. Bachus joined in a petition by two dozen House members urging Clinton to declare that treaties give the United States the right to maintain a presence in the country. Bachus accused the administration of a ``see-no-evil, hear-no-evil approach'' to the danger of a Chinese takeover. Another concern, he said, is the economic impact of the canal turnover on U.S. interests. ``Control of the canal and our being able to rely on that canal for uninterrupted commerce is absolutely essential to our commercial and financial well being,'' he said. Other than holding hearings, however, Congress has made no serious move to stop the turnover. A House bill declaring the treaty null and void never got to the floor before members went home for the year-end holidays. With no chance that Congress will stop the turnover, opponents are pursuing a federal court suit, filed in October with little public fanfare. It questions legality of the turnover and seeks a temporary restraining order to prevent the canal from being transferred. Revisions of the suit are planned to include more issues and more defendants in a call for a full preliminary injunction to halt the turnover. ``We have many supporters who don't believe the canal should be turned over to Panamanians under these circumstances,'' said Larry Klayman, head of Judicial Watch, a conservative group which has filed numerous suits against the Clinton administration over the years. Both Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright have backed out of attending Tuesday's symbolic turnover, and no top U.S. officials plan to be in Panama Dec. 31. Critics say it's because they don't want to be identified with losing the canal, but administration officials deny this and say they are confident its turnover and future operations will go smoothly. Clinton rejected diplomatic advice in turning down an invitation from Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso and Albright canceled because of Mideast peace talks this week in Washington. Former President Carter, who signed the turnover agreement in 1978 is set to attend, as are some canal turnover critics. ===== Pedro M. Calmon PO BOX 2248 Thibodaux, LA 70310 USA PHONE (504)449-1682 FAX (209)755-5642 ICQ: 48463895 __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. All in one place. Yahoo! Shopping: http://shopping.yahoo.com ============================================== Lista naval Para sair desta lista mande mensagem para: [EMAIL PROTECTED] sem nada no Subject e com o comando a seguir no corpo da msg: "unsubscribe naval" (sem aspas) ==============================================
