EMBASSY ACTS TO REPAIR RELATIONS WITH PANAMANIAN

O N F I D E N T I A L PANAMA 000303

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA/CEN
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/24/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PM
SUBJECT: EMBASSY ACTS TO REPAIR RELATIONS WITH PANAMANIAN
MUSLIM COMMUNITIES

REF: 03 PANAMA 01281

Classified By: Ambassador William Eaton for reasons 1.4 (c),(d),and (
g)

SUMMARY
--------------

1. (C) Ambassador recently held two dinners linked to
Islamic religious celebrations to launch an Embassy effort to
help create an atmosphere of mutual respect and candid
interchange and to reverse increasing local perceptions of
anti-Muslim policy bias by the United States. The
Ambassador's effort also responds to angry public complaints
by Panamanian Muslims following their self-perceived
maltreatment and abuse at U. S. ports of entry and to the
reality that, for Muslim Panamanians, obtaining U.S. visas is
increasingly difficult. Working-level Embassy officials also
plan to meet Muslims at less ceremonial venues to discuss
port-of-entry and visa issues more concretely. While we do
not expect to solve the principal grievances of the Muslim
participants, our sustained engagement with these communities
is aimed at demonstrating U.S. respect for Muslim values.

Who They Are, Where They Live
--------------

2. (SBU) Panama's Muslims (about 8,000 in all) are divided
in two main national and ethic groups, Gujarati Indians (who
mainly live in Panama City) and Lebanese Arabs (who mainly
live 50 miles north of the capital in the Caribbean port city
of Colon). About 2500 Indians, mainly Sunni Gujaratis,
generally work in retail businesses, used cars and petty
trading in Panama City. Former presidential advisor Ebrahim
Asvat and his architect brother, Musa, are notables of the
Gujarati Muslims. The more prosperous, mainly Lebanese
Arabs, (about 1000, 30% Shia, 70% Sunni, not to mentions some
Christians, and including some Syrians and Palestinians)
overwhelmingly work in the export-import trade at the Colon
Free Zone. Several thousand more Muslims of mainly Arab
background live in the bigger provincial towns in the
countryside west of the Canal. (Note: Several thousand
middle eastern Sunni Arabs live in interior towns in Panama.
They are not a subject of this message. See reftel.)

Dinners Mark Muslim Holy Days
--------------

3. (SBU) To reach out to disaffected Panamanian Muslim
communities and to show respect for Islam, the Ambassador
held two dinners at his Residence on October 24, 2005 (for
Panama City Muslims) and on January 11, 2006 (for Colon
Muslims). The October dinner was configured as an iftar
break fast during the month of Ramadan. The January dinner
coincided with the celebration of Eid ul-Adha, which marked
the end of the Hajj. Both Muslim groups expressed
satisfaction, happiness, and appreciation at the dinners,
remarking that a U. S. Ambassador had never invited them to
the Residence before. Each community's religious leader (or
"imam") was the guest of honor. Discussion at the dinners
ranged from exuberant (Gujaratis) to polite (Arabs) but was
non-substantive, focusing on religious themes. Participants
were advised ahead of time that the Embassy is planning to
follow up the largely ceremonial dinners with working-level
discussions, mainly on visa and port-of-entry issues.

Allegations of Abuse, Discrimination
--------------

4. (C) The Ambassador launched the Embassy's reconciliation
effort to strengthen ties with the Panama City Gujaratis and
the Colon Arabs based on mutual respect and friendship but
also to engage the two communities following public
allegations -- including newspaper articles -- of abusive
treatment at the hands of U.S. port-of-entry officials that
had begun to damage the public image of the United States in
Panama. Starting in 2003-2004, according to their own
accounts, many Panamanian Muslims -- often well-heeled,
middle-aged businessmen, some of whom had traveled to the
United States as recently as one week before they encountered
trouble -- have been frustrated in their attempts to travel
to the United States.

Next Steps
--------------


5. (SBU) The Ambassador's gestures toward the two
communities have helped renew the trust between them and the
Embassy but they were only a beginning. For now, the Embassy
has decided to follow up on these two ice-breakers with some
medium-term activites:

-Organize semi-formal meetings with the Panama City and Colon
communities at the working level within the next 4-6 weeks to
discuss issues of mutual interest

-Meet with Muslim representatives in smaller groups, taking
advantage of our renewed contacts

-Invite Muslim representatives to Embassy representational
events

-Send Embassy public affairs speakers to Muslim venues

-Organize visits by the Ambassador to several of the local
mosques

-Donate public affairs books to the local mosques

-Use Embassy International Visitor programs to send eligible
Muslims to the United States.

EATON