The World - News from June 22, 1989

The Panamanian military has agreed to participate in talks toward ending the political crisis involving Defense Forces chief Gen. Manuel A. Noriega, the government said. The military will be included in the government delegation, Foreign Minister Jorge Ritter said in a letter to the Organization of American States. The talks among the government, military and opposition were proposed last week by an OAS mission, which has made two trips to Panama City since the government annulled a May election that observers said the opposition won handily. The government had insisted that the role of Gen. Noriega, Panama’s de facto leader, is “not negotiable.” But a Foreign Ministry statement, which included parts of Ritter’s letter, did not mention Noriega.