U.S. TO LEAVE UNEXPLODED BOMBS BEHIND IN PANAMA

PANAMA CITY (Reuters) - U.S. military officials said Friday they will
leave behind unexploded bombs buried in the jungles of the Panama
Canal Zone when the United States concludes its 90-year military
presence in Panama next year.

The issue emerged as a source of conflict between the United States
and Panama after the two sides failed Thursday to reach an agreement
that would have extended the U.S. presence here with 2,000 troops into
the next millennium.

The United States is to hand over the famous Central American waterway
to Panama on Dec. 31, 1999.

``Certainly there will be some areas with unexploded ordnance, but we
are recommending that these places be restricted for limited use, as
there is a great potential for injury out there,'' Lt. Col. Byron
Connover, spokesman for U.S. forces in Panama, told Reuters.

The Panama Canal Zone, a swath of land governed by the United States
that runs through the middle of Panama on both sides of the
51-mile-long Panama Canal, was home to 12 military bases and as many
as 12,000 troops at its peak.

U.S. troops used some areas as testing zones for weapons.

A 1977 treaty outlines every aspect of the handover of the canal,
including the surrounding areas, and states that the United States
must clean its bases of dangerous material using any ``viable means.''

U.S. officials contend they have met the guidelines of the treaty but
will be unable to remove all dangerous material.

The United States and Panama had been negotiating terms for a
multinational anti-drug base in the canal zone that would have ensured
a continued U.S. military presence in the canal zone after the handover.

Talks fell apart after the United States insisted on maintaining a
longer presence and broader mandate than the Panamanians would allow.

``Panama has always maintained the position that although the
(anti-drug base) has not been agreed upon, it does not take away the
U.S. obligation to clean the bases before 1999,'' Panamanian Foreign
Minister Jorge Ritter told reporters late Thursday after both sides
announced that the anti-drug base plan had been scrapped.

Fernando Manfredo, Panamanian co-director of the joint task force to
clean up the area, was quoted in Thursday's La Prensa newspaper as
saying, ``It is unacceptable for us that they leave without removing
threats to life, health, and human security.''

Most of the area in question is hilly terrain in heavy jungle, making
it inaccessible for normal cleanup techniques, Connover said.

One U.S. official, who asked not to be identified, said: ''Panama's
complaint about the firing ranges is like someone receiving a Mercedes
and complaining there are ashes in the ashtray.''

Checked-by: Patrick Henry