Issues, Addresses and Protocol

On the road, a sense of verve and a moment of euphoria

"Viva Jimmy! Hola Jimmy!" shouted tens of thousands of exuberant Panamanians last week as they greeted Jimmy Carter at a rally in Panama City's Cinco de Mayo Plaza. While the President beamed, Strongman Omar Torrijos kissed Rosalynn and declared that her husband "had the courage to throw himself without a parachute into the pages of history." It was a euphoric moment, the high point of a week in which Carter moved with energy and briskness through a busy schedule of diplomatic and domestic events.

He started out at the White House, where he warmly welcomed India's frail-looking but still vigorous Prime Minister, the 82-year-old Morarji Desai. Carter praised his Indian guest for having willingly gone to jail rather than succumb to the restrictions on freedom during the period of Emergency Rule under then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Desai responded that both India and the U.S. were bound by "an unshakable commitment to the dignity of the individual" --an endorsement of Carter's position on human rights.

The following day, at his Washington press conference, Carter once again addressed himself to the growing strain between the U.S. and Russia and defended his Administration's attacks on Cuban adventurism in Africa.

He also urged Congress to repeal the embargo on U.S. arms to Turkey. In a strongly phrased statement, he said that the embargo had "weakened the cohesiveness and the readiness of NATO." Ending the ban, said Carter, would be "the most immediate and urgent foreign policy decision" of the legislative session.

Two days later, tough talk was replaced by evangelical eloquence as Born Again Christian Carter went to Atlanta, where he addressed an audience of some 8,500 from his own denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention. Many of them were delegates representing the denomination's more than 13 million members at a meeting to plan an ambitious campaign, which is backed by Carter, to proclaim the Christian message to everyone on earth by the year 2000. The President spoke quietly to his "brothers and sisters in Christ" about the role of faith in politics. Said he: "The great outward journey of our nation is based on an inward journey, the peace that issues from an inner strength of awareness of the will of God. We cannot proceed without it." He was warmly applauded when he added: "I have never detected or experienced any conflict between God's will and my political duties."

Immediately after the address, the President flew to Panama City to exchange the instruments of ratification of the Panama Canal treaties with General Torrijos. The city was tense and under tight security as Carter arrived. Sentiment against the treaties among anti-Torrijos Panamanians had been increased early in the week by the dramatic return from exile in Miami of former Panamanian President Arnulfo Arias, a fervid opponent of the pacts. Two nights before Carter's arrival, students who opposed the treaties had fought for several hours with treaty supporters at the University of Panama. Two people were killed and 15 injured before national guardsmen finally restored order.

For much of the week, government workers had been scrubbing anti-U.S. slogans (samples: CARTER GO HOME! and PANAMA SI! CARTER NO!) from walls. But by the time that Air Force One landed at Tocumen International Airport, Torrijos' troops had chased the antitreaty students into hiding, and the government had brought thousands of supporters into Panama City, including peasants from rural provinces and Indians from the San Blas Islands. Several hundred schoolchildren, wearing yellow and brown uniforms, roared, "Viva Jimmy! Viva Omar!"as Carter embraced Torrijos on a flower-strewn red carpet. Later Carter told the crowd at the signing ceremony: "We, the people of the U.S., and you, the people of Panama, still have history to make together." Torrijos called the treaty a "transcendental moment" in his country's history.

When Carter visited the U.S.-ruled Canal Zone, his speech was boycotted by many Americans who worked in the area and who had bitterly opposed the treaties. Speaking to an audience composed mainly of U.S. military personnel and their families, Carter stressed that the job rights of the American civilians would be protected. The President may have made few converts that day, but throughout his trip he managed to exude a sense of energy, verve and diplomatic savvy.

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