Panama Repeals Land Sale Plan After Protests Panama's government has repealed a measure to sell state-owned land in a duty-free zone along the Panama Canal following a week of sometimes violent protests. Riot police patrol a street after looting broke out during clashes between protestors and police, in Panama City, Friday, Oct. 26, 2012. Panama's government said Friday it will cancel plans to sell state-owned land in a duty-free zone following a week of sometimes violent protests in which a 10-year-old boy and two adults died. Though the land in question is in the port city of Colon, protests spread to Panama City. Government spokesman Luis Eduardo Camacho says the government backtracked "to overcome intranquility" - a reference to protests that spread from the Atlantic port of Colon to Panama City on the Pacific. President Ricardo Martinelli signed the repeal decree on Sunday. The government argued the land sales would create revenue for social projects in Colon. Protesters feared what might happen if private owners take over the area and complained about the likely loss of continuing revenue from the current lease system.