The Tico Times Online Daily Page

Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, May 4, 2004

THUMBS up: Social Democrat Martín Torrijos, 40, elected President of Panama in Sunday’s election, gives crowds his sign of approval after they selected him with 47% of the vote.
AFP/Teresita Chavarria

May 4

Film Festival
The film “Persona” shows today at 4 and 6 p.m. at the Contemporary Art and Design Museum, FANAL, Av. 3, Ca. 15 in San José. Info: 257-7202.

Canadian Film Festival
The movie “Expecting” plays today through Thursday at 7:10 and 9:10 p.m. at the Colonial Theater in Escazú, and “Margaret’s Museum” plays at 7 and 9:15 p.m. at the American Mall.

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CAFTA Legal Revision
Expected to End This Week

Legal revision of the Central America Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA) is going smoothly and should be finished this week, according to head Costa Rican negotiator Anabel González.

Business leaders in Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua last week accused the United States of changing the text and modifying agreements made in the treaty, according to La Nación. The United States, meanwhile, maintains CAFTA negotiations are final and the agreements cannot be changed.

Negotiations for the agreement with the United States ended in December for most of the countries involved (TT, Dec. 19, 2003) and in January for Costa Rica (TT, Jan. 30).

Since last Thursday, González and other trade negotiators have been in Washington D.C. making legal revisions and ensuring the English and Spanish versions of the document are identical.

“The process of legal revision and linguistic comparison is going well, similar to how other processes have gone with other countries Costa Rica has written free-trade agreements with,” González said in a statement.

While Costa Rican officials say the only changes being made are the addition of a comma or the location of a paragraph, Honduran negotiators have denounced changes to meaning of the text, according to La Nación.

Since January, the new Guatemalan government under President Oscar Berger has not wanted to recognize certain agreements in the treaty, which were negotiated by the administration of ex-President Alfonso Portillo.

The Central American countries will also hold a meeting with their Dominican counterparts to discuss details regarding the incorporation of Dominican Republic into CAFTA.

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Country Congratulates
President-Elect of Panama

The government of Costa Rica yesterday congratulated the people and the government of Panama for an “exemplary” presidential election.

The Panamanian national elections, the first in the country without a U.S. military presence at the Panama Canal (TT Daily Page, May 3), concluded peacefully Sunday afternoon.

Through the Foreign Ministry and Vice-Minister Miguel Diaz, Costa Rica gave Panama a nod for its “demonstration of overwhelming support for democracy.”

Costa Rica congratulated President-elect Martín Torrijos, and mentioned that it hopes Panama will continue to have promising and strong relations with Costa Rica and Central America.

Costa Rica expressed “conviction” that it and Panama “will continue to strengthen ties of friendship, solidarity and cooperation, and at the same time take advantage of the opportunity to renew commitments to achieve greater Central American integration for the benefit of the region.”

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Costa Rican Ambassador
To Taiwan Receives Threats

Two weeks ago, Oscar Alvarez, Costa Rican Ambassador to Taiwan, received a mysterious phone call from a man who spoke Mandarin warning him not to attend the inauguration ceremony of Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian to another term on May 20.

Despite the threats, the ambassador is still planning to attend the event, according to a statement from Costa Rica’s Foreign Ministry.

“The Costa Rican Foreign Ministry confirms it will be represented in the inauguration acts of President Chen Shui-bian,” said Foreign Minister Roberto Tovar in a release. “Costa Rica and the Republic of China (Taiwan) are joined by 60 years of friendship, peace and cooperation, as well as the shared principles of human rights and democracy, which we will continue promoting and strengthening.”

Costa Rican officials informed the Taiwanese government’s National Security Office of the threat. They are currently investigating it.

On March 20, Chen was reelected to a second term as President by a margin of less than 1%.

The day before the elections, he and Vice-President Annette Hsiu-lien Lu were both shot by a gunman, who has not been identified, while conducting last-minute campaigning in the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan. After the shooting, Costa Rican President Abel Pacheco was among the first leaders to wish Chen a quick recovery (TT Daily, March 22).

Costa Rica and Taiwan have long-standing diplomatic and economic ties. Costa Rica is one of few countries in the world that officially recognizes Taiwan. Most countries recognize only the People’s Republic of China (mainland China).

Last April, Costa Rica inaugurated a bridge over the Tempisque River in the northwestern province of Guanacaste that was funded by the Taiwanese government.

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Suspect Held for
Robbery Involving Hostages

Police said they arrested a man Sunday night after he held two different groups of people hostage in the wake of a botched robbery, the Public Security Ministry announced yesterday.

Officials say the suspect, who they identified as having the last name of Wilson, entered a small store located downtown in the Pacific port city of Puntarenas, brandishing a .38 caliber handgun. Police say he ordered the owner of the store and two women to the floor, stole money and items of value from them, and then proceeded to close the business.

Shortly thereafter, officers arrived at the scene and the suspect escaped through a back door, police said. He ran through several neighboring yards before allegedly entering a home and holding its residents, an elderly citizen and two children, at gunpoint. Police evacuated the houses around the home and began to negotiate with the suspect, after which officers say he opted to let the three hostages go and turn himself in to authorities.

Police said they recovered 46 phone cards worth ˘500 ($1.16), 39 cards worth ˘1,000 ($2.32) and 11 cards worth ˘3,000 ($6.97). Police say they also recovered approximately ˘51,000 ($118.60) in cash.

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Wednesday October 26, 2005