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17 Jan 2006 |
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Daily Edition: San José, Costa Rica, January 17, 2006
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Civic Movement Protests
Privatization
Of Vehicle Inspection
“Out with Riteve!” “Long live Costa Rica !” The message was loud and clear at a protest yesterday in front of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT) offices in San José : protestors from the agricultural and transport sectors, unified under the Civic Movement, want Riteve SyC, the Spanish-Costa Rican company with an exclusive contract for mandatory vehicle inspection, out of the country.
(Click for more)
Two U.S. Citizens Missing
After Plane Disappears
Two U.S. citizens aboard a small, single-engine Beech D35 airplane are missing after the aircraft lost radio contact Sunday and never arrived at the airport where it was scheduled to land. Search parties began combing the foothills around the Irazú Volcano, east of San José in the province of Cartago, where the plane is believed to have gone down. A farmer in the area reported hearing a low-flying aircraft and, seconds later, a tremendous crash in the distance on Sunday at approximately 10 a.m.
(Click for more)
Preventive Alert Declared
Because of Rains in Costa Rica
The National Emergency Commission (CNE) declared a yellow alert yesterday for the northern and Caribbean areas, where one person has disappeared and 700 have been evacuated because of rains.
(Click for more)
January 17
Adventures Under the Sun Wilderness Adventure Programs
Ages 12-17, surf camps, Jan. 20-24; surfing the Nicoya Peninsula, Jan. 20-29; sea kayaking, surfing, horseback riding, canopy tours, Osa Peninsula, Jan. 20-29. Info: 228-3056, www.adventuresunderthesun.com.
Mule Festival
Queen selection, mule and horse race, horse parade, craft sale, dances, rides, sports, tractor and car rally, concerts, Jan. 13-29, Parrita, on the central Pacific coast.
University of Costa Rica Summer Classes
Various classes for the general public, including languages, crafts, sports, computer, dance, finance, math, literature, music. Classes start Jan. 16-28, registration through Jan. 13.
Edited By Amanda Roberson
Tico Times Staff
aroberson@ticotimes.net
Civic Movement Protests
Privatization Of Vehicle Inspection
By Amanda Roberson
Tico Times Staff
aroberson@ticotimes.net
“Out with Riteve!” “Long live Costa Rica !” The message was loud and clear at a protest yesterday in front of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MOPT) offices in San José : protestors from the agricultural and transport sectors, unified under the Civic Movement, want Riteve SyC, the Spanish-Costa Rican company with an exclusive contract for mandatory vehicle inspection, out of the country.
“The country is demanding that Riteve leave,” said Civic Movement leader and National Farmers' Foundation (FENAC) representative Ricardo Araya. “It's a monopoly with the goal of making a profit that's replaced a public service. It's like putting a thief in charge of watching over money in the bank.”
Riteve won bids to take over vehicle inspection, a service formerly provided by the Costa Rican government, in 2001. The constitutionality of this contract was challenged in the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV), which ruled in Riteve's favor (TT, Sept. 3, 2004).
Following almost two hours of protest on blocked-off streets downtown in front of MOPT offices, with banners blowing in strong winds and music from a typical cimarrona band in the background, nine Civic Movement leaders met with Public Works and Transport Minister Randall Quirós to present him with a letter requesting three things: the suspension of inspection by Riteve, currently required for vehicle owners to obtain a circulation permit, lower taxes on gasoline and repairs to the country's roads.
Quirós responded that gasoline taxes are under the domain of the Finance Ministry and Environment Ministry (MINAE), not MOPT.
Regarding the termination of Riteve's contract, Quirós told The Tico Times MOPT tried to end the contract two years ago, but the Comptroller General's Office ruled it could not be broken (TT, Sept. 3, 2004).
“It's just not viable,” Quirós said. “If we could have terminated the contract, we would have already.”
Finally, in response to the Civic Movement's complaints about the country's road conditions, Quirós pointed to $100 million MOPT initiatives under way to repair them.
After listening to Quirós's response, Civic Movement leaders told him they would “consult their bases” and decide whether further actions, including more protests, would be taken.
In August 2004, discontent over Riteve drew national unrest as truck drivers blocked the nation's highways and border crossings and daily protests were staged against the company (TT, Aug. 27, 2004).
Meanwhile, in response to yesterday's protest, Riteve stands behind the Sala IV's ruling that they are not a monopoly and have the right to continue operating as a private company contracted by the government to provide a public service, said Riteve spokeswoman Vilma Ibarra.
Protestors, however, argued this type of “privatization” is an example of the negative consequences that would follow ratification of the Central American Free-Trade Agreement (CAFTA) between Central American countries, the United States and the Dominican Republic.
Banners and flyers distributed at the protest equated Riteve with CAFTA and argued that both equal corruption.
Two U.S. Citizens Missing
After Plane Disappears
By Leland Baxter-Neal
Tico Times Staff
lbaxter@ticotimes.net
Two U.S. citizens aboard a small, single-engine Beech D35 airplane are missing after the aircraft lost radio contact Sunday and never arrived at the airport where it was scheduled to land. Search parties began combing the foothills around the Irazú Volcano, east of San José in the province of Cartago, where the plane is believed to have gone down. A farmer in the area reported hearing a low-flying aircraft and, seconds later, a tremendous crash in the distance on Sunday at approximately 10 a.m.
The pilot is Conrad Wesley Randell, 69, who was accompanied by his wife Nancy Randell, 68. Both are residents of Des Moines, in the U.S. state of Iowa.
The airplane, registration number N5985C, was flying from Panama to Nicaragua with 24 other planes as part of a trip through Central America organized by the U.S.-based pilots' association Baja Bush Pilots, which provides information on flights to Mexico and Central America and organizes trips. The tour began Jan. 7 and made stops in Mexico, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala.
Costa Rica is experiencing unseasonably rainy and cloudy weather (see separate story), which has hampered the search efforts. The plane was reported missing Sunday shortly after noon. Search efforts led by the Red Cross began at 2:30 p.m., but had to be called off two hours later because of unfavorable weather.
The search began again yesterday and included 122 people from various organizations including the Red Cross, Public Security Ministry, Firefighters Corps and Civil Aviation, according to Cristian Aasa, Red Cross assistant chief of communications. The search concluded at 4:30 p.m. amid rainy and foggy conditions yesterday “without a positive trace,” Aasa told The Tico Times. Searchers will begin again at 5 a.m. tomorrow.
Among the searchers working their way through approximately 15 square kilometers of densely forested hills at an altitude of 3,500 meters was Randell's own son, Conrad. Both Conrad and his wife, Erika Randell, a Costa Rican, were living here until December 2005, when Erika moved back. Conrad was finishing business in the country and was expected to return home later this month, “but now we're not sure,” Erika told The Tico Times.
According to Erika, this was the senior Conrad Randell's first time flying in Central America, but he had visited Costa Rica “several times” and “loved it.”
For more on this story, see this Friday's Tico Times print or pdf edition
Preventive Alert Declared
Because of Rains in Costa Rica
The National Emergency Commission (CNE) declared a yellow alert yesterday for the northern and Caribbean areas, where one person has disappeared and 700 have been evacuated because of rains.
CNE informed that the alert was created by a cold front that has provoked an increase in rains, and highlighted the need for extra caution, particularly in zones likely to experience mudslides and flooding.
Red Cross officials reported the disappearance of Ramiro Madriz, 45, whose car was swept up by a current from a river in San Isidro de Heredia, northeast of San José, Sunday.
In the Northern Zone, the Red Cross has evacuated 500 people and located them in shelters in Sarapiquí, northeast of San José, where the Puerto Viejo, Sarapiquí and Tigre rivers have overflowed their banks.
In the Caribbean slope, the Chirripó, Reventazón, Bananito and Sixaola rivers have flooded various areas; while 200 people were evacuated from Siquirres.
Arnoldo Alpízar, Red Cross telecommunications director, explained in a report that workers from auxiliary committees in the country are entering the Caribbean zone and Sarapiquí area to back up the efforts of local committees.
--ACAN-EFE
