“We want globalization with a human face … we want to see the globalization of solidarity, the globalization of justice, the globalization of equality!” chanted Eugenio Trejos, the director of the Center for Technology Transfer, during a protest at the center's headquarters in the southern suburb of Zapote yesterday. “We don't want globalization that will force us to lose our sense of nationhood!”

Trejos and other academics were celebrating their newfound National Front of Support, formed to oppose the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA).

The group will help lead anti-CAFTA protests and demonstrations this week as a Legislative Assembly commission plans to send the controversial trade pact to the floor for debate.

This marks a crucial point for CAFTA, as opponents allege the pact is being put through an unconstitutional legislative process which could set back its progress when it reaches the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV).

See this Friday's print or pdf edition of The Tico Times for more on this story and stay tuned to the Daily News page for CAFTA coverage.

President Oscar Arias yesterday expressed his condolences to the family of recently deceased former Chilean President Augusto Pinochet but also said the occasion can allow Chileans to reconcile the wrongs they suffered under Pinochet's reign, according to a statement from Casa Presidencial.

“I can't not acknowledge that he (Pinochet) was a dictator and that he used his power to repress his adversaries,” Arias said.

“Interpreting the sentiment of Costa Ricans who love and have adhered to the cause of freedom and democracy for many generations, I hope this occasion allows for reconciliation and union in Chilean society,” Arias said.

Pinochet, who ruled Chile for 17 years, died Sunday after suffering a heart attack last week, according to CNN's Web site.

His death sparked an outpouring of emotions in Chile, where some say Pinochet saved their country from communism while others regard him as a murderer who escaped justice.

-Tico Times

Keeping the public informed during natural disasters is the topic at hand during a conference in San José this week attended by about 40 officials from around Latin America and the United States, according to a statement from the Public Security Ministry.

The conference, which was inaugurated yesterday by Public Security Minister Fernando Berrocal, was organized to allow officials from several countries including El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica to share their experiences with spreading information during natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods and fires.

“The idea is for each country to share what it has achieved and to learn from each other. This way they can correct mistakes to serve the public better in the future,” explained Public Security Ministry spokesman Jesús Ureña.

Participants are also discussing ways to coordinate with the press to get information out promptly during disaster situations.

María Dávila, an expert from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), is also attending the conference to offer advice on releasing information during disasters, the statement said.