INK Against Extinction: Priscilla Miranda, Daren Aguilar, Karina Aguilar and Jonathan Torres yesterday showed off temporary tattoos of endangered species in the southern Osa Peninsula for sale as part of a campaign to raise funds to protect the area. The tattoos, available at Automercado stores and other retail outlets, last about one week.

Minister of the Presidency Rodrigo Arias recently applauded the Legislative Assembly for passing a bill to create harsher punishments for those convicted of domestic violence through the first round of debate.

Juan Santamaría Day
Today is the official holiday to commemorate this national hero, although the observed holiday, when most Costa Ricans have off work and school, has been moved to April 16. Santamaría's home of Alajuela, northwest of San José, will have art and craft exhibits and sales, concerts, beginning this afternoon.

Women's Club of Costa Rica Event
Tour of the National Theater, 10 a.m., Café de Teatro, inside theater, San José. Info: 232-9512, 244-6683.

By Amanda Roberson
Tico Times Staff | aroberson@ticotimes.net

Costa Rican astronaut and national hero Franklin Chang is flexing his muscles for a cause other than space exploration and scientific research – a campaign launched yesterday features Chang calling for protection of wildlife in the southern Osa Peninsula.

A poster for the campaign, called “Osa In Your Skin,” has Chang flexing his bicep and lifting up his sleeve to reveal a temporary tattoo of a jaguar, one of five species featured on tattoos to be sold at supermarkets, corner stores and other locations for ¢500 (about $1) apiece.

Funds from the sale of these tattoos will go to a trust managed by Banco de Costa Rica with the goal of raising $3 million for the Osa Campaign, or 10% of the goal set by campaign organizers in 2003, according to a statement from the campaign. Since then, the campaign has raised about $18 million.

These funds are key for protecting the Osa Peninsula, home to 2.5% of the world's species and one of the richest areas of biodiversity on the planet, explained Jan Holtermann, president of the Osa Campaign's national committee.

The idea behind the tattoos is to “create a sense of national pride” for the Osa and remind Costa Ricans that if they don't support efforts toward conservation and sustainable development of the area, endangered species could soon disappear.

In addition to the tattoos, the campaign features a 30-second TV commercial with Costa Ricans of various ages sporting the tattoos, interspersed with scenic shots of the lush, green Osa Peninsula.

“I carry the Osa in my blood and I also want to carry it on my skin,” is the message broadcasted against upbeat yet sentimental music.

Tattoos of jaguars, dolphins, whales, frogs and parrots are on sale at Automercado stores as well as other supermarkets and corner stores around the country, Holtermann explained. The Osa Campaign is also looking into possible alliances with schools to make the tattoos available to students.

Several nonprofits including The Nature Conservancy and Conservation International as well as the Ministry of Environment and Energy (MINAE) and private businesses such as Banco de Costa Rica and Luna Lodge collaborated on the campaign.

President Oscar Arias participated yesterday in the Plan Puebla Panama (PPP) Summit for Heads of State, held in Campeche, Mexico, and said he was displeased with the result.

Before the summit, Arias told wire service ACAN-EFE that he planned to lobby for Costa Rica to become the site of a proposed regional oil refinery. The refinery is part of the Plan Puebla Panama, an initiative proposed by Mexico in 2001 to develop continuous infrastructure between southern Mexico and Central America, including not only the creation of an electrical network but also disaster prevention, telecommunications, trade, tourism and roadway integration.

Following the summit, however, Arias said he is unhappy with Mexico's announcement that it will provide the proposed refinery with 80,000 barrels of crude oil per day, rather than the 240,000 barrels per day it had originally promised, according to the daily La Nación.

“If from 240,000, which was Mexico's commitment in the past, it's reduced to 80,000, one-third, I don't see that this is a reason for great happiness and satisfaction,” Arias told the daily on his way to the Campeche airport. He said the reduction could affect transnational companies' interest in operating the refinery because “it will oblige (the company) to seek other supply sources, since we had always talked about a refinery of 365,000 barrels per day to make the project viable.”

Arias is still interested in Costa Rica's candidacy to become the refinery site, he said.

Costa Rican Foreign Minister Bruno Stagno, Presidency Vice-Minister José Torres and Ambassador to México Gioconda Ubeda accompanied Arias on his two-day trip. He was scheduled to return to Costa Rica last night.

-Tico Times

Minister of the Presidency Rodrigo Arias recently applauded the Legislative Assembly for passing a bill to create harsher punishments for those convicted of domestic violence through the first round of debate.

The proposed law, which would punish those convicted of physical, psychological or sexual violence against women with 20-25 years in prison, gained the vote of 43 of 57 legislators Monday, according to the daily La Nación.

The second round of debate has been scheduled to begin Thursday.

This marks the sixth time the bill has been approved in just one round of debate; the other five times it was sent back to the assembly by the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court (Sala IV), which cited flaws in the legislative process (TT, Dec. 17, 2004).

At least one legislator, Mario Quirós, of the Libertarian Movement, said he plans to present concerns about the bill to the Sala IV again, arguing that complaints against its constitutionality still have not been properly resolved, the daily reported.

Meanwhile, Arias applauded the assembly's diligence in passing the bill he called a “key and concrete step in the fight to prevent, sanction and eradicate a wrong that sadly has occurred more and more in Costa Rican society in the past few years,” according to a statement from Casa Presidencial.

The assembly voted on the bill following a slew of shootings of women by their partners at the end of last month.