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Costa Rica Officials
Will Interrogate Fugitive Venezuelan Uunion Bboss Carlos Ortega
Costa Rican Foreign Minister Roberto Tovar has recognized that "certain indications effectively exist indicating possible anomalies" with regard to fugitive Venezuelan union leader Carlos Ortega's political asylum status in his country.
Ortega has been a fugitive in Costa Rica since March after fleeing to that country's embassy in Caracas to seek refuge from Venezuelan justice for his role in the April 2002 coup d'etat and his leading role in sabotage of Venezuela's national economy during last December-January 2003 labor stoppage aimed at forcing the resignation of democratically-elected President
Hugo Chavez Frias.
Foreign Minister Tovar says he is studying compromising evidence provided by President Chavez Frias who has assured him that Ortega has been plotting against his government as shown in telephone tape recordings between Ortega and his successor at the helm of the Confederation of Venezuelan Trade Unions (CTV) Manuel Cova. "Political refugees have certain obligations, that they should not initiate breaches of constitutional and democratic order in their country of origin from Costa Rica as their host country."
"We have a copy of the tape and a transcript and I can immediately believe that Mr. Ortega is not 100% fulfilling his obligations," Tovar told the Costa Rican radio program Nuestra Voz (Our Voice). "Ortega made certain comments which appear to put him in relation to what is happening in Venezuela against Chavez Frias."
Foreign Minister Tovar says that officials from his department are analyzing what repercussions the case will have and they will speak with Ortega before Friday to ascertain what steps should be taken. He says there are three options if Ortega is found to be in breach of asylum regulations: 1) to remove his political asylum status; 2) to afford him amnesty on condition he desists and 3) to consider unwarranted his continued presence in Costa Rica. In the latter case he would immediately be called upon to leave the country.
"I believe the matter can be resolved without going to extremes," Tovar told reporters. "Certainly we must reject any suggestion that our government officials have been in any way involved ... nobody should ever believe anything like that of the government of Costa Rica, never!"
Woman Charged in Fort Myers
With Hiding Fugitive Husband
A woman was arrested on charges she hid with her fugitive husband in Costa Rica after he faked his death to avoid prison time for tax evasion, federal prosecutors said.
Anne Gaudet Young, 44, had been indicted in Fort Myers on charges of concealing a person from arrest, which is punishable by up to five years in prison.
Her husband, former Marco Island businessman Raymond David Young, 56, was two days away from being sentenced to prison for tax fraud when he disappeared in April 1993.
Raymond Young's relatives said they'd gone scuba diving near the mouth of the Mississippi River in New Orleans when he failed to resurface and apparently drowned.
The man stayed on the run for eight years, but was finally tracked down in Costa Rica and extradited to the United States in April 2001. He was sentenced to seven years in prison and was ordered to pay $3.8 million in unpaid taxes.
Chief Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Molloy said Anne Gaudet Young also was in Costa Rica when she was found and were in the process of extraditing her when she decided to turn herself in.
She was arrested Oct. 6 in Houston and released on a $10,000 signature bond.
Her attorney, Ronald J. Waska of Houston, declined to discuss the case on Wednesday.
Foreign Minister of Costa Rica Roberto Tovar, left, speaks with Frenc Junior Secretary of Foreign Affairs Renaud Muselier, right, outside the Ministry of Foriegn Affairs in San Jose, Costa Rica, Tuesday, November 4, 2003. Muselier was in Costa Rica to donate approximately $ 1 million dollars on behalf of the government of France to help in the conservation of Cocos Island, one of Costa Rica's national parks.(AP Photo/Kent Gilbert)
Among Latin American Jews,
diversity still a contentious issue
Latin American Jewish leaders and scholars who gathered
in Antigua,
Guatemala,
this past week in overwhelmingly support pluralism in their Jewish communities — but they recognize that it’s a growing problem throughout the region.
A panel discussion on diversity during the Ninth Meeting of Leaders of Latin American and Caribbean Jewish Institutions and Communities ignited vibrant, informal chats on the topic throughout the entire weekend.
At the Oct. 31 presentation, Jewish leaders told an audience of about 400 people that they condemn discrimination among Jews on the basis of factors such as religious practice, conversion status and sexual preference.
Discrimination within Jewish communities is a growing problem in Latin America, panelists said.
In Costa Rica, where there are about 3,000 Jews, discrimination among Jews affects everyday life, said Moises Falchler, president of B’nai B’rith of Costa Rica. He criticized the Orthodox community — to which he belongs — for shunning people who are intermarried or who adopted children.
“There isn’t tolerance, and nobody’s doing anything about it,” Falchler said.
For Gabriel Ejgenberg of Montevideo, Uruguay, it was inspiring to hear Jewish leaders endorse pluralism.
“It gave me the greatest peace to hear these influential people saying these things,” he said. “It gives me hope.”
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Mexico becomes net importer of US toxic waste: OECD
Mexico is a "net importer of toxic and hazardous waste from the United States," the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) claimed on Wednesday.
In its second Assessment of the Environmental Development of Mexico, following the first in 1998, the OECD pointed out that the "volume of toxic waste rose from 159,000 tons in 1995 to 276,000 tons in 2000."
Mexico receives containers of toxic waste and lead batteries to be recycled, said the OECD, an organization comprised of countries with the highest development levels.
The OECD recommended that Mexico abide by the universal principle of "the one to pollute is the one to pay", put a new tariff on the consumption of potable water, and charge for garbage collection.
Among the 61 recommendations to Mexico, the OECD proposed charges for the reception of hazardous material, for the release of toxic elements into the atmosphere, and for the pollution of water and environmental services.
The report was presented at the Presidential Residence of Los Pinos in Mexico City, by OECD Secretary-General Donald Johnston, who recognized the advances of Mexico in environmental legislation.
Iranian agent admits Iran's responsibility for attack in Argentina
A former member of the Iranian espionage services testified Wednesday that his country was behind the 1994 attack on a Jewish center in the Argentinian capital which left 86 dead.
Through a tele-conference from Germany, Abolgashem Mesbahi said during an interrogation that the bomb attack was "led, operated and executed by Iran."
Known as "Witness C" to conceal his real identity, Mesbahi said the operation was planned a year in advance and that the attack was "actively" organized by the then cultural attache at the Iranian Embassy in Argentina, Moceen Rabbani.
The attack on a Jewish center building on July 18, 1994 left a total of 86 people dead and more than 500 injured.
Mesbahi said Rabbani chose the center, the Argentine Jewish Mutual Association, "as a target", because there was a branch of the principal Israeli intelligence service, the Mossad, according to remarks released on Wednesday morning by local press, which however did not indicate in which German city the statement was issued.
As for the reason for the attack, Mesbahi said it was intended to avenge the Argentine government's failure to supply nuclear materials to Iran, as promised in the past.
Also in the statement, Mesbahi reiterated that no Argentinean "was involved or collaborated" in the attack, and that the "car bomb" was rented.
He added that this version "was obtained from an informer of the intelligence service of Iran who might have died in 1996."
Tensions between Argentina and Iran reached a new high in August when Iran's former ambassador to Argentina Hadi Soleimanpurwas arrested in Britain on an extradition request from Buenos Aires.
In response, Tehran suspended economic and cultural cooperation with Argentina.
Schwarzenegger's s wearing-in ceremony due on Nov. 17
California governor-elect Arnold Schwarzenegger's swearing-in ceremony will be held on Nov. 17, on the west steps of the State Capitol in Sacramento, the Schwarzenegger transition committee announced late Tuesday.
A simple outdoor inaugural ceremony is preferred and no entertainment galas and balls are being planned, according to the transition committee.
The ceremony will be a ticketed event, with 7,500 invitations going in the mail Tuesday to campaign supporters, legislators, the California congressional delegation and other dignitaries, the committee announced.
Schwarzenegger, a former Hollywood action star renowned for his cast in the "Terminator" sci-fi series, won the historic recall vote on Oct. 7, when incumbent Democrat Governor Gray Davis was ousted.
Although having yet sworn in as governor, Schwarzenegger has already taken over some responsibilities as new head of the most populous state.
He paid a visit to the Congress last week to plead for federal aid to the wildfires-torn counties in southern California. And he has met with US President George W. Bush twice already since his election last month to establish a good working relationship.
On Monday, Schwarzenegger appointed two former officials to theposts of finance and schools directors. Former budget director forstate of Florida Donna Arduin will be the new finance director while former Los Angeles Mayor Richard Riordan was named
education secretary.
Schwarzenegger on Tuesday also appointed Bonnie Reiss, a Hollywood lawyer-environmentalist who is his longtime confidante, as a senior adviser.
"When I ran for office, I made a commitment that I would represent all the people. My administration will reach across party lines and bring the most talented men and women to public service to bring California back, restore our image and to return our state to economic strength and vitality," Schwarzenegger said.
Reiss, described as a "Hollywood green activist," founded the Earth Communications Office, a Los Angeles-based group that
helped place environmental messages in TV shows in the early 1990s.
She will direct the Schwarzenegger administration's efforts to retain entertainment industry jobs in California, and will
oversee projects that benefit children, especially those in after-school programs.
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