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Costa Rica says it offered Aristide asylum, but president
opted for Africa
Costa Rica offered to provide temporary political asylum to Haitian leader
Jean Bertrand Aristide but the ousted president decided to go to Africa
instead, Minister of Security Rogelio Ramos said Sunday.
Costa Rica was the second country to publicly indicate it would grant
Aristide asylum. Earlier Sunday, Panamanian President Mireya Moscoso said
she would consider it, but hadn't been asked.
The Associated Press reported that Ramos told them in an interview that, "we
received various calls Sunday morning on behalf of many countries that were
looking for a resolution to the crisis in Haiti in which they suggested to
us that we grant asylum."
After discussing the matter with Costa Rican President Abel Pacheco, who is
out of the country, Ramos decided to offer Aristide safe haven here.
"We thought it made sense given the problems in Haiti and also because of
Costa Rica's democratic tradition and respect for human rights – with the
understanding that it would be temporary," he said.
But Ramos said he was notified later that Aristide had decided to go to
Africa. He said he did not know which country the former president had
chosen.
Officials in the Caribbean nation of Antigua said Aristide's jet refueled on
the island and was en route to South Africa. But authorities in Johannesburg
said there had been no recent contact with Aristide nor an offer of asylum.
Moscoso said that Panamanian officials were notified by U.S. Secretary of
State Colin Powell that Aristide was looking for asylum in Africa.
If Aristide preferred to go to Panama, a longtime haven for deposed leaders,
Moscoso said she would consider granting him asylum.
"I believe that we all have to view with compassion this country battered by
misery and malnutrition," Moscoso told Panamanian radio. "And if Panama in
any given moment could help everything get back to normal, we would consider
it. Of course."
Moscoso, who lived in exile for 10 years in the United States, said "I know
what it's like when they kick you out of your country. You have to think
about helping these people."
Several days ago, Costa Rican president Pacheco issued a call for Aristide
to resign in order to regain order in the country and prevent further
bloodshed.
The Costa Rican government issued a news release Sunday saying that the
government "will do all within its means so that the Haitian community,
which deserves to live in democracy, recovers peace and tranquility."
$50 Million Lost to Illegal Telephone Service
The Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad (ICE), says it has lost up to
US$50 Million dollars in the last 5 years to the "illegal" traffic of
international calls or "bypass" as it calls it.
Orlando Cascante Moraga, director of Unidades Estratégicas de Negocios (UEN),
confirmed that figure as released by ICE's security department.
Cascante said that the illegal business of "bypass" began in 1999 and today
there are more than an estimated 100 companies involved in this type of
business, using fixed lines, cellular telephone and the internet to complete
their calls, using ICE's infrastructure to bypass their calls.
These companies have small investments in obtaining their connections - a
central telephone system, a router, a gateway and an international contract
to offer the service is the most common form of investment. A small office
is all that is needed to house this type of business and offer international
calls at more than 1/2 the price of that charged by ICE.
These companies normally requested telephone services from ICE either in
conventional telephone service or access to trunk lines. Cascante said that
ICE cannot deny service as it is requested even though they know that there
exists the possibility that their network will used to offer telephone
services that are deemed illegal by ICE.
ICE has declared 'war' on these types of operations and though it sees a
difficult fight ahead, it feels it will succeed. The main obstacle faced by
ICE is that the "bypass" companies are evolving in their modus operandi and
the number of companies offering services is growing all the time.
Bypass services mainly include "callback" and "voice over IP".
In a callback type of call, the user dials a local number that connects to
the callback service provider and then hangs up. The call is routed to a
U.S. service that triggers a callback to a predetermined number which the
connects the caller to their destination. ICE has been effective in many
cases to block this type of call, using sophisticated equipment that can
detect is a 'callback' is taking place.
In a Voice Over IP call, the internet is used to carry the two sides of a
telephone conversation. A special telephone receiver or computer connected
to the internet is used to initiate a call that is then carried over the
internet service. The clarity of the call depends on the speed of the
internet connection and the traffic at the time. ICE and RACSA (a part of
ICE) are the only legal providers of internet service in Costa Rica.
In either case, companies offering international services are bypassing ICE
and can offer international service at a much lower price. A typical long
distance call to the U.S. from Costa Rica will cost about .45 cents per
minute, while the "bypass" service can be as low as .10 a minute.
Ground Coffee to China
The export manager of Cafe Britt, Mayco Castro, announced the shipment of a
first container of ground coffee to China.
He explained that chocolates and
macadamia were also shipped with the packed coffee, and pointed out that
Britt is to open a coffee shop in Peking to promote the different versions
of the drink in the huge Eastern market.
The Tico coffee will also be
available in hotels and supermarkets, Castro added.
Canada Faces Costa Rica
Canada plays Costa Rica tonight in a match that may well determine whether
the women's soccer team qualifies for the Athens Olympics.
The winner gets first place in Group A of the CONCACAF qualifying tournament
and a favourable semifinal against Mexico, which is ranked 30th in the
world. (Canada is ranked 11th.)
The loser must face the United States, the world No.2 and the tournament
favourite, in the other semifinal.
The Americans, who beat Mexico 2-0 yesterday, haven't allowed a goal in 589
minutes of play.
Both semifinal winners qualify for the Olympics regardless of what happens
in the final.
Canada, which won its first two pool games by 6-0 scores, has an advantage
in that it will get first place on goal differential if it ties Costa Rica.
The eight-team qualifying tournament covers North and Central America and
the Caribbean.
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Venezuelan President threatens US with oil weapon
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that Venezuela would
block the US access to its oil resources if the United States imposes
sanctions on or invade the country.
Chavez was responding to a recent threat from the United States that it
would impose sanctions on Venezuelan oil companies on the US soil if
Venezuelan suspends oil exports to it.
In a televised speech to the nation, Chavez said "If Mr. Bush is possessed
with the madness of trying to blockade Venezuela, or worse for them, to
invade Venezuela in response to the desperate song of his lackeys ... sadly
not a drop of petroleum will come to them from Venezuela."
The Venezuelan president also accused Bush's administration of providing
financial aid for opposition parties and terrorists in Venezuela.
Chavez said Venezuela is a free and democratic country and his people are
ready to defend the country with blood and lives.
Pro-government supporters held a rally Sunday in Caracas to back the
government and oppose US interference in the country's internal affairs.
Chavez, accused by his opponents of wrecking Venezuela's economy, has
already experienced since his election in 1998 two general strikes and a
48-hour coup in April 2002 and a strike at the start of last year. The
recall referendum campaign is the latest challenge to him.
Peru bans imports of poultry from bird flu-affected
countries
Peru imposed Sunday a ban on poultry product imports from 14 bird
flu-affected countries to protect the country from the disease, Peru's
animal sanitation quarantine office said.
The banned imports include chickens, pheasants and their products.
The 14 affected countries include Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, China, Belgium,
Canada and the United States.
The ban will be imposed on all the affected countries confirmed by the World
Health Organization (WHO) and remain in force until the WHO lifts its bans
on those countries, the office said.
Peru has revoked its import sanitation licenses to the affected countries,
except those through which poultry products which meet the quarantine
standards are shipped.
Bird flu has so far claimed 22 lives in the world. Experts in many countries
have been striving to find a vaccine to fight the disease.
UN OKs multinational forces for Haiti
US marines have arrived in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince
as the United Nations Security Council endorsed Sunday the deployment of a
multinational force in the country. The situation in Haiti remains chaotic
although ousted President Jean Bertrand Aristide resigned and left the
country.
The United Nations Security Council unanimously approved Sunday the
deployment of a multinational force for Haiti to restore law and order in
the Caribbean country.
The resolution states that the situation in Haiti "constitutes a threat to
international peace and security and to stability in the Caribbean,
especially through the potential outflow of people to other states in the
subregion."
It authorizes the immediate deployment of the multinational force for up to
three months "to contribute to a secure and stable environment in the
Haitian capital and elsewhere in the country."
The force, which diplomats said would be led by the United States, is also
to facilitate the provision of humanitarian assistance, assist the Haitian
police and coast guard to maintain law and order, and create conditions for
the United Nations to help the Haitians.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said the council decision indicated that the
international community is standing by the Haitians "in their hour of need."
"The international community will do whatever they can to help stabilize the
situation," he stressed. "I know some of them (Haitians) may think that it's
a bit late, but it's always better than never."
The US marines arrived in Haiti early on Monday to launch an international
force to restore order.
A marine contingent took up combat positions at Port-au-Prince airport just
before the UN Security Council approves the deployment of an interim
multinational force to the Caribbean country.
"An initial contingent of US troops arrived in Haiti just as the (UN
Security) Council voted," US Ambassador John Negroponte to the United
Nations said in New York.
In Washington, Pentagon said in a statement that US Secretary of Defense
Donald Rumsfeld will deploy more troops in the coming days.
"U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld ordered additional U.S. forces to
deploy as necessary over the next several days to fill out the U.S.
contribution to a multinational interim force," the statement said.
"The final size of the contribution to the multinational interim force is to
be determined," it added.
Along with the United States, France and Canada have announced their
willingness to send troops to Haiti to join the newly-created multinational
force.
Also on Sunday, Canadian Foreign Minister Bill Graham said in Ottawa that
his country was committed to joining a stabilization force in Haiti.
He told Canadian Television that Prime Minister Paul Martin had urged
emergency preparedness as the situation in Haiti unraveled.
The minister said Canada is eager to help in Haiti, because it is a
Francophone country and there are many Haitian immigrants in Canada.
Canada has already a small number of troops guarding the Canadian Embassy in
Port-au-Prince, capital of Haiti.
Meanwhile, some 200 French troops in France's overseas department of
Antilles in the Caribbean region will join the international force in Haiti
in the coming hours and about 100 gendarmes will arrive in the crisis-hit
island on Monday, said a spokesman of the staff of the French armies.
The French troops will protect French nationals on the island. A spokeswoman
of the French presidency said France is ready to participate if an
international peacekeeping force is to be deployed.
Ousted Haitian president Jean Bertrand Aristide arrived early on Monday in
the Central African Republic, a day after fleeing the violence-battered
country.
Aristide resigned Sunday under mounting pressure from foreign nations,
rebels and political opponents and flew into exile after a two-week
rebellion that has wrecked the Caribbean nation.
After Aristide's resignation, looting and gunfire prevailed in the Haitian
capital of Port-au-Prince.
Aristide's supporters from the slums answered Aristide's decision with
anger. They drove around the city in pickup trucks, armed with shotguns and
machetes. A few houses and a gas station were set ablaze by those militants.
Celebrations were also held in the same city. Some chanted "Vive Philippe,"
referring to a rebel leader.
Looters stormed into some shops and police stations, attacked a few
buildings, including a house of an official in Aristide's administration.
They took away police hats and helmets from a police post in the suburbs.
Police later regained control of the station and arrested some looters. Many
of the streets however were calm in the evening as a dusk-to-dawn curfew was
imposed and some order restored.
At least 10 people were killed in the turmoil as witnesses were quoted as
saying they saw four corpses in the Lalue neighborhood, not far from the
center of the Haitian capital and six bodies were also seen in the
southwestern Carrefour neighborhood.
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