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Canada's Exposé on
Costa Rica
Airing this weekend on Canadian television's
W-FIVE is a devastating
investigation of things gone awry in Costa Rica.
The first part has Victor Malarek examine the sex trade in Costa Rica. We
are presented with a skin-crawling parade of sleazy, middle-aged American
and Canadian men who go to Costa Rica for the cheap prostitution and easy
availability of underage girls.
With a hidden camera, Malarek goes into the bars and nightclubs, which are
really brothels, and we hear the appalling snickers of the predators on the
prowl for young girls.
In one place, a Canadian flag hangs prominently over the bar.
The program will air tomorrow, Saturday, at 7 p.m. on Canada's CTV network.
Pedophile to Receive Light Sentence for Child Abuse in Nicaragua
A Nicaraguan judge declared Arnold Peter Eisner, a 53 year old
American citizen, guilty of the crime of tentative sexual abuse of young
girls, but absolved him of the charges of corruption of minors that he also
faced.
Judge Alfonso Solís has until Thursday to announce the sentence against
Eisner which can be a maximum of three years in prison. Eisner worked as the
regional representative of sales for the telecommunications company "Global
Tell" of Coral Gables, Florida.
The representative of the Public Prosecutor requested two years jail time
for the accused. Eisner's defence lawyers hope that the sentence will not be
any longer than a year in prison, contrary to the request of the Attorney
General of three years.
If the American receives a light sentence, Eisner could benefit of
conditional liberty where he pays a fine instead of going to jail.
Judge Solís indicated in his decision that the prosecution did not present
enough proof to prove the American corrupted minors according to the law,
yet he did confirm that the attitude of the condemned was indeed “sexually
deformed” and his intentions were, clearly, to abuse girls.
A little before his capture last year in Managua, Eisner approached a woman
near a traffic light and asked for her help to obtain children so he could
sexually abuse them. In return, Eisner promised to pay her. The woman did
not accept and called the police.
It was reported that the witness received death threats during the legal
process, reason for which the Public Prosecutor for Children solicited
special protection for her.
According to local media, during the investigation the police obtained legal
documents in which two others “handed over” the rights of a 14 and a nine
year old girl to the foreigner and gave him the authority to enrol them in
school and to take them to the hospital. One of the women sustains that she
conceded due to pressure, since the now condemned man paid school fees for
her other three children and would give her money to buy food.
It is believed that Eisner visited other Central American countries before
being arrested in Nicaragua.
Principals to Get Tough in Schools
Following the incident of more than a
week ago, where a handgun injured a student, the Ministry of Education
ordered that all backpacks and bags brought to school by students, be
checked.
Manuel Antonio Bolaños, Minister of Education, told the press yesterday that
the results are frightening.
The Minister told the press that in two schools in San José, students were
found with crack cocaine in their backpacks. In Quepos, a student as young
as 9 years old, had crack cocaine hidden in her schoolbooks. In addition,
police and school officials have confiscated knives an pellet guns carried
by some students.
Wilfrido Blanco, vice-minister of Education, says that the Education
Ministry recognizes that not all school principals have the new directives
issued by the Education Ministry and confirmed that on March 12, all
principals will be required to attend a training program.
PANI, the child welfare services agency and the Ministry of Security will
head the training program. In the meantime, the Education Ministry will
continue to monitor the situation and pressure school principals to use a
firm hand in situation where drugs and guns are found in their school.
ICT
Minister Sanctioned
Tourism Minister, Rodrigo Castro, has
come under fire by Congress, which in a majority vote, approved censuring
the minister for the inappropriate use of public funds with respect to the
Pavarotti concert last January.
In favour of the sanctions against the Castro are legislators of the
political parties, Liberación Nacional y de Acción Ciudadana, and the
Movimiento Libertario.
Also, a request is being sent to President Pacheco to commence a
disciplenary action against Castro and to remove him from office.
The legislators questioned the use of US$70.000 of the Instituto
Costarricense de Turismo (ICT) that was given to a private company to
finance the concert.
Also, being questioned the distribution of 108 passes to the concert that
was given to government employees and directors of ICT. The tickets are
valued at US$30.000.
Castro had been summoned to appear before a legislative committee to given
them answers to what was going on at the ICT. Castro missed the first
meeting, where legislators issued a stern warning that he was to appear at
their next date or face being picked up by police and brought before the
committee by force.
Castro told the press yesterday that he respects the decision of the
legislators and is sorry that the matter taints the reputation of the ICT,
an institution that he says has had much success to attract tourism to the
country during his tenure in the last 24 months.
Castro says that there never was a misuse of public funds and as last Friday
he asked the ICT's legal department to review the contract to determine if
there was any wrongdoing.
One
teacher... One pupil
It is most likely the quietest school
in Costa Rica, both inside and outside its two classrooms, one of which is
permanently closed.
There is no doubt that the elementary school at Santa Lucia de Venado, in
San Carlos, northern Costa Rica, is unique, since it has just one teacher
and just one student. For the teacher, Sonia Hernandez, 24, it is a
challenging job, but has the benefit of providing the student with the most
personalized teaching. "Now, I have to prove that it is worth paying one
teacher to teach just one student."
The pupil, Yeimi Perez, 9, is a fourth grader that only complains about not
having classmates to share recesses and about the impossibility of
"commenting with classmates several topics, as required in some of the
textbooks I'm using." Ministry of Education sources said that the school
will remain operating to meet the commitment of providing every child with
an education.
The town, Santa Lucia de Venado, is also a rare specimen in Costa Rica,
given the fact that it has only 23 inhabitants. The nearest elementary
school is 15 kilometers away, therefore Yeimi has no options but remaining
the sole pupil in her school.
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Colombian army thwarts terror attack in capital
The Colombian army frustrated a guerrilla bomb attack aimed at
cutting the electric power of the capital Bogota, military sources said on
Thursday.
Anti-explosive experts deactivated four "bomb-cylinders," a combination of
gas and explosives, placed in an electric distributing tower in a southern
Bogota neighborhood.
Sources of the V Army Division operating in the area said the Revolutionary
Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) "wanted to carry out an attack to destroy
the energy infrastructure of the capital."
Each of the four gas cylinders was loaded with six kg of a powerful
explosive and two triggering systems that were deactivated by experts,
"avoiding a massive cut in the south" of Bogota, the sources told the press.
Military spokesmen revealed that the terror attempt was thwarted by "timely
information" provided by the "network of collaborators," a governmental
program where rewards are granted to those delivering information on
guerrilla combatants, terrorists and criminals.
The FARC, the oldest and largest guerrilla organization in Colombia, is
included in the list of terrorist organizations compiled by the United
States and the European Union.
Hugo Chavez Accuses U.S. of Spending Over $1 Million To Help Oust Him
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is accusing the United States of spending
over $1 million in helping his opponents attempt to oust him from power.
In a recent speech Chavez said "The government of Washington is using the
money of its people to support - not only opposition activities - but acts
of conspiracy."
Chavez cited recently made public documents that detail how the U.S.-funded
National Endowment for Democracy has backed anti-Chavez projects and recall
referendums in Venezuela. The documents were obtained by investigative
journalist Jeremy Bigwood through the Freedom of Information Act and have
been posted on the site venezuelafoia.info run by the Venezuelan Solidarity
Committee.
According to the Miami Herald all of the money is going to opposition groups
determined to unseat Chavez.
One recipient was Sumate which organized the recall petition against Chavez.
Documents show Sumate received just over $50,000 from the National Endowment
for Democracy, which is a private agency funded entirely by the U.S.
government.
The State Department issued a statement two weeks categorically denying
Chavez's accusations. The U.S. government has also denied it played a role
in the 2002 coup.
In the summer of 2002, the State Department's Inspector General's office
also released a report that determined the National Endowment for Democracy
or the U.S. government did not nothing to encourage the coup.
But the report did state the NED, the Pentagon and other US assistance
programs "provided training, institution building and other support to
individuals and organizations understood to be actively involved in the
brief ouster of the Chavez government."
In Venezuela, the National Endowment for Democracy tripled its funding from
about $250,000 to nearly $900,000 between 2000 and 2001 as opposition to
Chavez intensified.
France calls
on Brazil to take leading role in Haiti
French President Jacques Chirac said Thursday that it would be of "great
importance" if Brazil could take control of the peacekeeping forces to be
deployed in Haiti in the second phase, presidential spokesman Andre Singer
said.
During a telephone conversation between Chirac and his Brazilian counterpart
Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian president said Brazil would send
1,100 soldiers in two or three months to join the UN multilateral force in
the second phase, the spokesman said.
President Chirac said the participation of Brazilian troops wasfundamental
in the second phase of the international peace operation. He added it would
be of great importance if Brazil takes the leadership of this force, which
will be formed by troopsfrom Canada, France, the United States, Argentina,
and Caribbean nations, as well as Brazil, Singer said.
Chirac told Lula that the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan backed the idea of
Brazil's leadership of the peacekeeping forces.
Lula said Brazil will be at the disposition of the United Nations to send
troops and take command if necessary.
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