Costa Rica Recognizes
"State of Palestine"
Palestinian efforts to
expand the number of
countries that recognize
Palestine as a state
received a major boost
when Costa Rica decided
in on February 5 to
establish full
diplomatic relations
with the "State of
Palestine", as a similar
opening of diplomatic
relations was in
advanced stages with
Guatemala and the
Dominican Republic.
"We are trying to expand
our network of
relationships", Riyad
Mansour, the PLO's U.N.
mission chief, said on
Monday. "There is no
doubt that the new U.S.
stance has had a role in
the decision of the
countries who take their
cues from Washington to
be encouraged to take
new steps", the
Jewish daily quoted him
as saying.
Costa Rica, a small
Central American
country, decided to open
official ties with the
"State of Palestine"
through an official
document signed on
February 5 by Costa
Rica's ambassador to the
United Nations and Riyad
Mansour, who told said
that discussions for a
similar opening of
diplomatic relations
were in advanced stages
with Guatemala and the
Dominican Republic.
Mansour underscored the
use of the word "state:
by Costa Rica as an
important symbol.
Mansour explained that
Costa Rica's shift was
important symbolically,
since the country had
voted in favor of the
1947 partition plan and,
as such, was
historically committed
to a two-state solution.
In addition, it is
currently a rotating
member of the U.N.
Security Council, which
often deals with
Israeli-Palestinian
issues.
The move, which went
largely unnoticed, comes
after President Oscar
Arias, a Nobel laureate,
moved his country's
embassy to Tel Aviv in
August 2006. Costa Rica
originally opened its
embassy to Jerusalem in
1982 under President
Luis Alberto Monge,
leading Arab League
members to sever
relations with the
country. The only other
country to move its
embassy was El Salvador,
which also decided to
move its diplomatic
mission back to Tel Aviv
within days of Costa
Rica's decision to do
so.
Since then, Costa Rica
has established
diplomatic ties with
seven Arab countries.
Costa Rica's foreign
minister, Bruno Stagno,
explained in a statement
announcing the decision
that it "deepens our
gradual normalization of
diplomatic relations
with the Arab and
Islamic world, as part
of a foreign policy of
opening borders,
geographically and
mentally, which
reinforces an
intelligent insertion of
Costa Rica in the
world".
When the Palestine
Liberation Organization
proclaimed a Palestinian
state in 1988, more than
90 countries established
diplomatic relations
with it, although the
exact formulation has
varied. India led a few
countries outside the
Arab League which have
recognized a Palestinian
"state", as Costa Rica
has done.
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