ICE Strike: Day 9
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Central Bank authorizes issue of bonds for $40
million
The authorization falls short of the the $100
Million that ICE had requested. The Central Bank
feels that the $40 Million amount will not hurt the
economy. For the balance, ICE must submit more
detailed information in it's formal request.
Friday, Cob, made his reply to president Pacheco's
request on Thursday to explain a 40.000 million
colones difference in ICE's financial report to the
Central Bank.
Cob said that, ICE's accounting is in conforming
with the budgetary proposals submitted for the year
2003.
ICE's total spending for the year 2003, and in
accordance with the agreement reached in February
with the government will be 380.063 million colones.
That sum does not take into account 40.000
million colones in capital expenditures.
According to the ICE, the capitalization made by the
Comptroller's office (Contraloría General de la República)
does not in any way reflect the deficit that the
Central Bank says exists.
The strike continues.
Dundee Ranch School Head
Detained
Police detained the American owner of
the Dundee Ranch, the youth behavioral management school,
after students alleged they had been held
against their will and physically abused,
authorities said Friday.
Narvin Lichfield was
stopped on a bus late Thursday in Orotina,
45 miles outside San Jose. He was
traveling with some of his students at the time but
it was unclear where they were going.
Lichfield has not
been formally charged, but may face charges of
wrongful imprisonment and child abuse, Patricia
Baltodano, a spokesman for federal authorities, said
in a phone interview Friday night.
Lichfield directed
the Academy at Dundee Ranch, a rehabilitation center
in Orotina where 200 mostly American youngsters
between the ages of 11 and 17 lived in a former
hotel and learned ways to improve their behavior.
Baltodano said the
arrest came at the request of child welfare
authorities who inspected the school Tuesday after
the allegations of abuse surfaced.
Casa Alianza, the child
advocacy group, also complained to
authorities that students were being held at the
school against their will and subjected to cruel
punishments.
Dozens of students
took advantage of the health inspection to flee the
school but were ordered to return by the officials.
The testimonies of
some of those students and others led authorities to
launch a larger investigation and to order the
school closed until further notice. Its students
were placed with foster families.
Academy officials
have refused to comment on the allegations.
Central
American free trade talks to be held in New Orleans
A
round of negotiations for a free trade agreement
between the United States and five Central American
countries will take place at the end of July here,
Mayor Ray Nagin said Friday.
The U.S. - Central American Free Trade Agreement,
or CAFTA, would lift tariffs between the United
States and Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Costa
Rica and El Salvador.
"These trade negotiations mark a new day of
cooperation in our hemisphere," Nagin said.
The five Central American countries have combined
economies of $57 billion and do about $20 billion in
imports and exports to the United States.
Officials in New Orleans, historically close to
the Caribbean and Latin America, want the city to be
a major player in developing CAFTA. New Orleans
wants to become a center of U.S.-Central American
trade if the agreement is made, said Paul Wegener,
vice president of MG Maher, customs brokers in New
Orleans, who is involved in the talks.
The agreement is seen as part of a larger goal to
form a Free Trade Area of the Americas.
But there are obstacles. Nicaragua has threatened
to pull out of the talks because of agricultural
disagreements, U.S. sugar interests are edgy about
increasing imports and disputes over labor issues
have arisen.
Some activists object that the negotiations have
been kept a secret from people in the represented
countries and that human rights and environmental
concerns could emerge.
Also under discussion is a package of
international financial aid for the Central American
nations.
Those close to the talks see CAFTA as an economic
boon, in particular for New Orleans.
"Louisiana has more to gain than any state
in the United States," said Eugene Schreiber,
managing director of the World Trade Center of New
Orleans. "Sure it's good for North Dakota, too,
but how good? For us it is paramount. We are a
Caribbean state."
U.S. Trade Representative Robert B. Zoellick
argues that CAFTA will give Americans cheaper goods
and promote U.S. exports and jobs. He said it also
would advance Central America's prospects for
development.
The New Orleans talks will be the sixth round and
will be held between July 28 and Aug. 1. The ninth,
and final, round will be in Washington, D.C., at the
end of the year.
Any agreement would be presented to the
participating governments by early 2004 for
approval. The private talks opened in January in San
Jose, Costa Rica.
The New Orleans talks will attract more than 50
government officials, including ministers of trade,
finance and agriculture, and hundreds of business
executives, Nagin said.
Costa Rica raising money to buy land
Quepos, it's a small slice of paradise, a
stretch of white beach flanked by
oceanside jungle whose exotic wildlife
and breathtaking beauty attract
thousands of intrepid foreign visitors
every year.
And the government wants to make
sure it stays that way.
Costa Rican officials recently
announced they have collected what
they believe is enough money to buy
all the land that makes up Manuel
Antonio National Park, blocking the
possibility that the reserve could be
developed or fall into the hands of
private owners who would carve it up
to make condos.
The park, located 175 kilometres
southeast of San José, is Costa Rica's smallest reserve
-
but also its most popular. Tourists
flock to the peaceful spot to watch
dolphins frolic off the coast, monkeys
swing through the jungle canopy and
waves crash into the beaches.
Created in 1972, the park is one of
many attractions in a country famous
for its eco-tourism. Costa Rica boasts
volcano tours, rafting, rainforests,
secluded beaches, jungles, waterfalls
and bird-watching.
Costa Ricans pride themselves on
caring for their environment and
sharing that belief with the world,
and the country is famous for
protecting land from development.
Yet government officials have
struggled for three decades to keep
all of Manuel Antonio National Park
public. Nearly half of the park's
1,680 acres are in private hands, and
two of the owners are Americans who
own 46 per cent of the private
territory.
Under Costa Rican law, the entire
park - including the private land -
cannot be developed. But officials are
worried that some of the private
owners may ignore those rules. Several
have expressed interest in developing
hotels and resorts, prompting the
government to go on a buyback
offensive.
So far, the majority seem willing
to sell their land to the government.
The sticking point has been the price.
A government audit determined that the
land had a value of $400,000 (U.S.)
several years ago, but the owners are
pushing for close to $2 million.
"They are very valuable
territories, and it is possible the
price will go up a little," said
the park's director, Jose Antonio
Salazar.
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