Catholic Bishop Warns
That Referendum May
Divide The Country
The Bishop of Alajuela,
Monseñor Ángel San
Casimiro, with a
pointing finger told the
faithful gathered in
Cartago for the Virgen
de Los Angeles
celebrations that they
should show tolerance
and respect for hose
with differing opinions
of their own on the
subject of the Tratado
de Libre Comerio (TLC).
San Casimiro urged all
Costa Ricans to get out
and vote on October 7
when the future of the
trade deal with the
United States will be
decided, however, to be
careful not to let the
"yes" and "no" issue
divide the country.
In the annual message,
the Bishop warned that
the trade deal issue can
easily divide the small
nation if people believe
that those who feel
different than they do
on the trade issue are
their enemy.
"Costa Rica is facing a
grand dilemma" San
Casimiro said.
Though the bishop did
not lean one way or the
other on the trade deal
he did warn Costa Ricans
that the country will
not have a future if the
results will leave the
country divided, but
rather, should look
beyond the results of
the vote and build a
stronger country.
For his part, Costa
Rican president, Oscar
Arias, who stood close
by listening to the San
Casimiro speech,
repeated the same
message, calling on all
Costa Ricans to unite
and not allow the
October 7 referendum
divide the nation.
"A house divided among
itself may not stand. We
have to unite in favour
of one option or the
other on paper, but in
favour of Costa Rican
democracy", said Arias,
who is promoting the "Si"
vote, though his
comments yesterdays were
neutral.
Costa Ricans are being
asked to decide the
future of the trade
agreement with the
United States when they
go to the polls on
October 7 and will have
to check off either "Si"
or "No".
At least 40% of the
eligible voters have to
cast their vote for the
results to take effect,
otherwise the trade deal
goes back to the
Legislative Assembly for
further discussion and
the legislators vote.
Costa Rica is the only
signatory country to the
Central American Free
Trade Agreement (CAFTA)
that has yet to ratify
and implement the
agreement. Nicaragua,
Honduras, Guatemala and
El Salvador have all put
the agreement in place
since last year.
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