Former
President Pacheco Displayed Joy Over
Settlement of Nicaragua - Costa Rica River
Dispute
Former Costa Rican president, Abel Pacheco,
welcomed the International Court decision
that ruled mostly in favour of Costa Rica in
the navigational rights of the San Juan
river.
Pacheco said yesterday that the court
decision brought him a lot of joy and
quieted critics of the moment when the
decision was made to send the dispute to the
world court.
The former president said that the
Nicaraguan policies on the use of the river
paralyzed development in the area,
especially affecting the residents living on
the river's edge.
Pacheco said the decision will benefit the
many people who have been friends, have
known each other for a long time and
families, who have suffered due to the
political tensions created by the dispute.
The Nicaraguan - Costa Rican dispute over
the San Juan river goes back some 150 years,
when the two countries came to an agreement
on the navigational rights of the river
which clearly belongs to Nicaragua.
Over the years, the two countries have
settled a number of small disputes, save for
the last one 11 years ago.
Costa Rica has never made any claims to the
ownership of the river, simply it has wanted
that its neighbour honour the long standing
agreements.
Costa Rica spent some us$1.5 million dollars
in the last four years to bring the dispute
to the world court over to settle the latest
dispute that began in 1998, when Nicaragua
limited access to river.
In the last several years, Nicaragua
demanded a visa or tourist card of any
foreigner nagivating the river, placed
restrictions on patrols by Costa Rican
police and isolated many communities.
The court decision, which is binding on
Nicaragua, allows Costa Ricans free access
of navigation as long as it is for
commercial and tourism purposes and allows
residents of the Costa Rican banks to fish
the river without reprisals, among other
items.
In return, Costa Rican authorities cannot
patrol the river armed.
The ministra de Seguridad Publica, Jannina
del Vecchiol and the director of
immigration, Mario Zamora, said that that
did not change anything, as Costa Rican
authorities have never patrolled the river
armed.
The two added that the court decision is
also a positive step in working out joint
patrols of the river, to detect criminal
activity and illegals, something that had
been strained due to the dispute. |
