by Rod Hughes

The Central American Human Rights Commission has rejected a petition filed by former Costa Rican president Rafael Angel Calderon. The petition claimed his rights had been violated by his encarceration on corruption-related charges in October, 2004.

According to the Commission, Calderon failed to “exhaust all legal resources” in this country before filing for a hearing before the Human Rights Court. The organization confirmed to the newspaper that, “at this time, no petition exists” before the body, meaning that rejection is final.

Calderon was jailed briefly (before being released under house arrest) for his alleged role in the scandal that also ensnared a high officer of the Fischel corporation, an importer of medicines and medical equipment. The charges revolved around the import of public hospital equipment from Finland and evoked anger from the Finnish government that had approved funds for the transaction.

The expresident continued to influence his Social Christian Unity party even while under a cloud, but the party performed poorly in the 2006 elections. Part of the party’s woes stemmed from the court action against expresident Miguel Angel Rodriguez, also accused in a corruption case and also a member. Both former chief executives continue to protest their innocence and both have publicly played the victim to the press in an attempt to gain sympathy.

Calderon’s petition alleged that at the time he was jailed he had not been informed of the charges against him. His lawyer, Juan Carlos Rivero, maintains that his petition is not rejected but “suspended,” but the commission maintains it wiped the slate clean with a rejection.

by Rod Hughes

Costa Rica was saddened this week by news that tourism pioneer Andy Gingold had died of renal cancer last Sunday at his Ciudad Colon home at age 60. During his 33 years in this country, he and wife Avie established several companies that, in various ways, acted to promote Costa Rica as a tourism destination.

After a successful career in England as a clothing designer, Gingold came to this country and established a small factory of boutique wood products. But he was best known for the horseback riding tour Finca Ob-la-di Ob-la-da, a contemporary of other early tourism companies such as Calypso Cruises and Rios Tropicales, companies that placed Costa Rica high on the list of must-see destinations when few North Americans were certain where this country was located.

The tour was discontinued in 1990 but by that time the Gingolds had other projects going: Bandana Republic (sports wear and bandannas depicting Costa Rican wildlife) and a bilingual children’s coloring book promoting the country. At the time of his death, Gingold was managing a distribution firm for local crafts, begun at a time when local artisans were nearly swamped by cheap imports from countries ranging from Guatemala to Singapour. (More details will be available in The Tico Times this Friday.)

His remains will be cremated. An open house is planned in his honor for later.

by Rod Hughes

While the central offices of the Social Security Administration section, the Caja, that runs the nation’s hospital will be closed during the holiday season, the hard-working hospitals and clinics will remain open, except for Dec. 25 and 31 when only emergencies will be accepted.

That is the decision of the Arias Administration expressed in a decree made public today. Most public buildings will be closed from Dec. 22 to Jan. 2. Most natives and longtime residents do not expect anything else from the country’s bureaucrats but usually public clinics and hospital get more of a rest—except for emergency rooms dealing with, mainly, the holiday traffic toll.

Downtime at other institutions will vary. For example, the Comptroller General’s office will be closed between Dec. 22 to Jan. 7. The English-language newspaper, The Tico Times, always publishes a list entitled “What’s Open, What’s Closed” in its final end of the year edition.

by Rod Hughes

The bright red Toyota Supra of Javier Quiros snaked around the twisty course at La Guacima yesterday for a win in the Three Hours of Costa Rica and a second place in the championship for their class. A record 20,000 spectators, the most in the 33 years of the circuit’s history, saw Quiros come from very last place to the checkered flag at the head of the pack.

Quiros was at the back of the grid due to engine trouble on Saturday that kept him from qualifying. But the mechanics cured the defect for Sunday and the Supra, introduced this year, ran like a clock Sunday. He has overcome various adversities throughout the season and possibly could have won the championship if he had not had to stand down for two dates of the championship races. As it was he won four out of six races and only finished one point behind the leader.

First on the grid was Emilio “Milo” Valverde’s Nissan, second was Guatemalan Carlos Zaid’s Corvette. But by lap 13 Quiros had made is way through the pack to breathe down Valverde’s neck and he took the lead two laps later. But, while chasing Quiros, the Nissan’s greabox gave up the ghost, leaving second place to Zaid.

In the second heat, Quiros had an easier time of it, being first on the grid due to his previous win. Zaid’s Corvette soon ceased to be a challenge, dropping out with electric problems. Overall GT-1 second place went to Marco Micangelli’s Corvette and third to Jorge Trejos in a Porsche 911. GT-3A class win went to Amadeos Quiros in a Alterra and GT-3B to Marco Castro in a Honda Civic.

by Rod Hughes

The recent documentary film “Sharkwater” that criticized the Costa Rican government’s inaction in curbing the cruel shark finning practice in its Pacific territorial waters first resulted in official denial and then a remarkably elegant solution.

Shark finning is mainly done by foreign commercial fishing vessels and entails the hacking off of the fins from the still-living body of the fish. The body is then dumped overboard, the fins packed for sale to the market in the Orient where myth has it that shark fin soup is an aphrodisiac.

The problem for government enforcement is that only public docks in the main Pacific port of Puntarenas have adequate inspection. Private docks usually have no such oversight, despite the 2005 fishing law that forbids the landing of shark fins not still attached to the carcase.

This is little problem with local commercial fishermen who cut up the whole shark for national consumption. Knowing this, the government has issued a decree that foreign fishing vessels are forbidden to use private docks. The hope is that their few inspectors can concentrate on public docks and catch infractors.

At first the government reacted to the Sharkwater documentary film with anger and denial, claiming it was based upon obsolete information. Officials reacted especially harshly when the film was released in the United States, stung by the damage to their “green” image abroad. But when it began showing in theaters here, environmental groups were galvanized into action.

The Marviva conservation organization enlisted the help of popular musical stars Malpais and circulated a petition. In two days the petition, aimed at spurring government action, jumped from 3,000 signatures to 15,000 report The Tico Times reporter Dave Sherwood.

Another environmental activist group, the Marine Turtle Restoration Program (PRETOMA), weighed into the fray with a clever advertising campaign. All this effort at least produced a government decree but scrutiny will be extremely focused to see if it is enforced. The enforcement arm of the government, INCOPESCA, at first resisted, their executive director Carlos Villalobos saying that the Puntarenas public docks could handle the increased traffic. But they have been dragging their feet from the beginning of the controversay.

While the attention is mainly focused on the port, another accusation raised by the documentary remains unresolved. According to the film, shark finning goes on at Cocos Island, a wildlife sanctuary recognized as a world patrimony. Although aided by the United States in the war against drug traffickers, the Costa Rican Coast Guard is stretched too thin on the Pacific to patrol for poachers on a regular basis. Its anti-narcotics and rescue duties are all it can handle at present.

By Peter Krupa
Tico Times Staff | pkrupa@ticotimes.net

Costa Rica appears to be on track to expand its petroleum refinery with the help of a Chinese oil company. The broad goals are to triple the refinery’s output and increase quality. Officials said the collaboration could also lead one day to oil drilling by the China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC).

That worries environmental groups, as it would mean an about-face from a nationwide moratorium on oil exploration and open-pit mining, enacted by former President Abel Pacheco (TT, June 7, 2002).

Top officials from the corporation visited Costa Rica last week to form an exploratory committee with their Costa Rican counterparts. “The framework agreement we signed in October is now a reality,” said Costa Rica’s National Oil Refinery (RECOPE) President José León, referring to an accord between China and Costa Rica signed by President Oscar Arias. He added, “This initiative has the green light.”

Environment and Energy Minister Roberto Dobles said the purpose of expanding the Moín refinery would be to “meet the national demand,” which he said is estimated to rise to about 60,000 barrels per day in the near future. Currently, the refinery puts out about 18,000 barrels per day, Dobles said.

The other goal of the refinery upgrade is to increase the quality of the fuel refined in Costa Rica by, for example, decreasing the sulfur content. Details of the project have yet to be determined, but the committee will meet again in February in China and March in Costa Rica. Robles said that, in the long term, the agreement leaves the door open to oil exploration by the Chinese corporation.

However, for environmental groups concerned about the government calling off the five-year old moratorium on drilling, the deal is a move in exactly the wrong direction. About 100 protestors, armed with bicycles and drums, demonstrated Friday in San José, calling for government measures that would lessen, not increase, the country’s dependence on fossil fuels.

“While most of the world is eager for concrete action to end, mitigate and dramatically reduce CO2 emissions, Costa Rica is backpedaling and choosing to ally itself with China to increase its dependence on fossil fuels,” said Alicia Casas, Mesoamerican Facilitator for the international network Oilwatch

Sorry, that last photo is of the master bedroom, not the living room.

December 8, 2007

I changed the way I wrote the date because I realized I had changed it once, unknowingly, already. It used to be automatic because I wrote month, day, year, every day at the casino. I probably can’t deal anymore either. Oh well.
I want to post a couple of pictures of the house. Even though it’s not completely done, the trim makes a very nice touch. One picture is of the living room. I like the recessed octagon in the ceiling. The other is of the outside. Note the bottom trim, cut and ready to install after the ceramic is put on the sidewalk and deck, sitting on the window sill beside the front door.

by Rod Hughes

Tamales are a Christmas tradition here, although difficult to find during other times of the year. But how about one two yards long, about four feet wide and feeds 2,000? Even the most enthusiastic traditional housewife might find that a tall order.

And, indeed, the giant tamal is being made by a factory, Arley Navarro at the southern Desamparados suburb, Aserri, under contract to WalMart of Costa Rica. It will be consumed by some 2,000 shoppers at Hipermas in San Sebastian, transported there in sections It is the work of 20 persons and, since it is the first time it has been done, no one knows how much it will weigh—or how to weight the monster.

WalMart’s manager of corporate affairs, Yolanda Fernandez, says, “I have no idea how they’re going to boil it. Imagine the size of the pot!”

by Rod Hughes

Malls here are unable to control the entry of armed persons, the newspaper Al Dia reported today, in the aftermath of the massacre of eight persons in Omaha, Nebraska, by a demented gunman this week.

But there is a cultural difference that makes this less a problem here than in the United States. The tragedy was the fourth such mass shooting this year in the United States while Costa Rica has never had one. In fact, inside a Costa Rican shopping mall may be one of the safest places to be–the only shooting this year here in a mall was in the Fusion bar at Mall San Pedro. In that incident, 29-year-old Steven Chaves lost his life in an apparently casual altercation with a drinker.

Nor has this country ever suffered a mass shooting in a school, although some weapons in students’ backpacks have been confiscated and an accidental discharge of a student’s firearm killed a schoolgirl several years ago. The tragedy shocked a country unaccustomed to school violence.

But that shooting at Mall San Pedro caused security to be beefed up at the mall. But as Guido Granados, the company’s lawyer, points out, Costa Rican law forbids anyone but police from conducting body searches. Mass searches would be impractical, even were it permitted, during the holiday shopping season. Survellance cameras scan the outside and if someone is seen with a firearm, he is asked for a permit. Metal detectors at the entrance have been deemed too expensive.

Although this country has had no mall massacres, robbery and pickpocketing have been reported outside shopping centers. Police have increased surveillance during the holiday season but shoppers are urged to be aware of suspicious activities near them.