Despite poor performances in the friendly matches last week, criticism in the local press and by local fans, and most German fans and players predicting a lopsided win; the Costa Rican team arrived in Munich in a bubble of optimism.  Basing themselves on a solid improvement in the match against the 2nd ranked Czech Republic, the team expressed confidence in themselves and their possibilities tomorrow.

According to Paulo Wanchope, star striker “The team is now even stronger than we were before the match against the Czechs. The atmosphere is hot and the players feel it.”  As to whether it is better open against the strongest team in the group or to close against them (like the match against Brazil in 2002), Wanchope said, “Sometimes the strongest team is the weakest team. All we can do is go out there to win in an all out effort.  We all know that historically Germany has many achievements, but history doesn’t play, only players do. “

By the A.M. Costa Rica staff

President Óscar Arias Sánchez called upon an international summit on armed violence to support his vision of a comprehensive arms trade treaty.

He asked the group, the Summit on Armed Violence and Development, to include a call for the treaty in its final declaration. The event was Wednesday in Geneva, Switzerland.

“The notion that arms construction and trade are good for a nation’s economy has no credibility in a world as connected as ours,” said Arias in an English text provided by Casa Presidencial here. “In a world as connected as ours, a gun fired at one of us is a moral and monetary loss to all of us. A job in an arms factory may be one small economic step forward for a worker, but it is two giant leaps back for mankind.”

“When it comes to the link between conventional weapons, armed violence and crippled development, the evidence is so overwhelming that practically no one disputes it,” he said.

The arms treaty would require that countries license arms exports and be responsible for the use the weapons are put at their final destination. The treaty also would require an international list of arms deals.

A draft treaty is the product of a meeting of a group of Nobel Peace Prize laureates convened by Arias.

The Arias Foundation for Peace and Human Progress estimates that small arms kill 300,000 person a year and injure a million.

An arms treaty “would make legal ties out of the moral ties by which we already know we must abide,” said Arias in Geneva. “I cannot stress enough how important these ties are. For it is within the constraints of our international system that the voices of nations are liberated. It is binding treaties that unbind countries from the fear of conflict. And it is only our unrelenting bond to each other, as human beings, that sets us free.”

Among nations that oppose the treaty is the United States, which is a major exporter of small arms. Arias said Wednesday that 30 nations, including Switzerland, have given support for the measure.

Ironically, as Arias was speaking Channel 7 Teletica in San José was airing a story about the 40 people a day who take the Costa Rican test to carry a concealed weapon. Many cited concern for personal security.

 By Amanda Roberson Tico Times Staff

Artists, architects and Culture Minister María Elena Carballo gathered at the National Cultural Center (CENAC) yesterday to discuss President Oscar Arias’ controversial suggestion to move Casa Presidencial from its locale in the southern Zapote suburb to CENAC, in downtown San José.

At the forum, held at the Cultural Center’s amphitheater, artist Joaquín Rodríguez spoke on behalf of the artist community, echoing concerns raised during the last couple of months (TT, May 5).

“The idea of moving CENAC is unthinkable,” Rodríguez said. “Arias would be sending the message that everything Costa Rica has achieved in terms of culture can be thrown away.”

Architect Herman Jiménez, who worked on designing the cultural center, said that architecturally speaking, the move makes no sense. The center’s theaters, museum and library are not suitable for administrative offices, he said.

In response to these comments, Carballo said that the artist community has overreacted by protesting the idea. A formal proposal or plan to move Casa Presidencial to CENAC has never been made, she said.

“We’re getting angry over something that doesn’t even exist,” Carballo said, adding that the only decision Arias has made regarding Casa Presidencial is that he plans to move it to San José.

Arias created a committee that is studying several possible new spots for Casa Presidencial, Carballo said, and CENAC is among these options.

“In the event that CENAC were to be moved, artists would win because they would be given a better space,” Carballo said. Arias has shown that he supports culture by supporting increasing the Culture Ministry’s budget from 1% to 4% of the national budget (TT, June 2), she said, something the artist community has overlooked in its criticism of the proposal to move Casa Presidencial.

By Katherine Stanley Tico Times Staff

Thousands of public-sector workers went on strike yesterday and descended on downtown San José’s Supreme Court building to send a message to justices regarding their collective bargaining agreements.

Recent decisions by the court’s Constitutional Chamber (Sala IV), in response to cases filed by legislators in 2004, have annulled benefits workers obtained through collective bargaining, such as electrical bill discounts for employees of the National Power and Light Company (CNFL). The annulment of benefits for employees of the National Insurance Institute (INS) has caused hundreds of resignations by INS workers (TT, June 2), and with more cases pending, others from the public sector are worried.

Albino Vargas, Secretary General of the Association of Public and Private Employees (ANEP), took advantage of the protest in front of the Sala IV to read a letter from union organizers to private-sector leaders, challenging them to a debate about the nature of privilege in Costa Rica.

“What is a ‘privilege,’ and what isn’t?” Vargas asked the crowd, reading from the document. “What types of ‘privileges’ exist in Costa Rican legislation, sanctioned and accepted by jurisprudence as acquired rights?”

The privileges questioned in cases filed in 2004 by former legislators Federico Malavassi and Carlos Herrera of the Libertarian Movement Party, range from grants to additional vacation days to extra severance pay.

Other issues voiced during march were opposition to the Central American Free-Trade Agreement with the United States (CAFTA) and plans to reform the tax system. Seven garbage trucks driven by workers from the San José Municipality, another agency whose collective bargaining agreement is under consideration by justices, took part in the procession down Ave. 2 to the court building.

By Amanda Roberson Tico Times Staff

Ask any Tico or Tica his or her plans for June 9 and you’ll likely get a laugh – who would think of doing anything else but watching the National Soccer Team take on Germany in the opening game of the World Cup?

Costa Ricans from the Pacific Puntarenas province to the Caribbean’s Limón will cheer on their team, La Selección, as it plays before the world, perhaps with extra enthusiastic support in light of the team’s losses this week in the World Cup practice games. (It lost to the Ukraine 4-0 Sunday and to the Czech Republic 1-0 Tuesday.)

Additionally, a solid representation of die-hard fans will make the journey to Germany to paint their faces red, white and blue and proudly wave the Costa Rican flag from the stands. Even President Oscar Arias plans to cross the Atlantic to watch the game.

Felipe García, 27, told the Tico Times he didn’t miss a qualifying game leading up to Costa Rica earning its ticket to the World Cup, and he promised himself he wouldn’t miss the games in Germany, either. He, along with 450 other Ticos, leaves this week for a two-week trip to Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland organized by credit-card-processing company Credomatic.

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said García, an economist from Heredia, north of San José. “Whatever it cost me, I knew I had to be there at the games in Germany; the world’s eyes will be on Costa Rica.” In his suitcase will be a giant Costa Rican flag and three La Selección T-shirts – one for each of the team’s scheduled games.

For Javier Olivares, 28, a topographer from Orotina, northwest of San José, the big game wasn’t the only draw to Germany – he and a friend plan to spend a month after- ward traveling in Italy, France, the Czech Republic, Switzerland and Holland.

“I’m a fan, but I’m not a total fanatic like other Costa Ricans. I’m taking advantage of La Selección being in Germany to see Europe,” Olivares said.

Youth in on the Action

Some of La Selección’s youngest fans are also traveling to Germany to cheer on the team and participate in youth soccer events in celebration of the World Cup.

Young players from three teams are headed to Germany next week, including 13 boys and girls under age 18 who play with Fútbol por la Vida, a nonprofit organization that offers children in high-risk situations the chance to attend a soccer school and also receive counseling from social workers and psychologists (TT, April 28). The team will play alongside 205 others in the “Fair Game for a Fair Life” tournament, sponsored by the German government.

Vive Fútbol, a nonprofit working in San José’s Hatillo neighborhood, is also sending a group of eight players to Berlin for a game hosted by the organization Streetfootballworld to take on “street players” from 24 other countries. Like Fútbol por la Vida, Vive Fútbol uses soccer to help children in high-risk situations, focusing on keeping them in school, explained Vive Fútbol director Olman Jaenstchke.

“This trip can reinforce our efforts to keep these kids in school,” Jaenstchke said. “They’re going to be caught up in admiring all the players and hopefully will see that most of them have received an education.”

Additionally, 12 players from St. Paul School, in Alajuela, northwest of San José, will play in the Junior Soccer Cup in Vellmar, Germany, sponsored by that town’s municipality.

“We’re going to be feeling the same thing as La Sele – it’s very exciting,” said St. Paul’s player Walter Villalobos, 12. “We’re going to do our best to show the world that Costa Rica is not just a small country.”

Josue Chávez of Fútbol for la Vida said he has already begun learning some soccer terms in German, and he, along with all the young players, received a German-Spanish handbook at a farewell ceremony hosted by the German Embassy at the organization’s San José headquarters Tuesday.

“I’m excited about learning another language and seeing another country and what they do for fun,” Chávez said.

At the ceremony, sponsored by the pharmaceutical company Bayer, German Ambassador Volkner Fink told The Tico Times he hopes the young players will enjoy his beautiful country and learn what’s behind its love for soccer.

“Part of the experience for these young people is learning the values of the game, like fair play and having a peaceful encounter; these are so important in the world today,” he said.

Those who can’t make the trip to Germany will no doubt be glued to the television – many businesses have given their employees the morning off to watch the game, scheduled for 10 a.m. local time, and the government has decided to allow all public workers to have the morning off, according to Casa Presidencial spokeswoman Eugenio Sancho.

School children will enjoy a half-day holiday, as the Ministry of Public Education (MEP) has declared there will be no school that morning, and several private schools, including Blue Valley School in Escazú, west of San José, have followed suit.

Even some Ticos who have to work that morning will be able to have one eye on the game; several companies will have televisions available for their employees on the big day, including the call center Sykes, in Heredia, north of San José, which plans to install 20 plasma screen TVs, according to the daily La República.

“The screens will not have sound – the idea is that employees can check on the game,” said Sykes regional communications director Arturo Barboza.

Proctor & Gamble’s Global Business Services, in Santa Ana west of San José, plans to offer two auditoriums, which hold 650 people, for the viewing of the game, according to the weekly El Financiero.

Though many Ticos would agree it’s only fair that everyone have a chance to watch their team, some, including the National Association of Public and Private Employees (ANEP) and Labor Minister Francisco Morales, worry that giving workers the morning off sends a bad message.

“The country is going to be paralyzed,” Morales told La República.

More than one business, however, is out to prove that paralysis won’t be the case with cash flow by profiting from the enthusiasm generated by the World Cup.

Ads for Kentucky Fried Chicken’s “bucket mundialista” say it will hit the spot during the game, and others, such as Denny’s restaurant and Aurola Casino, in San José, are tempting fans with food, big screens and raffles.