by Rod Hughes, from a Tico Times report
This country was selected to serve on the Executive Committee of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees, the foreign ministry announced last week. The ministry announcement said selection for the post “ratifies the historical tradion of the country as a teritory of refuge and asylum and its permanent work to defend and protect human rights.”
The letter from U.N. High Commissioner Antonio Gutierrez read, in part, “Costa Rica has a record of demonstrating interest and devotion to the search for lasting solutions for refugees… Costa Rica traditionally has received refugees in Latin America and, historically, it has had one of the highest refugee reception rates in the world.”
Historically, Costa Rica’s attitude toward political asylum has at times paid off in unexpected ways. Former Colombian president Carlos Andres Perez was granted political asylum after a military coup in his country. Years later, in 1979, Nicaraguan dictator Anastasio Somoza threated army-less Costa Rica with invasion.
Perez, by then president of his country, sent four combat aircraft to Juan Santamaria International Airport in San Jose. There were no more threats from Somoza thereafter.