Archive for October 20th, 2009
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
Limón Carnival’s main attraction, the costume parade, took place Saturday under the watchful eye of a large police presence as thousands took to the Caribbean port city’s streets to celebrate its return after a three-year hiatus.
Floats, samba drums, colorful outfits and jerk chicken were the order of the day, as the streets came alive in true Caribbean style.
Baton-wielding mounted police turned out in large numbers to ensure that the event passed without the outbreaks of violence and petty theft that have marred the event in previous years.
Music school bands from around the country made the trip to the southeastern coast to participate in the parade, and enthusiasts watched from tiered stands lining the streets.
The Health Ministry’s fears that organizers had failed to clear the Lim ón streets of garbage in preparation for the large influx of visitors were unfounded.
Visitors who arrived early in anticipation of a noon start were surprised to find desolate, but clean, streets. The parade actually got underway at 3 p.m.
Elena Rivas, a Limón hairdresser, said, “It doesn’t feel like Carnival this year because not so many people have come out for it.”
However, residents celebrated the festival’s return.
Health officials had suspended the carnival since 2006 due to fears of an outbreak of dengue fever, a mosquito-borne disease, linked to the presence of pools of standing water and the failure to adequately dispose of household waste.
“It’s great it wasn’t canceled,” Rivas said, “but because of all the problems in the past, it seems to have lost its momentum. Usually the streets are full, but not this year.”
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Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
President Oscar Arias is viewing the United States’ interest in an Arms Trade Treaty as one more trophy to put on his wall.
The disarmament advocate celebrated a statement made by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, which announced the commitment of her country to the establishment of international standards for arms trading.
Arias said the U.S. interest “is encouraging” because it represents “a radical” change from previously held positions. But it is also significant because the U.S. is the largest producer of conventional weapons.
In a statement issued Wednesday, Clinton said, “The United States is committed to actively pursuing a strong and robust treaty that contains the highest possible, legally binding standards for the international transfer of conventional weapons.”
But she placed a condition a condition on U.S. support, saying that “consensus is needed to ensure the widest possible support for the treaty and to avoid loopholes in the treaty that can be exploited by those wishing to export arms irresponsibly.”
With U.S. participation under the leadership of recent Nobel Peace Prize laureate Barack Obama, Arias said an arms treaty will gain significant momentum toward adoption.
Arias, a Nobel Prize recipient himself, began his initiative to regulate the arms trade in 1997 through his Arias Foundation for Peace. In 2005, under the leadership of Costa Rica and with the support of Argentina, Australia, Finland, Japan, Kenya and the United Kingdom, the United Nations initiated discussion on a binding treaty addressing the arms trade.
In front of the U.N. General Assembly in September, Arias called on countries “to approve the Arms Trade Treaty … because if it is legitimate for us to worry about the possibility that terrorist networks have access to nuclear weapons, it is also legitimate for us to worry about the rifles, grenades and machine guns that gave (terrorists) their power.”
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Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
Central America is the most murderous region in the world when it comes to non-political fatalities, according to a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) security report released on Monday.
Since the year 2000, the murder rate has climbed in all seven countries, from Guatemala to Panama. The killings have shown few signs of decline and the Central American countries have consistently surpassed the global average.
When averaged out among the seven nations, the region reported over 33 homicides per 100,000 citizens per year in 2008. In 2006 – the most recent global tally available – the world averaged nine homicides per 100,000 inhabitants.
Costa Rica, which has the lowest rate in the region, saw its homicide numbers almost double in eight years – rising from six per 100,000 inhabitants in 2000 to 11 in 2008.
Honduras, widely considered the poorest country in Central America, reported the most homicides per 100,000 people – 58 in 2008.
The report primarily blames spikes in drug trafficking and organized crime – including a growing number of gangs – as the main culprits for the increased assaults.
While some governments have indicated that they prefer beefed up police forces and strengthened sanctions to prevent deadly aggression, Luiza Carvalho, Costa Rica’s resident representative for UNDP (locally called PNUD), believes that the solution lies elsewhere.
“Solutions to security problems do not come from a hard fist or a soft hand, but from strategy, knowledge and the development of adequate tools and protection of the rule of law,” Carvalho said. “Solutions require civility and social inclusion. … The best solutions to citizen insecurity problems will be found in a democratic system.”
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