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| Union leaders say
they are united By the A.M. Costa Rica staff Union leaders are making angry sounds and threatening a general strike if a free-trade treaty with the United States is signed by members of the executive branch. Union leaders held a press conference Monday. Present were Albino Vargas, secretary general of the Asociación Nacional de Empleados Públicos, and Gilbert Brown, secretary of the union for employees at Refinadora Costarricense de Petróleo, the national oil refinery. Vargas promised a united front of union members against the treaty and street marches. Brown said that one major concern of union members is that the proposed treaty will turn back 50 years of social rights and also affect utility prices. Other unions, including those for the Instituto Costarricense de Electricidad have expressed their opposition. An announcement that Costa Rica has signed any agreement in Washington is bound to set off demonstrations. The bulk of the unions represent workers who are employed in the state monopolies or quasi-monopolies. These will be the most affected by foreign competition. Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and El Salvador have approved a free trade treaty with the United States. Costa Rica, the holdout, continues to negotiate this week in Washington. There is no guarantee that a proposed treaty will be reached. And the unions’ position is designed to keep pressure on the negotiating team. Meanwhile, in the Asamblea Nacional Monday legislators expressed concern about the impact of a free trade treaty. The legislature would have to vote on the measure if the executive branch endorsed the treaty. Ruth Montoya of Acción Ciudadana wondered what the government would do about those agencies that depend on support from the national insurance monopoly, the Instituto Nacional de Seguros. She was speaking about the Cuerpo de Bomberos, the firemen, and the Centro Nacional de Rehabilitación. Both agencies receive their funds from the institute. She also mentioned a number of other agencies that are self-financed and might be affected by outside competition. Robbery didn’t go
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff The twin robberies just didn’t go the way the criminals wanted. The men targeted a bank and an insurance agency about 8:55 a.m. Monday. But by the time the excitement was over, a dye pack disguised as money exploded in the getaway car and then one suspect collided with a top police official who captured him. The bank involved was the Banco Popular in a shopping center in San Francisco de Dos Ríos. The agency for the Instituto Nacional de Seguros is nearby. Some four or five bandits were involved in the twin robberies. Witnesses said they fled in a car and on a motorcycle. But bank workers had placed an explosive dye pack that resembled money in the estimated 2 million colons taken from that institution. That’s about $4,760. When the dye pack exploded inside the car, the bandits were obliged to change vehicles. Fuerza Pública officers were on the scene quickly and two, Ivu Alvarado y Hugo Jiménez, gave chase to a sport utility vehicle they thought contained bandits. The chase was between Sabanilla and Guadalupe when Erick Karolicki, chief of the security ministry’s Dirección de Armamento, showed up driving his personal vehicle. He blocked the fleeing car and caused a crash that heavily damaged both vehicles. He was unhurt. Arrested was one man, but officials still were uncertain of his name late Monday. Rogelio Ramos, minister of Gobernación, Policía y Seguridad Pública, praised both the quick work of the Fuerza Pública and the devotion to duty shown by Karoliki. The bandits were believed to have taken some 50,000 colons or less from the insurance agency. That’s about $120. Cameras keep eye
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff Police officers are using electronic surveillance at the Festejos Cívicos de Palmares 2004 to keep track of the crowds and possible lawbreakers. Six cameras are hung above the festival grounds, and these are being monitored by Fuerza Pública officers. Some 25 persons have been arrested during the course of the festival, mostly on a variety of charges. More than 600 officers are assigned to the festival during times of concerts or other high activity. At other times the number of police drop to 300, said officials. Court will consider
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff The mandatory seatbelt law is on hold for at least a month. Some 20 deputies asked the Sala IV constitutional court to rule on the law before it goes to a second and final vote. The measure got approval on first reading in the Asamblea Nacional Dec. 22. But the Movimento Libertario and more than a dozen members of other parties agreed to ask the court if the measure infringes on personal liberty and invades a person’s privacy. In Costa Rica the constitutional court frequently studies a bill before final passage if deputies so request.
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