Friday 21 Februarry 2003


Costa Rican U.N. Ambassador to Stay
A day after demanding the resignation of his country's U.N. ambassador over a speech on Iraq, Costa Rica's foreign minister backtracked on Thursday and said the ambassador could stay in New York.

On Wednesday, an angry Tovar demanded Stagno's resignation after the U.N. ambassador gave a speech on the Iraq conflict that had not been cleared ahead of time with the foreign ministry at home. He repeated his demand for Stagno's ouster in interviews carried by local radio stations Thursday morning.

Tovar's sudden reversal was accompanied by presidential praise of the young ambassador — a hint that Tovar, too, might have acted without consulting higher authorities. "I was one of those most enthusiastic about nominating him, thinking that we must forge new values in Costa Rican diplomacy," the president said.

Tovar said Thursday that Stagno had apologized for making his speech before consulting the foreign ministry. "That note was an act of humility," Tovar said. Tovar said early Thursday that the content of Stagno's speech wasn't at issue, just his violation of procedures.

"It had nothing to do with the position of the government, which has been clear that it wants peace, just as he stated before the" Security Council, Tovar said. That was a change from Tovar's initial complaint on Wednesday, when he said the government renounced "the content of the text read by the ambassador."

The newspaper La Nacion said Tovar said Wednesday he did not agree with Stagno's call to give U.N. weapons inspectors all the time they wanted. "Then what would be left for the Security Council and the diplomatic missions?" he was quoted as saying.

Costa Rican Nobel Peace Prize laureate Oscar Arias suggested in a local radio broadcast that the dispute may have arisen from a misunderstanding. Arias, who was president from 1986 to 1990, said Stagno told him he had been trying to contact the foreign ministry before giving the speech but had been unable to do so.