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Wednesday 26 February 2003 

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Split hurts rising party
Eight congressmen have quit the Citizen Action Party (PAC), headed by Otton Solis,  causing a crisis in the group that had surprised analysts by gaining 26 percent of last year's presidential vote.

The congressmen, including the party's legislative chief Humberto Arce, announced their departure on Monday, accusing party officials of persecuting them for using government cars.

Party leader Otton Solis said Tuesday that the dispute began when the party ethics panel found that the congressmen were violating party rules by using government cars.

The congressmen's appeal was rejected by the party's general assembly.

Solis said his campaign promises to clean up government "were not just words. It was serious.... The congressmen resigned because they did not want to follow the directives and lines of the party."

"The situation is very complex. We signed the Code of Ethics but there are many situations that were not foreseen," Arce said in a radio interview.

The party last year emerged as a third force in what had been a traditionally two-party split in Costa Rica. Until the resignations, it had 14 congressmen. The governing Christian Social Union (PUSC) has 19 and the National Liberation Party (PLN) has 17. Other parties and independents account for seven.

Nicaraguan Bishops Join Abortion Debate
MANAGUA, Nicaragua - The Catholic church joined a public debate set off by an abortion performed on a 9-year-old rape victim, comparing the procedure to a bombing.

"Is there any difference between a bus full of passengers that receives the impact of a car bomb and a metallic instrument that impacts the maternal womb to suck out a fetus?" the nation's bishops asked in an open letter issued Monday night.

The document urged Nicaraguan congressmen to reject proposals to liberalize abortion laws in their Roman Catholic country, where abortion is illegal with few exceptions.

In Costa Rica, meanwhile, a public defender asked a court to release the 20-year-old man accused of raping the girl, identified as "Rosa."

Attorney General Julio Centeno said Monday his office is investigating whether a crime was committed when doctors performed the abortion last week. The Network of Women Against Violence said the abortion, performed at a clinic in Managua some 16 weeks after Rosa was raped in Costa Rica, was legal because it was carried out on doctors' orders.

On Friday, Health Minister Lucia Salvo called the abortion "a crime." On Sunday, Roman Catholic Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo said those who promoted and carried out the abortion were excommunicated.

Representatives of the United States, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua started a second round of talks on a trade deal. They hope to present a tentative agreement to their governments for approval next year.

A small group of opponents showed up for a one-hour panel discussion with negotiators Monday night at the University of Cincinnati, and were unhappy that they weren't allowed to challenge the negotiators' comments.

Instead, questions were submitted on cards and asked by a panel moderator. At the end of the session, one protester stood up and yelled at the negotiators, then left peacefully.

Negotiators assured the audience that an agreement with Central America would have advantages over the North American Free Trade Agreement, which has met opposition in Mexico and the United States.

"It was a very difficult starting point for Mexico," said negotiator Claudia Umana of El Salvador. "They were coming from a very closed system in economic and political terms. It's very different in Central America today. We all have been successful in the last 15 years in opening up our economies."

Regina Vargo, an assistant U.S. trade representative, said an agreement with the five Central American countries is in the United States' interests.

"We already have a significant stake in this region," Vargo said, noting the countries do about $20 billion in trade annually. "We think it will help strengthen democracy and promote prosperity in the region."

Negotiator Salomon Cohen of Guatemala said the rampant poverty in his country forces workers to come to the U.S. for jobs. Cohen said a trade agreement would create jobs in Guatemala and allow workers to stay in their homeland.

"You won't have as many laborers as you're getting from Guatemala," Cohen said. "We're exporting labor to your society. We need to reverse this trend."

The negotiations will be held in private this week. A news conference is planned for Friday for negotiators to sum up their progress.

A deal could open new markets for U.S. producers of meat, wheat, corn, soybeans and other commodities, American Farm Bureau Federation economist John Skorburg said. But it also could increase imports of Central American fruits and vegetables that would compete with California and Florida produce, he said.

Activists are concerned that a deal would favor U.S. corporations and damage small producers from the Central American countries. Protesters also are concerned about workers' rights and environmental issues.

The first talks on a trade agreement with Central America were held in January in San Jose, Costa Rica. Among the topics were opening a telecommunications sector in Costa Rica, U.S. farm subsidies and textile quotas.

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Speaking in London after a meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Fischer said the relationship between Germany and Britain was "excellent" despite the disagreement. Meanwhile, Fischer said his government's relationship with the United States over the Iraq crisis was "difficult" but not "terrible."

"We are close allies. At the moment it is difficult but not terrible, believe me. For our government, the transatlantic relationship is a pillar of peace and stability not only in Europe but in the world," he said.

Asked if he thought war against Iraq was inevitable, he said: "We should not give up hope until the very last moment, as I think when the first shot of a possible war is fired we will face altogether a very, very serious challenge. We should do everything to avoid military action." Before his meeting with Prime Minister Blair, Fischer also had a 90-minutes meeting over lunch with his British counterpart, Jack Straw, and discussed a range of issues including Iraq.

Supported by America and Spain, Britain tabled a second draft resolution at the United Nations on Monday declaring that Iraq had missed its final chance to peacefully disarm. On the same day, France, Germany and Russia put forward a memorandum to strengthen weapons inspections, extending them beyond July 1 in hopes of avoiding war.

Blair dismissed that plan as misguided in a statement to the House of Commons on Tuesday and said Saddam's refusal to fully and actively cooperate with the UN teams meant more inspections were pointless.

AIDS records 3.5 million new infections
United Nations Development For Women (UNIFEM) says more than 3.5 million new AIDS cases occurred in sub-Saharan Africa in 2002 and 2.4 million Africans died of the epidemic.

UNIFEM said in a statement that in Asia 7.2 million people were now living with HIV.

"At the end of 2002, the number of people living with HIV/AIDS totaled 42 million and of this amount 38.6 million are adults, 19.4 million men and 19.2 million women," said UNIFEM. Of the 4.2 million newly infected adults, 2.2 million were men and 2 million were women.

"AIDS deaths totaled 3.1 million in 2002, of which 2.5 million are adults with 1.2 million being women and 1.3 million men.

The UN agency said women make up 58 percent of HIV positive adults in sub-Saharan Africa, 55 percent in North Africa and the Middle East and 50 percent in the Caribbean.

Iraqi FM unveils contacts with US to avert war
Iraqi Foreign Minister Naji Sabri on Tuesday unveiled high-level contacts between Iraq and the United States aimed at averting a war on Iraq, Egypt's official MENA news agency reported.

Sabri disclosed the contacts on the sidelines of a Non-Aligned Movement summit, which ended in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, earlier in the day, MENA said. Sabri, however, did not elaborate on the nature of the contacts, it added. "Arabs could avert a war by unanimously declaring their rejection of war," Sabri was quoted as saying.

He also reiterated that Iraq does not hide any weapons of mass destruction, saying such weapons are in Israel, not in Iraq.

Sabri is expected to kick off a visit to Egypt in the next two days for talks on ways to solve the Iraqi crisis peacefully, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher told reporters here on Tuesday. Sabri's visit to Egypt will precede an Arab summit to be held at Egypt's Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh on March 1, which is believed to focus on the Iraqi standoff.

The United States has accused Iraq of hiding and secretly developing banned weapons as well as having linkage with the al-Qaeda terror network, and vowed to disarm Iraq by force if necessary. Iraq strongly denies the US allegation.

A US-led war on Iraq looms large as the United States has stepped up its military buildup in the Gulf region.

Britain urges Saddam to seize final opportunity to disarm
British Prime Minister Tony Blair said on Tuesday that Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has "one further final chance" to disarm in compliance with UN demands.

In a speech to the House of Commons, the lower house of the parliament, Blair said the UN Security Council resolution 1441 has called for "full, unconditional and immediate compliance," which Saddam has so far tried to evade.

"Now is the time for him (Saddam) to decide," Blair told the lawmakers, adding that no one believes Iraq's declaration that it no longer possesses weapons of mass destruction. "Passive rather than active cooperation will not do. Cooperation on process but not on substance will not do," Blair said. "Today the path to peace is clear," Blair said. "Saddam can cooperate fully with the inspectors. He can voluntarily disarm, he can even leave the country peacefully. But he cannot avoid disarmament."

However, Blair said, the international community has given Saddam one final chance to comply with UN resolutions and no immediate decision has been made on going to war with Iraq. Backed by the United States and Spain, Britain introduced a draft resolution to the Security Council members later on Monday, saying Iraq is in violation of its obligations to disarm and will face "serious consequences."

British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said on Tuesday that his country might urge a vote on the draft resolution within two weeks, unless Saddam cooperated completely and fully with UN resolutions. "We will not put this resolution to a vote immediately," Blair said, adding that the delay would "give Saddam a further final chance."

Insisting that Saddam has been in clear breach of the UN resolution 1441, Blair said he is hopeful that no country would use veto on a second UN resolution on Iraq at the Security Council.

In his speech, Blair also urged the United Nations to adopt a resolute stance towards disarming Iraq, warning that UN authority would be at stake if it failed to do so.