Costa Rica on Tuesday obtained the support of 24 member nations at the special meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, to sanction Nicaragua for the invasion of the Isla calero.
Two countries did not support the
Costa Rica request, among them and not surprisingly, was Venezuela and Bolivia. Another five abstaining from voting were San Vicente,
Antigua, Dominica, Ecuador and Guyana.
What is important to note is that only Costa Rica
and Guyana (chairing the meeting) has Foreign ministers present, the rest of
the countries had representatives taking part in the special session.
The reason given for the lack of attendance of the
Foreign Ministers is the majority are taking part in the United Nations Climate
Change Conference ongoing in Cancun, Mexico.
This is the second time the OAS has ordered
Nicaragua to remove its troops from the area of conflict, the first time being
on November 12, an order that Nicaragua's president, Daniel Ortega, has
refused.
By way of a video conference, Costa Rica's Foreign
Minister, Rene Castro, said to be happy at the resolution but would have like
to have seen more Foreign Ministers take part in the session.
"Proven was the damage done to a small part
of our territory and the efforts being made to not expand to other areas, like
the Colorado river", said Castro.
Castro
would not comment on the sanctions that are in store for Nicaragua, as
negotiations are still underway.
On Monday Costa Rica warned that it would leave
the OAS if positive results are not obtained from the Ministers meeting.
Castro, when asked of that possibility, said he has not yet considered that
eventuality.
José Miguel Insulza, the Secretary General of the
OAS, in his second report on the Costa Rica - Nicaragua conflict, acknowledged
the increased environmental damage to the border area.
The Ministers were shown photos of a flyover of
the area made on November 26, where the construction of a canal is evident,military tents and four
uniformed men, heavily armed.
"It is a slow and complicated process that
will time. Costa Rica has agreement of the Permanent Council of November 12 on
its side, where the demilitarization of the area by Nicaragua is called
for", explained Castro.
Following the meeting Castro was more realistic
than hopeful, looking ahead at the dates of January 11, 12 and 13, 2011, when
the International Court of
Justice at The Hague will be holding a hearing for Costa Rica's petition of an
injunction against Nicaragua's presence and damaging the environment.
Although ICJ will meet to hear the Costa Rica
proposal in January, it will be years before a trial to resolve the issue will
take place.
