22.11.2007
Costa Rica: Lutheran Church Urges Further Resistance to FTA Bills
Referendum Was a Great AchievementSAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica/GENEVA, 22 November 2007 (LWI) - While supporters of Costa Rica's Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the USA celebrated the 51.5 percent win by the "YES" coalition in the 7 October referendum in the Central American country, the Lutheran Costarican Church (ILCO) appealed to the "NO" groups to stay together and build up resistance against the FTA-related bills scheduled for parliamentary approval by 29 February 2008.
In a 10 October statement signed by ILCO president Rev. Melvin Jiménez, the church called for investigations into alleged irregularities during the voting process including use of public funds for the campaign three days prior to the poll.
Jiménez whose church actively participated in the "NO" coalition criticized the pro-FTA "campaign of lies and fear [which] scared the nation into believing that not endorsing the Free Trade Agreement would send the country into chaos, with massive job losses and crippling of the economy." The statement was addressed to ILCO members, churches and national and international organizations supporting the "NO" coalition, and to Costa Ricans in general.
The Lutheran leader described the referendum as a great achievement especially in the build-up to the voting process. "A diverse social movement of farmers, workers, women, environmentalists, businesses, trade unions, Christians and others, with energy, passion and creativity, succeeded in awakening the consciences of the over 700,000 Costa Ricans who voted "NO" to the Free Trade Agreement," he said. "This country is no longer the same after 7 October, because this movement of thousands upon thousands of Costa Ricans has earned the right to be seen as a legitimate member of any national discussion on how to improve the living conditions of the people," Jiménez added.
The church encouraged the "NO" coalition to consolidate its organizational structure to keep fighting for the most disadvantaged persons so that Costa Rica can progress as "a country of solidarity, justice and true democracy."
The ILCO president affirmed the church's continued solidarity with the "most excluded people in this new stage of life for Costa Rican people," including further biblical reflection on the core issues of the FTA.
Costa Rica is the only country in the region to hold a referendum on the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), already ratified by El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic.
See LWI interview with Rev. Melvin Jiménez at www.lutheranworld.org/News/LWI/EN/2103.EN.html
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