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Cover Story

UN news blackout for Costa Rican President

by Judi McLeod

September 29, 2004

Costa Rican President abel Pacheco met with a United Nations news blackout when he addressed last Thursday's General assembly.

Every facet of Pacheco's speech relating to anti-poverty and anti-war made it past UN press mandarins. Everything he had to say about protection of life "from the moment of conception" and about anti-human cloning were conspicuously missing from the UN press release covering his speech.

It was mere months ago, when Pacheco was awarded the Kolbe Prize for Peace, "in recognition for his leadership at the UN in his ongoing debate over human cloning." The award, bestowed on him at a black-tie dinner, held at the Metropolitan Club in New York City called for a comprehensive ban on human cloning.

a fast turning of the tables, even by UN standards.

Pacheco is leader of the country that houses the UN's well-touted University of Peace.

But there's no peace at the UN for anybody who does not tow the UN line.

Two years ago, Pacheco had a non-peaceful confrontation with former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mary Robinson.

The Costa Rican newspaper al Dia reports that the president was angry following the confrontation.

Pacheco confirmed that Robinson visited him at his hotel, demanding he support objectionable language in the Earth Summit document.

"She wanted Costa Rica to sign an amendment that some of us believe would be an opening for abortion," Pacheco told al Dia. "The text does not mention it specifically, but it speaks about guaranteeing the right to health for women all over the world, with which I agree. But it seems that in prior meetings it had been determined that one of the health rights of women was abortion, and that I cannot support."

The Costa Rican president was "astonished" and "incensed" with Robinson's reaction to his refusal to support the abortion language when she stormed out of the meeting "very upset".

"I do not see how she can think that I am the President of a Banana Republic, and believe that she is going to impose upon us, so that Costa Rica will have to do whatever she thinks is right," said Pacheco. "I told her that Costa Rica, in its constitution, is a Catholic country, that I am Catholic, and as a doctor I have taken an oath to defend life above everything, and if that was going to be an opening to legalize abortion, I could not agree with it, and Costa Rica would not support it."

Credited by UN Secretary General Kofi annan for "putting human rights on the map", Robinson's second term was cut short in 2002. Conventional thinking is that had she only been from africa, she could have been a replacement for Boutros Boutros Ghali as UN head.

Robinson's message was not lost on Pacheco who recognized that "in all certainty, from now on, the relationship of our country with the high commissioner will be very bad."

Within days of his blackout on the portion of his speech calling for a ban on human cloning, the scientists who cloned Dolly the sheep had formally applied for a license to clone human embryos to find a cure for motor neurone disease.

according to the actual transcript of Pacheco's speech regarding cloning, he said, "I believe in science within ethical limits. as a medical doctor, I reject human cloning while I firmly support research on adult stem cells, which does not present the same ethical and legal problems that cloning does. I invite you all to join us in our efforts to adopt an international convention to ban all forms of human cloning."

While the Costa Rican president is into right to life "from the moment of conception", Kofi and Company are into population control.

according to the UN press release of the leader's addresses, only the United States is seen to encourage the ban on human cloning.

In sorting out the mystery of his UN news blackout, perhaps it helps that by trade President Pacheco is a psychiatrist.

The New Year of 2005 is just around the corner. The lowing of the cows and the bleating of the sheep will be heard in vast new pastures--the local council chambers across the land.

Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com


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