BILATERAL COMMISSION WITH NICARAGUA ON HOLD

UNCLAS SAN JOSE 000087 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR WHA/RBEAL E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PGOV PINR CS NU SUBJECT: BILATERAL COMMISSION WITH NICARAGUA ON HOLD REF: A. 2007 SAN JOSE 01451 ¶B. 2007 SAN JOSE 01768 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Per Ref B, Costa Rica and Nicaragua had agreed, at least in principle, to resume "binational commission" meetings as a tool to resolve long-standing bilateral disputes. At meetings between President Ortega and President Arias in Managua last August and in San Jose in November, the two heads of state confirmed their support to re-establish the binational commission as a potentially useful tool to resolve their border, migration and security disagreements. At the November San Jose meeting, the two governments agreed that the first session would take place in late January at a town in southern Nicaragua. Ortega also said he would abide by the future decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on one of the most controversial issues, the settlement of the Rio San Juan dispute. Despite Costa Rican MFA requests to get a date and place for the bilateral commission meeting from the GON, the GOCR has yet to receive an answer and does not expect these meetings to resume in the immediate future. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) In a surprise Ortega visit to Costa Rica last November, Presidents Arias and Ortega discussed several sticking points in their bilateral relationship, including border, migration, and security disputes. They agreed to resume binational commission meetings, on hold since October 2006, to further dialogue and seek resolution of these outstanding problems, most notably the Rio San Juan controversy, now at the ICJ in The Hague. Binational commission meetings between the heads of state and other key players were reactivated in 2006 by Costa Rica FM Bruno Stagno, after a nine-year hiatus. At the conclusion of Ortega's visit to Costa Rica in November, Arias and Ortega agreed that the next binational commission meeting would take place at the end of January in Nicaragua. ¶3. (U) Nicaraguan Ambassador to Costa Rica Harold Rivas also confirmed to us in December that the meetings would resume, indicating Nicaraguan willingness to try to improve relations. At that time, he predicted the meetings would take place at the end of 2007 or beginning of 2008. ¶4. (SBU) The Costa Rican MFA has requested from the GON a definitive date and place for the commencement of these sessions. An MFA spokesperson told us that despite two recent requests, the GON remains mute about the issue. Ambassador Rivas recently indicated to us that Nicaraguan diplomacy was quite "busy at this time." MFA contacts told us it was possible that Nicaraguan FM Santos was not taking any action in view of President Ortega's total control of foreign policy, but also speculated that Ortega's deteriorating relationship with the Nicaraguan Legislature might be precluding him from making a decision on this topic. ¶5. (SBU) Despite protracted border disagreements, practical cooperation between Costa Rican and Nicaraguan law enforcement authorities does exist at the very busy and chaotic border crossing point of Penas Blancas. For example, when Costa Rican Drug Control Police (PCD) had difficulties, due to inadequate equipment, last December inspecting a tractor trailer they suspected of carrying drugs, they asked for and received assistance from their Nicaraguan counterparts. The result was the joint seizure of over 600 kilograms of cocaine. ¶6. (U) Per Ref A, on January 15, Costa Rica filed their reply ("replica de la demanda") on time to the ICJ at The Hague regarding the Rio San Juan border controversy. Nicaragua now has until July to file their counter-reply ("contra-memoria"). Once this happens, the written stage of the adjudication process will finish and the Court will have to set a date for formal hearings. ¶7. (SBU) COMMENT. It comes as no surprise that there is little progress in the formation of the binational commission between Costa Rica and Nicaragua to resolve old conflicts. A long history of personal dispute and poor cooperation between Arias and Ortega mean this process will plug along slowly. Despite Ortega's seeming acceptance of a future decision on the Rio San Juan dispute, on January 21, Nicaragua reiterated a proposal for an extrajudicial settlement to resolve the issue. We do not expect the GOCR to accept it. On a positive note, practical counterdrug cooperation on the border seems to indicate the willingness, at least at the local level on both sides of the border, to enhance regional security cooperation. BRENNAN