Costa Rican bishops urge peaceful resolution to border conflict with Nicaragua

San José, Costa Rica, Nov 18, 2010 / 16:05 pm

The Bishops’ Conference of Costa Rica issued a statement on Nov. 15 urging their government to resolve the border conflict with Nicaragua and to avoid a military confrontation.
 
The two countries entered into dispute on Oct. 21 when Nicaraguan troops crossed the San Juan River, which forms part of their natural border, and carried out operations on the island of Calero, which both nations claim is part of their territory.
 
Costa Rica, which has not had a standing military since 1949, called for intervention by the United Nations and has not ruled out appealing to the U.N. Security Council.
 
The Costa Rican bishops have urged the government to continue working to resolve the dispute through dialogue and international law. They also called on Costa Ricans to renew their commitment to “peace, civility, fraternity and respect for life,” underscoring that “violence has never done anything else than destroy.”
 
The bishops called Christians and all people of good will to pray that government leaders would be “moved by justice and truth and complete the accords necessary for putting an end to this conflict.”
 
They noted that Costa Rica and Nicaragua have traditionally enjoyed good relations, and they invited Nicaraguans living in Costa Rica to continue collaborating “in bringing about the common good for the inhabitants of our nation.”