Costa Rica to take Nicaragua to court over river

[arcos]

Costa Rica to take Nicaragua to court over river

SAN JOSE, Costa Rica, Sept 28 (Reuters) - Costa Rica said on Wednesday it would take Nicaragua to the International Court of Justice in The Hague to resolve a decades-old dispute over navigation rights on a river that separates the two countries.

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Costa Rica insists it has full navigation rights based on the 1858 Canas-Jerez Treaty -- which granted ownership of the river to Nicaragua but permitted commercial use by Costa Rica on a section of the river along its border.

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"Nicaragua will not permit foreign forces to navigate, armed, in waters that are part of national territory," President Enrique Bolanos said in a decree ordering the army to step up its presence in the area immediately.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Nicaraguan Congress passed a resolution warning it would place a 35 percent tariff on Costa Rican imports if its southern neighbor took the river dispute to the International Court.

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http://today.reuters.com/News/CrisesArticle.aspx?storyId=N28346332

[bemildred]

1. Another good reason to get rid of Bolanos. nt