Costa Rica accuses Nicaragua of ‘invasion’

Agencies/AmsterdamLawyers for Costa Rica told a United Nations court yesterday that neighbour Nicaragua had caused ecological damage to the protected wetlands at the mouth of the San Juan river by sending armed forces to dredge in Costa Rica’s territory.The dispute over the border line between the two Central American nations has been running since an 1858 treaty that attempted to demarcate their territory after their independence from Spain and Mexico. The International Court of Justice made its latest ruling on the demarcation line in 2011, but both countries have since returned seeking clarification. Costa Rica’s attorney argued that Nicaragua’s dredging of marshy wetlands by the Caribbean Sea, building a canal and drainage channels, threatened to upset a delicate ecological balance. “The behaviour of Nicaragua is a serious violation of international law and a threat to the peaceful coexistence of our countries,” said Edgar Ugalde-Alvarez.Nicaragua will tomorrow put its case to the court, claiming that the disputed land - called Isla Portillos by San Jose and Harbour Head by Managua - is historically its territory. “The truth is that it’s 250 hectares of beautiful nature, nothing more,” said Nicaragua’s Ambassador Carlos Arguello Gomez. “We’re not talking about a territory filled with oil or anything of value. Simply, it belongs to us,” Gomez said. “If the territory is Nicaraguan then there is nothing more to discuss.” Nicaragu has accused Costa Rica of violating its territory by launching police boats on the San Juan river.But Costa Rica said Nicaragua, by sending armed forces, had left it with no peaceful response but returning to the UN’s highest court. “This is a case where the armed troops of one state occupied part of the sovereign territory of another state,” said Sergio Ugalde, another lawyer for Costa Rica. The 1858 treaty gave each country control of one river flowing eastward into the Caribbean, but the Colorado, awarded to Costa Rica, began to silt up, forcing it to use the San Juan in Nicaragua.Costa Rica has the right to use the San Juan for transport, but the court has previously banned it from deploying police along the waterway.  Tensions in the area flared in 2011, when Nicaragua filed a suit before the ICJ over a road on the Costa Rican side of the border which Managua said was also causing environmental damage. Around 20% of the population of Costa Rica is Nicaraguan or of Nicaraguan  origin. Founded in 1945, the ICJ is the United Nations’ highest court. It has no power to enforce its rulings, but two countries must agree before a case can be brought before the court.