News In Brief
| San Jose, Costa Rica
Costa Rica hails news of peace-prize prospect
Costa Rica welcomed its being nominated for the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize Wednesday for its ability to survive without an army. A Foreign Ministry spokesman said it showed the world was aware how this small, underdeveloped country had been able to achieve a fair distribution of its resources and devote funds to social welfare which in other countries were spent on arms.
Costa Rica, a showcase of democracy in Central America, abolished its Army in 1948 after a brief civil war.
Although it has no army, Costa Rica does have a 10,000-member ''antiterrorism corps'' made up of volunteer civilians and known as the Organization for National Emergencies. Critics say it could be the springboard for a national military.
