PERU REJECTS CHILE'S RESPONSE ON ARMS SHIPMENTS TO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LIMA 002061 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/05/2015 TAGS: PREL PE CI SUBJECT: PERU REJECTS CHILE'S RESPONSE ON ARMS SHIPMENTS TO ECUADOR, SUSPENDS BILATERAL MEETINGS AND FREE TRADE TALKS REF: A. LIM... id: 32075 date: 5/5/2005 19:40 refid: 05LIMA2061 origin: Embassy Lima classification: CONFIDENTIAL destination: 05LIMA1480|05LIMA1987|05LIMA2018|05LIMA2054 header: This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available. -------------- header ends -------------- C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 LIMA 002061 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/05/2015 TAGS: PREL PE CI SUBJECT: PERU REJECTS CHILE'S RESPONSE ON ARMS SHIPMENTS TO ECUADOR, SUSPENDS BILATERAL MEETINGS AND FREE TRADE TALKS REF: A. LIMA 2054 ¶B. LIMA 2018 ¶C. LIMA 1987 ¶D. LIMA 1480 Classified By: Political Counselor Alexander Margulies. Reason: 1.4(d ). ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Prime Minister Carlos Ferrero announced at a 5/3 press conference that the GOP considered "completely unsatisfactory" the Chilean Government's response to Peru's diplomatic note protesting Chile's 1995 arms deliveries to Ecuador (Ref A). Consequently, Ferrero continued, Peru was suspending the planned 2x2 meeting of Foreign and Defense Ministers scheduled for 5/16, as well as the commencement of free trade negotiations with its southern neighbor, while maintaining its commitment to positive bilateral relations. Former President Alberto Fujimori told a local radio station that his government had treated the matter "with reserve" to avoid upsetting peace negotiations with Ecuador and claimed that Toledo was raising this issue as a smokescreen to distract public attention from the congressional investigation into allegations that President Alejandro Toledo's party forged signatures to register for the 2000 elections. The Chilean and Ecuadorian DCM's both opined to DCM on 5/4, that they thought the GOP was using the arms shipment issue as a smokescreen. Whatever the motive, Peru's aggressive public stance has painted it into a corner, and it will likely be some time before its bilateral relations with Chile can move forward. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) According to Ferrero, Peru "hoped for explicit apologies from Chile for what had happened," although it did not/not make this explicit in its diplomatic note protesting Chile's actions (Ref B). The Chilean diplomatic note in �0A;response, and subsequent comments by Chilean Minister Secretary General of the Presidency Francisco Vidal, SIPDIS expressed the GOC's "profound unhappiness" with the Peruvian note; treated the arms delivered to Ecuador as a closed issue that was resolved ten years ago; termed Peru's questioning of its good faith as a guarantor of the 1942 Rio Protocol as "unacceptable;" and questioned the GOP's public announcement of its note before the latter was delivered to the Chilean Ambassador in Lima. Ferrero reiterated that the Peruvian Government did not/not consider the issue to be closed, believed that the declarations by former Ecuadorian military commander Gen. Victor Bayas provided new evidence justifying a fresh look at the case (Ref C),and claimed that the GOP had a duty to inform its citizens of its actions in this matter before it transmitted its point of view to Chile. ¶3. (U) Ex-President Fujimori, in a 5/4 broadcast sent from Japan to his local radio show "The Chinaman's Hour" (although of Japanese descent, Fujimori's nickname is "El Chino"), stated that his government had treated the Chilean arms deliveries to Ecuador "with caution and reserve" so as not/not to upset the delicate peace negotiations with Ecuador. He explained that Peru was concerned that if it confronted Chile openly, that country, as a guarantor of the 1942 Rio Protocol, would side with Ecuador, but that handling the issue privately would help ensure Chile's neutrality. Fujimori then accused the Toledo Government of using the arms deliveries as a smokescreen to divert attention from the false signatures scandal (Ref A). ¶4. (C) Chilean DCM Hernan Mena and Ecuadorian DCM Galo Yepez, at a 5/4 dinner hosted by the DCM, also opined that President Toledo and Prime Minister Ferrero were using the arms shipments as a smokescreen to divert attention away from the regime's scandals. Yepez noted that Argentina also sold Ecuador arms during the 1995 border conflict, but that no mention has been made of this by the GOP, although he acknowledged that Argentina, unlike Chile, was not/not a guarantor of the Rio Protocol. Mena added that while Chile saw the GOP as being behind the arms shipment campaign, it believed that narco-kingpin Fernando Zevallos, owner of Aero Continente (Peru's largest airline until his Kingpin listing forced its closure) was the instigator of the press campaign against LAN Peru/LAN Chile over an in-flight video that had negative coverage of Lima (Refs C-D). ¶5. (C) COMMENT: The GOP, through its aggressive public stance, has painted itself into a corner on the issue of Chilean arms shipments to Ecuador. While Ferrero and others maintain that Peru remains committed to maintaining good diplomatic relations with Chile, it will likely take some time for this latest bump in the road to subside and for high-level contacts to resume. END COMMENT. 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