CHILE MEDIA REPORT - JANUARY 3-5

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000011 SIPDIS STATE FOR R/MR, I/PP, WHA/BSC, WHA/PDA, INR/IAA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KMDR KPAO PGOV ECON PREL SNAR EFIN CI SUBJECT: CHILE MEDIA REPORT - JANUARY 3-5 Leading Stories -------------- ¶1. Dailies highlighted OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza's final decision not to run for the presidency of Chile; Israel's offensive in the Palestinian territories; and the case of relatives of detained and disappeared people who erroneously received increased government pension payments and are being asked to refund the overpayments. U.S.-Related News -------------- ¶2. Six former FBI agents, including William J. Esposito, a former Assistant Director of the Bureau, arrived in Chile several weeks ago. They were hired by the Indian multinational consortium Tata to conduct a parallel probe into the case of alleged corruption involving Chile's National Registry Service. The case is being investigated by Chilean prosecutor Alejandra Godoy. The former agents are currently working for the Freeh Group, a U.S. auditing firm. Prosecutor Godoy took their depositions as witnesses in the case. They were visited by Chilean attorneys and even by a high-ranking U.S. Embassy official. Chilean law enforcement officers discovered that the former agents lacked permits to work in Chile, and had entered the country as tourists. (El Mostrador, liberal, online, 1/5). ¶2. OAS Secretary General Jos Miguel Insulza will arrive in Chile today, earlier than expected, to announce his withdrawal from the presidential race. (La Tercera, conservative, independent, circ. 101,000, 1/5; El Mercurio, conservative, influential newspaper-of-record, circ. 129,000). ¶3. Women's National Service (SERNAM) Minister Laura Albornoz -who also chairs the Inter American Women's Commission-- is scheduled to meet in Washington with OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza on January 26. The meeting is to coordinate resources intended to counter gender-based violence in the region. (El Mercurio,1/4). ¶4. A recent study conducted by academics at Dartmouth College and the Universities of Michigan and Maryland found that the opening of Wal-Mart retail stores reduces the sales of its competitors by 14%. (El Mercurio, 1/3). Local -------------- ¶5. Two explosive artifacts were detonated in Santiago last night, causing minor damages. One explosion occurred at the Prison's Social Reinsertion Center in downtown Santiago, while another detonation took place at a local police courthouse in the Providencia district. No group has claimed responsibility. (El Mercurio, La Tercera, 1/5). ¶6. Chile's Ministry of Energy has doubled its budget for carrying out nuclear energy studies in 2009. Minister Marcelo Tokman noted that his office has considered conducting new analyses and studies in this area. (La Tercera, 1/5). Chile and Other Countries -------------- ¶7. Christian Democratic legislator Patricio Walker expressed his hope that President Michelle Bachelet will meet with Cuban dissidents during her February visit to the island. Although the likelihood of such a gathering has been dismissed, Deputy Walker noted, "I am hopeful that there will be some gesture by the Chilean delegation... in support of the dissidents, either by meeting with them or by asking the Castro dictatorship's authorities to free the prisoners of conscience." Deputy Walker has been denied permission to visit Cuba at least twice, including when he was chairman of the Chamber of Deputies in 2007. According to the legislator, Cuban officials rejected his visit when he acknowledged that he planned to meet with dissidents. (El Mercurio, 1/4). ¶8. Representatives of Cuban dissidents sent a letter to the Chilean Ambassador to Havana requesting a meeting with President Bachelet during her upcoming visit to the island. Vladimiro Roca, leader of Cuba's Social Democratic Party, noted that they have not received a response yet. (El Mercurio, 1/5; La Nacion, government-owned, editorially independent, circ. 4,200, 1/5). E Editorials -------------- ¶9. International weekly news round-up editorial, entitled "Obama and the World in 2009:" "After a year full of bad news, which ended with the entire world preparing for the effects of a global economic crisis, January begins with high expectations over what will become a historic landmark: The swearing-in of the first African American to become U.S. President. Barack Obama arrived in Washington after taking his end-of-year vacation in Hawaii (...) to begin a task full of challenges and opportunities..." (El Mercurio, 1/5). ¶10. Former Chilean Foreign Minister and weekly columnist Hernan Felipe Errazuriz wrote a piece entitled "50 Years and Decline of the Castros:" "The dying Communist system of the Castro brothers is an anachronism (...) The United States has reacted to Cuban excesses with counterproductive measures (...) In any case, the evolution towards its freedom depends on the Cuban people, encouraged by both domestic and external factors. An end to the Castro days could be one of the good-news stories of 2009." (El Mercurio, 1/3). SIMONS