CHILE MEDIA REPORT - FEBRUARY 28-MARCH 2

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000187 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 - FEBRUARY 28-MARCH 2 Leading Stories -------------- ¶1. Weekend dailies ran extensive coverage on the murder of two Chilean students in Florida last week. Dailies also highlighted that the two-year old daughter of Finance Minister has no apparent neurological damage and was discharged from the hospital. Human Rights Report -------------- ¶2. U.S. Ambassador Paul Simons was asked about the GOC's negative reaction to the human rights report. "This report, as previous ones on Chile, was very positive. With regard to human rights, Chile's performance has been recognized by NGO's based in the U.S. and by the government. We see Chile as a good model for human rights in the hemisphere and see the report as very positive," said Simons. In answer to the claim that, unlike Chile, the United States does not submit to the jurisdiction of human rights organizations, the Ambassador said: "The United States is very open to any analysis on our behavior with regard to human rights. There are many NGOs in Washington that criticize our record in a very direct way" (El Mercurio, conservative, influential newspaper-of-record, circ. 129,000, 2/28). ¶3. Aucan Huilcaman, head of the Mapuche organization Council of All Lands, said the human rights report is a reflection of U.S. commitment with indigenous people's worldwide. Huilcaman also said the document is a more accurate depiction of the situation of the Mapuche than local reports, adding that he will meet in Washington with Wizipan Garriott, the first Native American appointed by President Obama (Las Ultimas Noticias, leading-circulation, popular, circ. 140,000, 2/28). Chilean Students Murdered in Florida -------------- ¶4. Under Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alberto Van Klaveren thanked the U.S. Consulate in Santiago for issuing visas promptly to the families of the victims for travel to the United States. Sebastian Arizaga, one of the survivors of the shooting, described the shooting; Walton Chief of Police said the murderer could face the death penalty (El Mercurio, 2/28). ¶5. Ambassador Paul Simons expressed his condolences to the victims' families (Regional El Mercurio de Valparaiso, 3/2; El Mercurio in Santiago, 3/2). ¶6. The bodies of the two students killed will be repatriated to Chile on Thursday (All dailies, 3/2) U.S.-Related News -------------- ¶7. A high-ranking Obama administration official will attend the Progressive Governance Summit on March 27 and 28. Former Clinton administration Labor Secretary Robert Reich will speak at a seminar organized by think tank Policy Network before the summit (Government-owned, editorially independent La Nacion, circ. 4,200, 3/7; El Mercurio, 2/28). ¶8. Bachelet has plans to travel to the United States on an official visit this year. No date has yet been set (La Tercera, conservative, independent, circ. 101,000, 3/1). ¶9. The Chilean Air Force (FaCh) evacuated John Evans, who suffered from appendicitis, from the U.S. Palmer base in Antarctica to a hospital in Punta Arenas (La Tercera, 2/28). ¶10. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Poverty Action Lab, J-Pal, will open a regional office in Chile. J-Pal works on establishing the most effective mechanism to fight poverty (La Tercera, 3/1). ¶11. Editorial: "When Hillary Clinton met with Celso Amorim last week in Washington... she was sending a sign that Brazil is a fundamental U.S. partner and it will play an important role in hemispheric ties" (El Mercurio, weekly round-up column, 3/2). Local Polls -------------- ¶12. La Tercera Centro de Estudios survey: Opposition presidential candidate Sebastian Pinera would win an eventual run-off election with Eduardo Frei by 52% versus 36%. The same survey shows that Bachelet has still a high level of approval (49%) in spite of the strong criticism over her trip to Cuba (La Tercera, 2/28). ¶13. Mercurio/Opina survey: RN presidential candidate Sebastian Pinera leads the race among seven candidates with 41.6%. Eduardo Frei obtained 28.4% (El Mercurio, 3/1). SIMONS