CHILE MEDIA REPORT - MARCH 20

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000272 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 - MARCH 20 Leading Story -------------- ¶1. As anticipated, Peru filed with the International Court of The Hague a claim to change maritime and land borders with Chile. U.S.-Related News -------------- ¶2. La Tercera published a letter to the editor by acting Minister of Interior Patricio Rosende, saying the daily had misquoted him in a March 19 article on security measures for the upcoming Progressive Governance Summit. Reportedly, Rosende had said "the Carabineros police are under (subservient to) the FBI..." The Carabinero police force, wrote Rosende, "has done an outstanding job in all summits hosted by Chile and we are certain that it will once again show its professionalism, in coordination with the security delegations of all the important officials that will attend the summit (La Tercera, conservative, independent, circ. 101,000, 3/20). ¶3. Former U.S. Federal Reserve Board of Governors member Randall Kroszner will be the guest speaker at think tank Libertad y Desarrollo on April 2 (Que Pasa, newsweekly magazine, 3/20). ¶4. Former U.S. Army Brigadier General Janis Karpinski, who was a commander of forces in charge of the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, has been invited to the Diego Portales University journalism school. "I was demoted [to Colonel] because they needed a scapegoat, and was prohibited from speaking out. I was offered good jobs in Washington but turned them down and left the Army. I want to prove in court that I never knew about the torture and make sure that those who are responsible pay," said Karpinski (Las Ultimas Noticias, leading-circulation, popular, 140,000, 3/20). Chile-Peru -------------- ¶5. Peru submitted a claim for the International Court of The Hague to review its maritime border with Chile. Chile's position is that Peru and Chile have treaties that established maritime and land borders, and both countries have historically respected them. Lima wants to set the sea border along a diagonal line rather than the parallel established in the treaties. This would give Peru an additional 10,280 square miles of ocean. Bolivia is concerned over Peru's claim because any change in borders would ultimately affect its claim for a passage to the sea through Chilean territory. La Tercera highlights that Peru's claim also includes changing the land border with Chile (All dailies, 3/20). Bolivia - U.S. -------------- ¶6. The Bolivian and U.S. governments are working on a new "framework agreement" to improve their deteriorated bilateral relations, said Bolivian Foreign Affairs Minister David Choquehuanca. He said that the United States needs to realize that "it must respect Bolivian authorities and sovereignty." He noted that until recently, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration had command over Bolivia's police and military in the fight against narcotics. "Now that authority rests on Bolivia," he said. Choquehaunca, however, did not dismiss U.S. assistance in this area. "If it (the U.S) wants to cooperate, we'd appreciate it," he said. URBAN