CHILE MEDIA REPORT - AUGUST 6

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000753

SIPDIS

STATE FOR R/MR, I/PP, WHA/BSC, WHA/PDA, INR/IAA

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TAGS: KMDR KPAO PGOV ECON PREL SNAR EFIN CI
SUBJECT: CHILE MEDIA REPORT - AUGUST 6

Lead Story
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1. Bolivian President Evo Morales wrote a note apologizing for his
criticism of right-wing presidential candidate Sebastian Pinera. The
Foreign Ministry had issued on Tuesday a statement rejecting
Morales' "intervention in Chile's internal affairs." Yesterday,
after reading the apology, Foreign Minister Mariano Fernandez said
Chile had "turned the page" on the incident (El Mercurio,
conservative, influential newspaper-of-record, 8/6).

Bachelet-Uribe and U.S. military presence in Colombia
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2. Foreign Minister Mariano Fernandez after the Bachelet-Uribe
meeting: "The Presidents of Chile and Colombia . . . had an
extensive exchange of opinions where President Uribe expressed
Colombia's political decisions.... The President of Chile
reiterated... that Chile respects the sovereignty, national
interest, and political decisions of each and every country in the
continent, and of Colombia in this particular case.... Different
countries have different agreements with different countries on
strategic and military issues. We cannot look at just one case. We
must look at the group of countries and we are party to respecting
all those agreements. We have different forums to discuss these
things in a civilized and democratic manner. We have Unasur, the
OAS, and the Rio Group.... This part is crucial, so thank you for
the question. The President (Bachelet) said (in Brazil),if you read
the transcript, what she essentially said is that Chile respects the
sovereignty and national interests and the exercise of these
(principles) for every country in the hemisphere. She then said
that if there are countries interested in discussing these issues,
they must do so in the right place, which is the next Unasur. Unasur
has an agreement in its treaty whereby it can only express itself
(on any matter) if there is consensus" (CNN, 8/5).


3. Headline: "Bachelet meets with Uribe and keeps her distance from
Chavez' criticism of U.S. bases": Chile respects Colombia's decision
with regard to U.S. military bases, said Foreign Minister Fernandez,
but also left open the possibility for the issue to be discussed in
the next Unasur meeting. Bogota was concerned that Chile, which is
considered one of the most moderate countries in the region, would
join Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador in opposing U.S. bases in the
continent. Questions about Chile's position appeared in a joint
press conference in Brazil, where Lula da Silva said he did not like
"the idea of another military base." Bachelet said she shared
Lula's view and "the respect for the sovereignty and the national
interest of all nations," adding that Chile "has never had a U.S.
military base." The press interpreted this as an objection to the
military bases, but Foreign Minister Fernandez reiterated yesterday
that this had been a misunderstanding. He said that Chile cannot
view Bogota's decision as "either good or bad." In La Moneda it is
no secret that Bachelet has always had questions about Washington's
political and military intervention in Latin America. But she did
not have much room to disagree with Colombia. Chile is one of the
few South American countries that signed an FTA with the United
States and although it has no foreign military bases, it receives
considerable military cooperation from the Pentagon (La Tercera,
conservative, independent, 8/5).


4. Headline: "Bachelet concerned with offensive against the United
States and the OAS in Unasur": Bachelet has been a protagonist in
the controversy with regard to Colombia's decision to allow U.S.
military presence in Colombia. In Brazil she "agreed" with Lula da
Silva's position of not wanting more American bases in the region.
Colombia saw this as a sign that Chile and Brazil were joining Hugo
Chavez in his offensive against the U.S. bases. But after meeting
with Bachelet yesterday, Uribe was more at ease. Bachelet supported
Colombia's decision and Foreign Minister Fernandez stated it: "Chile
respects the sovereignty, national interests, and political
decisions of all countries and Colombia's in this particular case."
The GOC expects to find a strongly divided Unasur bloc in Quito,
because although Uribe has the support of "Pacific Axis" countries,
Bolivian President Evo Morales will ask Unasur to object to the
presence of U.S. soldiers in South America. The GOC is concerned
that with Rafael Correa in the presidency, Unasur will take a more
confrontational stance (El Mercurio, conservative,
newspaper-of-record, 8/6).

5. Headline "Chile underscores its respect for Colombia's
Sovereignty": In her meeting with Uribe, President Bachelet
expressed Chile's "total respect" for other country's decisions, and
the Colombian president explained his counter-terrorist and
narcotics policies and the reasons behind the U.S. military presence
in Colombia. In answer to questions from the press, Foreign
Minister Fernandez reiterated that the GOC would not interfere in
the affairs of other nations. Last week in Brazil, Bachelet had
endorsed Lula da Silva's concerns with regard to U.S. military
presence in Latin America and the idea of discussing the issue in
the upcoming Unasur meeting. But yesterday Fernandez clarified what
Bachelet had said: "Chile respects the sovereignty and national
interest of every country in the hemisphere and that if there are
countries that want to discuss these issues, we will do so in
Unasur." Fernandez added that Unasur can only issue a statement if
there is consensus among its members (Government-owned, La Nacion,
8/6).

6. A group of about 15 people gathered outside La Moneda to protest
Uribe's visit. "Uribe out of Chile and of Latin America. No more
Yankee military bases," said one banner (La Nacion, 8/6).

7. Editorial: "Chile and U.S. Military Presence in Colombia": "The
Foreign Minister said that Chile 'respects the sovereign decisions
of other countries.' Chile's diplomacy has therefore given
Colombia, a regional partner, a justified support. In Brazil,
President Bachelet had joined her host Lula da Silva in criticizing
Colombia for agreeing to greater U.S. military presence. . . taking
Colombia by surprise. It seems that Bachelet wanted to make a
gesture in favor of Brazil, which feels uncomfortable with greater
U.S. military presence in a region where it hopes to exert
leadership. Bachelet achieved her goal, but the collateral damage
largely surpasses the benefits: Bachelet aligned Chile with
Venezuela and Ecuador, countries that promote political and
development models directly opposite to Chile's. Her remarks were
also a direct censorship of the United States, with which Chile has
built a solid alliance.... But the most significant damage was for
Colombia, a country that has achieved substantial progress in its
costly internal fight against the guerrilla and narcotics
trafficking. This means that any issue related to security and
cooperation with the United States is crucial.... The
narco-guerrilla is a threat to the region's security and it should
be in Chile's interest to neutralize their activities.... For these
reasons, Chile's decision to correct its misstep is a good sign...
and the Unasur Defense Council meeting next week is a good
opportunity to confirm its new stance" (La Tercera, 8/6).

Local Politics-Venezuela
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8. In a seminar on integration in Latin America, "Concertacion"
presidential candidate Eduardo Frei criticized Hugo Chavez. Frei
said Chavez' "Bolivarian project" is based on a concept of "regional
contagion and expansion," and his "political activism crosses the
line and turns into an intervention in other country's internal
affairs creating diplomatic and military tension." But Frei's
criticism of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was most
commented, because it aligned with the arguments presented by the
facto Micheletti government. Reportedly, the Bachelet
administration shares Frei's view, but only in private (El Mercurio,
8/6).

SIMONS