CHILE MEDIA REPORT - SEPTEMBER 2

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000825 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 - SEPTEMBER 2 Lead Story -------------- ¶1. Presidential candidate Sebastian Pinera launched his candidacy yesterday in an "Obama style" proclamation event in Santiago (Conservative, independent La Tercera, 9/2). U.S.-Related News -------------- ¶2. The National Economic Prosecutor's office, FNE, said it would go ahead and review a claim filed by the of Suppliers' Association against Wal Mart. The U.S. company, which controls local supermarket chain D&S, is using a new system with its suppliers that the Association claims undermines free competition (Financial daily Diario Financiero, 9/2) ¶3. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) invited a delegation of representatives from Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, the Dominican Republic, and Costa Rica to become acquainted with the successful sanitary inspection and quarantine system applied by Chile's Agriculture and Livestock Service, SAG, with the Association of Fruit Exporters. The initiative is part of a U.S.-Chile collaboration initiative (PAS placement, www.vendimia.cl magazine, 9/2). ¶4. U.S. Air Force Lieutenant General Glenn F. Spears is pictured with other participants at the Conference of Air Force Commanders-in-Chief in Santiago (El Mercurio, 9/2). Human Rights -------------- ¶5. Judge Victor Montiglio indicted 129 former members of the military regime's National Intelligence Directorate, DINA, for their responsibility in the human rights cases known as Colombo, Conferencia, and Condor. Judge Juan Guzman left these three cases unfinished. The indictments apply to retired personnel: 64 in the army -including DINA Director Manuel Contreras-, 32 Carabineros police, 14 in the Air Force, 11 in the Navy and 6 in the Investigations Police, and 2 prison guards. Ministry of Interior human rights attorney Boris Paredes said this shows a significant progress in establishing "criminal responsibility" in these cases and noted that it is also the first time that members of the armed forces who witnessed the crimes, but did not denounce them have been indicted (Conservative influential newspaper-of-record, El Mercurio, 9/2). ¶6. All those Montiglio indicted belonged to the DINA, which detained and disappeared military regime opponents from 1974 to ¶1977. Approximately half of those indicted are retired petty officers. This is the largest group of individuals indicted for human rights violation at one time thus far. However, most of them are already indicted for human rights violations (Conservative, independent, La Tercera, 9/2). ¶7. In 2007 and 2008, the court began the indictment process for the abduction and disappearance of the Communist Party's leadership and the disappearance of 119 military regime opponents from 1975 to ¶1976. Both cases were later labeled Operacion Conferencia I and Operacion Colombo, respectively. Now Judge Montiglio indicted another 120 former DINA agents, but this time for the disappearance of a second group of Communist Party leaders, called Operacion Conferencia II. Most of them were indicted in Conferencia I and Operacion Colombo (La Nacion). ¶8. In may 2007,Judge Montiglio indicted 74 former DINA agents and in May 2008, another 98, all of them in the former Operacion Colombo, which refers to the disappearance of 119 military regime opponents (La Nacion, 9/2). Indigenous Mapuche Conflict -------------- ¶9. The mayor of Ercilla, Jose Vilugron, met with UNICEF officials to renew support programs in his community in the area of poverty, intercultural issues, and child mistreatment. Ercilla is at the core of the indigenous Mapuche agitation and studies show that police raids in the area are having a negative effect in the community's children. They mayor is attempting to revoke that impact with psychological assistance (Government-owned La Nacion). Local Politics -------------- ¶10. A survey conducted by the Gender Human Rights and Justice Gender Center shows that among 1,287 women, only 12.2 per cent would vote for Marco Enriquez-Ominami in the presidential election, while 27.7 would vote for Eduardo Frei, and 35.5 per cent for Sebastian Pinera (La Tercera, 9/2). SIMONS