Chilean FM on Honduras, Salitre Military Exercises,

S E C R E T SANTIAGO 000865 SIPDIS STATE PLEASE PASS TO WHA/EX, WHA/CEN, WHA/PPD, IO FOR SUZANNE NOSSEL AND KELLY SIEKMAN OSD FOR MICHELLE LENIHAN PARIS FOR USUNESCO E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/10/06 TAGS: PREL PHUM MOPS UNESCO UNHRC CI HO SUBJECT: Chilean FM on Honduras, Salitre Military Exercises, Goldstone, and UNESCO REF: A) ZIMOV-KELLY EMAIL 9/30/09; B) PARIS 1301 CLASSIFIED BY: Paul Simons, Ambassador, State, Embassy Santiago; REASON: 1.4(B),(D) ¶1. (C) Summary: Foreign Minister Fernandez told PDAS Kelly that Chile strongly supports the San Jose Accord to resolve the crisis in Honduras, but noted disagreements in the international community about the most constructive way forward. Chile is trying to ease tensions with Peru, in particular by inviting Peru to observe the "Salitre" military exercise. Fernandez emphasized that Chile's objective in the Goldstone report controversy is to promote human rights. He used Farouk Hosni's near victory in the UNESCO election to highlight the need for better coordination around key elections. End Summary. ¶2. (U) Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Craig Kelly met with Chilean Foreign Minister Mariano Fernandez on September 30. PDAS Kelly was accompanied by Ambassador Paul Simons, WHA/EPSC Office Director Matt Rooney, and Political Officer Jennifer Spande. On the Chilean side, Chilean Ambassador to the U.S. Jose Goni, MFA Director for North and Central American Affairs Isauro Torres, and presidential advisor Marcos Robledo joined the meeting as well. FM Fernandez on Honduras: "Micheletti Should Go Back to Parliament" -------------- -------------- -------------- ¶3. (C) PDAS Kelly and FM Fernandez traded updates and perspectives about the unfolding situation in Honduras. PDAS Kelly noted that the U.S. is not seeking to punish the de facto government but wants to send a strong signal that coups are unacceptable. FM Fernandez agreed, saying "Zelaya should be returned as president and Micheletti should go back to Parliament." ¶4. (S/NF) PDAS Kelly referenced OAS Secretary General Jose Miguel Insulza's secret September 29 meeting with de facto Honduran leader Roberto Micheletti. The U.S. had welcomed positive comments from Honduran businessman Adolfo Facusse, who said that the de facto regime might be willing to reach an agreement where members of Zelaya's government would be tried for any regular crimes committed, but not face charges of political crimes or corruption. In general, the U.S. was pleased that there was a conversation about ways to resolve the crisis. Fernandez expressed his support for a compromise, saying that holding credible elections was most important. If Honduras can figure that out, then the international community can stay out of the question about what criminal charges, if any, should be filed. ¶5. (C) The international community is united in opposing the coup, but divided about how to constructively approach the issue, FM Fernandez said. Central American leaders are particularly concerned that if the coup is successful, they could face similar threats at home. Debate over whether or not to specifically refer to the San Jose accords divided opinion during discussions about the coup at the UN General Assembly, FM Fernandez relayed. He reported that President Zelaya's son has indicated that Zelaya would sign the accords. Meanwhile, Panamanian FM Juan Carlos Varela has proposed an alternative to the San Jose Accord's call for Zelaya to be returned to power before the election. Varela suggested that perhaps Zelaya could regain his presidential title in the interregnum between the election and the inauguration. (Comment: Fernandez seemed skeptical about this idea. End Comment.) ¶6. (C) Fernandez was uncertain how to advise the USG about whether or not to participate in the upcoming OAS mission to Honduras. Presidential advisor Marcos Robledo wondered out loud if a U.S. presence on the delegation might help reassure the de facto government and make it more open to negotiation. Fernandez indicated that Chile was not sending a national representative with the OAS mission. Given that both OAS Secretary General, Jose Miguel Insulza, and the head of the OAS's special mission to Honduras, John Biehl, are Chileans, the government fears that an additional Chilean--even though he or she would be the first to represent the Chilean government-- would be perceived as Chilean over-involvement. Chile Trying to Allay Peruvian Complaints about Military Exercises -------------- -------------- -------------- ¶7. (C) Ambassador Simons thanked FM Fernandez for Chile's efforts to reach out to Peru and respond to Peruvian complaints about the multinational Salitre military exercise hosted by Chile, and in particular for inviting Peru to attend the exercises as an observer. Simons indicated that Chile's willingness to modify the scenario was also a positive development. Fernandez agreed, saying that it was unfortunate that in the initial development of the scenario, the political factors were not taken into account. Peru's press is heavily covering the spat between the two countries over the planned military exercises, fanning the flames, Fernandez noted. ¶8. (C) Fernandez also complained that press coverage misconstrued his comments about Peru's proposed non-aggression pact. Fernandez was in fact quite positive about the suggestion, he said, because he appreciated all efforts to promote transparency and build confidence between the two nations. He merely wanted to modify the idea a bit as the concept of a non-aggression pact "belongs to another age." Perhaps the two countries could sign a military cooperation agreement instead, he offered. UNASUR Declaration on Colombian Bases -------------- -------------- ¶9. (C) UNASUR's pending declaration about the U.S.-Colombia Defense Cooperation Agreement will be very similar to the declaration coming out of the August UNASUR meeting in Bariloche, Fernandez revealed. He added that, even though Ecuador had taken over as UNASUR President Pro Tempore in July, Chile was taking a strong role in managing the process of agreeing on a declaration in response to a request from the Ecuadorians. Goldstone Report: Chile Focused on Upholding Human Rights -------------- -------------- -------------- ¶10. (SBU) PDAS Kelly outlined U.S. concerns surrounding the Goldstone report on the December 2008-January 2009 conflict in Gaza, highlighting both the unbalanced treatment of Israeli and Palestinian actions and the report's scattershot and unhelpful approach towards tasking various UN bodies with action (ref A). Ambassador Simons reinforced this point, noting that domestic U.S. support for the UN Human Rights Council could decline if one of its first acts with U.S. participation was endorsement of such an unbalanced report. Fernandez said that the Chilean Representative to International Organizations in Geneva, Carlos Portales, had told him about the controversy surrounding the report. Chile has never taken a political position on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, Fernandez emphasized, saying that Chile's focus has always been on upholding human rights. Chile will work with us to seek balance, he said, and seemed to agree that the idea of referring the matter to the International Criminal Court was a bad one. Fernandez Explains Chile's UNESCO Secretary General Vote -------------- -------------- -------------- ¶11. (SBU ) Fernandez also sought to explain why Chile voted against the U.S.-backed candidate for the UNESCO Secretary General and to ask for a more coordinated approach towards future candidacies. During five rounds of voting, Chile voted for Hosni in the first two rounds of voting, then switched to support Austrian candidate Benita Ferraro-Waldner, who only received 11 votes , and ultimately supported Ivonne Baki, the U.S.-backed Ecuadorian candidate (Ref B). ¶12. (SBU) Egyptian candidate Farouk Hosni nearly won the election, Fernandez asserted, because the many countries who opposed him were uncoordinated and late in their lobbying efforts. Egypt began lobbying Chile more than a year before the election, and Austrian candidate Benita Ferraro-Waldner also contacted Chile far in advance. UNESCO's importance is underappreciated, Fernandez asserted. After years of strong U.S./European influence, it should have a non-U.S./European leader. Comment -------------- ¶13. (C) The wide-ranging conversation, from possible solutions to the crisis in Honduras, to a constructive approach to the bilateral spat with Peru over a military exercise, to a frank exchange on current controversies in global fora, demonstrates once again Chile is looking to play a positive role in region and, increasingly, globally. In doing so, it is ready to exchange information with the United States and explore areas where we can coordinate our efforts. ¶14. (U) PDAS Kelly did not have the chance to clear this cable. SIMONS