Santiago Sept. 25 Media Report

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000916 SIPDIS STATE FOR R/MR, I/PP, WHA/BSC, WHA/PDA, INR/IAA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON KMDR KPAO PGOV PREL SNAR EFIN CI SUBJECT: Santiago Sept. 25 Media Report Lead Stories -------------- ¶1. On Wednesday's presidential debate, Eduardo Frei cited a Transparency International (TI) report released the day before which mentions a fine levied by Chile's Securities and Stocks Regulator against Pinera for the use of privileged information to buy LanChile shares in 2006. Yesterday, TI's local Chapter, "Chile Transparent," issued a statement saying that it had not seen or approved the text of the report before its release. Pinera's campaign team is severely questioning TI's release of the report right before the presidential debate and the fact that one of its drafters also works for the Ministry of Finance (Conservative independent, La Tercera, 9/25). ¶2. In the framework of this controversy, Transparency International spokesperson in New York, Gipsy Guillen, explained that the different chapters in each country are responsible for drafting the report on their country and on deciding what cases to include. Guillen said that TI had selected September 23 as the date to release its latest report time ago so that it would coincide with the U.N. General Assembly. The president of Chile's Transparency Chapter, Karen Poniachic, however, claims that the entity's board did not see the text of the report until it was released. Other board members are questioning the report based on the fact that one of its drafters is also an advisor to a government ministry (El Mercurio, 9/25). Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and Americas Competitiveness Forum -------------- -------------- -------------- ¶3. Four-page supplement sponsored by the American Chilean Chamber of Commerce, AmCham, highlighting the excellent economic relations between Chile and the United States: "The Benefits of the Commercial Exchange with Chile," by Secretary Locke; "Reflections on a Dynamic Bilateral Relation," by U.S. Ambassador Paul Simons, and "Social Corporate Responsibility: Transfer of U.S. Company Experience" (Financial daily Diario Financiero, 9/25). ¶4. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva confirmed he will not attend the ACF (La Tercera, 9/25). Indigenous Mapuche Conflict -------------- ¶5. In the United Nations Human Rights Council, Chile denied abusing the application of the antiterrorist law in cases affecting members of the indigenous Mapuche community. Ambassador Carlos Portales told the council that from 1999 to 2009, this special law has been applied to 16 cases, and only two have involved Mapuches (Conservative, afternoon, La Segunda, 9/24). SIMONS