Santiago Oct. 14 Media Report

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000980 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 Oct. 14 Media Report Lead Story -------------- ¶1. Under Secretary of Interior Patricio Rosende said the government will invoke the Anti-Terrorist Law to prosecute those responsible for burning two trucks, attacking a toll booth, and firiQt private vehicles in the community of Victoria, in southern Chile, over the weekend. The individuals spray painted the toll with the slogan, "This is Mapuche Territory." But Rosende said those responsible are "common criminals who exhibited terrorist behaviors." Yesterday early morning another truck was attacked in the same area of the previous incidents (Government-owned, La Nacion, 10/14). U.S.-Related News -------------- ¶2. The Washington Post reports that President Obama authorized sending 13,000 troops to Afghanistan in addition to the 21,000 announced in March. The information, based on Pentagon sources, could not have come at a worse time for the PrQent, who is facing strong criticism for receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. This is especially true in the Middle East where the perception is that he has not done anything to end the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq (Conservative, afternoon La Segunda, 10/14). ¶3. The U.S. Department of State announced the opening of the bidding process to participate in the annual lottery to assign 50,000 permanent residence visas (Regional dailies El Observador, 10/8, and El Mercurio de Antofagasta, 10/9). ¶4. U.S. inventor Stanford Ovshinsky was in Chile last week for a conference on solar energy in Antofagasta. Chile has a natural resource "that is much more valuable than oil, which is solar energy," he said (El Mercurio, 10/14). ¶5. Editorial: "President Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize this week... in a reflection of the expectations he has generated... in his brief period of time in the White House.... He will now have a chance to fulfill those expectations, when United Nations debates once again the encomic, commerical, and financial embargo on Cuba.... The embargo not only hurts Cuba and its people, it also affects companies of countries that are friends of the United States and that do business with Cuba.... The 50-year blockade has not made the Cuban regime open up politically even an inch .... It is an outdated situation and the Nobel Peace Prize has now an opportunity to make a historical change" (La Nacion, 10/14). Local Politics -------------- ¶6. President Bachelet signed into law the bill on corporate government. This is not just a requirement that Chile had to fulfill to enter the OECD; It is also related to the use of privileged information, an issue that has been in the political debate because of a fine applied to presidential candidate Sebastian Pinera. Bachelet was clear, "There are no exceptions. The use privileged information is unacceptable." She said the new bill fills a legal void with regard to regulations on the sale and purchase of company shares by company board members (La Segunda, 10/13). SIMONS