Santiago Feb. 19 Media Report

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000236 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 Feb. 19 Media Report Lead Story ¶1. President-elect Pi????era began the process to his shares in commercial airline Lan Chile which are worth US$ 1.237 billion (Conservative, independent La Tercera, 2/19). Chile-U.S. ¶2. David Rockefeller, Jr., was interviewed during his visit to southern Chile. Rockefeller has embarked on the conservation of the oceans and is navigating the Americas to collect data on the acidity of the oceans and other variables related to climate change. The data will be relayed to research centers such as ScQps to be processed (Weekly news magazinQue Pasa, 2/19). Regional affairs ¶3. President Bachelet and President-elect Pi????era will both receive on behalf of Chile the pro tempore secretariat of the Rio Group in Cancun. This situation has generated expectation in other Latin American delegations, considering that Bachelet represents the center-left and Pi????era a right-wing coalition. Pi????era is expected to meet in Cancun with Presidents Felipe Calderon (Mexico),Rafael Correa (Ecuador),and Alvaro Uribe (Colombia) (Government-owned, La Nacion, 2/19). Haiti ¶4. One of the topics to be addressed at the March 31 summit in New York to launch the final reconstruction plan for Haiti is Brazil's proposal to channel aid to the island. Brazil wants to create an international agency headed by a Haitian official and two international coordinators, and has proposed Bachelet and mentioned former President Bill Clinton. Bachelet's representative to Haiti Juan Gabriel Vald????s said Chile will support Brazil's proposal in Cancun (Conservative, influential newspaper-of-record, El Mercuro, 2/19). Defense ¶5. Defense Minister Francisco Vidal headed a ceremony to receive the first of three KC-135 aerial refueling tankers bought from the United States. Asked about eventual criticism from other countries over the acquisition, Vidal said, "We don't aspire to even an inch more beyond our territory, but have the strength to defend every inch that is ours." It is possible that the KC-135 will be on exhibit at Chile's International Air and Space Fair (Fidae) 2010 in March (El Mercurio, 2/19). OAS ¶6. The Washington Post published Chilean Foreign Minister Mariano Fernandez' letter responding to a recent editorial calling on the USG to prevent Jose Miguel Insulza's reelection to the OAS. "The editorial makes a simplistic characterization of how the OAS handled the coup (in Honduras),ignoring the diplomatic efforts taken before and after the coup and the support given to President Oscar Arias' mediation," says Fernandez' letter (El Mercurio, 2/19). ¶7. Colombian Foreign Minister Jaime Bermudez said in a television interview that his country would endorse Insulza's reelection to the OAS, but only because there is no other candidate. Yesterday, the foreign minister of Uruguay also confirmed through his country's endorsement of Insulza's reelection (El Mercurio, 2/19). IPR ¶8. Letter to the editor by the Executive Vice President of the Association of Industrial Pharmaceutical Laboratories (Asilfa) Maria Angelia Sanchez in response the remarks to the press by the president of the chamber that represents foreign laboratories in Chile (CIF) that since 1991, 73 patented products have been copied with more than 3 copies per product on the average. Sanchez said the CIF should present the data to the courts of justice to back its accusations, adding that the new oral judicial system assures a rapid resolution (El Mercurio, 2/19). Cuba ¶9. The U.S. government will send a delegation to Cuba headed by Principal Deputy Secretary of State Craig Kelly, to discuss immigration issues. The U.S. and Cuba renewed immigration talks in United Nations on July 14 (Conservative, afternoon La Segunda, 2/18). Terrorism ¶10. Undersecretary of Interior Patricio Rosende responded to questions about the invitation placed on the Internet by an organization that calls itself "Marzo Anarchista" (Anarchist March) for anyone interested in attending a series of workshops and conferences throughout March. Rosende said that these meetings have been taking place for the past years and that they "don't entail a greater threat than before," adding that "few people attend" (Government-owned La Nacion, 2/18). SIMONS