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R 021902Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO
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UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000187 
 
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 - FEBRUARY 28-MARCH 2 
 
Leading Stories 
--------------- 
¶1. Weekend dailies ran extensive coverage on the murder of two 
Chilean students in Florida last week.  Dailies also highlighted 
that the two-year old daughter of Finance Minister has no apparent 
neurological damage and was discharged from the hospital. 
 
Human Rights Report 
------------------- 
¶2. U.S. Ambassador Paul Simons was asked about the GOC's negative 
reaction to the human rights report.  "This report, as previous ones 
on Chile, was very positive.  With regard to human rights, Chile's 
performance has been recognized by NGO's based in the U.S. and by 
the government.  We see Chile as a good model for human rights in 
the hemisphere and see the report as very positive," said Simons. 
In answer to the claim that, unlike Chile, the United States does 
not submit to the jurisdiction of human rights organizations, the 
Ambassador said: "The United States is very open to any analysis on 
our behavior with regard to human rights.  There are many NGOs in 
Washington that criticize our record in a very direct way" (El 
Mercurio, conservative, influential newspaper-of-record, circ. 
129,000, 2/28). 
 
¶3.  Aucan Huilcaman, head of the Mapuche organization Council of All 
Lands, said the human rights report is a reflection of U.S. 
commitment with indigenous people's worldwide.  Huilcaman also said 
the document is a more accurate depiction of the situation of the 
Mapuche than local reports, adding that he will meet in Washington 
with Wizipan Garriott, the first Native American appointed by 
President Obama (Las Ultimas Noticias, leading-circulation, popular, 
circ. 140,000, 2/28). 
 
Chilean Students Murdered in Florida 
------------------------------------ 
¶4.  Under Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alberto Van Klaveren thanked 
the U.S. Consulate in Santiago for issuing visas promptly to the 
families of the victims for travel to the United States.  Sebastian 
Arizaga, one of the survivors of the shooting, described the 
shooting; Walton Chief of Police said the murderer could face the 
death penalty (El Mercurio, 2/28). 
 
¶5.  Ambassador Paul Simons expressed his condolences to the victims' 
families (Regional El Mercurio de Valparaiso, 3/2; El Mercurio in 
Santiago, 3/2). 
 
¶6.  The bodies of the two students killed will be repatriated to 
Chile on Thursday (All dailies, 3/2) 
 
U.S.-Related News 
----------------- 
¶7.  A high-ranking Obama administration official will attend the 
Progressive Governance Summit on March 27 and 28.  Former Clinton 
administration Labor Secretary Robert Reich will speak at a seminar 
organized by think tank Policy Network before the summit 
(Government-owned, editorially independent La Nacion, circ. 4,200, 
3/7; El Mercurio, 2/28). 
 
¶8.  Bachelet has plans to travel to the United States on an official 
visit this year.  No date has yet been set (La Tercera, 
conservative, independent, circ. 101,000, 3/1). 
 
¶9.  The Chilean Air Force (FaCh) evacuated John Evans, who suffered 
from appendicitis, from the U.S. Palmer base in Antarctica to a 
hospital in Punta Arenas (La Tercera, 2/28). 
 
¶10.  The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Poverty Action 
Lab, J-Pal, will open a regional office in Chile.  J-Pal works on 
establishing the most effective mechanism to fight poverty (La 
Tercera, 3/1). 
 
¶11.  Editorial:  "When Hillary Clinton met with Celso Amorim last 
week in Washington... she was sending a sign that Brazil is a 
fundamental U.S. partner and it will play an important role in 
hemispheric ties" (El Mercurio, weekly round-up column, 3/2). 
 
Local Polls 
----------- 
¶12.  La Tercera Centro de Estudios survey:  Opposition presidential 
candidate Sebastian Pinera would win an eventual run-off election 
with Eduardo Frei by 52% versus 36%.  The same survey shows that 
Bachelet has still a high level of approval (49%) in spite of the 
strong criticism over her trip to Cuba (La Tercera, 2/28). 
 
¶13.  Mercurio/Opina survey:  RN presidential candidate Sebastian 
Pinera leads the race among seven candidates with 41.6%.  Eduardo 
Frei obtained 28.4% (El Mercurio, 3/1). 
 
SIMONS