VZCZCXYZ0010
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSG #0753/01 2181906
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 061906Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5321
INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 4110
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 2514
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 1620
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 1040
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 2199
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA 6324
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 4518
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 2537
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 000753 
 
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 - AUGUST 6 
 
Lead Story 
---------- 
¶1.  Bolivian President Evo Morales wrote a note apologizing for his 
criticism of right-wing presidential candidate Sebastian Pinera. The 
Foreign Ministry had issued on Tuesday a statement rejecting 
Morales' "intervention in Chile's internal affairs."  Yesterday, 
after reading the apology, Foreign Minister Mariano Fernandez said 
Chile had "turned the page" on the incident (El Mercurio, 
conservative, influential newspaper-of-record, 8/6). 
 
Bachelet-Uribe and U.S. military presence in Colombia 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
¶2.  Foreign Minister Mariano Fernandez after the Bachelet-Uribe 
meeting: "The Presidents of Chile and Colombia . . . had an 
extensive exchange of opinions where President Uribe expressed 
Colombia's political decisions.... The President of Chile 
reiterated... that Chile respects the sovereignty, national 
interest, and political decisions of each and every country in the 
continent, and of Colombia in this particular case.... Different 
countries have different agreements with different countries on 
strategic and military issues.  We cannot look at just one case.  We 
must look at the group of countries and we are party to respecting 
all those agreements.  We have different forums to discuss these 
things in a civilized and democratic manner.  We have Unasur, the 
OAS, and the Rio Group.... This part is crucial, so thank you for 
the question. The President (Bachelet) said (in Brazil), if you read 
the transcript, what she essentially said is that Chile respects the 
sovereignty and national interests and the exercise of these 
(principles) for every country in the hemisphere.  She then said 
that if there are countries interested in discussing these issues, 
they must do so in the right place, which is the next Unasur. Unasur 
has an agreement in its treaty whereby it can only express itself 
(on any matter) if there is consensus" (CNN, 8/5). 
 
¶3.  Headline: "Bachelet meets with Uribe and keeps her distance from 
Chavez' criticism of U.S. bases": Chile respects Colombia's decision 
with regard to U.S. military bases, said Foreign Minister Fernandez, 
but also left open the possibility for the issue to be discussed in 
the next Unasur meeting. Bogota was concerned that Chile, which is 
considered one of the most moderate countries in the region, would 
join Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador in opposing U.S. bases in the 
continent.  Questions about Chile's position appeared in a joint 
press conference in Brazil, where Lula da Silva said he did not like 
"the idea of another military base."  Bachelet said she shared 
Lula's view and "the respect for the sovereignty and the national 
interest of all nations," adding that Chile "has never had a U.S. 
military base."  The press interpreted this as an objection to the 
military bases, but Foreign Minister Fernandez reiterated yesterday 
that this had been a misunderstanding.  He said that Chile cannot 
view Bogota's decision as "either good or bad."  In La Moneda it is 
no secret that Bachelet has always had questions about Washington's 
political and military intervention in Latin America.  But she did 
not have much room to disagree with Colombia. Chile is one of the 
few South American countries that signed an FTA with the United 
States and although it has no foreign military bases, it receives 
considerable military cooperation from the Pentagon (La Tercera, 
conservative, independent, 8/5). 
 
¶4.  Headline: "Bachelet concerned with offensive against the United 
States and the OAS in Unasur": Bachelet has been a protagonist in 
the controversy with regard to Colombia's decision to allow U.S. 
military presence in Colombia.  In Brazil she "agreed" with Lula da 
Silva's position of not wanting more American bases in the region. 
Colombia saw this as a sign that Chile and Brazil were joining Hugo 
Chavez in his offensive against the U.S. bases.  But after meeting 
with Bachelet yesterday, Uribe was more at ease.  Bachelet supported 
Colombia's decision and Foreign Minister Fernandez stated it: "Chile 
respects the sovereignty, national interests, and political 
decisions of all countries and Colombia's in this particular case." 
The GOC expects to find a strongly divided Unasur bloc in Quito, 
because although Uribe has the support of "Pacific Axis" countries, 
Bolivian President Evo Morales will ask Unasur to object to the 
presence of U.S. soldiers in South America.  The GOC is concerned 
that with Rafael Correa in the presidency, Unasur will take a more 
confrontational stance (El Mercurio, conservative, 
newspaper-of-record, 8/6). 
¶5.  Headline "Chile underscores its respect for Colombia's 
Sovereignty": In her meeting with Uribe, President Bachelet 
expressed Chile's "total respect" for other country's decisions, and 
the Colombian president explained his counter-terrorist and 
narcotics policies and the reasons behind the U.S. military presence 
in Colombia.  In answer to questions from the press, Foreign 
Minister Fernandez reiterated that the GOC would not interfere in 
the affairs of other nations.  Last week in Brazil, Bachelet had 
endorsed Lula da Silva's concerns with regard to U.S. military 
presence in Latin America and the idea of discussing the issue in 
the upcoming Unasur meeting.  But yesterday Fernandez clarified what 
Bachelet had said: "Chile respects the sovereignty and national 
interest of every country in the hemisphere and that if there are 
countries that want to discuss these issues, we will do so in 
Unasur." Fernandez added that Unasur can only issue a statement if 
there is consensus among its members (Government-owned, La Nacion, 
8/6). 
¶6.  A group of about 15 people gathered outside La Moneda to protest 
Uribe's visit. "Uribe out of Chile and of Latin America.  No more 
Yankee military bases," said one banner (La Nacion, 8/6). 
¶7.  Editorial: "Chile and U.S. Military Presence in Colombia": "The 
Foreign Minister said that Chile 'respects the sovereign decisions 
of other countries.'  Chile's diplomacy has therefore given 
Colombia, a regional partner, a justified support.  In Brazil, 
President Bachelet had joined her host Lula da Silva in criticizing 
Colombia for agreeing to greater U.S. military presence. . .  taking 
Colombia by surprise.  It seems that Bachelet wanted to make a 
gesture in favor of Brazil, which feels uncomfortable with greater 
U.S. military presence in a region where it hopes to exert 
leadership.  Bachelet achieved her goal, but the collateral damage 
largely surpasses the benefits: Bachelet aligned Chile with 
Venezuela and Ecuador, countries that promote political and 
development models directly opposite to Chile's.  Her remarks were 
also a direct censorship of the United States, with which Chile has 
built a solid alliance.... But the most significant damage was for 
Colombia, a country that has achieved substantial progress in its 
costly internal fight against the guerrilla and narcotics 
trafficking.  This means that any issue related to security and 
cooperation with the United States is crucial.... The 
narco-guerrilla is a threat to the region's security and it should 
be in Chile's interest to neutralize their activities.... For these 
reasons, Chile's decision to correct its misstep is a good sign... 
and the Unasur Defense Council meeting next week is a good 
opportunity to confirm its new stance" (La Tercera, 8/6). 
 
Local Politics-Venezuela 
------------------------ 
¶8.  In a seminar on integration in Latin America, "Concertacion" 
presidential candidate Eduardo Frei criticized Hugo Chavez.  Frei 
said Chavez' "Bolivarian project" is based on a concept of "regional 
contagion and expansion," and his "political activism crosses the 
line and turns into an intervention in other country's internal 
affairs creating diplomatic and military tension."  But Frei's 
criticism of ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya was most 
commented, because it aligned with the arguments presented by the 
facto Micheletti government.  Reportedly, the Bachelet 
administration shares Frei's view, but only in private (El Mercurio, 
8/6). 
 
SIMONS