UNEMPLOYMENT RATE INCREASES IN CHILE

(May 31, 2006) Chile’s National Institute of Statistics released unemployment figures for the past three months Monday placing the nation’s unemp[loyment rate at 8.3 percent. The figure is up 0.1 percent over the same time period in 2005 and up 5.45 percent since the last report at the end of March.

The figures coincide with business sector expectations which estimated the unemployment rate at somewhere between 8 and 8.3 percent. According to the report the increase in unemployed workers is due to the admission of 94,470 new workers, representing a 6.84 percent increase in the labor pool since the INE released figures in March.

The report also detailed unemployment rates between sexes, showing a 0.5 percent increase in female unemployment and a 0.1 percent decrease in male unemployment. The overall figures for these two groups are 6.7 percent unemployment for men and 11.2 percent for women.

SOURCE: EL MERCURIO

BACHELET ADMINISTRATION REACTS TO REPORTS OF U.S. THREATS

(May 30, 2006) Government spokespeople downplayed U.S. Department of State threats against Chile in the event that Chile supports Venezuela’s bid for a seat on the United Nations Security Council. Ricardo Lagos Weber, Chile’s government spokesman, indicated that Chile would not be pressured by the U.S., but instead seek regional consensus on the issue before indicating which way Chile will vote on the issue.

“These are distinct issues that have nothing to do with each other,” said Lagos Weber. “I do not see how a country could be penalized for exercising its international rights.”

According to a story that was published in La Tercera on May 28th, U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick told Chile’s Minister of the Exterior Alejandro Foxely that Chilean support for Venezuela as a member of the U.N. security council in October’s elections would “decisively damage” bilateral relations between Chile and the U.S. The report went on to quote Zoellick as saying that, in the event that Chile did support Venezuela, it would lose its status as a “major non-NATO ally of the U.S.” and suffer economic penalties in the form of reduced commercial exchange between Chile and the U.S. (ST, May 30).

In a statement that seemed to dismiss the threats, Foxely said that Chile would consult with the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States (GRUPAC) to arrive at a consensus as to which way the region would vote.

“We are in a phase of consultations in which we are going to evaluate and appreciate the opinions of friendly countries and then, later, we will make a decision,” said Foxely.

In the 2003 build-up to the invasion of Iraq, Chile cast a deciding vote against the U.S.-led resolution to overthrow Saddam Hussein without any noticeable affect on bilateral relations with the U.S.

SOURCE: LA NACIÓN, EL MERCURIO, LA TERCERA, RADIO COOPERATIVA

BERRIÓS CASE: JUDGE INVESTIGATES PINOCHET’S SON

(May 30, 2006) The investigation into the murder of Eugenio Berríos has uncovered links between Augusto Pinochet Hiriart, the eldest son of the former dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet, and various military organizations in Chile and Uruguay suspected of taking part in the 1993 homicide of the former secret police chemist.

Investigative Judge Alejandro Madrid released previously undisclosed information relating to the 1991 “Pinocheques” incident that caused Pinochet Jr. to flee Chile rather than testify why the Commander in Chief – his father Gen. Pinochet – paid him $971,000,000 pesos (approximately US$1.8 million) to act as the intermediary between the Chilean military and a then bankrupt weapons factory.

The case was closed after government administrators pressured the State Defense Council (CDE) to dismiss the charges saying that the case threatened the democratic stability of the government. At the time Chile was beginning the transition to democracy after 17 years of military dictatorship.

According to Pinochet Jr.’s testimony, he first tried to go to Argentina in late 1991 on an Air Force mail flight under a false name. He was forced to wait overnight when he learned from Gustavo González, an officer with Chile’s Investigations Police, that the owner of the I.D. he was going to use was wanted in Chile.

Pinochet Jr. left the next day for Buenos Aires under his real name accompanied by the then Chief of the Special Units of the Directorate of Army Intelligence (DINE) Arturo Silva Valdés. Once in Buenos Aires Pinochet Jr. traveled to Brazil and Spain using fake documents made for him by an Argentinean secret service agent named Carlos Narea González.

Judge Madrid is interested in the story because of its similarities to the Eugenio Berriós case. Berriós was also wanted for questioning in 1991 for his role in several high profile murder cases. He was snuck out of the country by the army and later murdered in Uruguay in 1993 (ST, May 17).

It now appears that in April 1993 Pinochet Jr. was in contact with Col. Tomás Casella, one of the three Uruguayan military officials extradited to Chile who is accused of murdering Berríos. Autopsies of Berríos’ body show that he was shot sometime between April and June of 1993.

Government officials are now investigating what links González has to the Pinochet family due to the inside information he provided in 1991 as well as his signature on the 2001 police report detailing the entries and exits of both Pinochet Jr. and his younger brother Marco Antonio that was requested by Judge Madrid in the Berríos case.

González is currently the Public Relations spokesman for the Circle of Retired Police Officers.

SOURCE: LA NACIÓN

FUJIMORI: PERU REQUESTS GAG ORDER

(May 25, 2006) President Michelle Bachelet requested that Chile’s Supreme Court keep ex-Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori quiet after a series of comments on Peru’s upcoming elections provoked an outcry from government officials in Lima. Since being released on bail, Fujimori has generated a whirlwind of controversy between the two countries as well as confrontations with a group of high school students in central Chile.

The ex-dictator, wanted in Peru on corruption and human rights charges, was detained in Chile after arriving in Santiago unexpectedly on Nov. 7, 2005. Fujimori’s arrival in Chile marked his first return to South America after he fled Peru in 2000 and resigned from the presidency by fax from a Japanese Hotel. (ST, Nov. 8).

Since being released from prison on May 18, Fujimori has given several interviews with national and foreign news agencies. In the interviews Fujimori spoke at length about Peru’s upcoming June 4 run-off elections between Alan García and Ollanta Humala as well as the possibility he would return to Japan where his Japanese citizenship grants him immunity from extradition.

Fujimori’s comments caused outrage in Peru and an official request from Peru’s government on Monday that Fujimori be prohibited from giving any more interviews.

“The Fujimori case is damaging our interests as a country,” said Jorge Tarud, the president of the international commission of Chile’s lower chamber of deputies.

When asked about the controversy, President Bachelet said, “there is one thing that is very clear, the fundamental task of the president of Chile is to protect the interests of Chile. It is clear that the actions of Sr. Fujimori in the last few days caused situations that are undesirable in our relationship with our neighboring country Peru.”

The President of Peru’s Supreme Court, Walter Vásquez announced that President Bachelet’s comments were, “healthy and positive.”

In Chile, Judge Orlando Alvarez, the judge presiding over the Fujimori case, claimed that the situation “has been taken care” because Fujimori has agreed to cancel all interviews with the press and refrain from discussing Peru’s political situation.

SOURCE: LA NACIÓN, RADIO COOPERATIVO, EL MERCURIO

FUJIMORI: PERU REQUESTS GAG ORDER

(May 25, 2006) President Michelle Bachelet requested that Chile’s Supreme Court keep ex-Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori quiet after a series of comments on Peru’s upcoming elections provoked an outcry from government officials in Lima. Since being released on bail, Fujimori has generated a whirlwind of controversy between the two countries as well as confrontations with a group of high school students in central Chile.

The ex-dictator, wanted in Peru on corruption and human rights charges, was detained in Chile after arriving in Santiago unexpectedly on Nov. 7, 2005. Fujimori’s arrival in Chile marked his first return to South America after he fled Peru in 2000 and resigned from the presidency by fax from a Japanese Hotel. (ST, Nov. 8).

Since being released from prison on May 18, Fujimori has given several interviews with national and foreign news agencies. In the interviews Fujimori spoke at length about Peru’s upcoming June 4 run-off elections between Alan García and Ollanta Humala as well as the possibility he would return to Japan where his Japanese citizenship grants him immunity from extradition.

Fujimori’s comments caused outrage in Peru and an official request from Peru’s government on Monday that Fujimori be prohibited from giving any more interviews.

“The Fujimori case is damaging our interests as a country,” said Jorge Tarud, the president of the international commission of Chile’s lower chamber of deputies.

When asked about the controversy, President Bachelet said, “there is one thing that is very clear, the fundamental task of the president of Chile is to protect the interests of Chile. It is clear that the actions of Sr. Fujimori in the last few days caused situations that are undesirable in our relationship with our neighboring country Peru.”

The President of Peru’s Supreme Court, Walter Vásquez announced that President Bachelet’s comments were, “healthy and positive.”

In Chile, Judge Orlando Alvarez, the judge presiding over the Fujimori case, claimed that the situation “has been taken care” because Fujimori has agreed to cancel all interviews with the press and refrain from discussing Peru’s political situation.

SOURCE: LA NACIÓN, RADIO COOPERATIVO, EL MERCURIO

FUJIMORI: PERU REQUESTS GAG ORDER

(May 25, 2006) President Michelle Bachelet requested that Chile’s Supreme Court keep ex-Peruvian President Alberto Fujimori quiet after a series of comments on Peru’s upcoming elections provoked an outcry from government officials in Lima. Since being released on bail, Fujimori has generated a whirlwind of controversy between the two countries as well as confrontations with a group of high school students in central Chile.

The ex-dictator, wanted in Peru on corruption and human rights charges, was detained in Chile after arriving in Santiago unexpectedly on Nov. 7, 2005. Fujimori’s arrival in Chile marked his first return to South America after he fled Peru in 2000 and resigned from the presidency by fax from a Japanese Hotel. (ST, Nov. 8).

Since being released from prison on May 18, Fujimori has given several interviews with national and foreign news agencies. In the interviews Fujimori spoke at length about Peru’s upcoming June 4 run-off elections between Alan García and Ollanta Humala as well as the possibility he would return to Japan where his Japanese citizenship grants him immunity from extradition.

Fujimori’s comments caused outrage in Peru and an official request from Peru’s government on Monday that Fujimori be prohibited from giving any more interviews.

“The Fujimori case is damaging our interests as a country,” said Jorge Tarud, the president of the international commission of Chile’s lower chamber of deputies.

When asked about the controversy, President Bachelet said, “there is one thing that is very clear, the fundamental task of the president of Chile is to protect the interests of Chile. It is clear that the actions of Sr. Fujimori in the last few days caused situations that are undesirable in our relationship with our neighboring country Peru.”

The President of Peru’s Supreme Court, Walter Vásquez announced that President Bachelet’s comments were, “healthy and positive.”

In Chile, Judge Orlando Alvarez, the judge presiding over the Fujimori case, claimed that the situation “has been taken care” because Fujimori has agreed to cancel all interviews with the press and refrain from discussing Peru’s political situation.

SOURCE: LA NACIÓN, RADIO COOPERATIVO, EL MERCURIO

BARRICK GOLD BACKS OUT OF CERRO CASALE PROJECT

(May 25, 2006) Representatives from Barrick Gold, a Canadian owned gold mining company announced that they were backing out of the Cerro Casale project and leaving the way open for two other mining companies interested in the project.

The Cerro Casale project is a series of open-pit gold and copper mines located in Region III of northern Chile. The project was initially run by Placer Dome, another Canadian mining company, until Placer was bought out by Barrick Gold.

Barrick Gold decided to leave control of the project with two minority investors who were previously working with Placer Dome, Bema Gold and Arizona Star.

“We think that, during the acquisition process, the best thing to do is respect the contracts of the company we bought, said Igor González, President of Sudamérica de Barrick.

Barrick is also involved in the controversial Pascua Lama project, a planned open-pit gold mine located on the border between Argentina and Chile (ST, May 18). Barrick is currently trying to negotiate a tax agreement with both countries to avoid paying double taxes on material produced at the mine.

Both projects have generated criticism because of expected damage to the respective areas’ water systems. The Pascua Lama project would require the relocation of three glaciers and cause disruption of river systems in the glacial watershed area while the industrial waste waters of the Cerro Casale mine cross two national parks.

SOURCE: LA NACIÓN, EL MERCURIO