Chile calls on Bolivia to restart diplomatic ties

Chile calls on Bolivia to restart diplomatic ties

www.chinaview.cn 2006-03-23 11:07:15


BUENOS AIRES, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Chile has appealed to neighboring Bolivia to reestablish diplomatic ties without demanding that Chile first restore the nation's access to the Pacific Ocean.

Chilean Foreign Minister Alejandro Foxley outlined his nation's position to reporters in Argentina on Wednesday.

"We want diplomatic relations to be reestablished without conditions," Foxley said, adding that it was necessary to first advance in trade, communication and (the) free flow of people.

Foxley made the remarks after Bolivia's Minister of Presidency, Juan Ramon de la Quintana, announced that Bolivia would seek international support to get Chile to return Bolivian access to the ocean.
(snip/...)

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-03/23/content_4335603.htm

The Chavez haters will be here shortly to
amplify my remarks!

Viva Chavez!!!!!

but I'm no Chavez hater. :-) He does seem to have an influence on the "atmosphere" of the region.

...Chile telling Bolivia, "Yeah, we took your access to the Pacific but get over it and let's be friends. But you're not getting the land back."

The article does not claim Chile said "'But your not getting the land back'". Chile stipulated that diplomatic relations must be restored first.

The right is far from dead in Chile.

Posted on Thu, Mar. 23, 2006
American tycoon, environmentalist stirs controversy in Chile
By Jack Chang
Knight Ridder Newspapers

CALETA GONZALO, Chile - From his house deep in the wilds of Chilean Patagonia, former U.S. business tycoon Douglas Tompkins enjoys views of soaring granite cliffs and pristine waters seemingly untouched by human development.
He's fighting to keep these wild lands wild, and has taken on everyone from Chile's military to multinational companies.

Little disturbs the quiet, rainy passage of days here, and the 63-year-old New York native, who founded the popular clothing companies The North Face and Esprit, lives an uncluttered life. He makes do with just a few hours of electricity per day.

With rainfall averaging 240 inches a year, waterfalls and rushing streams are everywhere, as are bamboo, giant ferns and towering alerce trees, which can live for nearly 4,000 years. Snowcapped volcanoes occasionally peek out of the clouds, and the mocking call of chucao birds fills the air.

Most recently, Tompkins has led a campaign against Chile's salmon-farming industry because it pollutes the ocean and has opposed a plan by Spanish energy company Endesa to build four hydroelectric dams on two Patagonian rivers.
(snip/...)

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/14170621.htm

Posted on Mon, Mar. 27, 2006
THE ANDES
Chileans soften on Bolivia port
A poll in Chile revealed a possible way for landlocked Bolivia to gain a route to the Pacific.

SANTIAGO, Chile - (AP) -- Chileans oppose neighboring Bolivia's demand for a strip of sovereign territory that would give it access to the Pacific Ocean, but would accept an alternative solution, according to a poll published Sunday.

In the poll conducted by Santiago newspaper La Tercera, 62 percent rejected granting any sovereign territory to landlocked Bolivia, even if it were in the form of a land swap between the two countries.

But 75 percent said they support giving Bolivia sea access as long as it would not have sovereignty over current Chilean land.
(snip/...)

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/14194448.htm

Hopefully I'm wrong but it's going to be difficult just to get the diplomatic relations restored on Chilean terms (which seem quite reasonable to me) let alone get the Bolivians to accept the land corridor without sovereignty (which also seems like at least the beginnings for a reasonable compromise.) I read somewhere a few years ago that Chileans might grant a kind of pseudo or limited sovereignty over the corridor but I can't remember the details.

My bet is the Bolivians will hold out for sovereignty and this won't get done because there is a lot more nationalism to Morales' populism (and other Latin American populism for that matter) than folks around here care to admit.

But should give free of trariff sea acess to Bolivia.

in La Paz. I wonder why he wanted to do that? It is a good thing he was arrested before he could do so.

for no reason, with an excellent supply of explosives, who just happened to be in Bolivia right after the recent elections.
:-)