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BACHELET
IN WASHINGTON: LESS ABOUT CHÁVEZ, MORE ABOUT HUMAN
RIGHTS
(June 9, 2006) President Michelle Bachelet meets
with relatives of disappeared U.S. citizen Boris Weisfeiler today,
Friday. The meeting characterizes Bachelet’s first diplomatic visit
to the U.S., which prioritizes human rights over political
wrangling.
Boris Weisfeiler is the sole U.S. citizen still
unaccounted for among 1,119 people who disappeared during the
17-year Pinochet dictatorship (1973-1990). He was a U.S. university
professor who disappeared in southern Chile in 1985. Weisfeiler is
believed to have been turned over to a German cult community
(Colonia Dignidad) by Chilean military officials, where he was most
likely killed (ST, June 8).
Before meeting President George
W. Bush, Bachelet placed a reef in the Sheridan Circle in memory of
former Chilean Foreign Minister Orlando Letelier. Letelier, who
served under Salvador Allende’s socialist government, and who was
assassinated in Sheridan Circle in September, 1976: a death squad
had place a car-bomb in Letelier’s automobile on orders by Dictator
Gen. Augusto Pinochet.
“Orlando Letelier’s death filled us
with horror; it is a part of our history that we are not very proud
of,” said Bachelet, who also reiterated her intentions to prevent
such an event “from ever happening again.”
Later, during
their 45 minute meeting, both Bush and Bachelet shared their “points
of view” about achieving world peace and stability. Bachelet said
she was satisfied with U.S. political and commercial ties. Bush, in
return, lauded Bachelet’s dedication to human rights. Meanwhile, the
nomination to the UN Security Council was barely touched (ST, May
31).
“We did not specifically discuss the UN Security Council
issue … here, there has not been any pressure over any specific
issue. Instead, what has taken place here is a conversation between
two Presidents about common interests stemming from our long and
high quality relationship,” stressed Bachelet.
Thursday’s
meeting contrasts sharply with previous Chilean media reports about
the UNSC polemic.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
and Undersecretary Robert Zoellick reportedly pressured Chilean
Foreign Minister Alejandro Foxley last month, insisting that the
U.S. “would not understand” if the Bachelet government supported
Venezuela’s Security Council aspirations. Rice and Zoellick
reportedly went on to warn of the “extremely high price” Chile would
pay if Bachelet does in fact back Chávez. U.S. government officials
have expressed their support for Guatemala, the other Latin American
country vying for a seat on the Security Council.
Chile, a
country well within Washington’s good graces, finds itself trying to
smooth out alliances between two political blocs in South America:
what the U.S. calls the “responsible progressive” governments in
Chile and Brazil and the “irresponsible populist” left in Venezuela,
Bolivia, and Argentina (ST, June 5).
“We want to develop the
best relations possible with the United Status and its government,
and we hope to be successful in this endeavor,” Bachelet
said.
SOURCE: RADIO COOPERATIVA, LA TERCERA, EL
MERCURIO
By Matt Malinowski (editor@santiagotimes.cl)
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