PRESS COVERAGE AND EDITORIAL COMMENT ON KENNEDY VISIT TO CHILE

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Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 
CIA-RDP90B01390R000700900081-5
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RIPPUB
Original Classification: 
U
Document Page Count: 
5
Document Creation Date: 
December 27, 2016
Document Release Date: 
December 14, 2010
Sequence Number: 
81
Case Number: 
Publication Date: 
January 13, 1986
Content Type: 
CABLE
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Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/14: CIA-RDP90BO139OR000700900081-5 UNCLASSIFIED OLL/LD INCOMING PAGE 001 NC 9563939 TOR: 131744Z JAN 86 SANTIA 00217 00 RUEAIIB ZNR UUUUU ZOC STATE ZZH STU3797 00 RUEHC DE RUEHSG #0217/01 0131703 ZNR UUUUU ZZH 0 131659Z JAN 86 FM AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO TO RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES IMMEDIATE 3863 INFO RUEHIA/USIA WASHDC 4261 RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4668 BT UNCLAS SANTIAGO 00217 FOR CODEL KENNEDY; USIA FOR AR/LEROY/VIRDON; SECSTATE FOR ARA/SC E.O. 12356: N/A SUBJ: PRESS COVERAGE AND EDITORIAL COMMENT ON KENNEDY VISIT TO CHILE 1. THE CHILEAN PRESS HAS DEDICATED A GREAT DEAL OF ATTENTION TO THE JANUARY 15 VISIT TO SANTIAGO OF SENATOR EDWARD KENNEDY. SOME 28 SEPARATE PIECES, INCLUDING NEWS REPORTS, EDITORIALS, AND COMMENTARY, HAVE APPEARED IN THE SANTIAGO PRESS FROM THE AFTERNOON OF FRIDAY, JANUARY 10 THROUGH THE MONDAY, JANUARY 13 EDITION OF THE MORNING PAPERS. OF THESE 28 PIECES, 2 HAVE OFFERED POSITIVE VIEWS OR OPINIONS ON THE VISIT AND 25 HAVE BEEN NEGATIVE, SEVERAL OF THEM VITRIOLIC. IT WOULD BE FAIR TO SAY THAT THE SANTIAGO PRESS HAS MOUNTED A CAMPAIGN TO PRESENT SENATOR KENNEDY IN A MOST UNFAVORABLE LIGHT AND CREATE AN ADVERSE CLIMATE REGARDING HIS VISIT. THE MOST CRITICAL PIECES HAVE APPEARED, NOT SURPRISINGLY, IN THE GOC-CONTROLLED PAPER "LA NACION," BUT "LA SEGUNDA" AND "LAS ULTIMAS NOTICIAS" OF THE "EL MERCURIO" CHAIN HAVE RUN SOME STRONGLY ANTI-KENNEDY PIECES, AS HAS "LA TERCERA." "EL MERCURIO" ITSELF, WHILE MAINTAINING A CRITICAL POSITION REGARDING THE VISIT, HAS CLOAKED SUCH CRITICISM IN MORE CIVIL LANGUAGE THAN THE OTHER PAPERS, USING INSINUATION AND ALLUSION TO MAKE ITS POINTS. IN GENERAL. THE PRESS HAS GIVEN WIDE PLAY TO COMMENTS BY CHILEAN POLITICIANS WHICH ARE UNFAVORABLE TO KENNEDY, WHILE PROVIDING LITTLE OR NO OPPORTUNITY FOR ANTI-GOVERNMENT POLITICIANS TO EXPRESS THEIR OPINIONS. 2. FOUR EDITORIALS ON THE KENNEDY VISIT APPEARED DURING THIS PERIOD, ALL NEGATIVE IN TONE. ON JANUARY 11, A PIECE ENTITLED "KENNEDY VISIT" APPEARED IN "EL MERCURIO'S" EDITORIAL PAGE. THE PIECE BEGAN BY STATING THAT "THE TOUR (OF LATIN AMERICA) COULD HAVE A VERY BENEFITIAL RESULT, SINCE VISITING A COUNTRY IS THE BEST WAY TO GET INFORMATION ABOUT IT... IT IS POSITIVE THAT HE (KENNEDY) WILL NOW TAKE STEPS TO INFORM HIMSELF (ABOUT CHILE)..."THE SECOND HALF OF THE EDITORIAL, HOWEVER, PROVIDED EXCLUSIVELY NEGATIVE VIEWS OF THE SENATOR'S UNCLASSIFIED Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/14: CIA-RDP90BO139OR000700900081-5 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/14: CIA-RDP90BO139OR000700900081-5 UNCLASSIFIED 86 9563939 SUR PAGE 002 NC 9563939 TOR: 131744Z JAN 86 SANTIA 00217 PERSONALITY AND PAST, RESULTING IN A PIECE WHICH IS MILDLY UNFAVORABLE IN THE BALANCE. THE SMALLER EDITORIAL COMMENT IN "EL MERCURIO" ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 12 WAS MORE CRITICAL: "THE RESULT OF THE KENNEDY AMENDMENT BROUGHT ABOUT GREAT DAMAGE, HOWEVER, OBLIGING CHILE TO DIVERT SPECIAL RESOURCES FROM URGENT SOCIAL NEEDS TO COVER EVEN MORE IMPORTANT DEMANDS CAUSED BY THE CUTOFF OF THE ARMS FLOW FROM THE U.S. IN MOMENTS OF ENORMOUS INTERNATIONAL DANGER... THE AMENDMENT ALSO CAUSED AN OUTBREAK OF NATIONALIST SENTIMENT AMONG OUR MILITARY MEN, WHO WERE AFFECTED BY THE SUDDEN BREAKING OF THEIR TRADITIONAL TIES WITH THEIR COLLEAGUES IN THE U.S.... ONE MIGHT EVEN SAY THAT THE INCENTIVE OF THE SENATOR DAMAGED THE VERY DEMOCRATIC ASPIRATIONS THAT MANY MILITARY MEN MIGHT HAVE ENGENDERED DURING THEIR TRIPS TO THE U.S. OR THROUGH CONTACTS WITH OFFICERS FROM THAT COUNTRY WHICH VISITED US. IT IS NOT STRANGE. THEREFORE, THAT PRESTIGEOUS AND CAREFUL POLITICIANS WHO ARE NOT EVEN SUPPORTERS OF THE PRESENT GOVERNMENT HAVE EXPRESSED DISGUST FOR THE PRESENCE OF THE SENATOR FROM MASSACHUSETTS." THE EDITORIAL OF THE GOC-CONTROLLED "LA NACION" ON SATURDAY, JANUARY 11 ENTITLED "A SOVEREIGN CHILE" CLAIMED THAT KENNEDY IS A DANGEROUS LEFTIST WHO, IN LEAGUE WITH MARXISTS WITHIN AND WITHOUT, THREATENS THE COUNTRY. THE PIECE CONCLUDED: "THE MOST PROFOUND, AUTHENTIC, AND SINCERE DESIRE OF THE CHILEAN POPULACE IS TO CONTINUE TO CONSERVE INTACT THE SOVEREIGNTY OF THE COUNTRY. AND THIS SOVEREIGNTY IS NOT AND WILL NOT BE SUBJECTED TO ANY SORT OF DEAL, ESPECIALLY WITH ENEMIES OF THE COUNTRY AS MR. KENNEDY HAS SO TIRELESSLY BEEN. THE MONDAY, JANUARY 13 EDITION OF "LA TERCERA" RAN AN EDITORIAL ON THE VISIT WHICH WAS HIGHLY CRITICAL OF THE SENATOR. IT STATED: "SENATOR KENNEDY HAS FURTHERED IN A SYSTEMATIC AND PERSISTENT WAY A CREDIT BLOCKADE AGAINST OUR COUNTRY.. .HE UNDERSCORED HIS OPPOSITION TO AN EMERGENCY LOAN OF 24 MILLION DOLLARS IN WHEAT IN OCTOBER OF 1973...HAVING COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE THAT IN CHILE THERE WAS NOT ONE GRAIN OF WHEAT. HIS OPPOSITION, IN CONSEQUENCE, MEANT THAT HE CONDEMNED TO GO HUNGRY PEOPLE WHO WERE JUST COMING OUT OF THE ORDEAL OF A BITTER EXPERIENCE... WITH HIS ACTIONS IN CONGRESS ...HE SYSTEMATICALLY IGNORES THE CONCRETE STEPS TAKEN TO FOR CODEL KENNEDY; USIA FOR AR/LEROY/VIRDON; SECSTATE FOR ARA/SC E.O. 12356: N/A SUBJ: PRESS COVERAGE AND EDITORIAL COMMENT ON REESTABLISH A WORKABLE DEMOCRACY.. .HE IGNORES THE SOVIET FLEET OFF OUR COAST ...AND ALSO THE CAMPAIGN UNLEASHED BY MARXISM AGAINST CHILE ... NAIVENESS OR BAD FAITH? DIFFICULT TO SAY. . .THERE IS GOOD REASON, THEREFORE TO QUESTION HIS VISIT. AND PRECISELY FOR THIS, ALL HOSTILE DEMONSTRATIONS AGAINST HIM SHOULD BE AVOIDED WHILE HE IS ON CHILEAN SOIL. NOT ONLY BECAUSE THIS HAS TRADITIONALLY BEEN OUR CONDUCT WITH FOREIGN VISITORS, BUT BECAUSE THAT IS WHAT THE ENEMIES OF CHILE ANXIOUSLY HOPE FOR." 3. OP-ED PIECES IN ALL PAPERS HAVE ALSO BEEN UNFAVORABLE TO SENATOR KENNEDY. "LA NACION" PUBLISHED A VULGAR AND VITRIOLIC PIECE ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 12 ENTITLED "KENNEDY, HIS NEXT MASTERPIECE" WHICH FEATURED LANGUAGE LIKE THIS: "THE LAST OF THE KENNEDYS, WHO IS LAST IN EVERY POSSIBLE WAY...HAS SPENT HIS LIFE GIVING OPINIONS RIGHT AND LEFT UNCLASSIFIED Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/14: CIA-RDP90BO139OR000700900081-5 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/14: CIA-RDP90BO139OR000700900081-5 UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 003 NC 9563939 TOR: 131744Z JAN 86 SANTIA 00217 WITHOUT EVEN HAVING FELT THE LEAST NEED TO BE INFORMED. . .A MAN WHOSE SHORT-SIGHTEDNESS, SUPERFICIAL JUDGEMENT, AND LACK OF BALANCE ARE UNFORTUNATELY EXCESSIVELY WELL-KNOWN... IT IS ENOUGH TO CONSIDER THE NUMBER OF DAYS HE WILL BE IN EACH COUNTRY, WHICH ARE FORTUNATELY FEW"...ETC. COLUMNIST MARIA EUGENIA OYARZUN, EX-CHILEAN AMBASSADOR TO THE OAS, WROTE A LARGE PIECE FOR THE SUNDAY JANUARY 12 EDITION OF "LA TERCERA" ENTITLED "THE DESTINY OF THE KENNEDYS" WHICH ENGAGED IN A GOOD DEAL OF CHARACTER ASSASSINATION OF SENATOR KENNEDY AND OTHER MEMBERS OF HIS FAMILY, DELVING INTO EVERY DISAGREEABLE INCIDENT AND RUMOR INVOLVING THE KENNEDY FAMILY. THE RESULT READ MORE LIKE A GOSSIP COLUMN THAN THE "INTERNATIONAL COMMENTARY" IT PERPORTED TO BE. OYARZUN ALSO STATED: "THE EXTREME MARXIST-LENINIST LEFT (OF CHILE), WITHOUT LOVING KENNEDY, WHO IS IN AGREEMENT WITH SANCTIONS AGAINST LIBYA AND KHADDAFY, WILL NATURALLY TRY TO USE HIM. IT IS DOUBTFUL THAT SENATOR KENNEDY IS COMING TO CHILE TO LOOK WITH OBJECTIVITY. IT DOES NOT APPEAR TO BE HIS PURPOSE NOR HIS INTEREST." CA SEGUNDA" OF THE "EL MERCURIO" CHAIN RAN A VERY LARGE TWO-PAGE ARTICLE BY LILIAM CALM ON FRIDAY, JANUARY 10 ENTITLED "KENNEDY BEFORE AND AFTER CHAPPAQUIDICK" WHICH CAST THE SENATOR IN A HIGHLY UNFAVORABLE LIGHT. THE ARTICLE ALSO SPORTED A LARGE CARTOON PICTURING THE SENATOR AS THE STATUE OF LIBERTY DESCENDING FROM AN AIRPLANE WHILE SOCIALIST CHIEF CARLOS BRIONES AND DEMOCRATIC ALLIANCE LEADER ARMANDO JARAMILLO ROLL OUT THE RED CARPET. IN THE SAME EDITION, "LA SEGUNDA" RAN A SMALL PIECE ENTITLED "KENNEDY'S ENVOY" WHICH STATED: "THE ADVANCE MAN FOR EDWARD KENNEDY IN CHILE, MARK SCHNEIDER, WAS HERE BEFORE IN 1974. AT THAT TIME, APPARENTLY, HE WAS THE MOST EXTREME OF ALL THE DELEGATION... IT IS EVEN SAID THAT GENERAL PINOCHET IN THE COURSE OF AN INTERVIEW WARNED HIM THAT HIS ATTITUDE APPEARED TO BE LIKE POSITIONS IDENTIFIED WITH THE RECENT PAST OF THE COUNTRY." (ALLENDE REGIME). JAIME GUZMAN, LEADER OF THE RIGHTIST UNION DEMOCRATICA INDEPENDIENTE, WROTE A HIGHLY CRITICAL COMMENTARY PIECE IN THE SUNDAY JANUARY 12 EDITION OF "LA TERCERA" WHICH STATED: "IT IS ABSOLUTELY NOT AN EXAGGERATION TO QUALIFY EDWARD KENNEDY AS AN ENEMY OF CHILE. . .WE'RE NOT TALKING JUST ABOUT A REJECTION OF THE PRESENT GOVERNMENT... KENNEDY, WITH HIS ATTITUDE, HAS HARMED THE ENTIRE CHILEAN PEOPLE IN THE MOST FUNDAMENTAL WAY, SUCH AS IN OUR NATIONAL DEFENSE AND OUR SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ...A MAN WITH SUCH A LACK OF SERIOUSNESS DOES NOT DESERVE TO BE APPROACHED BY ANY CHILEAN... IT IS INDISPENSABLE THAT KENNEDY KNOW AND SEE THAT THERE ARE UNCOUNTABLE OF US CHILEANS WHO, REGARDLESS OF OUR POLITICAL DIFFERENCES, REPUDIATE HIS PERSON AND VISIT TO CHILE." "LA TERCERA" PUBLISHED AN OP-ED PIECE BY FEDERICO WILLOUGHBY, LEADER OF THE FAR-RIGHT "MOVIMIENTO DE ACCION NACIONAL" ENTITLED "LET THEM ALL COME" WHICH CRITICISED THE KENNEDY VISIT: "IT WILL AFFECT THE MARXIST OPPOSITION WHICH IN THE PAST ASSAULTED HIS BROTHER ROBERT AND TODAY OFFERS HIM WARM SYMP4THY...THE POSITIVE SIDE OF HIS FOR CODEL KENNEDY; USIA FOR AR/LEROY/VIRDON; SECSTATE FOR ARA/SC UNCLASSIFIED Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/14: CIA-RDP90BO139OR000700900081-5 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/14: CIA-RDP90BO139OR000700900081-5 UNCLASSIFIED 86 9563939 SUR PAGE 004 NC 9563939 TOR: 131744Z JAN 86 SANTIA 00217 E.O. 12356: N/A SUBJ: PRESS COVERAGE AND EDITORIAL COMMENT ON PRIVATE STAY WILL BE TO PERMIT HIM TO SEE THAT SINCE THE TIME OF THE AMENDMENT WHICH BEARS HIS NAME, THE PEOPLE OF CHILE HAVE BEEN DISCRIMINATED AGAINST IN THEIR NATIONAL SECURITY AND THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO THE DEFENSE OF THE HEMISPHERE... THERE IS A GENERATION OF MILITARY MEN WHO HOLD AN UNDERSTANDABLE SENSE OF ANTI-AMERICANISM UPON FINDING THEMSELVES EXCLUDED FROM ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY AND TRAINING WHICH TRADITIONALLY CAME FROM THE U.S.... I BELIEVE THE SUBSTANCE OF THE KENNEDY AMENDMENT STRENGTHENS THE SOVIET PRESENCE IN THE SOUTHERN CONE... EDWARD KENNEDY SHOULD NOT IGNORE THESE AFFECTS WHICH ACT AGAINST DEMOCRACY AND RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS WHICH THEY ARE INTENDED TO FOSTER." 4. THE USUAL ROUND OF INTERVIEWS IN THE WEEKEND NEWSPAPERS CONTAINED SEVERAL REFERENCES TO SENATOR KENNEDY. FERNANDO MATURANA OF THE RIGHTIST UNION NACIONAL DELIVERED A STRONG ATTACK ON KENNEDY IN AN INTERVIEW IN "LA TERCERA" PUBLISHED ON SUNDAY, JANUARY 12: "HE IS COMING TO GATHER AMMUNITION AGAINST CHILE... EDWARD KENNEDY HAS MAINTAINED AN UNWAVERING LINE AGAINST CHILE AND NOT JUST AGAINST THE GOVERNMENT... BUT HE HAS ALSO CARRIED OUT ECONOMIC AGGRESION AGAINST THE COUNTRY. . .HE COMES SEEKING NEW WEAPONS WITH WHICH TO ATTACK US." THE EX DEPUTY AND PDC MEMBER LUIS PARETO IN HIS SUNDAY 12 INTERVIEW WITH "LAS ULTIMAS NOTICIAS" WAS STRONGLY PRO-KENNEDY: "HE IS ONE OF THE POLITICIANS OF HIGHEST WORLD-WIDE PRESTIGE... IS IT A GOOD IDEA THAT HE COME TO CHILE? IT SEEMS SO TO ME BECAUSE HE IS AN OUTSTANDING DEMOCRAT, HE DEFENDS DEMOCRATIC VALUES, HE ALWAYS HAS, AND HE HAS ALSO FOUGHT AGAINST ALL DICTATORSHIPS." WHEN ASKED TO EVALUATE THE ANTI-KENNEDY DECLARATIONS OF MUN POLITICIAN FERNANDO MATURANA, PARETO SAID: "THEY ARE ABSURD, ABSURD, WHAT MORE CAN I SAY?" "LA TERCERA" PUBLISHED A STATEMENT BY THE SOCIAL DEMOCRAT POLITICIAN ARTURO VENEGAS DEFENDING SENATOR KENNEDY'S VISIT IN A SMALL ARTICLE HIDDEN UNDER THE CAPTION "SENATOR KENNEDY ARRIVES TODAY IN ARGENTINA" ON JANUARY 12. THE PIECE STATED: "THE MINIMUM COURTESY ON THE PART OF CHILEANS IS NOT TO INSULT ANY VISITOR REGARDLESS OF HIS PERSONAL OPINIONS... I CATEGORICALLY REJECT THE DECLARATIONS OF MR. FRANCISCO BULNES (AGAINST KENNEDY) ...WE CORDIALLY SALUTE SENATOR KENNEDY, CONGRESSMAN TOBY ROTH AND THE SPANISH LEGISLATORS (CURRENTLY IN CHILE) WHO VISIT US AND WE OFFER THEM A MOST FRATERNAL WELCOME, FUNDAMENTALLY BECAUSE THEY SYMBOLIZE, AS ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES OF THEIR PEOPLE, OUR HIGHEST ASPIRATION, TO LIVE IN DEMOCRACY." "LAS ULTIMAS NOTICIAS" RAN A SERIES OF COMMENTS BY THE BRIONES SOCIALISTS AND THE NEWLY-FORMED "HISTORIC SOCIALISTS," A MANDUJANO RUMP GROUD, ON SUNDAY 12. WITHOUT DIRECTLY CITING THE BRIONES DECLARATION, "LAS ULTIMAS" STATED THAT THE PS BRIONES "RECOGNIZED THAT THE LEGISLATOR IS A POLITICIAN WHO IS CONCERNED ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS IN CHILE AND AROUND THE WORLD." THE PAPER CITED ONE JUAN GUTIERREZ, SECRETARY GENERAL OF THE "PS HISTORICO" AS SAYING: "KENNEDY REPRESENTS PART OF THE FEELING OF SHAME THAT THE PEOPLE OF THE U.S. HARBOR BECAUSE OF THE IMPERIALIST ACTIONS OF THEIR GOVERNMENT". UNCLASSIFIED Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/14: CIA-RDP90BO139OR000700900081-5 Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/14: CIA-RDP90BO139OR000700900081-5 UNCLASSIFIED PAGE 005 NC 9563939 TOR: 131744Z JAN 86 SANTIA 00217 PAPERS STRESSED DECLARATIONS AGAINST THE SENATOR. CARDINAL FRESNO'S COMMENTS ABOUT HIS UNWILLINGNESS TO MEET WITH SENATOR KENNEDY AND DESIRE THAT NO MEETINGS TAKE PLACE AT THE VICARATE OF SOLIDARITY RECEIVED WIDE COVERAGE, AS DID THE STRIDENTLY ANTI-KENNEDY DECLARATIONS OF THE UDI: "WE INVITE ALL CHILEANS WHO HAVE A SOLID CONCEPT OF NATIONAL DIGNITY TO ACTIVELY JOIN IN THIS REPUDIATION FROM THE MOMENT IN WHICH SENATOR KENNEDY APPROACHES OUR NATIONAL TERRITORY ALL THE WHILE DURING HIS AGGRAVATING STAY IN OUR COUNTRY." 6. AS A COUNTERWEIGHT TO THE KENNEDY VISIT, ALL PRESS GAVE UNUSUALLY HEAVY COVERAGE TO CODEL TOBY ROTH. FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, THE LOCAL PRESS WAS INVITED INTO PRESIDENT PINOCHET'S SUMMER HOUSE IN BUCALEMU TO PHOTOGRAPH, FILM, AND COVER A STORY, IN THIS CASE FOR CODEL KENNEDY; USIA FOR AR/LEROY/VIRDON; SECSTATE FOR ARA/SC E.O. 12356: N/A SUBJ: PRESS COVERAGE AND EDITORIAL COMMENT ON REPRESENTATIVE ROTH'S INTERVIEW WITH PINOCHET, FOREIGN MINISTER DEL VALLE, AND AMBASSADOR ERRAZURIZ. "EL MERCURIO" ON SATURDAY, JANUARY 11 RAN A VERY LARGE COLOR PICTURE OF REPRESENTATIVE ROTH AND PINOCHET ON THE FRONT PAGE, AS DID "LA NACION, " WHICH UPGRADED ROTH TO SENATORIAL STATUS. COVERAGE STRESSED REPRESENTATIVE ROTH'S FAVORABLE IMPRESSIONS OF PINOCHET AND HIS GOVERNMENT. ON SUNDAY 12, "EL MERCURIC" RAN A FULL-PAGE INTERVIEW OF ROTH BY LUCIA SANTA CRUZ WHICH ALSO TOUCHED ON THE KENNEDY VISIT, POINTING OUT THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN REPRESENTATIVE ROTH'S AND SENATOR KENNEDY'S VIEWS ON CHILE. DESHAZO END OF MESSAGE UNCLASSIFIED UNCLASSIFIED Sanitized Copy Approved for Release 2010/12/14: CIA-RDP90BO139OR000700900081-5