MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bolivian gov't tries to placate military over port issue

Bolivian President Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada has sent a letter to his military chiefs seeking to placate their reported unhappiness over the possibility that a Chilean port will be used to export the country's natural gas.

Presidential spokesman Mauricio Antezana released a letter sent Thursday by the president to the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, Gen. Roberto Claros, telling him that no sea port had been chosen.

"At this time no completed project exists because there is no gas purchasing agreement and, if there is no buyer in the United States, then there is no possibility of exporting anything," Sanchez de Lozada said in the letter.

Although he added that no decision has been made about which Pacific port might be used, the president also appealed for unity and consensus to help reach a deal with the United States and Mexico.

Bolivia, with massive reserves of natural gas, is landlocked as a result of an 1879 war in which the nation lost its coastline to Chile. La Paz has been negotiating with ports in both Chile and Peru about a deal to export the gas, which promises to be lucrative for all parties.

A gas liquefaction plant would also have to be built at the chosen port. Antezana said he released the letter to counter "rumors which are having negative public repercussions and creating instability." On March 12, the Santa Cruz newspaper El Deber reported that a group called Bolivia Civic Center, made up of civilians and military officers without political affiliations, openly criticized the president for bowing to corporate interests and misleading Bolivians in an "awkward attempt" to export gas through Chile.

Gas should go through "the brotherly nation of Peru" which, in turn, would boost the local economies in the Bolivian provinces of Potosi, Chuquisaca, Oruro and La Paz, the proclamation said.

Peru fought alongside Bolivia during the 1879 War of the Pacific in which it lost its access to the ocean.

Bolivia then fought the costly Chaco War with Paraguay over the Chaco region and a route to the Atlantic Ocean via the Rio de la Plata river system. Paraguay retained control of the region.

El Deber also quoted "an active-duty army general" serving on the armed forces general staff, as saying "this is the right time to strike Chile, which for many years hit us." The stirrings of presumed unrest in the armed forces led Defense Minister Freddy Teodovic to threaten to expel military officers who comment on the issue.