MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Regional News from Pta. Arenas.

Headlines:
Barrage of complaints against Lan Chile; Relatives demand Chilean Navy; Tuberculosis in Punta Arenas.

Barrage of complaints against Lan Chile

Over twenty Punta Arenas local organizations pledged support to a document to be presented to Chile's Antimonopoly Prosecution Office requesting a regulatory system for Lan Chile's air fares to Magallanes. The document signed before a public notary included among others representatives from different civil service offices, oil company workers, teachers association, fishermen unions, consumers, Mothers with children studying in Santiago, pensioners, most of them regular Lan Chile travellers in and out of Punta Arenas. "We are requesting the government to intervene and help establish an only air fare and open the market to other airlines, such as happens with the telecommunications market", indicated Claudio Alvaradejo, regional president of Chile's fiscal workers. "Lan has an absolute monopoly in flights to Punta Arenas, Copiapó, La Serena, Osorno and Valdivia", added Mr. Alvaradejo. As to the contents of the document, Mr. Alvaradejo said they will be made public sometime this week once "we've reached the goal of 25 social organizations supporting the action". The signing of the document coincides with the arrival in Punta Arenas of Lan Express General Manager Pedro Pablo Errazuriz who argued that Magallanes is "a very tight market with limited profit margins", and "where we have the cheapest fare per kilometre flown in the whole of Chile". He also attacked Magallanes representative Zarko Luksic who has been sponsoring the initiative to "finish with Lan's monopoly". "Mr. Errazuriz statements are disrespectful for Magallanes residents" highlighted Mr. Luksic adding that there was no political motivation or congressional protagonism in his campaign for fairer air fares. "What does Mr. Errauriz mean when he talks about different flight offerings and seat availability if we don't even have the option to choose", insisted Mr. Luksic. Punta Arenas DAP Airlines General Manager Andrés Pivcevic described Mr. Errazuriz attempts to justify Lan's different air fares as "pyrotechnics" and questioned the "marginal profits" argument. "How come a normal fare now is 250,000 pesos and a few years back they dropped the price to 49,000 pesos, cheaper than flying to Puerto Montt (half the distance from Santiago)?", asked Mr. Pivcevic. "This predatory conduct can only be explained when you're determined to eliminate any competition at any price", remarked Mr. Pivcevic whose airline DAP was forced out of the Santiago Punta Arenas route by fierce competition ("dumping") from Lan Chile in the second half of the nineties. Mr. Pivcevic also blasted Mr. Errauriz statement that "flying by ourselves (only Lan Chile) we have cheaper air fares than at that time".

Relatives demand Chilean Navy

Relatives of three Punta Arenas coastal fishermen who disappeared when their boat was struck and sunk by a Chilean Navy vessel are demanding legal compensation equivalent to 1,4 million US dollars. Almost a year ago, July 19, the Chilean Navy tug "Lecutón" was taking part in night exercises with other vessels when it struck a small boat of local fishermen, which sunk immediately leaving three experienced seamen disappeared. No previous warning of the Navy's exercise had been communicated to local fishermen. A Navy inquest by the Valparaíso Maritime Court into the tragic accident revealed that climate conditions that early dawn, wind, visibility, sea activity were virtually normal with no impediments for the tug Leucotón radar scan to detect the small vessel Sandy. The captain of the vessel according to the report acted with incompetence since he had lookout crewmen in the wrong place and there was no possible excuse for the radar night shift to miss the "Sandy". Furthermore, after the accident the captain was slow in reacting and ordering the possible rescue of the three disappeared fishermen. The relatives who are pressing for compensation, all of them from very modest families, include the father and three brothers of one of them; the widow and three children of a second, and the mother and seven brothers (minors) of the third. A well known Valparaíso attorney Edgardo Reinoso Lundstedt presented the demand in a Punta Arenas Court last May 29; the Defence Prosecutor was officially notified June 9 and has until June 27 to reply.

Tuberculosis in Punta Arenas

Magallanes is among Chile's four regions with the highest incidence of tuberculosis, and "it's essential to keep working on the preventive side of the disease, until we can finally eradicate TB from the region", indicated Dr. Manuel Zúñiga head of Chile's Ministry of Public Health Tuberculosis Program. Dr. Zúñiga said that the number of cases reported in 2002 in Magallanes was 56, and so far this year 20 cases have been notified. However Dr. Zúñiga added that even when respiratory diseases have been one of Chile's main pathologies, TB has had a minor incidence and is receding. For example in 1989 the ratio was of 52 cases per 100,000 population, which now is down to 19 every 100,000 population. As to TB mortality at the beginning of the XX century it was 300 cases per 100,000 and in 2002 it's down to 1,8 per 100,000 population. "Together with Arica, Iquique and Osorno, we are in the worst situation, and we must address the challenge with appropriate health programs". Overall, according to Dr. Zúñiga the number of people exposed to the highest incidence of TB total approximately 800,000, while those who are in the threshold of eliminating the disease represent 83% of the Chilean population that is more than 13 million Chileans.