MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

US and Chile preparing for another UN run-in

In a meeting in Washington, April 21, the U.S. Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, told her Chilean counterpart, Alejandro Foxley, that Washington would “simply not understand” if Chile were to support Venezuela's bid to become a non-permanent member of the United Nation's Security Council.

The US Deputy Secretary of State Robert Zoellick was more emphatic. He told Foxely that Chilean support for Venezuela would "decisively damage" bilateral relations between Chile and the U.S. Furthermore, Chile would be denied the status of "major non-NATO ally of the U.S." and the cost in terms of the commercial exchange between Chile and the U.S. would be "extremely high."

Details of the April 21 meeting ? obtained from an undisclosed source in the Chilean foreign ministry ? were revealed in an article in the May 28 edition of the Chilean daily La Tercera, which is Chile's second biggest newspaper and is believed to have good contracts within the government. The article was written by Ascanio Cavallo, Dean of the Adolfo Ibañez University's School of Journalism.

Chile's president, Michelle Bachelet, will visit Washington on June 8 when she is scheduled to hold a working lunch with George Bush. According to Cavallo, Venezuela's Security Council application will dominate the agenda. Indeed, Cavallo says that Foxley was surprised during his meetings with American officials to find them fixated with the Venezuelan issue to the exclusion of all else.

The U.S. is alarmed by recent signs of rapprochement between Michelle Bachelet and her Venezuelan counterpart, Hugo Chávez. Bachelet recently called on the international community not to "demonize" Chávez. Both leaders went out of their way to joke and embrace before cameras at the LAC-EU summit in Vienna earlier this month.

Prior to the summit they held a two hour bilateral meeting to discuss ways of improving ties between Chile and Venezuela.

Sunday's article provoked reactions from across the political spectrum in Chile.

"In international affairs you don't use these kinds of threats; I find it strange that a U.S. secretary of state would say something like that," said Senate president Sergio Romeo, member of the rightwing National Renovation party (RN).

Jorge Tarud, president of the Foreign Relations committee of the Chamber of Deputies, and a deputy for the centre-left Party for Democracy (PPD), was more cautious. "If Rice asked for support for a given candidate, that's fine, she has that right. But Chile also has the right not to respond."

Tarud went on to say that UN votes should be conducted secretly "to protect small nations from the pressures that the great powers exert."

Presidential spokesman Ricardo Lagos Weber (son of former president, Ricardo Lagos) said: "Chile is an honourable country that will not submit to pressure. It is a country that works through diplomacy ? we are not here to be pressured, we are here to build consensus."

Chile has already had two major diplomatic run-ins with the Bush administration. Chile held one of the pivotal votes in the UN Security Council in 2003 prior to the invasion of Iraq. Despite intense pressure from Washington (and London) then Chilean president, Ricardo Lagos, refused to support a resolution authorising the invasion.

On that occasion, Robert Zoellick intervened on Chile's behalf to ensure that the White House didn't punish Santiago by tearing up the free trade treaty the two countries were poised to sign. Cavallo quotes Zoellick as saying to Foxely that "this time (concerning support for Venezuela) I will not do the same".

Last year, Santiago was again at loggerheads with Washington over the nomination of the Chilean socialist Jose Miguel Insulza to the presidency of the Organisation of American States. The Venezuelan government was instrumental in securing Insulza's eventual victory over the U.S.-backed candidate, the former Mexican foreign minister Luis Ernesto Derbez.

In an interview, Feb. 2006, the Venezuelan Ambassador to Santiago, Victor Delgado, was asked if, given Venezuela's support for Insulza, Caracas hoped that the Chilean government would support Venezuela's id for a Security Council seat.

"That is what we hope," replied the Ambassador. "We hope the Chilean government supports Venezuela. Chile knows that Venezuela will defend democratic principles and international law in the Security Council."

Normally each region (in this case Latin America and the Caribbean) agrees on a country to hold the two year post of non-permanent Security Council member. The nomination is then rubberstamped by a vote in the UN General Assembly.

However, if no consensus is reached, and two countries from the region apply, then the General Assembly vote is determinate. Washington hopes that Guatemala will garner enough support in the coming months to present a viable alternative to Venezuela and thereby force a General Assembly vote.

With the major South America states ? Brazil and Argentina ? expected to support Venezuela, Chile's backing could sway the balance decisively in Caracas' favour.

This episode is part of on-going attempts by the US State Department to drive a wedge between what it regards as the "responsible progressive" South American left in Chile and Brazil, and the "irresponsible populist" left in Venezuela, Bolivia and Argentina.

Bachelet and South America's other leaders have repeatedly stated their commitment to regional unity and seem determined to scupper Washington's efforts to divide them.

Security Council membership will be decided in October and new non-permanent members will take their seats in January 2007. Analysts say the new Council may have to vote on military strikes against Iran. Like Iran, Venezuela is a founding member of OPEC and can be expected to vigorously oppose US calls for an attack against Teheran Analysis by Justin Vogler The Santiago Times - News about Chile