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Urges Peru protest suspension over land mine

Wednesday, April 4th 2007 - 21:00 UTC
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Peruvian nationalists are scheduled to illegally cross into Chile today Peruvian nationalists are scheduled to illegally cross into Chile today

Peruvian nationalists are scheduled to illegally cross into Chile Wednesday in protest of a historic border dispute. But if the event goes as planned, Chile's Interior Minister Belisario Velasco warned Tuesday that the protest could turn deadly.

"Many land mines on the border have not yet been removed, and because of the snow in the area, it may be difficult to spot mines that are there," said Velasco. "This is an extremely dangerous zone, and we hope that they don't go forward with the protest." The protest is being staged by former Peruvian presidential candidate Ollanta Humala, who insists that President Alan García bring the maritime border dispute to an international court in The Hague. Velasco said that police were instructed to detain all protestors who cross more than 100 meters into Chile and were not authorized to use firearms. Velasco added that all detained protestors would be immediately deported and would be prohibited from entering Chile forever. Velasco also said that the situation was under control and that Chile's government was talking to Peru's Foreign Ministry about the issue. "We hope that there are not any problems. Our countries have excellent relations, and we are going to do everything possible to insure that there are no problems." Minutes after Velasco's comments, Chile's Foreign Minister Alejandro Foxley arrived at the La Moneda Presidential Palace to meet with President Michelle Bachelet. Upon leaving the meeting, Foxley confirmed he had spoken to his Peruvian counterpart, José Antonio García Belaúnde, and was assured that "Peru will take every measure that is necessary to prevent protestors from crossing the border." Foxley added that Bachelet was confident that the protest would not turn into an incident that "neither Chile nor Peru wanted." Chile's new Minister of Defense José Goñi, when asked about the topic, said that he would not comment. "This is an issue for the Ministry of Foreign Relations," he said. Wednesday's potential protest threatens to complicate a relationship that both Peru and Chile are trying to cultivate. Last month, a documentary on the War of the Pacific between the two countries was postponed at Foxley's request. The Foreign Minister was worried that the documentary could strain relations between the countries. By Nathan Crooks The Santiago Times

Categories: Politics, Latin America.

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