Marcos insult sinks Chilean diplomatic push before it starts

Press, 24 March 1980, Page 8

Marcos insult sinks Chilean diplomatic push before it starts

NZPA

Santiago

An ambitious bid by the Chilean President (General Pinochet) to make a politico-economic opening towards Asia foundered in the Pacific at the weekend as the Philippines pulled back the red carpet even before the head of the Chilean military regime could arrive in Maiiila. C

The Filipino snub was ad-, ministered by President Ferdinand Marcos, who announced he wotild be out of? town: on unspecified; urgent business instead bfbeing'oh hand to greet the South American general at the start' of what was to have been a : official visit. ”

General’ . Pinochet’s • trip was seen asi a ;move -to improve Chile’s'lnternational relations; , lbng : clouded by condemnation of its; humanrights record by the .United Nations and other world bodies. , ‘, r

The Chilean- leader-: will now return' to Santiago today after a-stop-over at Easter Island,'a speck of Chilean territory in* the Pacific. He left Fiji, 16,000 fans from Santiago, as soon as he .got word of. the- Marcos action and without carrying out his officially ; scheduled - programme there. ■ . ■ The Pinochet junket had touched off some hostile reaction in both Fiji and the Philippines, where a labour lead-

er, Bonifacio Topaz, called on Mr Marcos to turn away “this monster Pinochet to prevent desecration of Filipino shores.” The Chilean abassador to Manila, who has been called home to report on the inci-

dent, suggested that Mr Marcos had to leave town to deal with Muslim rebels on the southern Philippine island of Mindinao. Chilean 'Government spokesmen in Santiago ignored the ambassador’s explanation and said the diplomatic incident was caused by pressure from “international communism” headed by the Soviet Union. . The', abortion of the Pinochet tour threw a long shadow on the trip the Chilean President had scheduled to Japan — with probable extension to China — towards the end of this year. When General Pinochet left Santiago on' Friday, the Chilean regime called his trip “a bold adventure of opening toward Asia and the nations of the Pacific.” It was intended to bear political and economic fruit, and to replace the friends Chile has lost since the military overthrew the Marxist President Salvador’ Allende ‘in September, 1973.