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Chile: Information on the Socialist Party of Chile, and whether its members have been harassed (1995-97)

Please find attached several articles that refer to the Socialist Party (Partido Socialista, PS) of Chile, including an interview with literary author, deputy and PS vice-president Isabel Allende (La Epoca 31 Dec. 1996). Recent news reports also name Camilo Escalona as the president of the PS (CHIP News 3 Apr. 1997), and Interior Minister Ricardo Lagos as a member of the same party, with public opinion polls showing him as having a good chance of being elected president in the 1999 elections (ibid. 11 Mar. 1997). Jaime Estevez, also of the Socialist Party, has been the leader of the Chamber of Deputies (IPS 18 June 1996).

All documentary sources consulted by the DIRB, including those attached to this Response, indicate that the PS is one of the main components of the Concertación governing alliance headed by President Frei.

One of the attached documents reports that "a hard-left faction of the Socialist Party (PS) announced their departure from PS ranks and the creation of a new party, the Socialist Left" in early April 1997 (CHIP News 8 Apr. 1997).

A representative of the non-government human rights organization Fundacion de Ayuda Social de las Iglesias Cristianas (FASIC) stated in a 16 May telephone interview that there are no known cases of politically motivated human rights abuses committed against members of the Socialist Party in 1996 or 1997.

In August 1995 the leader of the "Socialist Youth" of Chile, Arturo Barrios, was detained on charges of insulting the head of the armed forces (HRW 1996, 77), and later sued for defamation (ibid. 1997, 87), stemming from a June 1995 ceremony held in memory of a former Socialist leader (ibid.).

In late 1996 a member of the Socialist Party, Development Under-secretary and former Security Office Director Marcelo Schilling, was "under indictment for obstruction of justice and abetting an arms shipment" stemming from an investigation of the assassination of a senator committed several years ago (El Mercurio 24 Dec. 1996). Please consult the following attached documents for more information on the case: El Mercurio 24 December 1996, La Nacion 23 December 1996, CHIP News 19 December 1996.

Also attached are some news articles related to recent conflicts within the Central Union of Workers (CUT), Chile's largest trade union organization, which has been headed by PS member Roberto Alarcon (La Epoca 16 Jan. 1997; La Nacion 24 Jan. 1997). The internal union strife reportedly included at some point "verbal altercations and fist fights among the PS factions" (La Epoca 16 Jan. 1997).

Some attachments refer to participation of Socialist Party leaders or members in debates on a gas pipeline (IPS 18 June 1996) and television censorship (IPS 26 Apr. 1996), and a march to commemorate the 1973 military coup (El Mercurio 12 Sept. 1996). Other attachments discuss early 1996 political developments involving the Socialist Party (ibid. 3 May 1996; ibid. 4 Jan. 1996; ibid. 5 Jan. 1996).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

CHIP News [Santiago]. 8 April 1997. "Current Events Briefs: Dissidents Leave Socialist Party." [Internet]  [Accessed 14 May 1997]

_____. 3 April 1997. "Wagons Circle in Wake of Aylwin Remarks." [Internet]  [Accessed 14 May 1997]

_____. 11 March 1997. "Current Events Briefs." [Internet]  [Accessed 14 May 1997]

_____. 19 December 1996. "Mery Arrested in Guzman Case." [Internet]  [Accessed 14 May 1997]

El Mercurio [Santiago]. 24 December 1996. "PS Alleges Army Pressured Witness." [Internet]  [Accessed 14 May 1997]

_____. 4 January 1996. "Chile's Megatrend to Submit to Socialist Party Proposal." (FBIS-LAT-96-018 26 Jan. 1996, pp. 36-37)

Fundacion de Ayuda Social de las Iglesias Cristianas (FASIC), Santiago. 16 May 1997. Telephone interview with representative.

Human Rights Watch (HRW). December 1996. Human Rights Watch World Report 1997. New York: Human Rights Watch.

_____. December1995. Human Rights Watch World Report 1996. New York: Human Rights Watch.

Inter Press Servcie (IPS). 18 June 1996. Gustavo Gonzalez. "Temporary Truce in Pipeline War." (Global NewsBank).

La Epoca [Santiago]. 16 January 1997. "Union Conflict Escalates." [Internet]  [Accessed 14 May 1997]

_____. 31 December 1996. "Deputy Isabel Allende Ponders 1996 and 1997." [Internet]  [Accessed 14 May 1997]

La Nacion [Santiago]. 24 January 1997. "Central Workers Union in Crisis." [Internet]  [Accessed 14 May 1997]

_____. 23 December 1996. "Socialists Back Schilling." [Internet]  [Accessed 14 May 1997]

Attachments

CHIP News [Santiago]. 8 April 1997. "Current Events Briefs: Dissidents Leave Socialist Party." [Internet]  [Accessed 14 May 1997]

_____. 19 December 1996. "Mery Arrested in Guzman Case." [Internet]  [Accessed 14 May 1997]

El Mercurio [Santiago]. 24 December 1996. "PS Alleges Army Pressured Witness." [Internet]  [Accessed 14 May 1997]

_____. 12 September 1996. "Violent Disturbances Mark Coup Anniversary." (Global NewsBank)

_____. 3 May 1996. "Chile: Socialist Party Congress Opens Amid 'Uncertainty'." (FBIS-LAT-96-088 6 May 1996, p. 43)

_____. 5 January 1996. "Chilean Party Leader Urges Frei to Aid CPPD Leadership." (FBIS-LAT-96-018 26 Jan. 1996, p. 38)

_____. 4 January 1996. "Chilean Socialists View Communist Party's Announcements." (FBIS-LAT-96-018 26 Jan. 1996, p. 38)

_____. 4 January 1996. "Chilean Socialist Party to Vote Down Human Rights Bill." (FBIS-LAT-96-018 26 Jan. 1996, pp. 37-38)

Inter Press Servcie (IPS). 18 June 1996. Gustavo Gonzalez. "Temporary Truce in Pipeline War." (Global NewsBank).

_____. 26 April 1996. Gustavo Gonzalez. "Censorship and Self-Censorship Under Scrutiny." (Global NewsBank)

La Epoca [Santiago]. 15 April 1997. "Democratic Parties at Crossroads." [Internet]  [Accessed 14 May 1997]

_____. 16 January 1997. "Union Conflict Escalates." [Internet]  [Accessed 14 May 1997]

_____. 31 December 1996. "Deputy Isabel Allende Ponders 1996 and 1997." [Internet]  [Accessed 14 May 1997]

La Nacion [Santiago]. 30 April 1997. "Interview with Roberto Alarcon." [Internet]  [Accessed 14 May 1997]

_____. 30 April 1997. "The Future of the CUT." [Internet]  [Accessed 14 May 1997]

_____. 24 January 1997. "Central Workers Union in Crisis." [Internet]  [Accessed 14 May 1997]

_____. 23 December 1996. "Socialists Back Schilling." [Internet]  [Accessed 14 May 1997]