AMERICA : CHILE : BISHOP SEEKS DIALOGUE TO HELP GOVERNMENT

Agenzia Fides REPORT - "Aysén wakes up more worried than ever, because we are convinced that once again, as happened continually throughout these days, we have been misled by the words and actions of the government, and this turns more and more minds," said the Bishop of Aysen, his Exc. Mgr. Luis Infanti on March 3, talking to a local radio,. The local population is exacerbated by the lack of response from the state, to its requests for infrastructure, subsidies for small and medium businesses, better working conditions ... to the point of blocking the main access road to the village provoking clashes with the police (see Fides 23/02/2012). From the headquarters of the government what was said once again is that there will be dialogue only when they will be no protesters in the main streets of the region.
In the note sent to Fides other words on behalf of Mgr. Infanti are read: "I would like to situate the whole situation, from a political point of view, in the sense that the government wants to give the signal of being able to govern in a region that is now ungovernable. At the moment the authorities have absolutely no power in the region, there is a total lack of confidence in them. Who is in charge right now are the people and its leaders."
Speaking on the arrival in the area of the Minister of Energy, Rodrigo Alvarez, the Bishop said, "he had come to unblock the problem, but I do not see 'full power' with which he said that he had come. Everything is managed according to a political vision of Santiago, the leadership of the government, and it seems to me - something I cannot confirm because there is no dialogue - whether it is a strategy to take even more time before giving an answer a bit more consistent than the previously announced with regards to the demands of the people of Aysen. If there are intentions to solve the problem, I cannot understand why there is no ability to respond with reason, and I hope not by force, to the requests of the region."
According to the latest news agencies, after an urgent meeting in which the President of Chile Political Committee met to assess the conflict, the central government seems willing to apply the state of emergency in the area. The application of the "Law of State Security" due to blockage of main roads, will only be one more problem in the conflict zone. The Social Movement of Aysén wants to maintain a partial block, until they see the results of the initiatives promoted by the government. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 05/03/2012)

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