Friday, January 09, 2004
Chile gets hot...
"Chile: No way will we give Bolivia sovereign access to sea."
Reluctant as I am to reveal my own deplorable ignorance of South American history, I must confess that I did not know that Bolivia has not always been landlocked:
"Bolivia lost its Pacific coastline during a war it and Peru waged against Chile between 1879 and 1883.
"During that conflict, Chile occupied 120,000 kilometers (46,332 square miles) of Bolivian soil as well as part of southern Peru.
"Bolivia's repeated attempts to persuade Chile to return the seaside territory over the course of the last century caused the countries to break off diplomatic ties in 1962, with a brief resumption between 1975 and 1978, when both nations were ruled by military regimes."
It is comforting to know that when military dictators are in charge, South American enemies can patch up their differences.
Anyway, Bolivia's territorial claims are supported by the governments of Cuba (Castro), Venezuela (Chavez), Uraguay and Brazil, plus Kofi Annan and Jimmy Carter.
I'm still waiting to for someone to answer: WWBASD?*
___________
*What Would Butch And Sundance Do?
Reluctant as I am to reveal my own deplorable ignorance of South American history, I must confess that I did not know that Bolivia has not always been landlocked:
"Bolivia lost its Pacific coastline during a war it and Peru waged against Chile between 1879 and 1883.
"During that conflict, Chile occupied 120,000 kilometers (46,332 square miles) of Bolivian soil as well as part of southern Peru.
"Bolivia's repeated attempts to persuade Chile to return the seaside territory over the course of the last century caused the countries to break off diplomatic ties in 1962, with a brief resumption between 1975 and 1978, when both nations were ruled by military regimes."
It is comforting to know that when military dictators are in charge, South American enemies can patch up their differences.
Anyway, Bolivia's territorial claims are supported by the governments of Cuba (Castro), Venezuela (Chavez), Uraguay and Brazil, plus Kofi Annan and Jimmy Carter.
I'm still waiting to for someone to answer: WWBASD?*
___________
*What Would Butch And Sundance Do?
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