Chile shelves TV series to ease diplomatic ties

By Monica Vargas

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Days after diplomats expressed concerns about an upcoming documentary on the 19th century war between Chile, Peru and Bolivia, Chile's state-owned television channel said it had shelved the series.

The decision prompted accusations of state censorship by Chile's government from the documentary's host on Monday.

The three-part series, called "Epopeya" (Epic), deals with the 1879-1884 War of the Pacific, fought between Chile and the joint forces of Peru and Bolivia.

Chile won the war, annexing mineral-rich Peruvian and Bolivian territory and leaving Bolivia landlocked, a source of contention to this day. Chile and Bolivia have no diplomatic ties, while relations between Chile and Peru are sensitive, despite recent improvements.

In a brief statement released late Sunday, state-TV channel TVN said only that it planned to broadcast the series later in the year. The first program had been due to air this week.

Peruvian Embassy sources told Reuters that Peru's ambassador in Chile, Hugo Otero, had expressed reservations about the program to Chilean Foreign Minister Alejandro Foxley and to Francisco Vidal, head of TVN.

In a news conference on Monday, Foxley said he had spoken to Vidal about the series, but the decision to shelve the series was the TV channel's, not the government's.

"It was necessary (to give my opinion)," Foxley said. "We determined we were at an turning point in establishing a relationship with Peru that would help us heal historic wounds, and I thought it was important that TVN have all the facts needed to make a decision."

"Considering our history with neighboring countries, I'd say there are two key phrases: first, prudence, and second, put yourself in the other person's place," Foxley said. "Any one of you who has visited these neighboring countries can tell you how enormously touchy some of these issues are."

Rafael Cavada, the journalist who hosts the series, said he was dismayed by the channel's decision.

"It's disheartening that TVN authorities yield to pressures of the foreign minister," he told the online version of Chile's biggest-selling newspaper El Mercurio.

Chile and Peru have made progress in improving ties recently, and Foxley recently hailed "a historic turnaround" in relations between the two nations.

Ties between Chile and Bolivia, severed in 1978, have proved more difficult.