- Arica and Parinacota Region
The XV Arica and Parinacota Region ( _es. XV Región de Arica y Parinacota) is one of
Chile 's 15 first orderadministrative division s. Its capital is Arica. It is also the country's newest region, becoming operational onOctober 8 2007 . It was created by subdividing theTarapacá Region and consists of two provinces: Arica and Parinacota.Border dispute with Peru
On January 26th, 2007,
Peru ’s government issued a protest againstChile ’s demarcation of the coastal frontier the two countries share. According to the Peruvian Foreign Ministry, the Chilean legislatures had endorsed a plan regarding theArica and Parinacota region which did not comply with the current established territorial demarcation. Moreover, it is alleged that the proposed Chilean law included an assertion ofsovereignty over 19,000 sq. meters of land in Peru'sTacna Region . According to the Peruvian Foreign Ministry, Chile has defined a new region "without respecting the Concordia demarcation."The Chilean deputies and senators that approved the law said they didn't notice this error.Fact|date=January 2008 For its part, the
Chilean government has asserted that the region in dispute is not a coastal site named Concordia, but instead refers to boundary stone No. 1, which is located to the northeast and 200 meters inland.Peru protests against Chile's new definition of territory "Xinhua People’s Daily online" [http://english.people.com.cn/200701/27/eng20070127_345352.html] . (accessedJanuary 27 2007 )] A possible border dispute was averted when the Chilean Constitutional Court formally ruled onJanuary 26 2007 against the legislation. While agreeing with the court's ruling, the Chilean government reiterated its stance that the maritime borders between the two nations were not in question and have been formally recognized by the international community. [http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/01/27/america/LA-GEN-Chile-Peru-Border-Dispute.php] . The Peruvian government has stated that it might turn to the international court atThe Hague to solve the dispute. [ “Peru-Chile Sea Dispute May Go to The Hague” Lima, January 27, 2007 Prensa Latina [http://www.plenglish.com/article.asp?ID=%7B0717DC70-D950-4AC2-9D92-67B4B7D28892%7D&language=EN] (accessed January 28 2007)]This law was heavily criticized in both Chile and Peru. In Peru nationalists interpret Chile's move, as a rather indifferent attitude toward the international treaties that defines the borders with Peru. In Chile politicians were upset of that the friendly government of
Alan Garcia may chill down the good relations and gestures he had started toward Chile.References
External links
* [http://www.bcn.cl/leyes/pdf/original/259864.pdf Ley Nº 20.175] (Law creating the region, in Spanish)
* [http://www.tribunalconstitucional.cl/archivos/sentencias/Rol0719.pdf Constitutional Court sentence] (in Spanish)
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