Chile at International Court of Justice: Bolivia Continues to 'Victimize' Itself

Chile continued to be defiant to any suggestion of negotiations with Bolivia over sea access claim as the Santiago envoy was set to present its last round of oral arguments in the lawsuit presented by Bolivia to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to oblige Chile to negotiate sovereign access to the Pacific Ocean, which Bolivia lost after Chile's invasion of Antofagasta and the subsequent War of the Pacific in late 1800s.

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After Bolivia delivered its final oral arguments at the ICJ Monday, Chile’s Foreign Minister Roberto Ampuero commented Tuesday on La Paz’s legal exposition saying: “We have seen, once again, that Bolivia continues to victimize itself… blaming us for all its ills, continuing to distort reality. And, in addition, something very striking: it still disregards the human rights of Chileans living in Chile’s northern sovereign territory,” Ampuero said in a statement to the press.

Chile’s legal team held a meeting Tuesday to finalize its oral arguments to be presented Wednesday, before the court begins its deliberation period to respond to what the Chilean government considers Bolivia’s attempt to strip Chile of its territory.

“Not in The Hague, or in any other place Chile accepts or allows a square centimeter of its territory to be at stake, there is no border issue with Bolivia. The 1904 treaty is in force and Chile’s sovereignty cannot be threatened,” Ampuero added.

However, there are voices within Chile that support Bolivia’s claim.

The mayor of Chile's Easter Island said in a recent radio interview “Chile must mature its position… I believe that for the tranquility of both peoples we must make a gesture for Bolivia and see how to deliver them to sea.”

Mar Para Bolivia, which translates to Sea for Bolivia, a self-described group of “Chilean and Latin American citizens," proposed from their Twitter account, the implementation of an agreement similar to that reached between Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, through which the former was cut in half to allow for a corridor leading to the Adriatic Sea.

The ICJ proceedings will conclude Wednesday with a statement from the Chilean legal team, after which the justices will begin deliberations, issuing a ruling in late 2018 or early 2019.