Chileans Receive Waiver, Organizer Of Concert Says

An organizer for the Cambridge concert of the Chilean singing group Quilapayun said last night that the group had been granted a waiver by the United States government to enter the country.

Margaret D. McCarter, said the U.S. Attorney General's office granted Quilapayun a waiver after the State Department had decided that the group's U.S. tour could be considered a cultural exchange and was permissible under immigration laws.

No one in the Attorney General's office could be reached last night to confirm that a waiver had been granted.

Waivers

William Diedrich, a spokesman for the State Department, said last night that the State Department had suggested late yesterday that the Justice Department grant waivers to members of Quilapayun.

Although, he said he could not confirm whether the Justice Department had given the waiver, he said he "strongly believes" that it had done so.

Because members of Quilapayun were classified as members of the Communist Party by the U.S. embassy in Paris, where the group it currently staying, it was necessary under Immigration laws that the State Department recommend to the Justice Department that the group receive a waiver before it could receive visas to enter the country.

Members of Quilapayun were associated with the Communist Youth Organization in Chile before the coup overthrowing of the Allende regime in 1973. They now live in exile.

Sarah Kafatou, another organizer for the concert, said last night that the group would perform in Cambridge March 25.

Quilapayun was originally scheduled to perform here Wednesday night. The waiver delay forced the group to reschedule its entire 12 city U.S. tour.

Officials in the State Department's Public Affairs Bureau and in the Justice Department's Immigration and Naturalization Bureau have hrid the waiver under review since last Friday.