MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Kirchner blasts deadly fire “yellow journalism”

Argentine President Nestor Kirchner reacted strongly Wednesday to criticisms that he took too long in responding to last week's Buenos Aires nightclub inferno that killed nearly 200 young people, and blamed it on “yellow journalism”.

"I'm not going to trivialize the brothers and sisters who died" in last Thursday's fire, Kirchner said during a ceremony in Government House, (Casa Rosada).

Relatives from the victims publicly questioned why Mr. Kirchner waited until Monday to publicly comment on the disaster and why he did not cut short a five-day break in his native southern province of Santa Cruz. The president actually returned to Buenos Aires Tuesday. During a press conference Mr. Kirchner said he was "astonished by the behaviour of certain exponents of what he described as "yellow journalism" which echoed the criticisms of relatives.

"I'm not afraid of them; let them write what they want. I wasn't at Punta del Este (a Uruguayan beach resort popular with Argentines) and I didn't stop working for a second in spite of the New Year" said Mr. Kirchner Wednesday in a speech interrupted several times by applause.The fire at the Cromagnon Republic night club, where as many as 6,000 fans were gathered Thursday December 30 for a rock concert, killed 186 people and left more than 700 wounded, of whom 249 remain hospitalized.

"We're tired of those who cry today and laugh tomorrow" the president said Wednesday. "We've been working from the very first moment - but not capitalizing on death - and we're going to be working with the families of the victims now and forever".