MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Mercosur cancels 15th anniversary celebration

President Nestor Kirchner's administration has cancelled Mercosur fifteenth anniversary celebrations scheduled for next Monday in Argentina's Congress given the current conflicting situation with Uruguay over the construction of two pulp mills, according to Argentine diplomatic sources.

The decision was adopted following the sounding of Mercosur country members' Foreign Affairs ministries and parliamentarians, particularly those belonging to the block's regional committee.

The ongoing conflict with Uruguay and in the event no Uruguayan representatives showed up at the celebration finally convinced Argentine officials to cancel the meeting.

"Actually the guests had no time to answer since the celebration was suspended before confirmations began arriving", admitted the Argentine source. However the Kirchner administration considers that the event has been "suspended", "the cancellation is only temporary".

In Montevideo, the office of Foreign Affairs minister Reinaldo Gargano had not confirmed participation and stated that the invitation "was under consideration". Actually "there's not much to celebrate", said a Uruguayan diplomatic source.

The dispute over Uruguay's 1.8 billion US dollars paper mill project has prompted Argentine environmental activists to block roads between the two countries. The blockades are in direct contravention of the basic principle of Mercosur to guarantee the free movement of goods and people between member countries.

Mercosur, the Common Market of the South was officially launched March 1991 and the 15th anniversary celebration next Sunday had been programmed for the following Monday March 27.

President Kirchner administration currently holds the pro tempore chair of the block, until next June. Mercosur is made up of four full members, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay, plus associate members Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and Colombia, with Venezuela in the process of becoming full member.

In the midst of the conflict Uruguay has called on Mercosur to activate the Disputes Tribunal to address the pulp mills confrontation with Argentina, but it's yet unknown whether President Kirchner's administration will accept the demand.

The irritating bilateral situation had led several outstanding Uruguayan personalities including former president Jorge Batlle to argue in favour of abandoning Mercosur. However president Vázquez favors a revitalization process and putting an end to what he describes as the "exclusive club" in direct reference to Argentina and Brazil domineering attitude whose larger economies cause damaging economic symmetries for the junior members.