MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Bikini protest highlights pulp mills controversy

An Argentine Greenpeace environmental activist caused several minutes of amusement Friday in Vienna when scantly dressed with a mini bikini she paraded before the EU-Latinamerica leaders, lined up for the official photo, to protest the construction of pulp mills in Uruguay.

In spite of the tight security surrounding the summit in Austria, Evangelina Cardoso, Carnival queen of her home town Gualeguaychú, Argentina, managed to obtain a press credential which allowed her to strip before the 60 world leaders showing a billboard referring to the Uruguayan/Argentine controversy: "No pulp-mills pollution".

Ms Cardoso admitted she was acting on behalf of Greenpeace which financed the whole operation. Pictures of her in the scant and colourful bikini and colour lentils before she was swiftly led out by security personnel immediately travelled all over the world.

Argentina and Uruguay are at loggerheads over the construction of two big pulp mills on the Uruguayan side of the shared river that acts as a natural border. The town of Gualeguaychú in the province of Entre Rios just across from Uruguay has speared the protests against the pulp mills project arguing that they will contaminate water, air and endanger an extensive area dedicated to food production and tourism.

Most of the leaders appeared amused at the interruption and president of Venezuela Hugo Chavez, applauded the 25 year old woman and was heard saying she wanted the Gualeguaychú carnival queen to make a few more passes.

Before her arrest Ms Cardoso said the Greenpeace protest was directed to request the Uruguayan government to stop the construction of the pulp mills and "stop telling lies to the people", because the pulp mills "contaminate and we don't want them".