MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay wants urgent action to stop roadblocks

The Uruguayan government yesterday criticized the decision by Argentine environmentalists to once again block roads linking the two countries in protest over the construction of two pulp mills and urged a swift response from the government of President Kirchner.

On Wednesday night, the Environmental Assembly of the Entre Rios town Gualeguaychu voted to block Route 136 from this Friday afternoon until Sunday evening. The road, which joins Gualeguaychu with Fray Bentos, Uruguay, is one of three such crossings between the neighbouring countries.

Upriver, environmentalists in the town of Colon said they would join in the protest and block international Route 135 ? leaving just one road between the countries open.

Uruguayan Foreign Minister Reinaldo Gargano called the new roadblocks "illegal," saying that they present a barrier to Mercosur bloc free trade agreements. Still, Gargano was quick to add that "we are waiting for the Argentine government to respond, then we will make a statement."

But the Argentine government response was lukewarm. Kirchner's Cabinet chief, Alberto Fernandez, called the development "a delicate subject," which has to be "looked at very carefully." "We have to move with prudence," he said. Fernandez shied away from condemning the new roadblocks. "This is one method that the people of Gualeguaychu have continued to use," he said.

For over a year, Argentina and Uruguay have been at loggerheads over the construction of pulp mills in Fray Bentos on the River Uruguay. Argentina argues that the mills will cause environmental harm and that Uruguay is balking on a joint-stewardship agreement signed by both countries to protect the international waterway.

In March, the Kirchner administration lodged a complaint at the World Court in The Hague, requesting a halt to construction of the mills while the environmental impact was assessed. The Court rejected this request. Its final ruling on the mills is not expected until next year.

The assembly's decision to resume roadblocks came after the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the investment branch of the World Bank, accidentally released a report over the weekend saying that the Fray Bentos mills would have a negligible impact on the environment. IFC spokeswoman Karina Manasseh said that the posting of the report, which she categorized as "preliminary," was an error.

Meanwhile, Entre Rios Judge Claudia Myzawak said the new roadblocks would hurt the Argentine strategy before the international court. "(This decision) blocks us from properly pursuing our case," she said. She also called the assembly's decision "contradictory." "The Argentine government went to the Hague at the request of the Gualeguaychu Assembly," said Myzawak and added that the roadblocks would "weigh heavily" on the international tribunal.

In early September, the Court asked both governments "not to aggravate the dispute." Four government lawyers allied with the Environmental Assembly of Gualeguaychu said yesterday they "were forced by the group's decision" to resign from international proceedings.

Also yesterday, Uruguayan tourism officials unveiled a campaign to promote the country in Argentina. The decision was made after Argentine environmental groups called for a "tourism boycott" against Uruguay. "Our country will fight these attacks," said Uruguayan Tourism Minister Hector Lescano.

The 1.8-billion-dollar paper mills project by Spanish firm ENCE and Finnish group Botnia would have been the largest single investment in Uruguayan history. The construction of the Botnia plant is currently under way, but ENCE announced last month it would relocate its plant to another location in the country. Buenos Aires Herald