MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Uruguay/Argentina pulp mills controversy deepens

The ever increasing controversy between Uruguay and Argentina over the construction of pulp mills and pickets blocking routes reached a new peak Thursday when Uruguay's ambassador in Buenos Aires was summoned to the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Ambassador Francisco Bustillo was handed a reply letter in which Argentina accuses Uruguay of attempting to "deviate attention" by leaving aside the environmental discussion over the pulp mills and insisting in focusing on the bridge blockades, plus continuing to adopt unilateral decisions contrary to the 1975 River Uruguay joint management agreement.

Last Monday when the granting of a loan for the building of a controversial pulp mill by the World Bank was imminent, pickets once again blocked access to a bridge linking Argentina with Uruguay.

Uruguay sent a complaint letter to President Nestor Kirchner recalling that both the International Court of The Hague and a Mercosur tribunal stated that pickets did not contribute to the dispute and recommended the Argentine government cleared the accesses ensuring the free movement of goods and people.

"In spite of the reiterated Argentine protests it is disappointing evidence the repeated intention to deviate attention over the main issue which originated the controversy", says the letter delivered by Argentine Deputy Foreign Affairs minister Roberto García Moritán.

Argentina also points out that the unilateral decisions by Uruguay regarding the Finnish Botnia-Orion mill project are contrary to the River Uruguay statute and to the spirit of The Hague Court ruling which called on both sides "not to deepen" the controversy.

The Hague Court ruling which originally rejected Argentina's petition to suspend the construction of the pulp mills arguing potential accumulative pollution to the river and the region, specifically calls on both sides "to avoid new measures" that might worsen the conflict.

In early November Argentina was furious with Uruguay's decision to allow Botnia to use greater volumes of water for its plant, since Buenos Aires was not consulted on the matter.

Finally the setter insists that The Hague decision concerns "exclusively the dispute between both countries regarding the two (pulp mill) projects".

On Thursday afternoon the Argentine Congress approved a formal protest and rejection of the World Bank's decision to grant a loan of 170 million US dollars for the Botnia-Orion project plus a 350 million US dollars insurance support.

On Wednesday President Kirchner described Uruguayan President Tabaré Vázquez as "intransigent" and expressed anger at the Argentine press for having argued that his administration was loosing the pulp mills "battle" against Uruguay.

However Kirchner also requested environmentalists to end their blocks on international roads linking Argentina and Uruguay, but he underscored that there will be no crackdowns on the protesters.

"Anybody who believes we must crack down on our brothers from Gualeguaychu should not be a coward and put their thoughts in writing. I ask them (the environmentalists) to please end their roadblocks because they do no good to the Argentine strategy. But I will not (order) crackdowns" said Kirchner during a speech at Government House in Buenos Aires.

Kirchner dismissed press comments which stated that the World Bank's Tuesday decision to grant a loan to Botnia for the construction of the 1.2 billion US dollars pulp mill on the Uruguayan side of the Uruguay River was an Argentine defeat.

"Newspaper headlines should have read, ?Botnia's interests won.' That is the truth," said Kirchner. "The interests of the developed nations have won once again. Was the World Bank going to come and show solidarity with the peoples of Latin America?"

Actually the loan was approved unanimously by the World Bank board with an only negative vote, Argentina's. Even Brazil supported the decision.

Meantime in Montevideo Uruguayan authorities said they are considering taking the matter once again before the International Court of The Hague and have requested Brazil to include the issue in the agenda of the Mercosur summit scheduled for mid January.

Uruguay's line of action has been that no dialogue is possible while pickets block bridges and so far has avoided responding to what they consider "provocative statements" from the Kirchner administration.

"We trust law and rationality is on our side", said Uruguay's Foreign Affairs minister Reinaldo Gargano.