MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Pulp mill dispute: Argentina and pickets plan massive campaign

Argentine President Nestor Kirchner's administration involved in a dispute with Uruguay over the construction of a pulp mill, rejected Tuesday a request from pickets to ban the sale of wood to Uruguay and remove the country's ambassador in Montevideo.

A delegation of Argentine pickets from Gualeguaychu met in Buenos Aires with Cabinet Chief Alberto Fernandez and Foreign Affairs Secretary Jorge Taiana two days after President Kirchner heading Argentina's Independence Day celebrations, publicly stated that the pulp mills dispute with Uruguay was "a national cause". Pickets are blocking access to bridges linking the neighboring countries to protest the construction of a pulp mill, --allegedly highly contaminating--, in Fray Bentos, Uruguay, by Finland's Botnia and which is also happens to be Uruguay's largest private investment in decades. Visiting pickets said that although both top officials from the Kirchner administration are in favor of relocating the Botnia plant, they rejected the proposal to have Congress approve a bill banning wood sales to Uruguay and the removal of Ambassador Hernan Patiño Mayer. The government of Entre Rios province where the hard core of pickets and protestors are located passed a few months ago a bill banning all wood exports to cellulose plants that operate along the river Uruguay. According to one of the picket leaders Jorge Fritzler, the Kirchner administration would like a unanimous vote but fears that such an initiative would not have the support from Congress members representing the provinces of Misiones, Corrientes and Tucuman which have extensive forested areas and plans to sell logs to pulp mills. Taiana also rejected the request to remove the Argentine ambassador in Montevideo because he has fully complied, --and more-- with all instructions on the issue from the Kirchner administration. "Patiño Mayer has seen the embassy premises in Montevideo subject to offensive graffiti and he's constantly harassed about the pulp mill dispute", revealed Taiana. But Fritzler said an agreement was reached to launch a massive regional campaign, financed by the Argentine government, with the clear message of "we want a healthy River Uruguay for us and for our children". Another meeting is scheduled for next Tuesday to keep advancing on the initiative. Uruguayan authorities in Montevideo preferred to remain silent and not react to Kirchner's "national cause" call or the announcement of the massive campaign. The Botnia Orion plant is scheduled to begin production sometime next September/October which will coincide with Argentine general elections.