MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Amnesic Kirchner denies having ever supported pickets

NK lost his memory

Former president Nestor Kirchner joined the long list of Argentine officials which have lately called publicly for an end to the pickets on an international bridge leading to neighbouring Uruguay.

Kirchner went further and said he had "never supported the pickets cutting the bridge traffic" in protest for the building of a pulp mill close to the Uruguayan side of the head of the Gualeguaychú-Fray Bentos bridge and which allegedly would contaminate the environment. However in May 2006, when president, Kirchner participated with most of his cabinet in a massive rally in Gualeguaychú when he kissed and raised a vest presented to him with the engraving "Yes to life, no to the pulp mills". At the time he also declared that the demands of the pickets cutting all bridge traffic had become a "national cause". But this week apparently he back-stepped or suffered a selective amnesia bout. During a political rally this week next to his wife and President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, the leader of the ruling Justicialista party said he agreed with recent statements from Governor Sergio Urribarri and his predecessor Jorge Busti, who have argued against the inconvenience of the pickets as weakening Argentina's diplomatic stance plus harming economic activity in the region. Argentina denounced Uruguay before the International Court of Justice in The Hague arguing Uruguay had not complied with the River Uruguay joint management agreement dating back to the seventies, for allegedly not having informed Buenos Aires of its decision to allow the construction of the one billion US dollars Finnish Botnia pulp mill. "I really think that we have heard very intelligent statements from Busti and Urribarri. I'm saying to all of you, we must continue to work. What is going on in The Hague is considering whether Uruguay violated the River Uruguay treaty. But we have never been in favour of the pickets", underlined Mr. Kirchner. Uruguay all along has said it is willing to sit and discuss the issue but once the pickets came to an end and traffic was liberated. However circumstances have changed since Mr. Kirchner is hopeful of becoming the standing chairman of Unasur (Union of South American Nations), but needs a consensus, which Uruguay is denying while there are no guarantees of an end to the pickets, now and in the future. Kirchner's change of position also follows a release on a joint year-long environmental assessment program between Argentina's Industrial Technological institute (INTI) and Uruguay's Technological Laboratory (LATU) stating that no additional contamination has been found in the river Uruguay since the Botnia pulp plant began production over a year ago. "We checked the water next to Botnia taking into account twenty different parameters plus sediments and the results are the same than before Botnia was built and began production", said Enrique Martinez, head of INTI. "There's no further contamination than that which existed then". Martinez said INTI was preparing a full report for the governor of Entre Rios Sergio Urribarri and the local town mayors plus a confirmation of procedural mechanisms from the United States. "We had decided on a low profile until completing the data but given the latest events we believe political leaders should have the technical information". The new situation was created when the Gualeguaychu pickets moved north to a second international bridge, Colon-Paysandu, to try and convince the locals to join the pickets' movement. However latest reports indicate that local business people are not enthusiastic about blocking the bridge, all the contrary, particularly in the middle of the summer season. Besides contrary to what has happened in Gualeguaychu, riot police pickets have been displayed nest to the bridge to ensure the "normal traffic" to Uruguay according to the latest Friday night reports. Selective amnesic Kirchner apparently is prepared to dump the pickets for the Unasur regional exposure chair.