MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Gualeguaychú pulp-mill activists to meet again with minister Timerman

Timerman said the meeting helped to clear up several misunderstandings

Argentine Foreign Affairs minister Hector Timerman said he held a “very important meeting” with Gualeguaychú Assembly members after the group of activists requested to be given an explanation of the upcoming joint monitoring of the River Uruguay recently agreed by Argentina and neighbouring Uruguay.

“It was a very important meeting and it helped to clear up several misunderstandings” said Timerman after the meeting with the activists who have been protesting for years the construction on the Uruguayan side of the UPM/Botnia pulp mill, which they argue ‘contaminates” and wanted relocated.

“We are going to keep in touch” Timerman said during a press conference at the San Martín Palace, and added that they have already started with the creation of the scientific committee that will be in charge of monitoring the Uruguay River along with a Uruguayan committee, as was agreed between presidents Jose Mujica and Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner.

“We provided an explanation on the Argentina-Uruguay accord” said Timerman who also announced that he accepted the activists' invitation to have another meeting in Gualeguaychú in 30 days.

Afterwards, an activist said that “some topics were solved today, while other issues will be discussed in the next meetings”. He also mentioned that Timerman had said that if the UPM/Botnia plant contaminates “it will be closed”.

However minister Timerman later informed his Uruguayan counterpart he had never mentioned such a possibility. “Foreign Affairs ministers don’t close factories”.

The joint scientific monitoring of the River Uruguay including the UPM/Botnia plant twelve times a year was agreed by presidents Cristina Kirchner and “Pepe” Mujica helping to end a several years conflict.

Last week the Argentine activists requested to meet with the Foreign Affairs Minister, who answered them on his Twitter account and later on sent them a letter specifying his timeline for the meeting to be performed. Finally, they agreed on Wednesday.

The Gualeguaychú Assembly chose ten activists to take part in the gathering. They were Carlos Goldaracena, Martín Alazard, Luis Leissa, Osvaldo Fernández, Jorge Fritzler, Raúl Almeida, Oscar Bargas, Juan Veronessi, Roberto Marchesini, and Cristina Limba.
Entre Ríos Governor Sergio Urribarri was also present in the talk. Gualeguaychú is located in the province of Entre Ríos.