PRESS RELEASE: FINNISH GOVERNMENT OPENS THE DOOR TO THE PULPMILL CASE
Daniel Taillant of CEDHA, Oscar Bargas of the Citizens Assembly of Gueguaychú and Yann Queinnec of Sherpa, France (NGO that assisted in the case), were received today by the Finnish National Contact Point, Botnia, Finnvera and diverse representatives of the national government, in order to initiate a round of discussions regarding the complaint presented by CEDHA in April of this year against Botnia for violations of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
The meeting offered both the Assembly and CEDHA the opportunity to present key arguments to the opposition of the mills, arguments which are still thriving today in Argentina and Uruguay (although far less visible), against the installation of the Botnia pulp facility in Fray Bentos, Uruguay. Argentina’s delegates were first to present arguments, stating that the question of whether the mills will contaminate was yet to be resolved before the World Bank, recounting evidence pointing to Botnia’s deliberate violation to norms established by the IFC governing environmental and social protection, and that declaring that Botnia had not, nor will ever, obtain the social license necessary in Gualeguaychú, and more generally in Argentina, to be able to operate the plant. Furthermore, the delegation firmly stated the solution to the problem was the relocation of the plants.
Botnia attempted to defend its stance, arguing that its reputation assures that there will be no contamination and that they have done everything possible to communicate to the Argentineans all the information produced regarding the status of the project, but unfortunately they had not achieved adequate communication and that the company was making a grand effort to rectify this problem. CEDHA and the Assembly’s delegate responded by stating that it is too late to fix this problem, and that for Botnia to reconcile its actions, it should consider the benefits that site relocation would provide to all parties. This same sentiment was transmitted by Lehtomaki, the Finnish Minister who had to cancel a recent visit to Argentina due to the complicated environment generated by Botnia in the Latin American country. The Minister was unable to offer the State’s official position, but commented that the subject would be investigated further.
Amongst the most notable outcomes from today was the prevalence of local media coverage that told Argentina’s point of view that there existed no possibility of obtaining the requisite social license in Argentina for the project, also commenting on the strength shown by the Finnish Government to open a space for discussion incorporating the voice of the opposition by offering its own offices to mediate the process between all parties concerned.
For more information:
Jorge Daniel Taillant
0054 9 116 182 3172