Botnia polluting pulp mill violates international law.

Gunns has appointed a major protagonist from a controversial South American mill project to head up their proposed Tamar Valley mill. An aggressive move by Gunns who appear desperate to have the out-dated, polluting mill built at any cost.
As a result of the Botnia pulp mill, two countries that have previously had close and cooperative relationships have ended up in major conflict with their border blockaded for nearly four years.
The Uruguay River is shared by Argentina and Uruguay and is protected by a treaty, which requires both parties to inform the other of any project that might affect the river. The proposed mill site was close to the Argentinian border, and residents in the area claimed the mill would pollute the river. Besides the issue of pollution, Argentina claimed that the Uruguayan government had not asked for permission to build the mill.
With nearly a 4-year road block firmly in place on the Argentine Uruguayan border in protest over a World Bank (IFC-financed) Finnish pulp mill, the long-awaited International Court of Justice (ICJ) verdict came in on April 20, 2010, clearly legitimizing local protests and indicating that Uruguay violated international law in the unilateral decision to allow the Finnish mega pulp mill Uy Metsa Botnia to go up on the border.

More information at:

http://www.cedha.org.ar/en/more_information/icj-rules.php

Take action!

Take action to protest against the Gunns’ appointment of Timo Piilonen, one of the managers of the controversial Uruguayan pulp mill project. Contact your local radio or newspaper to get out the message that we don’t want a repeat of the controversial Uruguayan pulp mill.