| Argentina:
more legal troubles for INVAP and the contract. The Ombudsman Office
of the city of Buenos Aires presented a “protection appeal” against the
Federal Government “for not having provided information on the contract”.
Such appeal was presented to the Judge Sergio Fernández, from the Federal
Administrative Court n° 3.
Such appeal was the result of the denounce presented at the Ombudsman Office
by FUNAM, in october 2000. According Raúl Montenegro, signatory of FUNAM’s
denounce, “not any contract nor international agreement previously signed
by Argentina was so illegal and impopular. It’s the first time that an
contract and agreement is investigated by the Justice. It’s also the first
time that an contract and an agreement infringes the Constitution and the
national law on hazardous waste.-
Cordoba and Buenos Aires (Argentina), Sydney (Australia) and Paris
(France), October 24, 2002. FUNAM from Argentina, one of Argentina’s most
active NGOs, informed that the Ombudsman Office of the city of Buenos Aires
presented a “Protection Appeal” against the Federal Government “for
not having provided sufficient, accurate and in time information about the
Contract signed by ANSTO and INVAP”.
According Dr. Raul Montenegro, president of FUNAM, “the Ombudsman Office
of the city of Buenos Aires acted rapidly after receiving a legal letter
from FUNAM. In this letter we accused INVAP and ANSTO for having signed an
illegal Contract. Such letter was sent the 10th October 2000. It
was clear at this time that some of the provisions of the Contract infringed
Article 41st of the Constitution of Argentina. A Contract that
even to day remains secret. In this legal letter we described the expected
import of Australian nuclear waste for processing, the ports of arrival in
Argentina, alternative routes for ground transportation, and their inherent
risks. We requested the Assistant Ombudsman of the City of Buenos Aires,
Antonio Brailovsky, to ask INVAP a copy of the Contract, and to make public
his content. Two days after they received our legal letter, the 12th
October, the Ombudsman Office started the Action # 4136-2000”.
It
is important to note that during October 2000 FUNAM dispatched more legal
letters denouncing the illegality of the Contract. “We sent these letters
to Oscar Massei, head of the Secretary of the Environment, Pablo Verani, the
Governor of Rio Negro (one of the owners of INVAP), Antonio Cafiero from the
Senate, Mabel Muller from the Deputies and Rodriguez Giavarini from the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (10th and 30th October,
2000). At this time some of them ignored the illegality of the Contract. The
reason was clear. INVAP maintained under secrecy the Contract. In
August-September 2000 we obtained partial copies of the Contract, and
jointly with Greenpeace we noticed to the public that INVAP and ANSTO
infringed Article 41st of our Constitution, and the Federal Law
on Hazardous Waste 24051. The secret was broken. Since then nothing was the
same”, said Raul Montenegro.
When the Ombudsman Office started the Action #4136 in mid October 2000 they
tried to obtain official information on the Contract, and a copy of the
Contract itself. Their formal requests were sent to the Federal Secretary of
the Environment, Mr. Oscar Massei. “Even if we don’t have the records of
such exchanges of letters and requests, the Ombudsman Office never received
substantial information”, said Raul Montenegro.
The Federal Government don’t answered appropriately, and the Ombudsman
Office moved the case to the Federal Court of Justice. In the Administrative
Court n° 3 they presented a ‘Protection Appeal for having information’
against the Federal Government, Secretary of Natural Resources and
Sustainable Development. They argued in their claim that the Secretary of
Natural Resources and Sustainable Development never provided to them “sufficient,
adequate and in time” information.
The case
continues active in the Administrative Court of Justice # 3 of the Judge
Sergio Fernández, Secretary # 3 of Dr. Estela M. Arberas.
According Dr. Raul Montenegro “this Judiciary action troubles the Contract
and the Agreement. For the first time in Argentina a Contract and a Nuclear
Agreement face so many legal investigations. Besides the ‘Protection
Appeal’ presented by the Ombudsman Office there are two main judiciary
moves. Our accusation against the Science Minister of Australia Peter
McGauran, and the ‘Protection Appeal’ recently introduced by Juan
Schroder at the Court in Bahia Blanca city. Juan Schroder asked the Court to
stop the Agreement and the import of Australian nuclear waste”.
FUNAM remembered that “Attorney-General Carlos Rímolo introduced new
future troubles for the Agreement when he dismissed the accusation made by
Attorneys-Generals Eduardo Freiler and Federico Delgado. Mr. Rimolo
considered last week he cannot punish ‘future crime’. Asked by the ‘Rio
Negro Newspaper’ about the entering of (Australian exhausted nuclear fuel)
he answered that such entrance ‘is serious for Argentina, even if
temporary’. Attorney-General Carlos Rimolo indirectly opened new judiciary
ways outside the Penal Court. New claims will be presented now in
Administrative Courts”.
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