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	News Center The bondholders say it's a 'nuclear strike' against the swap La Nacion March 02, 2010 Silvia Pisani US Correspondent Washington.- The first local reactions to the President's announcement about the new attempt to use reserves to pay the holders of bonds in default was disagreement. Above all for those who believed they saw in the chosen path a very similar repetition of the formula that, eight weeks ago, opened the door for embargoes from Judge Thomas Griesa. "It makes no sense. It's the president herself that is sending a nuclear strike against the planned swap", said Mark Botsford, who represents individual investors. "This announcement is incredible. It's the same government that gives arguments against those suing them in international courts to get paid the money that Argentina owes them,' he said, in an interview with LA NACION. It is from that which the idea comes that the new presidential recourse would strengthen the "alter ago" argument, which was what, last January, Judge Griesa used for his embargoes against Argentina. The idea was that the Central Bank wasn't independent of the government. In a similar sentiment, Robert Shapiro, president of Task Force Argentina, one of the entities that, for years, has sued for total payment of the money owed to bondholders, spoke out. "There isn't much difference between this and what came before. In the end, what the president is doing is showing that she plans to use the reserves as the best way to achieve her interests, without bothering about what the other institutions have to say," Shapiro said, in a conversation with LA NACION. "Beyond that, I doubt that this new attempt to force her will is going to land well. The Congress and the courts are making themselves heard. In the big picture, the impression is that the government is pretending that it's moving toward paying debt. But, in reality, the paths it choses are not the correct ones. So, what is its intention?" he asked. "What is still pending is a negotiation in good faith with all of Argentina's creditors. And not only with a group of vulture funds, as the government is trying to do," Shapiro said, spokesman for one of the most litigious entities on the payment of debt. But, in the bigger picture of the bondholders, there was no doubt that many would show an interest in moving ahead with the swap. The betting continues to be on the Gramercy, Aberdeen and Fidelity funds, among others. "For everyone that bought bonds for a quarter of their value, will they sell them for 40 or 50%? It's a big deal," Shapiro said. "But it's not that which opens the door for the country to the capital markets," he said. In parallel, it became known yesterday that there was a new request of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to pressure the Argentine government to pay its debts "to all" its creditors "and not just a chosen group." The letter is signed by the chairman of the House Human Rights Commission, and was signed by Russ Carnahan, Democrat of Missouri. In the opposition direction, the good news that Argentina got yesterday was that it no longer is listed as a country with money-laundering problems by the annual report of the State Department, which had arrived through the controversial law of fiscal "whitening", promoted by the government. Yesterday, upon publication of the new edition of the report on narco-trafficking and money laundering, Argentina had disappeared from the watch list of countries.		U.S. Government Takes Action Click here to view letters by the Administration and Members of Congress on Argentina's debt and economic policies. The Debt and Europe Click Here To Read More ATFA Member Spotlight National Taxpayer's Union Open Letter to the U.S. House of Representatives: Protect Taxpayers from Judgment-Evading Nations Click here to view other ATFA member activity Join Us Show your support for ATFA and our work regarding debt default by joining our growing list of supporters.   Tell Your Friends Do you have friends or colleagues who would be interested in supporting ATFA? Send them an invitation to this site byclicking here.

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