at least until the summer. A similar but smaller protest march took place in Colón. August – September 2006 On 6 August 2006, taking advantage of the high circulation of vehicles due to the winter vacations, residents of Concepción del Uruguay, Gualeguaychú, Colón and other towns, along with some Uruguayan families, handed out flyers to drivers along National Route 14, to raise awareness about the risks of pollution and inform them about their demands. Traffic was slowed down, but not blocked. Uruguay's demands before the MERCOSUR Tribunal Starting in June, Uruguay demanded before the Mercosur Tribunal that Argentina be punished for the blockades, and that it be forced to pay reparations, following the Treaty of Asunción, which guarantees the free circulation of goods and services between Mercosur members. On 9 August, Uruguayan representatives presented their claims, centered in two points: first, that the blockades during the summer had caused grave economic damage to Uruguay (calculated in $400 million losses); and second, that the Argentine government did not act to prevent or lift the blockades. Argentine witnesses testified, instead, that the Kirchner administration did have an active stance and tried to soften the effects of the blockades, and showed that there had been a 33% increase in the bilateral trade between the period January–May 2005 and the same period of 2006 despite the blocks. Uruguay also demanded that the Argentine government be forced to act in case of future blockades. The Argentine Foreign Relations Ministry was reportedly confident that the tribunal would not heed such demands, since hypothetical future violations are not subject to it, according to jurisprudence, and moreover, that the tribunal's dictates would remain symbolical, given that the blockades were discontinued, even before Uruguay's demands were presented. The tribunal, an ad hoc assembly formed by three arbiters (one Argentine, one Uruguayan and one Spanish) gathered in Asunción, heard the allegations and, on 7 September, ruled that Argentina had acted "on good faith", and rejected the request for monetary sanctions, but it noted the blockades had caused "undeniable inconveniences to both Uruguayan and Argentine trade, in addition the violation of the free circulation right." Both governments acknowledged the tribunal's report as positive to their respective causes. ENCE cancels Fray Bentos project On 20 September 2006, the management of ENCE's mill dismissed 40 of its employees. The implicit cancellation of the project was confirmed the next day, when the company's president