ATFA Coalition Groups Unite in YouTube Video With Demands That Argentina Pay Its Debts to Its Bondholders

Showcases Coalition Member Groups, Highlights the Impact of Argentina's Repudiation of Its Debts on U.S. and Argentine Workers

WASHINGTON, April 3, 2008 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- American Task Force Argentina (ATFA) increased its pressure on the Argentine government over its refusal to honor its debts to its bondholders by releasing a new coalition YouTube video today featuring several coalition members including a co-class counsel with Proskauer Rose, a law firm representing eight pending class action lawsuits against Argentina.

In the new video, the coalition calls on Argentina to pay the debts for the sake of Argentine and U.S. workers, American educators and worldwide bondholders. The video is being released to coincide with the annual meeting of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) in Miami, beginning April 4.

In the video, Professor Hugh Hudson of the Georgia Conference of the American Association of University Professors details how the Argentine default is hurting U.S. teachers. The second part of the video features Dr. Gabriela Lemus, Executive Director Labor Council for Latin American Advancement (LCLAA), explaining how her organization is especially concerned about the impact of Argentina's repudiation of its debts on workers in Latin America.

"It is important to Argentina's working people that the country has access to international capital in order to improve Argentina's competitiveness in the global market and allow the country to create badly needed jobs," Dr. Lemus says in the video. "If you will not pay off your outstanding debt in order to rebuild your relations with leading countries, we ask you to pay your debt for the sake of Argentina's working families."

New coalition member, Howard B. Sirota, Esq., co-class counsel with Proskauer Rose, LLP, which represents approximately $2.3 billion in outstanding claims against Argentina, closes the video. Mr. Sirota expresses the distress of the bondholders by pointing out Argentina's defiance of U.S. courts, which have issued numerous judgments directing the Argentine government to pay its debts.

To view the YouTube video, visit www.atfa.org. To view a complete list of the ATFA member organizations, visit http://www.atfa.org/about/.

Made up of an alliance of organizations, ATFA's leadership includes its two co-chairs, the Honorable Robert J. Shapiro, former Under Secretary of Commerce for Economic Affairs in the Clinton Administration and Ambassador Nancy Soderberg, Ambassador at the U.S. Mission to the United Nations in New York from 1997 to 2001. The Executive Director is Mr. Robert Raben, former Assistant Attorney General during the Clinton administration.

For additional information, please visit our new website at http://www.atfa.org, or contact media@atfa.org, or +1-888-662-2382.