Javier Correa and the Impunity of Murderers in Uribe's Colombia

Sometimes, and only sometimes, one forgets the blatant hypocrisy at the heart of the so-called 'War on Terror'. But then one reads of the latest developments in Colombia (a close ally of the Bush White House) and it all comes flooding back. Although, given the nature of the mainstream media, it is hard to get any facts on the link between Bush and terrorism (you could do worse than watch this to get a basic understanding of the links between Bush and terrorism).

The following is taken from the United Steelworkers Union:

The USW president expressed grave concern for the lives of several members of the SINALTRAINAL union in Colombia, naming leaders from Bucaramanga as Javier Correa, Luis Eduardo Garcia and Jose Domingo Florez. Describing a tide of paramilitary re-mobilization, Gerard cited an explicit threat written by the Black Eagles, who said they would “bury the union members and their families in a mass grave on Christmas Day if they do not cease their union activities and leave the area.”

Gerard related an incident on Sept. 27 involving the son of Florez, who was picked up by presumed paramilitary gunmen, thrown into a van, beaten and told they won’t stop until his father is dismembered.

According to Amnesty, the full letter read:

"All orders are followed - communist guerrillas trade unionist facade - Javier Correa, stop your ideological discourse - you must leave the department - if not we will be obliged to carry out the military objective and at Christmas we will hand over the bodies of your families in a mass grave."

The letter bore the acronym of the AUC.

It is worth putting this into context. In 2006, 78 unionists were murdered in Colombia, over half the total global union murders. Despite these horrific figures, impunity for the murder of unionists is around 98%. Taking 2006 as an example, only three convictions were secured against the 78 murders. Furthermore, if one were to examine the period 2004-6, a period that witnessed the murder of 236 trade unionists, there were only five convictions. And if one was take the broader picture throughout Uribe's presidency, the picture is even bleaker. Since coming to power in 2002, there have been nearly 400 murders and only ten convictions (these figures come from a non-governmental organisation often cited by the American government). Taking all of these figures into account, as well as the figures pre-dating Uribe's presidency, the conviction rate stands at a pathetic 1.9%. No wonder Colombia is frequently described as 'one of the world's most dangerous places for trade unionists'.

Of course, these figures are even more disturbing when you take into account the many links between President Uribe and the terrorists responsible for this bloodshed. There is a video that has been circulating in Colombia for some time now that shows the future president meeting with one of the leaders of the AUC. There have also been frequent allegations of links between these terrorist organisations and the Colombian government. The former foreign minister, Maria Consuelo Araujo, was forced to resign due to the arrest of her brother and the investigation of her father for deals with terrorists.

With such a background, it is little wonder that union members are subjected to the kinds of disgraceful threats that face Correa and Florez. These threats will undoubtedly continue as long as the British and American political establishments turn a blind eye to the behaviour of the Colombia government and provide substantial financial and military aid. No wonder the Colombian government and the US administration embarked on a mass PR campaign in the 90s (with the involvement of Mark Malloch Brown - a key ally of Gordon Brown), there is certainly much to hide from the eyes of the general public.

You can take action in support of Javier Correa by visiting the Amnesty International Action page here.

Mark Malloch Brown - The Colombian Connection

With the arrival of Gordon Brown as Prime Minister, there was much talk about the appointments he made and whether they indicated shift from the his neo-conservative predecessor. As usual, much nonsense was spun out that this government was going to be different, this government was going to be a government of 'all the talents' a more representative style of government. While there has been a slight shift in the choice of language (no more 'war on terror' thankfully), upon examining the detail, the truth is very much different.

Melanie Phillips, the representative of the far-right, has been quick to present the appointment of Mark Malloch Brown as causing 'dismay in Washington DC'. She also claims that he played a vital role in the oil-for-food scandal, the removal of Wolfowitz and portrays him as an opponent of the Iraq war. The combination of these factors allow Phillips to portray Malloch Brown as anti-American, corrupt and disreputable. This, of course, would lead to some on the right to suspect that Malloch Brown is therefore closely associated with the left. However, there is more to Malloch Brown than Phillips would have you believe, and it certainly seems unlikely that the US is really concerned about his appointment.

During the late 1980s, Malloch Brown was on the payroll of Washington's Sawyer Miller political consultancy group. The Sawyer Miller group were actively involved in the political situation in Colombia during the end of the 80s and the beginning of the 90s. Their role? They were instructed to present the Colombian government in a positive light. Central to this was addressing the concerns that the government was linked to paramilitaries. The director of Sawyer Miller declared that:

"the main mission is to educate the American media about Colombia, get good coverage, and nurture contacts with journalists, columnists, and think tanks. The message is that there are ‘bad’ and ‘good’ people in Colombia and that the government is the good guy."

Their appointment was made when the Colombian government was at its lowest standing with the American people. Opinion polls at the end of the 1980s found that 76% of all Americans thought Colombia was corrupt and further 80% wanted sanctions imposed. Sawyer Miller (and Malloch Brown) were given the task of presenting the Colombian government in a more positive light. They certainly seemed to profit from their task. The group earned nearly a million dollars in fees and expenses in the first half of 1991 alone.

The main role of the group, who had signed up former Reagan administration Ed Rollins and PR star John Scanlon on as partners, was to pressure journalists into spinning for the government. They distributed pamphlets, sent letters to editors signed by government officials and placed full-page advertisements in The New York Times and The Washington Post. All American journalists were required to go through Sawyer Miller before they could interview government officials. According to one reporter, Sawyer Miller declined a request for an interview with President Gaviria because the network also wanted to interview former U.S. drug czar Bob Martinez, who had criticized the Colombian government. The reporter claimed:

"Sawyer/Miller did not want to give the perception that the Colombian government and the U.S. had differences."

Producers even claimed that Sawyer Miller tried to change the content of the programme.

Sawyer Miller also attempted to pressurise editors who were unsympathetic to Colombia's ties with drug barons. Sawyer Miller reuqested a meeting with the editor of the Miami Herald when it described the Colombian government as a 'weakling'. According to the editor:

"They were sharp and even followed up the meeting with a couple of phone calls. Yes, we did tone down our criticisms, but it was mainly because the president explained that he was following public opinion in Colombia."

Sawyer Miller has also played a key role in skewing the 'war on terror' in Colombia. As a result of PR activities conducted by the group, FARC is considered the 'most dangerous international terrorist group based in the Western Hemisphere'. However, this is mainly due to the work of Sawyer Miller and the Colombian military who, according to the US ambassador to Colombia in 1996, 'considered it a way to obtain U.S. assistance in the counterinsurgency'. And this assistance has continued to this very day. Colombia continues to be on of the largest recipients of American military aid in the world.

Colombia's links to narcotics and right-wing paramilitaries are well documented (click on the Colombia label below), Sawyer Miller's role was to cover this up and present Colombia as a country free from corruption. Sawyer Miller helped to convince the American public that Colombia wasn't the corrupt country that they had been led to believe, and that there were no such links to narcotics. The recent revelations over Uribe's administration have given lie to that and yet, such was the effectiveness of this PR campaign, Uribe maintains a level of popularity far in excess of most corrupt administrations. The fact that Malloch Brown played such a key role in producing propaganda for the Colombian government, much to the delight of Washington, truly gives lie to the claim that Gordon Brown has shifted the government to a more humane position in global politics. There are still those at the heart of government that are eager to do the bidding of the United States around the world. Melanie Phillips can sleep easy.