Despite significant protests from British trade union leaders, MPs and campaigners, and especially the Guardian's detailed revelations of British military involvement, as well as energetic opposition from Colombian NGOs, as the dust settles on last week's London Meeting on International Support for Colombia one point is clear. Blair has orchestrated an international breakthrough on behalf of Colombia's ultra-right Uribe government. The UK has opened the door for the worst human rights offender in the Western hemisphere to receive a new round of international loans.

The gathering of senior representatives from Argentina, Brazil, Chile, the EU, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Switzerland, the USA, the UN and the IMF, World Bank, Andean Development Bank and Inter-American Development Bank was brought together on Blair's personal initiative, fully backed by Aznar of Spain. With this duo once again working in tandem as the pro-US axis within Europe, the details of the initiative were worked out by the British Embassy in Bogotá, in close consultation with Uribe's team.

Process

It is instructive to follow the tightly managed process, to see how Blair exercises "spin" to get what he wants on the international stage.

The diplomats knew that some fancy footwork was needed. Widespread and well founded criticism from the trade unions, social movements and human rights organisations is being listened to outside Colombia. The process had to be seen to be taking the views of civil society into account, but at the same time to contain the impact of those views. Like the well behaved child in Victorian times, civil society was to be seen but not heard.

A two stage tactic was devised. On the first day would be a pre-meeting consultation with the NGOs, with a report from them going into the second day's meeting of governments and international finance institutions. The space for criticism of Uribe had to be carefully controlled of course. On the second day just two NGO representatives would have one hour to present their case, and then asked to leave. The remainder of the time was for Uribe's people to make their sales pitch.

And so the manipulation was set up. Through the auspices of the hitherto unknown 'European Centre for Strategic Thinking', some thirty representatives of trade unions, peasants, indigenous, womens' and peace and human rights organisations were brought to London. As were various employer federations and 'foundations' - a code word for a well funded government or CIA front.

Positions on the War

The Colombian government is seeking what it calls 'an international coalition for peace in Colombia'. What this amounts to is unconditional financial and political support for its war to defeat the guerrilla movements, the FARC and the ELN. "The violence caused by illegal groups has become the principal obstacle to development and has caused a great loss of human and social capital, as well as a troubling increase in emmigration."

The NGOs highlight that in Uribe's 'democratic security' policy "the population is not conceived as essentially entitled to rights, or as the object of State protection, but above all as an instrument of war". Moreover "President Uribe has publicly declared that he does not believe that the principle of distinction between combatants and civilian population is valid in Colombia". The persecution of rural communities, trade unionists and other groups is a direct consequence of this militarised concept.

Uribe does not want peace, he wants foreign aid to win the war. As one human rights defender put it, "There is a fundamental incoherence between the idea of a negotiated political solution to the conflict and Uribe's policy of all out war".

The Real Human Rights Situation

Uribe claims 'a downward tendency' of human rights violations (consistently spread by the UK government). The report from the Colombian Commission of Jurists reveals that in Uribe's first year in government there have been nearly seven thousand political homicides and disappearances, which is worse than the average during Pastrana's 4 year presidency. In fact the number of human rights violations did peak during Pastrana's last year in office. But even here, the argument boils down to whether 19 people being killed daily (July 2002 to June 2003) is any more acceptable than 20 people killed daily (July 2001 to June 2002).

The Commission of Jurists shows how official propaganda deliberately distorts the human rights situation. In March 2003 the Vice-Presidency published a report recording an increase in the homicide rate in Colombia, as well as a record number of displacements due to the violence. In 2002 269,693 people had to leave their homes, 31.8% more than in 2001. And yet the President's office issued a press release, ostensibly based on this same report, under the title "Significant reduction in human rights violations in Colombia".

Outcomes

There are two outcomes of the London meeting. In the short term Uribe's position has been strengthened, there will be a follow up donors' co-ordination conference "to be organised by the Inter-American Development bank at a date convenient to the Colombian Government and the donor community".

The other outcome is that the NGOs and the social movements are deeply angry at their manipulation by Uribe and Blair. The pretence that official policy has been agreed in partnership with civil society is a complete sham.

There does indeed need to be an international coalition for peace in Colombia, but it will take a very different form than that hatched in the corridors of the Nariño Palace and 10 Downing Street. It will be an alliance centred on the Colombian people and their need to defeat the power of Uribe's militarised state.

Andy Higginbottom