by René Lavanchy

THE leader of Colombia’s trade union confederation has defended his counterpart in the United States after the Colombian vice-president dismissed an account of abuses against trade unionists in the country as “lies”.

Vice-President Francisco Santos was responding to a newspaper article by AFL-CIO president John Sweeney saying the USA should not grant a free trade agreement with Colombia until its human rights situation improves.

But Carlos Rodriguez, president of the CUT federation, says Sweeney was right and attacked the government for failing to meet labour rights standards required by the International Labour Organisation.

Mr Rodriguez said: “The stigmatising language that has come out again today is characteristic of a government that insists on ignoring the binding nature of the ILO’s recommendations and the application of international conventions.”

The row comes as  George Bush struggles to persuade Congress to ratify his free trade agreement. Two weeks ago the House of Representatives refused President  Bush’s demand to hear the bill within two months, effectively postponing a hearing indefinitely.

Many Democrats in Congress, who have been lobbied byAFL-CIO, oppose the bill as it stands, along with Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Writing in the Washington Post, Mr Sweeney said: “Millions of good jobs have been shipped away from the United States, while living and environmental standards have been eroded in our trading partner countries. That is why we have fought to guarantee labor and environmental standards in our trade agreements.”

He raised the case of 16-year-old Andres Damian Florez, son of a trade union leader, who was beaten up by armed men on his way home from school last September and told they wanted his father “quartered in pieces”.

Over 2,200 trade unionists have been killed in Colombia in the past 15 years, including about 400 during President Alvaro Uribe’s six-year period in office. Mr Uribe takes credit for reducing the homicide rate and improving human rights.

l As Tribune went to press  a meeting between Foreign Office minister Kim Howells and pressure group Justice for Colombia was to take place on Thursday (April 24). Trade unions recently called on him to resign over comments about Colombian trade unionist deaths.