Human rights issue to shadow Harper in Colombia

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Canadian Press

Human rights issue to shadow Harper in Colombia
Updated Sun. Jul. 15 2007 10:52 PM ET

Canadian Press

BOGOTA -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper will be under pressure to make human rights a key talking point in his meeting with Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on Monday, although both men will be eager to avoid controversy as they seek to become the newest amigos in the hemisphere.

The Canadian prime minister arrived in Bogota as the sun was setting behind the hills surrounding the capital Sunday, without a word to reporters who accompanied him on the six-hour flight.

But even before his six-day tour of South America and the Caribbean -- which includes stops in Colombia, Chile, Barbados and Haiti -- began, human rights groups in Canada and in the region began their campaign to derail the main agenda between the two leaders, who have agreed to begin negotiating a free trade deal in six months.

''We had the prime minister speak out before about human rights in China and Russia, so he must show in this trip that he is universally concerned about human rights, not just when there is a political convenience,'' said Alex Neve of Amnesty International Canada in anticipation of the trip.



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