Colombia Seeks UK PR Help [1]
Submitted by Bob Burton [2] on
The Colombia [3]n government -- which is dogged by controversy over its human rights record -- is seeking help from British PR firms to help promote a "modern" image amongst journalists and politicians. Colombia's deputy head of mission in the UK, Andelfo Garcia, told PR Week that "the stereotype of Colombia is not right. We are a growing country with a good story to tell. We need someone to help us reach out to the UK media, its politicians and its businesses." The UK-based Colombia Solidarity Campaign [4] and other groups have shone the spotlight on Colombia's poor human rights record. In the U.S., Colombia has hired Johnson, Madigan, Peck, Boland & Stewart [5] and Andrew Samet [6] from Sorini, Samet & Associates [7] to help lobby the U.S. Congress to pass the U.S. - Colombia Free Trade Agreement [8]. In early April, Colombia terminated its contract with the PR firm Burson-Marsteller [9], after taking exception to comments [10] by its CEO, senior Hillary Clinton [11] campaign adviser Mark Penn [12].