US embassy cable - 04BOGOTA12734

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BOGOTA 012734 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, MOPS, PHUM, CO 
SUBJECT: MILITARY AND THE MEDIA CONFERENCE AIMS TO IMPROVE 
INTERACTION 
 
REF: A. BOGOTA 08899 
 
     B. BOGOTA 06629 
     C. BOGOTA 09526 
 
 1. (U) Summary: On December 2, Embassy Bogota and the 
Ministry of Defense co-sponsored the third annual Public 
Forces and Journalism Seminar to improve military-media 
communication.  Almost one hundred media and Armed Forces 
members (including the police) attended the meeting in Paipa, 
Boyaca Department.  Participants commented that discussions 
helped reduce mutual suspicion and hostility, but open 
communication remains a distant goal.  Military attendees 
criticized the press for skewing stories negatively, 
portraying guerrillas in a positive light, and ignoring 
advances of the Armed Forces against insurgents.  Press 
attendees claimed that the military restricted and concealed 
information, ostracized reporters who disagreed with them, 
and used the media for free propaganda against guerrilla 
groups.  Both sides welcomed the opportunity to air their 
concerns and improve relations.  End summary. 
 
 
Military Urges More Positive Stories, Downplays Negative 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
2. (SBU) Keynote speaker Minister of Defense (MOD) Jorge 
Uribe summarized military and police accomplishments over the 
last months.  He announced that the military would welcome a 
one-day personnel swap between the Armed Forces and press to 
improve mutual understanding.  Other military representatives 
including Vice Minister of Defense Andres Penate and police 
Public Affairs Liaison Col. Jairo Agudelo commented that the 
press influenced public opinion in important and sometimes 
erroneous ways.  As an example, Agudelo showed a series of 
press headlines on safety in Bogota.  Clippings dating back 
to 1996 cited Bogota as the most dangerous city in the 
hemisphere.  Other headlines told of the public's fear of 
crime but then changed to reflect an improving situation, 
ending with accounts of the city's impressive security record 
and citizens feeling secure.  Agudelo claimed that they were 
all exaggerated and demonstrated that the press directly 
influenced the public's view of security and therefore 
affected the armed forces' ability to work. 
 
3. (U) Military representatives asserted that their chain of 
command structures and national safety concerns contributed 
to the lack of communication with the press.  Younger 
officers added in breakout sessions that they often were 
prohibited from commenting on high-profile military criminal 
cases like Guaitarilla, Cajamarca and Arauca (reftels A, B, 
and C) since the military did not want such cases debated by 
the public.  Officers added that no one wanted to "give the 
enemy an advantage" in the conflict by damaging the 
military's morale or reporting strategies to the press.  They 
also noted some details were classified and could not be 
released to the press.  Panelists reiterated their 
frustration with some in the media who presented sympathetic 
stories on the guerrillas and portrayed the military in a 
negative light.  They dubbed such stories "unpatriotic" and 
claimed they prompted the Colombian public to sympathize with 
illegal terrorists.  As an alternative, Vice Minister Penate 
urged the press to produce more news stories on the 
demobilization and reinsertion process.  Such "good news" 
pieces could help bridge the communication gap. 
 
Media Requests More Understanding and Transparency 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
4. (SBU) Jaime Abello Banfi, President of the Antonio Narino 
Project, offered the press perspective and praised the 
previous two conferences for improving understanding.  Daniel 
Fernando Patino of Caracol news agreed with Abello's comment 
on institutional culture clashes and said the military only 
wanted positive news items.  He asserted that reporters were 
routinely made "persona non grata" for contradicting military 
counterparts.  Maria Teresa Ronderos of the Free Press 
Foundation added that reporters were dependent upon military 
escorts for protection in combat zones.  This put reporters 
in the precarious position of either reporting the military 
perspective or taking chances by going unescorted.  When 
Penate requested further demobilization and "good news" 
coverage, some participants countered that the military 
wanted the news to be a supplemental, free psychological 
operation in rural areas against insurgent groups. 
 
5. (U) In the breakout session, media representatives urged 
their military counterparts to accept that reporting was not 
an issue of patriotism.  Reports should be factual and inform 
the public.  Patino added that public comments during the 
immediate aftermath of the Arauca case only underscored the 
unreliability of official sources in unflattering military 
situations.  MOD Uribe agreed that it was important for the 
military to check facts before speaking to the press, but 
asserted that it was critical to stand by one's staff and 
believe in its abilities.  The media representatives conceded 
that some press colleagues pushed aggressively, advanced an 
agenda, or otherwise deluded the public at times. 
Nevertheless, panelists stressed that greater transparency 
and information sharing with the press would be critical to 
improving relations and the military's profile in the press. 
 
Suggestions to Make Progress 
---------------------------- 
 
6. (U) Both military and media participants suggested 
exchanges and ongoing dialogue to close the communication 
gap.  Abello suggested that the civilian MOD and vice 
ministers serve as interlocutors to promote greater 
understanding.   Alvaro Sierra, an editor with El Tiempo, 
recommended that both sides agree to basic rules of 
interviewing and review other nations' military-press 
relationship. 
WOOD