Washington, 29 jun (SP).We've just finished two meetings, first with Ambassador Kirk (Ron Kirk), who was the mayor of Dallas and today is the US Trade Representative; the second meeting was with Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, who was governor of the state of Washington.

I would like to highlight two points of these meetings:

First, something that even in Colombia is still not known well. The government just ratified the 599 Law. We ratified it yesterday; it was approved in the last few weeks by the Congress of the Republic. This law increases protection for trade union leaders, political leaders and human rights defenders.

It increases protection in two ways: It extends statutes of limitations so that criminal actions, against those who attempt against this group of people in our country do not prescribe. It also gives judges more possibilities for imposing more extensive punishment to murderers of people who belong to these groups.

The other subject highlighted this morning is how exports from Colombia to the United States have fallen greatly, and this is of great concern to us.

For example a decrease of textile exports and other products, especially in cities such as Medellin, Pereira and Ibague, have caused there an unemployment rate of 18 percent again.

Then I raised the following:  

There has been an immense fight against the drug problem; we have dismantled ‘cartel s', we have advanced in the weakening of the drug trafficking guerilla, we have dismantled paramilitary groups. And it is extremely difficult to make progress in the consolidation of security, with those unemployment rates, specifically in some places. Although unemployment rate was around 18%, during this administration it had dropped to 10 and a half and the national average is still at 12. 1%.

We have not destroyed jobs yet, but we are not creating jobs at the rate that Colombians need.

And we are concerned for specific places just as, Medellín, Pereira and Ibague, which have been depended on manufactured exports to the United States, and today are with those unemployment rates.

We talked about it this morning with special concern, so U.S. authorities take that into account, and see how we can move forward with the ratification of the FTA.

They have aknowledge Colombia’s progress. They did not know about the 599 Law, which is still getting to the ears of Colombian public opinion, as it was ratified yesterday, and is part of a process that the Government had even before the beginning of the negotiation, the idea of a free trade agreement with the United States, to be able to apply what we call a Democratic Security concept.

You remember our democratic memorandum, our Democratic Manifesto of 2002. In the 100 and 27 points we suggest the country that if we won the 2002 elections, we will make all the efforts to abolish kidnapping, murder against workers, journalist and teachers. This 599 Law is part of the effort to get to it.

I repeat:  599 Law, ratified yesterday by the government of Colombia, recently approved by the congress, extends the period of statute limitation, so criminal actions don’t die, judicial actions against criminals who have  committed crime against union leaders, politicians and defenders of human rights can be punished, This will also allow wider convictions.