Colombian activists often draw a comparison with impunity. When crimes go unpunished, it opens the door to them being committed again. With a free trade agreement, they see support for government policies, meaning that the door is open to the policies being repeated. In the case of Colombia, the criticism is that the policies that have been put in place have not succeeded in preventing people's basic rights from being violated. That is what concerns the activists. That is the message that they are sending to us. A free trade agreement provides legitimacy to the government, and when that door is opened, policies are repeated just as crimes are repeated when they go unpunished.
On June 4th, 2008. See this statement in context.