Lawmakers from the developing world and Europe meeting in Kigali, Rwanda, this week for a joint parliamentary session expressed concern about the continuing crisis in Zimbabwe and urged the international community to press Harare for reform.
The concerns on Zimbabwe were articulated by European parliamentarian Glenys Kinnock, co-president of the joint parliamentary assembly of African, Caribbean, Pacific and European lawmakers with René Radembino-Coniquet of Gabon.
However, some legislators from South Africa said the international community must let Zimbabwean crisis resolution talks mediated by Pretoria follow their course.
Zimbabwe was being represented in Kigali by Senators Clarisa Muchengeti and Forbes Magadu of the ruling ZANU-PF party, and Nelson Chamisa of the Movement for Democratic Change faction headed by Morgan Tsvangirai.
Chamisa told reporter Blessing Zulu of VOA’s Studio 7 for Zimbabwe that ZANU-PF is negotiating in bad faith as violence against the opposition has been escalating.
The ACP-EU assembly is expected this week to adopt a Kigali Declaration calling on the European Commission to give the ACP countries more time to negotiate new terms for economic partnership with Europe, such that the developing countries will continue to have access to European markets, a European Parliament release said.