Pan-African parly opens
18/03/2004 09:53  - (SA)  

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Addis Ababa - A continental parliament for the African Union was inaugurated at a ceremony here on Thursday with the swearing-in of 180 members representing the 36 countries that have already signed the protocol establishing the assembly.

"The parliament is now officially open. You have a vital role to play, honourable parliamentarians, in the implementation of the objectives and principles enshrined in the constituting acts of the union," AU Commission chair Alpha Oumar Konare said at the inauguration ceremony.

"We shall work hand-in-hand and together craft a credible political road-map... rooted in good governance," he added.

The inauguration was attended by AU's current chairperson, Mozambique's President Joaquim Chissano, and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, among other dignitaries.

Each of AU's 53 member states is expected to send five representatives to the pan-African parliament.

"We need to recognise the misdeeds of the colonial past. We Africans have to come together to change the face of Africa," said Konare.

- AFP

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