§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assistance he plans to give to the National Constitutional Assembly of Zimbabwe to encourage democracy in Zimbabwe. [73955]
§ Mr. Tony LloydWe have assisted organisations which are members of the National Constitutional Assembly (NCA) with civic education programmes to encourage democracy in Zimbabwe. At present we are not assisting the NCA itself, but are keeping the situation under review.
§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the Zimbabwean Government about the arrest and detention of the journalists Grace Kwinjeh, Farai Muncazi and Fernando Goncalves. [73953]
§ Mr. Tony LloydI urged President Mugabe, at my meeting with him in Harare on 25 February, to uphold international human rights standards, including freedom of the press.
§ Mr. MacleanTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when he or his officials last met representatives of the National Constitutional Assembly of Zimbabwe. [73952]
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§ Mr. Tony LloydIn the course of their normal duties, officials at the British High Commission in Harare have frequent contact with representatives of the National Constitutional Assembly, some of whom also represent other organisations such as the Zimbabwe Congress of Trades Unions and the Zimbabwe Council of Churches.
I met some of these individual organisations when I visited Zimbabwe in January 1998, and some of them called on officials in London last year. Officials visited Zimbabwe have also met representatives of these organisations.