General News of Monday, 19 May 1997

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Commonwealth Parliamentarians Call On Rawlings

Accra President Jerry John Rawlings today walked down memory lane to the colonial period and said that era left former colonies with foreign values some of which linger. "But the challenges of today impose on us the need for discernment of what legacies are appropriate and useful for the present and future'', he said. President Rawlings said this when members of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) called on him at the Castle, Osu. The members are today concluding a one-week seminar which brought together representatives from 21 former British colonies to discuss issues relating to democracy and good governance. He spoke about the spread of the Commonwealth and said ''despite our diversity, we share certain points of reference. "The experience of colonialization is common to all our nations, whether as the colonial power or as the colonized. It has left us all with certain aspirations, attitudes and perceptions, some positive and others not .'', the President said.