Zimbabwe's prime minister-designate Morgan Tsvangirai on Monday called for unity in the country after signing an historic deal to share power with President Robert Mugabe.
Explaining his decision to agree to govern with his erstwhile oppressor, Tsvangirai said: "The world has too many examples of when people were driven by past wrongs rather than future glories.
"If you join me in this we will not fail to witness the rebirth of our nation," he said appealing to Zimbabweans to support the deal.
"This does not mean we must forget about the past decade of hardship and struggle," he said, calling for a "public acknowledgement of past wrongs" to kickstart a process of national healing.
Tsvangirai said his desire for a new beginning in Zimbabwe "runs deeper than the scars I bear from the struggle."
Calling for supporters of Mugabe's Zanu-PF and his Movement for Democratic Change to bury their divisions, Tsvangirai gave as his first priority ending the devastating food shortages in Zimbabwe.
"We need doctors, medicines, back in our hospitals. We need teachers back in our school," he said, to cheers, listing also clean water, petrol, availability to cash and a stable currency as priorities.
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