Adepoju Paul OlusegunRivals sign Zimbabwe power-share deal
September 15th 2008 17:56
Zimbabwe's political rivals set aside deep differences Monday to sign a power-sharing deal intended to end the violent crisis that has paralyzed the country since the disputed election in March.
To jubilant cheers, longtime Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe shook hands with rival Morgan Tsvangirai at the ceremony.
"Divisions, polarization and hatred belong to the past," Tsvangirai said after the deal was signed.
"Let us not be divided by our past, but united by our hope for the future."
Under the deal, Mugabe will remain president, while Tsvangirai will become prime minister.
The leaders of the 14-member Southern African Development Community attended the signing of the agreement, which was brokered by South African leader Thabo Mbeki after months of protracted debate.
Third party leader Arthur Mutambara will become deputy prime minister under the agreement which he called "a compromise document, flaws, warts and all."
The leaders of the 14 member Southern African Development Community (SADC) attended the signing of the agreement, which was brokered by South African leader Thabo Mbeki after months of protracted debate.
Mugabe, Tsvangirai and Mutambara joined hands with Mbeki after exchanging the signed papers, a remarkable scene just months after political violence spread across Zimbabwe in the wake of the disputed elections.
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