Zimbabwe power-sharing deal signed

Food first priority
Tsvangirai said his first priority would be getting food to hungry Zimbabweans.

Mugabe, in a speech that was often combative, again accused Britain and the United States of wanting regime change in Zimbabwe and sneered at the democratic process.

"This thing called democracy is a problem. It's a difficult proposition because always the opposition will want much more than what it deserves," he said.

A new constitution is to be drafted, with input from civic groups. Consultations are to start within a month and a referendum on the constitution is to be held within two years.

Western countries say they will withhold the aid vital to help the country rebuild until it is clear Mugabe is committed.

European Union foreign ministers welcomed the deal but said Mugabe must prove he is willing to restore democratic rule before EU sanctions can be lifted. The sanctions impose a travel ban and assets freeze on Mugabe and 171 people and four companies sustaining his old government. The bloc also has frozen aid projects in Zimbabwe and imposed an arms embargo.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband said restoring ties and scrapping sanctions depended on how much power Tsvangirai has. The 27 EU ministers said in a joint statement they will watch for the agreement's implementation, especially the "immediate cessation of all forms of intimidation and violence."

Tsvangirai and his party won most votes in March elections, but not enough to avoid a presidential runoff. An onslaught of state-sponsored violence against Tsvangirai's supporters led him to drop out of the runoff and Mugabe was declared the winner of a second vote widely denounced as a sham.

More than 100 opposition supporters were killed in the violence, thousands of people were beaten up and suffered broken limbs, and tens of thousands were forced from their homes.

Britain to pay for seized land?
The power-sharing deal addresses the thorny issue of land, with the parties accepting "the irreversibility" of the seizures of white-owned farms since 2000. They recognize that "colonial racist land ownership patterns ... were not only unsustainable, but against the national interest, equity and justice."

They call for Britain, the former colonizer, to pay any compensation for seized land.

Thousands of white farmers were thrown off the land in often-violent seizures that caused the collapse of the country's agricultural base. Mugabe said the farms would go to landless blacks but many went to his cronies, and some got several farms which were left fallow.

Echoing Tsvangirai's party's land policy, the agreement calls for a far-reaching audit to eliminate ownership of multiple farms and to allocate land "irrespective of race, gender, religion, ethnicity or political affiliation."

The deal also promises the start of a process of re-registering and licensing media organizations under eased press laws in a new "open media environment."

Zimbabwe's draconian media laws prohibited any journalist or media organization not approved by the government from operating. Even licensed journalists have been arrested and attacked.

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