The first Afghan parliament in more than 30 years was sworn in this morning amid hopes of national reconciliation after decades of bloodshed.
The inauguration, which passed peacefully despite Taliban threats, was greeted with tears of emotion despite widespread disappointment at a parliament filled with factional leaders blamed for serious human rights abuses.
President Hamid Karzai thanked God for giving Afghanistan the chance to take control of its destiny again after swearing in the 249 members of the Wolesi Jirga, or lower house, and 102 members of the upper house, or Meshrano Jirga.
"This meeting is a sign of us regaining our honour," he said.
"We have the right to tell those who are after the destruction of this water and soil that this homeland will exist for ever!" he declared, prompting tears from many delegates.
Karzai urged national reconciliation and reiterated a call to the Taliban to abandon their insurgency, which has intensified in the past year despite his efforts to encourage defections.
The opening of parliament was the culmination of a UN-backed plan to bring democracy drawn up after US-led forces overthrew the Taliban in 2001.
"It means a lot," Karzai told reporters afterwards. "It means progress, it means achievement, it means togetherness."
US Vice President Dick Cheney, who arrived after a visit to Washington's more troubled front in Iraq to attend the inauguration, wrote in a commemoration book it was a "historic day for the people of Afghanistan".
Security was tight after a Taliban suicide attacker detonated a car bomb nearby on Friday, killing himself and wounding two passers-by, and guerrilla spokesmen vowed more attacks on "a symbol of American occupation".