Peru's new PM calls for national unity

Peru's new Prime Minister Oscar Valdes Monday called for unity of all political parties to support the country's governance.Valdes said all the people should unconditionally support the country's democracy and governance, as a duty and a way to love Peru. To govern the country, it is important to unite the political parties, he said."I think all the parties should support the new projects," Valdes added.Valdes, a former military officer who replaced Salomon Lerner as the new prime minister last Saturday, had been criticized by some political parties for his hard-line stance to defuse social protests.Valdes said Peruvian citizens have the right to disagree and express their disagreements, otherwise the country's economic stability and development might be at risk. "When things go wrong, we have to disagree, but using (people's) disagreements to put pressure on the government is not correct," said Valdes.Some said the previous cabinet's crisis was caused by the mining protests in the northern state of Cajamarca, which forced authorities to suspend the Conga project after 11 days of demonstrations.Valdes said he would follow President Ollanta Humala's plans for sustained growth of Peru's economy, which has been growing in the past eight years.