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Mandela dedicates statue to 'all who resisted oppression'

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Published Date: 30 August 2007
By RHIANNON EDWARD
NELSON Mandela saluted the heroes of South Africa's struggle against apartheid yesterday at the unveiling of his statue at a ceremony in London recognising him as one of the greatest leaders of the age.
Mr Mandela, 89, said the statue - which joins those of Abraham Lincoln and Winston Churchill in London's Parliament Square - was a symbol for all those who resisted oppression.

"Though this statue is of one man, it should in actual fact symbolise all those who have resisted oppression, especially in my country," Mr Mandela said at the ceremony attended by the Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.

"The history of the struggle in South Africa is rich with the stories of heroes and heroines, some of them leaders, some of them followers. All of them deserve to be remembered."

Mr Mandela appeared frail, leaning on the arm of his wife, Graca Machel, but spoke clearly as he invited the crowd to celebrate his 90th birthday next year at a concert in London's Hyde Park in support of his efforts to combat HIV/AIDS.

Mr Brown called the statue "a beacon of hope".

Mr Mandela came to personify the black majority's struggle to end apartheid, spending 27 years in jail before being released in 1990 and becoming South Africa's first black president in 1994.

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  • Last Updated: 30 August 2007 12:00 AM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: Apartheid
 
1

Conan,

Here 30/08/2007 00:44:41

Will that include the opression by the ANC and their lefty ilk worldwide - or is this just for the victims of the opression of whites?

2

iRoy,

30/08/2007 01:47:21

So Gordon Brown attended an event "glorifying terrorism" which is now an offence.

3

,

30/08/2007 02:19:45
Comment Removed By Administrator
Reason: Scotsman Import, Original comment id: 918528, Article id was mapped to record!
4

Pocket Dictionary,

30/08/2007 06:54:17

Then there is a late night presenter on Edinburgh's Talk 107 calling for the social Apartheid of children, those who have parents that are not married should be segregated into their own schools. Maybe if the politicians stopped giving interviews to this station they might take notice and stop this presenter coming out with these suggestions.

5

Judge&Jury,

Glasgow 30/08/2007 08:19:18

A good example of one mans freedom fighter is anothers terrorist?

Did Nelson Mandella not get caught involved in a bombing campaign in SA?

In what way would he be precieved in todays security climate if he had acted the same as he had in the past?

6

Media 1,

cape town 30/08/2007 09:48:05

#5 Judge and Jury:

Mandela WAS involved in terror plots throughout South Africa. In fact, the now chief of the Metro police was one of the bombers of the McGoo bar in which innocent people were blown apart.

Mandela himself is NOT a killer though. He was merely a man who wanted freedom of movement for his people, and to gain it he employed terrorist tactics. Considering the way in which the then SAP (South African Police) were treating men like Steve Biko it was probably easy for him to cross the line. How many of us would do things different if faced with similar adversities.

Its also quite ironic that Britain should be honouring the man they fought so hard to keep down. It is no secret that the ANC were funded by Russia during the cold war. Mnkonto U'Sizwe , the ANC military wing was trained and financed by the Russian's.

America and Britain could not permit the Russian's to seize control of South Africa, that would have been absolutely catastrophic in terms of the politics at the time. So Britain supported apartheid and made sure that the ANC were kept in check. Following the collapse of communism in Russia, South African politics suddenly became unpallitable. The world sanctioined SA and hoped it would cripple the economy, but it back fired. White SA responded with the most innovative technology, if it could not be imported, it had to made inhouse and thats what happened.

Today things are different, and yesterday was merely a token gesture of political meaning..

Politicians eh

7

The Daleks,

30/08/2007 10:21:12

And why exactly does London need a Freeeeeeeee Nelson Mandela statue?

What exactly has he done for the benefit of that city, or the UK as a whole?

8

Media 1,

cape town 30/08/2007 11:08:23

#7 Dalek: As I said in post 6, its more of a token gesture. A sort of apology for Britains involvment in the apartheid era.........

9

Saffer,

London 30/08/2007 12:44:43

Nelson Mandela was involved in "terrorism" - he was the leader of the ANC armed resistance Umkonto we Sizwe - BUT, he was fighting against tyranny, not for it. Even so, your own prime minister Mrs Thatcher labelled him as a terrorist and commented that the ANC would never lead the country. hmmf.

10

Adrian Clegg,

England 30/08/2007 13:12:04

When will I get my statue then as Political Correctness and Multiculturalism oppresses me each day.

If ever there was a terrorist who should have been stuck up against a wall and shot it was Mandela. Now we have the final insult - a statue in Parliament Square.

Gerry Adams will, no doubt, be next.

11

Miss Jean Brodie,

30/08/2007 14:49:54

Should sit nicely among the other statues o war mongering, empire builders, and those involved in events of mass murder strewn throughout London.

heck if they had their way, some o the former oppressors that resided in London would even name streets in Scotland after their murderers - oops I forgot they done it all over Scotland renaming villages and everything anyway.

12

Media 1,

cape town 30/08/2007 15:41:34

#11 name one of these war mongering statues please.

13

Willie Macleod,

Wick 30/08/2007 18:14:29

This statue is a welcome reminder of the courage and sacrifice of Nelson Mandela and the many others who suffered Imprisonment, torture and death at the hands of the apartheid regime. We must fight racism wherever it exists.

14

Miss H,

30/08/2007 19:39:55

10

How are you oppressed?

Have you lost your right to vote? Been imprisoned without trial? Tortured?

Or do you just find multi culturalism rather annoying?

15

The Daleks,

31/08/2007 05:39:58

Sorry #12, but I didn't know that statues had the capacity to be war mongering!!

I take your point about Machine-Gun Mandela.

A load of PC handwringing claptrap because we supported our own.


 

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