Reflecting on worldwide celebrations that marked South Africa’s 10 years of democracy, President Thabo Mbeki said the world must unite to give meaning to the concepts of humanity and hope.
Writing in his weekly online newsletter ANC Today, Mbeki said South Africa’s past and present challenges are ones that many other countries around the world are also facing.
”The scourges of poverty and underdevelopment with all their consequences afflict billions across the globe. Many countries are grappling with the task of building cohesive and successful multiracial, multilingual, multicultural and multifaith societies.”
Mbeki said the task facing man now is to strengthen the bonds of global human solidarity ”demonstrated so visibly and joyfully when the peoples of the world came together to celebrate our first decade of democracy”.
Confronted by apartheid the world united in the strongest international people’s solidarity movement of the 20th century and helped defeat racist rule in South Africa.
”… Once again, the nations of the world must unite in the strongest international people’s solidarity movement of the 21st century, to give concrete meaning to abstract concepts: the concept of humanity, and the concept of hope.”
Quoting German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder Mbeki said the nations of the world have to unite because ”nobody can live in security if his neighbours do not live in peace and security”.
”We cannot afford to allow fear of bold action to create a new world to stop us,” Mbeki said. — Sapa