Former South African president Nelson Mandela extended a conciliatory hand on Monday to United States President George Bush after a stinging rebuke of the US’s role in Iraq.
”The United States is the most powerful state in the world and it is not good to remain in tension with the most powerful state,” Mandela said after receiving a visit on Monday from American boxing promoter Don King.
”I therefore took the initiative and spoke to George Bush after I criticised him, because the United States can play a very important role in promoting peace in the world, and this is the role which we would like the United States to play.”
The aging icon of South African democracy lashed out at the United States in his swansong before Parliament two week ago for launching the war in Iraq without the sanction of the United Nations.
He also spoke of his horror at reports of the ”terrible abuses against the dignity of human beings held captive by invading forces in their own country”.
Mandela, who turns 86 in July, retired as South Africa’s first black president in 1999, but he still enjoys enormous influence as the former anti-apartheid leader who spent 27 years in prison for his beliefs.
He has kept up a demanding schedule since he left active politics and there has been speculation that his health is declining.
He has difficulty walking without a cane and clutched King’s arm for support during a brief appearance Monday at the Nelson Mandela Foundation in Johannesburg.
King paid tribute to Mandela, a former boxer himself, as the ”miracle man of the century”.
”I am just delighted to be in his presence. It is really a majestic moment for me,” said King, who flew to South Africa for the WBA cruiserweight title fight over the weekend. – Sapa-AP