Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu had kind words on Friday for United States First Lady Laura Bush and both Democratic candidates for president.
But when asked about President George Bush’s legacy to the world, Tutu avoided the question by saying Mrs Bush would be remembered for her concern for the situation in Burma. He then left the stage in an exaggerated tiptoe as the audience roared.
Dressed in a fuchsia robe and cap, the South African archbishop entertained about 2 000 people on Friday night at a lecture hosted by Metropolitan State University at the Minneapolis Convention Centre.
Tutu spoke of making friends out of enemies, saying Bush, Osama bin Laden and every other human are a part of the same family. ”An enemy is a friend waiting to be made. An enemy is really a member of my family,” he said.
He questioned military spending, saying governments spend ”really obscene amounts” of money on war, even though everyone knows a small fraction of it could help parts of the world have access to food, clean water, better healthcare and education.
After the 20-minute lecture, Tutu answered questions from the audience.
He lamented the situation in Zimbabwe, where the recent presidential election remains unresolved. Zimbabwe’s opposition has accused President Robert Mugabe’s regime of waging a violent crackdown in an attempt to keep power.
”Something snapped in him, I think,” Tutu said of Mugabe, saying he should ”step down with dignity”.
When asked about the prospect of having a woman or black man become president of the US, Tutu said both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama’s candidacies should be celebrated.
”Race is still alive in many ways. There’s a great pain in the hearts of many, many African-Americans,” Tutu said, adding that it was ”fantastic” that a black man was seen as a credible candidate.
Of Clinton, Tutu said ”she is a worthy candidate in her own right”.
Tutu’s visit was part of the PeaceJam youth conference, which unites young people with Nobel laureates. On Saturday, Tutu planned to take part in a service project in north Minneapolis.
His visit was moved to Metropolitan State University after the University of St Thomas decided against inviting the Nobel laureate, citing concerns about past critical comments Tutu made regarding Israel’s treatment of Palestinians.
Angry reaction from around the world surfaced, and St Thomas officials apologised and reinvited Tutu, but he declined. — Sapa-AP