Nelson Mandela’s vision for a South Africa beyond apartheid is what gave birth to the transition to democracy in the country, President Thabo Mbeki said in Qunu in the Eastern Cape on Saturday.
In a speech prepared for delivery at Mandela’s 90th birthday celebrations, Mbeki said Mandela expressed his ”noble vision” for the country in his speech during the Rivonia trial.
”I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities.
”It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die,” Mandela said at the time.
On Saturday, Mbeki said Mandela had confirmed his vision for the country with this speech.
”These words … gave birth to the transition from apartheid to democracy which many in the world saluted as a miracle.”
Mandela’s speech also led to the formation of the Constitution, which presented a South Africa belonging to all and set the country upon the long road towards national reconciliation.
”All these define the South Africa of today, serving as the fundamental basis we need to guarantee the success and development of the new Republic of South Africa.”
Mbeki said Mandela needed to be honoured for the necessary sacrifices he made for freedom.
”Your life has reaffirmed that freedom is never free”.
He said South Africans needed to ask themselves what they would do to build on his and other liberators’ legacies.
”[The legacy is] our priceless gift that is a prayer to the future,” said Mbeki.
”We will do everything we can to continue to serve the masses of the people for whom you sacrificed so much.”
Mbeki also congratulated Mandela and his wife Graca Machel on their 10th wedding anniversary.
‘The glue that holds us together’
Meanwhile, African National Congress president Jacob Zuma said Mandela was the glue holding the country together, giving voice to long-held fears about the future of the fledgling democracy without him.
Zuma joined 500 guests in birthday celebrations for Mandela on Saturday.
”You are the glue that holds us together as a nation. You provide eternal hope in our people and the world that South Africa can only be a better place each day,” Zuma said in a speech.
Mandela, who spent 27 years in jail for his anti-apartheid activities, became a symbol of unity between black and white South Africans during his one term as president, but the euphoria that accompanied those early years has somewhat faded.
Although Mandela has long retired from active politics, many say he still provides a unifying force in a country where divisions between black and white, as well as rich and poor, are resurfacing as a largely black majority stays mired in poverty.
Financial Mail editor Barney Mthombothi wrote in a tribute to Mandela on Friday: ”We’re approaching a future without his commanding presence with some trepidation. … We won’t see the likes of him again.”
Critics say Mandela’s successor, Mbeki, has failed to address the huge gulf between rich and poor that is stoking labour unrest, while South Africa still suffers one of the world’s worst crime rates.
Mbeki lost the leadership of the ANC to Zuma in a bruising battle last December, which exposed divisions within the ruling party.
But on Saturday Mbeki and Zuma put aside their differences and joined celebrations for Mandela, which included performances by choirs and dancers, while cattle herders beat drums outside.
Tributes to Mandela continued pouring in, including from United States presidential candidate Barack Obama, who is trying to make history in November by becoming the first black US president.
”Celebrations and simple words of admiration are not enough … to honour a man who’s brought hope to a world often filled with despair; who’s brought so much love to a world so filled with hate and who’s shown us how much we can achieve when we have the courage to be our better selves,” Obama said in a message.
”No, the way to truly honour you, Nelson Mandela, is to act each and every day in our own lives to do our part for our fellow human beings and to live up to the example you continue to set each and every day,” he added. — Sapa, Reuters