Nelson Mandela dies; former president of South Africa was 95

[aymaan noor]

At sentencing, in the last public statement that Mr. Mandela would utter until 1990, he said: “During my lifetime, I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have described the cherished 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.”

Instead of death, Judge Quartus de Wet sentenced him to Robben Island prison, where he would spend 18 of his 27 years of imprisonment by the apartheid regime, confined to a tiny cell and forced to do hard labor in the prison quarry.

Revered on world stage

During Mr. Mandela’s years in prison, South Africa’s townships became increasingly restive, leading to the 1976 Soweto uprising, in which police killed several schoolchildren. State repression deepened. In 1977, anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, who helped launch the Black Consciousness movement, was beaten to death in police custody.

In the 1980s, as the state employed a series of states of emergency against opponents, the international campaign to change South Africa gathered steam. Economic sanctions were imposed and various boycotts were launched. At the center of the campaign was an effort to free Mr. Mandela.

In 1982, Mr. Mandela was transferred to the Pollsmoor Prison on the mainland near Cape Town. A few years later, a series of secret talks began between Mr. Mandela and President P.W. Botha, who offered to release Mr. Mandela if he renounced violence. Mr. Mandela would not.

At the same time, Afrikaners of the National Party began tentative talks with the ANC in exile, led by Tambo, Mr. Mandela’s old law partner. Those talks were the precursors to Mr. Mandela’s release in 1990 and the removal of the ban on anti-apartheid organizations.

De Klerk and the National Party of 1990 thought they could free Mr. Mandela and still negotiate reforms that would leave the nation’s white minority with a veto power over black rule. But Mr. Mandela’s walk to freedom in 1990 set in motion a chain of events that would lead to free and fair elections and majority rule four years later.

Mr. Mandela suffered some setbacks to his image as president. He tolerated inept cabinet members who had been loyal comrades in the anti-apartheid struggle. Some blacks believed he spent too much time seeking reconciliation with whites. Others resented his penchant for granting an audience to just about any kind of visiting celebrity, from the Spice Girls to American Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.

In 1998, Mr. Mandela married Graça Simbine Machel, the widow of Mozambican President Samora Machel. Besides Machel, survivors include a daughter from his first marriage, Makaziwe; two children from his second marriage, Zindzi and Zenani; and grandchildren.

In retirement, Mr. Mandela did not recede from the public eye. In 2008, a frail Mr. Mandela attended a star-studded London concert to celebrate his 90th birthday. He struggled to walk to the podium. But then, in a strong voice and flashing his trademark smile, he urged everyone to support his campaign against global poverty and oppression.

On his 93rd birthday, an estimated 12 million South African students sang “Happy Birthday” to him in a nationwide sing-a-long.

[aymaan noor]

Student movement pays tribute to Nelson Mandela


December 5th 2013

The anti-apartheid campaigner who became the first black president of South Africa, won the Nobel Peace Prize, inspired millions of students across the world.

NUS worked with the Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) from the 1960s, supporting the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) and developing links with the South African Students’ Organisation and the African National Congress (ANC). NUS gave its support to the March for Freedom - Sanctions Now demonstration in March 1986 and supported economic boycotts with the AAM.

As part of the campaign to secure his release, Nelson Mandela was elected honorary president of NUS (for the first time in 1969) and NUS’ headquarters in Holloway Road was renamed Nelson Mandela House, with a plaque unveiled by Princess Thumbumuzi Dlamini–Mandela, Nelson Mandela’s daughter.

Toni Pearce, NUS President said: “For decades, Nelson Mandela has been an icon and role model to the student movement.

“So long as we keep Mandela’s memory and legacy alive, his incredible influence and his achievements will never be forgotten. We mourn his loss today.

“Students across the UK formed a pivotal part of the anti-apartheid movement and in supporting Mandela in his long walk to freedom.

"We should never forget those who stood by and to their eternal shame, labelled him a terrorist. Mandela’s humility and humanity in the face of that adversity and his refusal to be consumed by bitterness taught a truly humbling lesson to the world.

“More than forty years ago, NUS conference declared its complete opposition to the racialist regimes in South Africa, and that legacy proudly endures in the reaffirmation of our continuing commitment to tackling racism in all its forms. Today we salute the greatest champion of anti-racism the world has known.”