|
To print: Click here or Select File and then Print from your browser's menu. Click here to return to the home page. |
Featured Articles
If there are people who don’t know who Nelson Mandela is, they must be only a few in number. Nowadays, his name has become the second most recognized brand after Coca-Cola. “The Living Legend” is celebrating his 85th birthday on Friday, 18 July 2003 at which time many of the world’s most recognizable personalities will appear. The celebration has begun on Thursday, 17 July 2003 and is expected to end on Sunday 21 July 2003. Over 1600 people from all over the globe are expected to participate in the birthday bash at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg. Guests include royalty, presidents, diplomats, South African and Hollywood stars, politicians and friends. Former US President Bill Clinton is scheduled to deliver the first annual Nelson Mandela lecture in his honour. In celebration of his birthday, Mandela was presented with a 558-page book a testimony to his own legacy. Education Minister Kader Asmal presented him with the new book, Nelson Mandela: From Freedom to the Future, that combined Mandela's speeches with tributes to him from world leaders. "Based on a selection from Nelson Mandela's speeches, spanning over 50 years, this book provides a lively, memorable profile of his enduring commitment to freedom and reconciliation, democracy and development, culture and diversity, and the flourishing of all the people of South Africa, Africa and the world," Asmal said. President Thabo Mbeki, Mandela's successor, praised him as a hero and called his birthday "a national day of celebration." Moreover Mbeki said, "He [Mandela] helped to create the kind of South Africa that we now have, giving the impetus to all of the things that need to happen." These included overcoming the problems and divisions of the past. Mbeki added: "All of us should, in one voice, say: Happy birthday, Madiba.” Mandela is known as “Madiba” to millions of South Africans, a name having its origins from his clan. Nelson Mandela has become synonymous with the transformation of South Africa into a peaceful democracy. The best manifestation of this is that the country’s largest telecommunications entity, Telkom, on Thursday 17 July 2003 launched a phone-in campaign to set a Guinness Book World Record. Millions of people from all corners of the globe were expected to join the quest for a new world record of the most birthday wishes ever received by an individual in one day, when they call to wish Mandela a Happy Birthday. This great man, also known as the icon of freedom, is always humble and polite. To those who wished him a happy 85th birthday, he said "I never imagined I would still be treated the way you are treating me." He added "I have lost office, I have lost influence, I am now a has-been and that's the way I want to be treated." Mandela knows well, unlike many African present or past leaders, that life after presidency is simple and simpler than it could be in statesmanship. He proved this practically when he voluntarily left his office of presidency in 1999, although he had had many chances of winning second term elections. The leading political prisoner of the late 20th century and one of Africa's most important reformers, Mandela, receives tumultuous welcomes wherever he goes – be it in Africa or out side of Africa. One of Mandela’s intelligent political accomplishments is that he realized only a compromise between whites and blacks could avert a disastrous civil war in South Africa for which cause he won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 together with former South African president F.W. de Klerk. This is an exemplary and wise political decision the lessons of which should extend to many other societies who are in dire need of peaceful and democratic transition. Another remarkable achievement of this great leader is his ability to defuse the dangerous political differences in his country. South Africa is no less diversified than any other country in Africa. But when many African countries are still suffering from ethnic-based conflicts, power-hungry leaders who insist on staying in power endlessly, and so on, South Africa is marching on the most peaceful political road in Africa. If there is genuine political and constitutional commitment on the part of the forces which govern a given society, any kind of hindrance can be avoided wisely. No one could have imagined that the once bitterly divided society of South Africa would be able to move on finally to a democratic transition without the slightest possibility of bloodshed. The establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission fully backed by Mandela was one of the key factors which realised South Africa’s peaceful and egalitarian transition to democracy. Equally, the adoption and the entry into force immediately after its adoption of the country’s constitution has also played a great role in the democratic transition of the nation. South Africa’s constitution, the most progressive and liberal of all modern constitutions, and its sole protector and interpreter, the Constitutional Court of the country, have played a vital role in transforming South Africa. All these achievements are the aggregate outcomes of the relentless contributions made by many great South Africans, the leading of whom is Mandela. When I try to compare the qualities and talents of this great man with those of other African leaders, I hardly find one having the same attributes. With out further referring to other leaders, let me apprise the one I have in my own country. During the years that preceded the recent war with Ethiopia, many Eritreans considered their leader the-Nelson-Mandela of their country. I even remember people labelling him the Washington or the Jefferson of his country. (I don’t precisely remember which name he was given). What ever great names might have been prefixed to him does not matter now. What truly matters now is the real authoritarian behaviour which was revealed at a time when it was no longer possible to be kept hidden. As many apologists of the current regime try to assert, I don’t believe the man and his party can recapture the popularity and good image they once enjoyed in Eritrea. He really has missed an inescapable opportunity of becoming the Mandela of East Africa. This is true because instead of admitting faults and giving a chance to a genuine political adjustment, the current regime made itself busy in hunting those who tell the mistakes of the government, arresting journalists under the pretext of espionage, subjecting youngsters to endless forced labour schemes and so on. A wrong cannot rectify a wrong. The only way our leader could have availed him self of the possible chance of being called an “Eastern African Mandela” was by submitting him self to a peaceful and democratic transition of the nation, to rule of law, to accountability and transparency and above all things by committing him self truly to such great ideals. Many things could have been added about Mandela and his achievements and about his opposites as well. For today I will wind up here. However, let me conclude by quoting some inspirational words of the “Living Legend” Mandela. Madiba said, “What kills me alive is waking up in the morning without knowing what to do.” When we wake up, let’s know what to do.
[Editor: Amen, "mskr Ayni"! On behalf of Awate.com and our readers, we wish Madiba, Africa's pride, happy birthday and many, many more!] |
|
© Copyright 2002 by Awate.com |