WASHINGTON – The death of South Africa’s liberation leader Nelson
Mandela has unleashed a chorus of awed respect from across the worlds of
politics, religion, sport and culture.
Statesmen, resistance
leaders, Nobel laureates and prisoners of conscience have died before,
but never has one man united such global unity in honoring his passing.
Foreshadowing
the guest list of what will surely be the most important funeral of
recent decades, world leaders queued up to issue solemn tributes to the
95-year-old anti-apartheid hero who became South Africa’s first
democratic president.
“He no longer belongs to us; he belongs to
the ages,” Barack Obama, America’s first black president, said in a
deliberate echo of an early tribute paid to Abraham Lincoln, the
president who emancipated the slaves.
In a rare tribute for a
foreigner, Obama ordered US flags at the White House and other public
buildings flown at half-mast until Monday.
Over and over, leaders
returned to the dignity Mandela displayed during his long imprisonment
by South Africa’s former racist regime and then later, when he led his
country to majority rule.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon declared Mandela a “giant for justice.”
“Many
around the world were influenced by his selfless struggle for human
dignity, equality and freedom. He touched our lives in deeply personal
ways,” he said.
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II sent her personal
condolences to Mandela’s family, saying she “remembers with great
warmth” her meetings with a man who “worked tirelessly for the good of
his country.”
Prime Minister David Cameron, who in 2006 apologized
for what he said were the “mistakes” of his Conservative Party in its
response to apartheid in Britain’s former colony, said: “A great light
has gone out in the world.”
French Prime Minister Jean-Marc
Ayrault, in China on an official visit, said Mandela would “long be an
inspiration to all of humanity” as his government also ordered flags to
fly at half-mast.
India’s premier Manmohan Singh hailed the
anti-apartheid icon as a “true Gandhian” who would continue to inspire
future generations after his death, while Nigeria’s President Goodluck
Jonathan dubbed Mandela “one of mankind’s greatest liberators.”
Russian
President Vladimir Putin recognised Mandela as “one of the greatest
politicians in modern times” and a man who never betrayed his
convictions.
And Israel’s leaders recognised him as a champion of peace despite his tireless advocacy of the Palestinian cause.
Retired
political figures who remembered Mandela during his 27 years of
imprisonment or worked with him after his 1990 release were also
effusive.
Former US president Bill Clinton tweeted a picture of
himself with his “friend,” and said: “Today the world has lost one of
its most important leaders and one of its finest human beings.”
The courage to change the world
Mandela
won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, shared with South Africa’s last
apartheid leader F.W. de Klerk for their role in ensuring a peaceful
transition to elected rule.
De Klerk said though his relationship
with Mandela was “often stormy,” they were “always able to come together
at critical moments.”
Another Nobel laureate paying tribute was
Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who like Mandela spent many
years in detention. She lamented the passing of a “great human being
who… made us understand that we can change the world.”
The Dalai Lama said he would miss a “dear friend.”
“The
best tribute we can pay to him is to do whatever we can to contribute
to honouring the oneness of humanity and working for peace and
reconciliation as he did,” said the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader.
For
its part, the Norwegian Nobel committee called Mandela “one of the
greatest names in the long history of the Nobel Peace Prize.”
Business
and religious leaders, the heads of international agencies, writers,
thinkers, entertainers, sports personalities and activists also joined
the outpouring of emotion.
Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who has
turned over his business acumen and part of his fortune to battling
disease in Africa, said he and his wife had been personally inspired.
“Every
time Melinda and I met Nelson Mandela, we left more inspired than ever.
His grace and courage changed the world. This is a sad day,” Gates
said.
There were also tributes from Hollywood, where a new movie
based on the South African leader’s autobiography “Long Walk to Freedom”
has just been released.
“What an honor it was to step into the
shoes of Nelson Mandela and portray a man who defied odds, broke down
barriers, and championed human rights,” British actor Idris Elba said.
Brazilian
football legend Pele declared Mandela “was a hero to me. He was a
friend and a companion in the popular fight and the fight for world
peace.”
But for all the sentiment around the world, the emotion
was strongest in South Africa itself, where the celebration of the life
of the nation’s greatest leader was tempered by concern to preserve his
legacy.
“Over the past 24 years Madiba taught us how to come
together and to believe in ourselves and each other. He was a unifier
from the moment he walked out of prison,” said Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
