Posted by:
steve benson
(
)
Date: December 06, 2013 10:40PM
"FW de Klerk: world Has Lost a Great Unifier with Nelson Mandela's Death: South African president who freed Nelson Mandela, shared Nobel prize with him and joined him in first post-apartheid government, says 'he lived reconciliation and was never bitter'"
"FW de Klerk, the South African president under whom Nelson Mandela was released from prison, has said his country and the world have lost 'a great unifier.'
"De Klerk shared the Nobel peace prize with Mandela in 1993 for brokering the end of apartheid and, when the ANC leader was elected president in the first multiracial election, entered into a government of national unity as his deputy.
"De Klerk, 77, said in remarks to the BBC: 'It's a very sad moment for the whole of South Africa and I'm sure millions of people around the world.
"'I fully associate myself with the dignified and feeling statement President Zuma made. I became good friends with the late Nelson Mandela.
"'We had our moments of tension . . . but after our retirement and at times during his presidency we became very close. He was a remarkable man – his biggest legacy will be emphasis on reconciliation, a remarkable lack of bitterness,' De Klerk said.
"'He lived reconciliation. He was a great unifier.'
"On CNN, De Klerk said: 'There was an immediate, I would say, a spark between the two of us, and notwithstanding the many spats we had, I respected him and I always liked him as a person. He was a magnanimous person. He was a compassionate person.
"'He was taller than I expected – he was ramrod straight. He looked one in the eye very directly, he was a good listener and I could see very easily that he had an analytical approach to discussions, which I liked very much. I was really very impressed with him at that first meeting.'
"De Klerk first met Mandela on 13 December 1989 when the ANC leader was still in prison – 'we both reached the conclusion that we would be able to do business with one another' – and again two days prior to Mandela's release on 11 February 1990.
"'It was an honour for me to have been able to work with Mr. Mandela in the process that led to the adoption of the interim constitution and our first democratic elections in April 1994," De Klerk said.
"'Although we were political opponents, and although our relationship was often stormy, we were always able to come together at critical moments to resolve the many crises that arose during the negotiation process.'
"De Klerk and his wife, Elita, said in an official statement that they conveyed their condolences to Mandela's wife Graca Machel, the Mandela family and their friends, the African National Congress and the rest of South Africa.
"'South Africa has lost one of its founding fathers and one of its greatest sons.
"'I believe that his example will live on and that it will continue to inspire all South Africans to achieve his vision of non-racialism, justice, human dignity, and equality for all.
"'Tata, we shall miss you, but know that your spirit and example will always be there to guide us to the vision of a better and more just South Africa.'
"In a memorable concession speech, after the ANC won the historic April 1994 election, De Klerk said: 'Mandela will soon assume the highest office in the land with all the awesome responsibility which it bears. He will have to exercise this great responsibility in a balanced manner which will assure South Africans from all our communities that he has all their interests at heart. I am confident that this will be his intention.
"'Mandela has walked a long road, and now stands at the top of the hill. A traveller would sit and admire the view. But the man of destiny knows that beyond this hill lies another and another. The journey is never complete. As he contemplates the next hill, I hold out my hand to Mr Mandela – in friendship and in co-operation.'
("FW de Klerk: world Has Lost a Great Unifier with Nelson Mandela's Death: South African president who freed Nelson Mandela, shared Nobel prize with him and joined him in first post-apartheid government, says 'he lived reconciliation and was never bitter,'" by Warren Murray, "The Guardian,," 5 December 2013, at:
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/06/fw-de-klerk-nelson-mandela-death)
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/06/2013 10:42PM by steve benson.