Nelson Mandela From Apartheid Fighter to President- Part-1

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 JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – Nelson Mandela guided South Africa from the shackles of apartheid to multi-racial democracy, as an icon of peace and reconciliation who came to embody the struggle for justice around the world.

Imprisoned for nearly three decades for his fight against white minority rule, Mandela emerged determined to use his prestige and charisma to bring down apartheid while avoiding a civil war.

“The time for the healing of the wounds has come. The moment to bridge the chasms that divide us has come,” Mandela said in his acceptance speech on becoming South Africa’s first black president in 1994.

“We have, at last, achieved our political emancipation.”

Nelson Mandela From Apartheid Fighter to President- Part-1

Mandela went on to play a prominent role on the world stage as an advocate of
human dignity in the face of challenges ranging from political repression to AIDS.
He formally left public life in June 2004 before his 86th birthday, telling his
adoring countrymen: Don’t call me. I’ll call you. But he remained one of the
worldÕs most revered public figures, combining celebrity sparkle with an
unwavering message of freedom, respect and human rights.
ÔÔHe is at the epicenter of our time, ours in South Africa, and yours, wherever you are,
Nadine Gordimer, the South African writer and Nobel Laureate for Literature, once
remarked.

Nelson Mandela From Apartheid Fighter to President- Part-1

The years Mandela spent behind bars made him the worldÕs most celebrated
political prisoner and a leader of mythic stature for millions of black South
Africans and other oppressed people far beyond his countryÕs borders.
Charged with capital offences in the 1963 Rivonia Trial, his statement from the
dock was his political testimony.
ÔÔDuring 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 cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons
live together in harmony and with equal opportunities, he told the court.
ÔÔIt is an ideal I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for
which I am prepared to die.
Friends adored Mandela and fondly called him ÔÔMadiba, the clan name by which
he was known. People lauded his humanity, kindness and dignity.