Nelson Mandela dies at 95

South Africa's first black president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela has died, South Africa's president says. Mr Mandela, 95, led South Africa's transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s, after 27 years in prison.

He had been receiving intense home-based medical care for a lung infection after three months in hospital.

A statement on South African national TV, Jacob Zuma said Mr Mandela had "departed" and was at peace.

"Our nation has lost its greatest son," Mr Zuma said.

He said Mr Mandela would receive a full state funeral, and flags would be flown at half-mast.

BBC correspondents say Mr Mandela's body will be moved to a mortuary in Pretoria, and the funeral is likely to take place next Saturday.

A crowd has gathered outside the house where Mr Mandela died. Some are flying South African flags and wearing the shirts of the governing African National Congress, which Mr Mandela once led.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate was one of the world's most revered statesmen after preaching reconciliation despite being imprisoned for 27 years.

He had rarely been seen in public since officially retiring in 2004. He made his last public appearance in 2010, at the football World Cup in South Africa.

His fellow campaigner against apartheid, Archbishop Desmond Tutu said he was not only an amazing gift to humankind, he made South Africans and Africans feel good about being who we are. He made us walk tall. God be praised."

What made Nelson Mandela great was precisely what made him human. We saw in him what we seek in ourselves," Mr Zuma said.

"Fellow South Africans, Nelson Mandela brought us together and it is together that we will bid him farewell."

Tributes have come in from around the world. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was "a giant for justice and a down-to-earth human inspiration".

"Many around the world were greatly influenced by his selfless struggle for human dignity, equality and freedom. He touched our lives in deeply personal ways."

US President Barack Obama said Mr Mandela achieved more than could be expected of any man.

"He no longer belongs to us - he belongs to the ages," Mr Obama said, saying Mr Mandela "took history in his hands and bent the arc of the moral universe towards justice".

Mr Obama, the first black president of the United States, said he was one of the millions who drew inspiration from Mr Mandela's life.

FW de Klerk, who as South Africa's last white president ordered Mr Mandela's release, called him a "unifier" and said he had "a remarkable lack of bitterness".

He told the BBC: "I think his greatest legacy... is that we are basically at peace with each other notwithstanding our great diversity, that we will be taking hands once again now around his death and around our common sadness and mourning."

UK Prime Minister David Cameron also paid tribute, saying "a great light has gone out in the world".

Earlier this year, Mr Mandela spent nearly three months in hospital with a recurring lung infection.

He was moved to his home in the Houghton suburb of Johannesburg in September, where he continued to receive intensive care. (Source: BBC)

1918 Born in the Eastern Cape
1943 Joined African National Congress
1956 Charged with high treason, but charges dropped after a four-year trial
1962 Arrested, convicted of incitement and leaving country without a passport, sentenced to five years in prison
1964 Charged with sabotage, sentenced to life
1990 Freed from prison
1993 Wins Nobel Peace Prize
1994 Elected first black president
1999 Steps down as leader
2001 Diagnosed with prostate cancer
2004 Retires from public life
2005 Announces his son has died of an HIV/Aids-related illness
http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/39816-nelson-mandela-dies-at-95.html

President Mahinda Rajapaksa described late Nelson Mandela as an iconic figure who has left an indelible mark globally. In a condolence message, President Rajapaksa as Chair in Office of the Commonwealth said the Commonwealth was enriched with the return of South Africa to its fold in 1994, under the leadership of the late Nelson Mandela.

President Rajapaksa, in his message of condolences to South African President Jacob Zuma said the legacy left behind by the late leader would be hard to surpass.

Full text of the condolence message:

Excellency,

On behalf of the Commonwealth, as its Chair in Office, I convey our heartfelt sympathies to Your Excellency, the Government and the people of South Africa, and in particular, family members on the sad passing of the founding father of modern South Africa, His Excellency Nelson Mandela. He was an iconic figure who has left an indelible mark on all of us globally.

The Commonwealth was enriched with the return of South Africa to its fold in 1994, under the leadership of the late Nelson Mandela, who represented the highest values of human dignity and statesmanship in contemporary history. Having sacrificed a major part of his illustrious life in prison to end the abhorrent practice of apartheid, he brought new life, dignity and freedom to the people of South Africa, and indeed to the whole of the African continent, which has the largest regional representation in the Commonwealth. The legacy he leaves behind will indeed be hard to surpass.

The highest tribute we in the Commonwealth can pay to this great son of South Africa and Statesman is to preserve the values of democracy, diversity and unity that he so cherished.
http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/39852-mandela-an-iconic-figure-mr.html

World lost a true hero.
R.I.P

Prisoner 46664 is no more. Mandela was a great living hero of our time.

Monster wrote:Prisoner 46664 is no more. Mandela was a great living hero of our time.

Yes Sir.
(To those who believe in numerology, he got a very luck number).  

"May Nelson Mandela rest in peace.''

A strong character indeed.

Never never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression of one by another - Madiba (Mandela)

Farewell Madiba , who showed us that the seemingly impossible could be achieved,in this cynical age we live in.

hats off u sir..

The Life of Nelson Mandela, 1918-2013 (New York Times - short video)



http://www.nytimes.com/video/2013/12/05/world/africa/1247465446832/nelson-mandela-1918-2013.html?smid=fb-share

may he Rest In Peace.

this is sheer nonsense.what has Nelson Mandela's death got to do with the cse? can someone please explain?it is time the forum should only have postings relevant to the movement of the stock market.postings of this nature makes it only boring and uninteresting

dudi wrote:this is sheer nonsense.what has Nelson Mandela's death got to do with the cse? can someone please explain?it is time the forum should only have postings relevant to the movement of the stock market.postings of this nature makes it only boring and uninteresting

Mate,
Nothing to say, we can understand your calibre and humanity. That's all. Time to time these type of news posts unmasking some of our valuable (?) members.

redbull,it is not that I don't like Nelson Mandela or anything.he was a great leader.no argument about that.however,that topic does not fit a forum like this.it is irrelevant and that's it

dudi wrote:redbull,it is not that I don't like Nelson Mandela or anything.he was a great leader.no argument about that.however,that topic does not fit a forum like this.it is irrelevant and that's it

Just posted to respect the great hero.

dudi wrote:redbull,it is not that I don't like Nelson Mandela or anything.he was a great leader.no argument about that.however,that topic does not fit a forum like this.it is irrelevant and that's it

This is posted under news, well it has nothing to do with CSE but it was "the news" of the day. May he rest in peace.

The most valuable trait in him (which I value very much and also most difficult for Mandela to handle) was his ability of successfull management of black superiority. Its easy to rouse locals against occupying forces but its very difficult to controle the governments Jathika Alaya after independance. If not for this ability of Mandela, South Africa will never be able to prosper economically. Our leaders should carefully study this aspect of his life for lessons to be learnt.

End of a very long and difficult journey. It is interesting to read his autobiography in which you will find where he started, where he ended and the journey in between . Sad to hear that he is no more..

If NYSE observed a 1 min silence, what's wrong with we posting a simple sentence respecting him.......

May Nelson Mandela (Madiba) R.I.P. South Africa lost their great father. World lost one of greate leader.

But Personally I do not like people ( Such as BBC, CNN & other media) calling him first "BLACK" president in SA. It should be another way.

dudi wrote:this is sheer nonsense.what has Nelson Mandela's death got to do with the cse? can someone please explain?it is time the forum should only have postings relevant to the movement of the stock market.postings of this nature makes it only boring and uninteresting

Money isn't every thing.Best asset a man can have is HUMANITY. Mandelas death create grate vacuum in the world for grate leaders who value humanity.So do not look  at things through a tube.Be open and broad minded and lets value HUMANITY.........!GOOD BYE MANDELA ....!!

Nelson Mandela: the long goodbye

As more than 90 world leaders descend on Johannesburg, the public farewell to the former South Africa president will rival any such event we have seen

By Harry Mount8:08PM GMT 09 Dec 2013

Nelson Mandela’s memorial service and his funeral on Sunday may not produce the biggest gatherings ever in Africa. Five million people attended the funeral of President Nasser in Cairo in 1970. In terms of global appeal, though, Mandela is in a different stratosphere – a unique combination of head of state, national icon, tribal leader and a figurehead of forgiveness, peace and racial equality.

It will be tricky to fit the right sort of occasion – with the right mix of mourning and celebration – to the death of such a figure. The plans, as they stand, square the circle pretty well.
More than 90 world leaders are expected to attend a four-hour memorial service in the 95,000-seat Soccer City Stadium in Soweto, Johannesburg. It’s the ideal spot – Soweto was the crucible of the struggle against apartheid and the stadium was the site of Mandela’s last public appearance at the 2010 World Cup. Johannesburg is also where Mandela died, in the pleasant suburb of Houghton.

A barnstormer of an address can be expected from President Obama – who has said the battle against apartheid sparked his first political activities. But what a logistical and security nightmare it will be. The public won’t need any accreditation to get into the stadium. And someone is going to have to do a very deft seating plan – David Cameron will not want to be sitting too close to Raúl Castro and Robert Mugabe.

President Hassan Rouhani of Iran may finally be on telephone-chatting terms with President Obama, but they’re hardly the best of buddies. Tehran’s Kayhan newspaper greeted the news of Rouhani’s attendance at the memorial service with the words, “Satan lays a trap, this time in Johannesburg.”

The funeral may be even trickier to arrange, being held, as it is, in Mandela’s remote village birthplace, Qunu – with only one small access road and a tiny local airport, 20 miles away. Most of the world leaders have been encouraged to leave after today’s memorial service. But some who were particularly close to Mandela – such as the Clinton family – will stay on. Others, such as the Prince of Wales, are coming to the funeral but not to the memorial service.
Mandela’s lying-in-state appears to be the most traditional – and easiest to arrange – part of this unique 10 days of ceremonial mourning. It will take place at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, the setting for his presidential inauguration in 1994. It is yet to be seen whether he will lie in an open coffin – the arrangement favoured by Catholic and totalitarian cultures; less so by Protestant ones.

The buildings will be given over to VIP visitors; Thursday and Friday will belong to the public, who will be able to view the coffin but not take photographs. On Saturday, Mandela’s body will be flown by military aircraft to Mthatha, in Eastern Cape Province. From there, his coffin will be taken by gun carriage to Qunu – in a symbolic transfer from public to private, the South African flag over his coffin will be changed to a traditional Xhosa blanket. Overnight, Mandela’s family, local chiefs and ANC leaders will stand sentinel over the coffin.

Crucial as these formal, public arrangements are, it’s unlikely that they will provide the enduring images of the occasion. Looking back at the great funerals of the modern age, it is the informal moments that are frozen in our minds.

At Churchill’s funeral in 1965, the moment most mourners recall is when the cranes of London’s dockyards dipped as his coffin was borne up the Thames. It was then the biggest state funeral to date, with 112 world leaders attending, and 350 million people watching the service live throughout Europe.

That was still the infancy of the television age. Mandela’s memorial service and funeral will be watched by hundreds of millions more. It will rank with the funeral of Pope John Paul II in 2005, attended by more than 70 heads of state, including five queens and four kings. It is thought to have been the biggest Christian gathering in history, with four million mourners flocking to Rome.

The Mandela ceremonials don’t follow a pre-set formula – to our eyes, it might seem odd to have a memorial service before a funeral. But even our most formal funerals often have an unscripted element.

Churchill’s funeral was partly based on Nelson’s – he, too, was carried up the Thames in a lead-lined coffin before being carried into St Paul’s; unlike Churchill’s coffin, Nelson’s was filled with distilled wine, an effective embalming fluid.

Jackie Kennedy largely modelled her late husband’s funeral on that of Abraham Lincoln. Only hours after JFK was assassinated, she rang Professor James Robertson, a Civil War historian, and asked him to research Lincoln’s funeral. Robertson rushed to the Library of Congress and trawled through back numbers of Harper’s Weekly and Frank Leslie’s Illustrated to track down woodcuts of Lincoln’s coffin in the East Room of the White House.

British royal state funerals – those of the Queen Mother and George VI among them – have a more formulaic pattern, with a lying-in-state in Westminster Hall. Pope John Paul II’s funeral also had built-in, traditional obsequies, from the crushing of the Papal Ring of the Fisherman, to prevent fraudulent posthumous sealing of Vatican documents, to the funeral clothes: a white soutane and alb, a stole and a red chasuble, following Byzantine practice.

On the next rung down from royal and papal funerals are ceremonial funerals, such as Lady Thatcher’s in April. Here, there is greater freedom of interpretation. Lady Thatcher had a church service at St Paul’s, a guard of honour and even more military honours than the Queen Mother or the Princess of Wales, because she was a former head of government. The choice of hymns and the decision to transfer her coffin to a gun carriage at St Clement Danes were entirely her own.
Even in the modern, televised age, where we have got used to the manufactured emotions of performers and manipulated responses of the audience, it is genuine, unrehearsed feeling that hits home.

At President Kennedy’s funeral in St Matthew’s Cathedral, Washington, the heart-breakingly memorable image is of John F Kennedy Junior’s salute on the steps, as his father’s coffin is carried away. The funeral fell on the day he turned three and his birthday party had to be postponed.
Bobby Kennedy’s funeral isn’t remembered so much for the requiem Mass at St Patrick’s Cathedral, New York, or his burial next to his brother in Arlington National Cemetery. What lingers in the mind is the train that carried his body from New York to Washington. All along the 225-mile route, the public lined the tracks, hand on heart, waving home-made banners, declaring “So long, Bobby”.

The most stirring moments after Diana, Princess of Wales’s death were the unprecedented, instinctive ones. The sea of flowers outside Kensington Palace were something of an informal liturgy. And, for all the ceremonial magnificence, nothing could be as moving as two dignified boys, only 12 and 15 at the time, walking behind a mother’s coffin alongside their father, uncle and grandfather.
If that wasn’t enough, the card on the coffin, addressed to “Mummy”, could have cracked the hardest of republican hearts. The moments when grand, public display chimes with private, personal grief are those that echo through the ages.

But the killing of a 46-year-old serving president, or the violent death of a 36-year-old beautiful princess, are different from Mandela’s death. There is no sense of unfulfilled promise or a premature end. It would be difficult to ask for a fuller life: to die at 95, surrounded by your family and friends, to have done more than can be expected of anybody in a lifetime.
Mandela’s memorial service and funeral can’t help but match the ideal of both ceremonies: to mingle celebration with sadness.

Source - The Telegraph - 10th December 2013

Today I watched Mr.Mandela's body arrives to his hometown "Qunu" with warm respect from all nation.

Can we see this type of honest respect for future leaders around the word and Sri Lanka ?

Nlson Madela followed  DASARJA DHARMA PRINCIPLES although
he is not a Buddist

Our leaders preach DASARAJA DHRMA and do the opposite

Our present culture  based on Buddhist Hypocrisy do not allow to produce leaders like Nelson Mandela

different perspective...... ' Mandela Paradigm '

අප්‍රිකානු රජ පෙළපතකින් පැවත එන මැන්ඩෙලා මහතා සිය රජ පවුලේ නැති වූ උරුමය වෙනුවෙන් පෙනී සිටියේ නැත. මිෂනාරි පාසල් හරහා අප්‍රිකානු දරුවන් ක්‍රිස්තියානිකරණය වීම ගැන කතා කළේ නැත. දේශීය ආර්ථිකයක් ගැන කතා කළ ගාන්ධි තුමා දේශීය සංස්කෘතිය රැකීමක් ගැන කතා නොකළේ ය. මේ දෙදෙනා ම ඉල්ලා සිටියේ බටහිරයන් විසින් සිය රටවල ස්ථාපිත කරන ලද පාලන ක්‍රමය තුළ ස්වදේශිකයන්ට හිමි තැන ලබා දෙන ලෙස ය. මෙවැනි නායකයන් අප රට තුළ ද සිටි අතර, ඔවුන් ලෝක මට්ටමේ නායකයන් නොවීමට එකම හේතුව මැන්ඩෙලා, ගාන්ධි වැනි නායකයින්ට සාපේක්ෂව ඔවුන්ගේ ප්‍රතිභාවේ අඩු කම යි.

සාමාන්‍යයෙන් ආක්‍රමණිකයෙක් සිය යටත් විජිතයන්හි සිය ආධිපත්‍යය පතුරුවන්නේ එක්කෝ බලහත්කාරයෙනි. නැති නම් රැවටීම මගිනි. එවන් ආක්‍රමණිකයෙකුගෙන් සාමකාමීව නිදහස ඉල්ලීම ම විසංවාදී ය. එහෙත්, මැන්ඩෙලා මහතා සහ ගාන්ධි තුමා යන දෙදෙනාගේ ම සටන් සාමකාමී සටන් වූ බව පැවසේ. මේ දෙදෙනා ම දැන් හෝ නොදැන හෝ සිදු කර ඇත්තේ, අධිරාජ්‍යවාදයේ නව ගමන් මග කෙරෙහි ඇතැම් යටත්විජිතවාදයේ පැරණි ආකල්ප දැරූ නායකයන්ගෙන් එල්ල වූ බාධා වලට එරෙහිව සටන් වැදීම ය. තරුණ යටත්විජිතවාදීන්ගේ අභිලාෂයන් ඉටු කිරීමකි. තව ද, මේ දෙදෙනාගේ ම සටන් වල දී යටත්විජිතවාදයේ “සංස්කෘතික” සංරචකය ඉස්මතු නොවීම ද කැපී පෙනෙන ලක්ෂණයකි.

බටහිර අධිරාජ්‍යවාදය ප්‍රධාන සංරචක තුනක් ඔස්සේ ක්‍රියාත්මක වේ. දේශපාලන, ආර්ථික සහ සංස්කෘතික යනු එම සංරචක තුන වන අතර මේවා එකිනෙකින් ස්වායත්තව (වෙන් වෙන්ව) නොපවතී.
මේවායින් එකඳු හෝ සංරචකයකට යටත් වූ රටක් සෙසු සංරචක දෙකට ද යටත් වීම ස්වභාවය යි. මේ අනුව, අධිරාජ්‍යවාදයෙන් නිදහස් වීම යනු, මෙම සංරචක තුනෙන් ම නිදහස් වීම මිස එකකින් හෝ දෙකකින් හෝ නිදහස් වීම නොවන බව අවධාරණය කළ යුතු ය.
මෙකී අධිරාජ්‍යවාදය වර්තමානය වනවිට කෙසේ ක්‍රියාත්මක වේ දැ යි අනගාරික ධර්මපාල තුමා කල් තියා ම දුටු බව එතුමා විසින් කරන ලද මෙම ප්‍රසිද්ධ ප්‍රකාශයෙන් පැහැදිලි වෙයි. ”මතක තියා ගනිල්ලා කවදා හරි සුද්දෝ මේ රට දාලා යනවා. උන් යන්නේ උන්ගේ දරුවෝ වගේ විසි තිස් දාහක් බෝකලාට පස්සෙයි. ඊට පස්සේ මේ අපේ රට පාලනය කරන්නේ මේ කළු සුද්දෝ.” අද වන විට බටහිර ජාතීන්ගේ ඍජු යටත් විජිත ඇත් නම් ඒ අතලොස්සක් පමණි. එසේ නම් ධර්මපාල තුමා මේ ඉඟි කරන්නේ බටහිර යටත් විජිතවාදයේ අනාගත සුසමාදර්ශයක් (පැරඩයිමයක්) ගැන ය.

ගාන්ධි තුමාගේ ව්‍යාපාරය වියපත් බටහිර නායකයන්ගේ නොසතුටට හේතු වන්නට ඇතත්, තරුණ නායකයන්ගේ සතුටට, ප්‍රසාදයට හේතු වූවාට සැක නැත. මේ අනුව, දකුණු ආසියානු කලාපය තුළ අධිරාජ්‍යවාදයේ සුසමදර්ශීය වෙනසකට මුල පිරූ ගාන්ධි තුමා බටහිර ලෝකයේ වීරවරයෙකු ලෙසත්, ලෝක ආධිපත්‍යය බටහිරයන් සතු වීම හරහා ලෝක මට්ටමේ වීරවරයෙකු ලෙසත් ඉතිහාස ගත වී ඇත.

දකුණු අප්‍රිකාව හෙවත් නොමේරූ දරුවා

ආසියානු, අප්‍රිකානු කලාපයේ සෙසු රටවල් සමග සංසන්දනය කිරීමේ දී දකුණු අප්‍රිකාවේ තත්ත්වය ඉඳුරා ම වෙනස් එකක් විය. දකුණු අප්‍රිකානු රාජ්‍යය බිහි වීම ම මෙම නව සුසමාදර්ශය තුළ නොමේරු දරුවෙකු බිහි වීම වැනි ය.  මෙම නිදහස ලබා දීමේ දී දකුණු අප්‍රිකාවේ පාලන බලය හිමි වන්නේ ස්වදේශික සම්භවයක් සහිත කළු ජාතිකයන්ට (කළු සුද්දන් ට - chinwi ​) නොව මෙම සුදු ජාතිකයන්ට ය.

කෙසේ වෙතත්, මේ වන විට බ්‍රිතාන්‍යයන් ගෙන ගිය ආකාරයේ ම පාලනයක් ගෙන යා හැකි කළු ජාතිකයන් පිරිසක් එරට බිහි වෙමින් සිටි අතර, අප්‍රිකානු ජාතික කොන්ග්‍රසය ලෙස ක්‍රමක්‍රමයෙන් ශක්තිමත් වන්නේ මෙම පරපුර යි. මැන්ඩෙලා මහතා නායකත්වය ලබා දෙන්නේ එම පරපුරට යි.
ඔහු සටන් කරන්නේ දකුණු අප්‍රිකානු සුදු රජයේ වර්ණභේදවාදී ප්‍රතිපත්ති වලට එරෙහිව ය. ඔහු සිර ගත වන්නේ සුදු ජාතික ආණ්ඩුව පෙරලීමට ගන්නා උත්සාහ නිසා ය.
අධිරාජ්‍යවාදයේ නව සුසමාදර්ශය 1970-80 දශක වන විට ලෝකය පුරා ස්ථාපිත වී තිබූ අවස්තාවක, එය දකුණු අප්‍රිකාව තුළ ක්‍රියාත්මක නොවීම කෙරෙහි බලපාන එරට සුදු ජාතික රජයේ ක්‍රියා කලාපය බටහිර රටවල ම දෝෂදර්ශනයට ලක් වීම ස්වභාවික ය. මෙම සුසමාදර්ශය සිය රටෙහි ස්ථාපිත කිරීමවෙනුවෙන් සටන් වදින මැන්ඩෙලා මහතා බටහිර අධිරාජ්‍යවාදීන්ගේ වීරවරයෙක් වීම ද මේ අනුව ස්වභාවික ය. එම අධිරාජ්‍යවාදයට නතු වූ ලෝකයක එවැන්නෙක් ලෝක මට්ටමේ විරුවෙක් වීම ද ස්වභාවික ය.

http://www.yuthukama.com/2013/12/MandelaParadigm.html

chinwi,

"මේ දෙදෙනා ම ඉල්ලා සිටියේ බටහිරයන් විසින් සිය රටවල ස්ථාපිත කරන ලද පාලන ක්‍රමය තුළ ස්වදේශිකයන්ට හිමි තැන ලබා දෙන ලෙස ය."

Is the below accurate regarding Ghandi?

When he was in South Africa, yes thats how Ghandi started his fight . But when in India he ultimate goal was different.

I highlight one of Ghandi quotes relevant to this fact

" there is no people on Earth who would not prefer their own bad government to the good government of an alien power. "