Nelson Mandela died on Thursday 5th December, 2013 at the age of 95.
The international development community weighed in on the former South African President and hero of the anti-apartheid struggle as a stalwart crusader for global human rights, anti-HIV and AIDS advocate, and source of inspiration to many.
Here are some of the statements issued by world leaders and luminaries of the international development community.
President Barrack Obama "he did it all
with grace, good humour and ability to acknowledge his own imperfections only
makes his achievements more remarkable. … As long as I live I will do what I
can to learn from him."
French President François Hollande said Mandela's message
will continue to "inspire fighters for freedom, and to give confidence to
peoples in the defense of just causes and universal rights."
South African President Jacob Zuma, who announced Mandela's
death, said that the nation "has lost its greatest son. Our people have
lost a father."
George W. Bush said Mandela was "one of the great
forces for freedom and equality of our time."
Bill Clinton
tweeted that "I will never forget my friend Madiba."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed Mandela as
one of the "most honourable figures of our time, He was the father of his
people, a man of vision, a freedom fighter who rejected violence."
Argentina's UN Ambassador Maria Cristina Perceval called
Mandela "a man who gave hope to the entire world. ... Good men and women, men such as Mandela, resisted and
taught us to resist fear … to resist oblivion,"
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said "made racism everywhere not just immoral but stupid; something not only to
be disagreed with, but to be despised. In its place he put the inalienable
right of all humankind to be free and to be equal."
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon: “Nelson Mandela was a giant for justice and a down-to-earth human inspiration … On behalf of the United Nations, I extend my deepest condolences to the people of South Africa and especially to Nelson Mandela’s family, and indeed our global family.”
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim: “The world has lost a man who brought a rainbow of possibilities to a country that was segregated into black and white. But his gifts to humankind remain with us. He taught the world that no matter the sins of the past, no matter the horror of apartheid, the way ahead toward peace was to forgive but not forget, to remember what happened but also to offer a hand in order to start anew … On this sad day, our thoughts are with the South African people.”
Bill Gates said: “Melinda and I admired Nelson Mandela, as the world did, for his courageous stand against apartheid. But we came to know him personally for a different reason: the fight against HIV/AIDS"
Winnie Byanyima, executive director of Oxfam International: “My direct contact with President Nelson Mandela was in the context of helping Burundian women to participate in the Arusha peace process. Madiba met Burundi women peace activists and signaled to the negotiators the importance of an inclusive process for a just, peaceful and prosperous future … He was the most consistent and powerful voice for social justice in the 20th century.”
Source: devex.com
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