Vancouver Sun Editorial "Horrified" at Mandela's Comments.
Thursday » February 6 » 2003 Mandela's characterization of the U.S. is horrifying The Ottawa Citizen (reprinted in the Sun) Tuesday, February 04, 2003 Those who admire Nelson Mandela must have been saddened last week to see how far he has fallen. Speaking in Johannesburg, Mr. Mandela called U.S. President George W. Bush a man who wants to "plunge the world into a holocaust." He said that if there was one country in the world that commits atrocities, it was the U.S., whose leaders "don't care for human beings." The real jaw-dropper was still to come. In seeking to confront Saddam Hussein, Americans are showing their racist nature, Mr. Mandela said. "Is it because the secretary-general of the United Nations is now a black man? They never did that when secretary-generals were white." With hatred of America the new world religion, hysterical slanders against the U.S. are commonplace. At anti-globalization rallies, one finds at least a handful of people holding signs denouncing Mr. Bush as a "war criminal" who plots "genocide" against the dispossessed. Demonstrators suggest that the U.S. is no better, and possibly worse, than the likes of Syria or Iran. Coming from bandanna-wearing anarchists, such mischief is expected. Coming from Mr. Mandela, a man of huge moral authority, it is horrifying. During his long imprisonment on Robben Island, Mr. Mandela became, deservedly, a silent symbol of courage and resilience. Moses died before crossing into the Promised Land, and if Mr. Mandela had been a character in a novel or movie, he might have died in prison, his struggle unfinished, remaining more myth than man. Happily, Mr. Mandela lived to complete his journey. But that also means that those of us inclined to idealize him are now forced to see a flawed human being. In 1997, Mr. Mandela travelled to Libya and embraced Moammar Gadhafi, calling the dictator "My dear brother leader." A year later, he ignored U.S. concerns and negotiated diplomatic relations with Iraq and North Korea. He issued ambiguous statements after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, suggesting, for instance, that Osama bin Laden couldn't be called a terrorist since he hadn't been convicted of anything. Mr. Mandela is now an old man. The greatest honour we can grant our hero is to remember him as he was, and assume age is taking its toll. ------------------------------------------- Macdonald Stainsby http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/rad-green http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international -- In the contradiction lies the hope. --Bertholt Brecht _______________________________________________ Leninist-International mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] To change your options or unsubscribe go to: http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/listinfo/leninist-international
