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10 Dec 2013

Mandela remembered as a ‘giant of history’ by Obama

Barack Obama praises Nelson Mandela as “the last great liberator of the 20th century”, and Jacob Zuma is booed, at the former South African president’s memorial service in Johannesburg.

– Barack Obama shakes hands with Cuba’s Raul Castro
– President Jacob Zuma is booed by the crowd
– Mandela’s grandchildren and world leaders give key speeches

Rain poured from dark skies in Johannesburg, but it did nothing to deter the tens of thousands who came out to say farewell to their former leader. The 95,000-seater stadium in Soweto was filled with people singing and dancing, as the memorial service got underway.

After a delayed start, the service started with a singing of the national anthem. ANC Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa then welcomed visitors, referring to Nelson Mandela as “our father”.

He apologised for the rain and bed weather, but added that in the African tradition: “When it rains when you are buried, it means the gods are welcoming you to the gates of heaven”.

Obama on Madiba

During the service, US President Barack Obama shook the hand of Cuba’s Raul Castro (see video above): an unprecedented gesture between the leaders of two nations which have been at loggerheads for more than half a century.

Mr Castro smiled as Obama shook his hand on the way to the podium as he made his speech at the commemoration for former South African President Mandela.

President Obama was received warmly in the stadium, and his passionate and personal tribute to “Madiba” was greeted with a standing ovation. He described Mandela as a “giant of history” and said that learning about his fight for justice “woke me up to my responsibilities”.

His speech was also a lecture to other world leaders, to learn from Mandela’s example. “There are too many of us who happily embrace Madiba’s legacy of racial reconciliation, but passionately resist even modest reforms that would challenge chronic poverty and growing inequality,” he said. “There are too many leaders who claim solidarity with Madiba’s struggle for freedom, but do not tolerate dissent from their own people.”

In his address, Mr Castro described Mandela as the “ultimate symbol of dignity and the revolutionary struggle”.

Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe received wide applause from the raucous crowd when he arrived.

President Zuma booed

However there was a hostile reception for South Africa’s current president, Jacob Zuma, when he arrived (see video above) and the stadium was again filled with “boos” when his picture appeared on a screen. Mr Ramaphosa asked the crowd to be respectful and the stadium emptied as he took to the stage to make his speech.

President Zuma called Mandela a “freedom fighter”, and said that he never wanted to be considered a “saint”. He said that South Africa’s commitment to building a nation on human rights and democracy, would be his legacy.

Mandela’s ex-wife, Winnie, and his widow, Graca Machel, were greeted with huge cheers in the Soccer City stadium – the same place where 23 years earlier, Mandela was hailed by supporters after being newly freed from apartheid jail.

Delegations from 91 countries also arrived in the South African capital to pay their respects to Nelson Mandela. US President Barack Obama, former president George W Bush, and their wives Michelle and Laura, arrived from Pretoria’s Waterkloof air base.

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said he would not attend, due to travel and security costs.

Tuesday’s memorial is the centrepiece of a national week of mourning for South Africa’s revered statesman, who died on 5 December, aged 95.

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