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HUGE PALESTINE BANNERS AT NELSON MANDELA'S MEMORIAL IN SOWETO
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Several Palestine banners - produced by South African trade unions, student groups and youth organizations - were spotted at last week's memorial for Nelson Mandela in Soweto. One of the banners, a tribute to Mandela's internationalism and support for the Palestinian struggle, displayed an iconic image of Nelson Mandela with fellow Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, and the well-known 1997 Madiba quote: "We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians". In addition, it was reported in Israeli media that the slogan “Free Palestine” could clearly be heard in the stadium during the memorial - an indicator of South Africa's support for the Palestinian people. Click here to see images of the Nelson Mandela Palestine tribute banners that were at the Soweto memorial event.
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PHOTOS FROM THE ARCHIVES: MANDELA IN PALESTINE
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Click here to go to the online album of images and photos from the 1990s and 2000s of Nelson Mandela in Palestine, Libya, Zambia and other countries where Mandela held meetings and events with Palestinian leaders and other officials. The album includes a rare photo from 2006 of Nelson Mandela exchanging notes with fellow Palestinian "freedom fighter", Leila Khaled (dubbed "the poster girl of the Palestinian struggle" but often termed a terrorist by the USA and Israel, similar to how Nelson Mandela was labeled during the 1980s). Click here to view the photo album.
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PALESTINIANS MOURN PASSING OF MANDELA
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Christian and Muslim communities across Palestine held special services on Sunday in honour of Nelson Mandela. Palestinian Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant congregations dedicated their prayers to Mandela, who Palestinians widely considered one of their strongest international allies and defenders (click here). Sadly, Israeli forces fired rubber bullets and tear gas at some of the Palestinian memorials and rallies in honor of Nelson Mandela (click here). At one of the memorials, Dr Hanan Ashrawi of the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO), who knew Nelson Mandela well, said that Mandela had "internalised the Palestinian issue, it was his issue, it wasn't just a question of solidarity" (click here). Magid Shihade, from Ramallah, recalled meeting the first Ambassador from Democratic South Africa to be posted in Palestine after Apartheid: “He [the newly appointed SA Ambassador] told me that before arriving to his post, Mandela told him: ‘This is not any typical diplomatic post. The Palestinian cause is our cause...please go to Palestine not just an ambassador, but as an ally.’” (click here). In addition, a national day of mourning was announced throughout Palestine and all flags were flown at half mast. Click here for more info.
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RARE VIDEO: MANDELA SPEAKING ON PALESTINE [NEW YORK, 1990]
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The above video is from a 1990 town hall meeting, held in New York City and chaired by Ted Koppel of ABC Networks (click here to watch the video on YouTube). The meeting formed part Nelson Mandela's first visit to the USA immediately following his release from prison.
A significant part of the town hall meeting focused on Nelson Mandela's advocating (on behalf of the African National Congress and the larger South African liberation struggle) for sanctions to be applied against Apartheid South Africa, his and the ANC's support for the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) as well as his close friendship with Yasser Arafat (of Palestine) and Fidel Castro (of Cuba).
The town hall meeting took place in 1990, long before the world had embraced Nelson Mandela as a "giant of justice". However, even then, when it may have been unfashionable and unpopular to support the Palestinians against, what Mandela termed, Israeli "colonialism", Mandela stood firm and resolute on his principles and the policies of the ANC - Mandela was, after all, conveying the long-standing positions held by the ANC and the larger South African liberation movement. Hamba Kahle Tata...
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MANDELA ON PALESTINE, IN HIS OWN WORDS...
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“The United Nations took a strong stand against apartheid; and over the years, an international consensus was built, which helped to bring an end to this iniquitous system...but we know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”
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“If one has to refer to any of the parties as a terrorist state, one might refer to the Israeli government, because they are the people who are slaughtering defenseless and innocent Arabs in the occupied [Palestinian] territories, and we don’t regard that as acceptable.”
(Nelson Mandela, 1990)
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""Why are they [the USA] not seeking to confiscate weapons of mass destruction from their ally Israel?"
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"[Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat] is fighting against a unique form of [Israeli] colonialism, and we wish him success in his struggle…if the truth alienates the powerful Jewish community in South Africa, that’s too bad…we expect everybody who is exploring the possibility of lasting solutions to be able to face the truth squarely.”
"What we know is that Israel has weapons of mass destruction. Nobody talks about that. Why should there be one standard for one country, especially because it is black, and another one for another country, Israel, that is white."
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"I sincerely believe that there are many similarities between our struggle and that of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)."
"The histories of our two peoples, Palestinian and South African, correspond in such painful and poignant ways"
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"We are proud as a government, and as the overwhelming majority of South Africans to be part of an international consensus taking root that the time has come to resolve the problems of Palestine."
(Nelson Mandela, 1997)
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"We [South Africans and Palestinians] live under a unique form of colonialism in South Africa, as well as in Israel, and a lot flows from that"
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"The lesson of history is that for the masses of the people, the methods of political action which they use are determined by the oppressor himself. If the oppressor uses peaceful means, the oppressed would never resort to violence. It is when the oppressor – in addition to his repressive policies – uses violence, that the oppressed have no alternative but to retaliate by similar forms of action. And, therefore, the pains, the blood that was spilled, and the responsibility for that lies squarely on the shoulders of the [oppressive] regime."
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"The long-standing fraternal bonds between our two liberation movements are now translating into relations between two governments".
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"The temptation in our situation is to speak in muffled tones about an issue such as the right of the people of Palestine…we can easily be enticed to read reconciliation and fairness as meaning parity between justice and injustice. Having achieved our own freedom, we can fall into the trap of washing our hands of difficulties that others faces…yet we would be less than human if we did so…it behoves all South Africans, themselves erstwhile beneficiaries of generous international support, to stand up and be counted among those contributing actively to the cause of freedom and justice…"
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"It would be a grave mistake for us to consider our attitude toward [Palestine's] Yasser Arafat on the basis of the interests of the Jewish community…"
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"Our men and women with vision choose peace rather than confrontation, except in cases where we cannot proceed, where we cannot move forward, then, if the only alternative is violence, we will use violence.''
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“One of the mistakes which some political analysts make is to think that their enemies should be our enemies…our attitude towards any country is determined by the attitude of that country towards our struggle…[Palestine's] Yasser Arafat...supports our struggle to the hilt…They [Palestine, Libya and Cuba] do not only support it [our struggle against Apartheid] in rhetoric, they [the Palestinians, Libyans and Cubans] are placing resources at our disposal for us to win the struggle."
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"I intensely feel myself being at home amongst compatriots [the Palestinians]"
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"One of the problems we are facing in the world today are people who do not look at problems objectively but from the point of view of their own interests. One of the best examples of this is to think that because [Palestinian leader, Yasser] Arafat is conducting a struggle against the State of Israel that we must therefore condemn him. We can't do that. It is just not possible for any organisation or individual of integrity to do anything of the sort."
(Nelson Mandela, 1990)
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"When in 1977, the United Nations passed the resolution inaugurating the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian people, it was asserting the recognition that injustice and gross human rights violations were being perpetrated in Palestine."
(Nelson Mandela, 1997)
"Just like ourselves they [the Palestinians] are fighting for the right to self-determination.”
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"We sympathize with the struggles of the Jewish people and their persecution [i.e. the Holocaust]…we have many Jews in our struggle [for example, comrades Joe Slovo and Ronnie Kasrils] and they have occupied many top position but that does not mean to say that the enemies of Israel are our enemies. We [South Africans] refuse to take that position. You can call it being political or a moral question but for anybody who changes his principles depending on whom he is dealing that is not a man who can lead a nation"
(Nelson Mandela, 1990)
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"We have assembled once again...as humanists to express our solidarity with the people of Palestine."
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"Our stand is [Palestine's] Arafat is a comrade in arms and we treat him as such".
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"The choice is not between freedom and justice, on the one hand, and their opposite, on the other. Peace and prosperity; tranquility and security are only possible if these are enjoyed by all without discrimination…it is in this spirit that I have come to join you today to add our own voice to the universal call for Palestinian self-determination"
(Nelson Mandela, 1997)
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“We identify with them [the Palestinians] because we do not believe it is right for the Israeli government to suppress basic human rights [of the Palestinians"
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"In extending our hands across the miles to the people of Palestine, we do so in the full knowledge that we are part of a humanity that is at one"
(Nelson Mandela, 1997)
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"We are proud of the modest technical assistance that our [South African] government is offering Palestine... but the various discussions with our counterparts in Palestine are an indication that we can do more."
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“The belligerent attitude which is adopted by the Israeli government is to us unacceptable.”
"All of us need to do more in supporting the struggle of the people of Palestine for self-determination"
(Nelson Mandela, 1997)
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