World News | Nelson Mandela Built Bridges of Peace, Mobilised People of World to Fight Against Social Injustice and Oppression: Prez Ramaphosa

Johannesburg, Jul 19 (PTI) South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has lauded the country's first democratically-elected president Nelson Mandela for his determination to fight oppression internationally, saying he built bridges of peace and mobilised the world to fight discrimination.

Unveiling a statue of the iconic leader at his birthplace Qunu in South Africa's rural Eastern Cape province, Ramaphosa said that Mandela's contribution won't ever be forgotten.

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“Madiba (Mandela's clan name by which he is affectionately known) built bridges of peace, and mobilised people of the world to fight against social injustice and oppression,” he said.

Qunu is where Mandela was born and where he was finally laid to rest in 2013.

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“Qunu had a special place in Madiba's heart. This was where he spent his boyhood being cared for by his family, tending cattle and listening to the stories of the elders about the bravery of his people.

“It was here in Qunu that the first seeds of his political consciousness were planted, where Madiba's imagination was first stirred, and where his great mind began to be shaped. Madiba's was no humble contribution. He led our nation to freedom, and even today, many years since his passing, his legacy lives on,” Ramaphosa said.

Recalling that there are many monuments paying tribute to Mandela across South Africa, Africa and countries ranging from Palestine to the United Kingdom, Seychelles, Senegal, Cuba, the US, Brazil, China, France, and many other places, Ramaphosa said unveiling one in his honour at Qunu, which meant so much to him, was special.

The statue, which was the second one unveiled by Ramaphosa on International Nelson Mandela Day on Tuesday, was commissioned by the Eastern Cape Provincial Heritage Resource Agency, the Mandela family, the Nelson Mandela Museum and the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture after a public consultation process.

“The statue we unveiled earlier today in Mthatha depicts Madiba in the role for which he was most well-known, that of a statesman. The statue here in Qunu depicts him in the attire of his Xhosa-Tembu culture, reminding us of the traditional values he lived by and that shaped his consciousness,” Ramaphosa said, as he expressed the hope that it would serve as an inspiration to young people.

Mandela became president in 1994 after being released from 27 years as a political prisoner of the apartheid-era white minority government in 1990.

He served only one four-year term before stepping down, after which he started a Foundation to address issues such as literacy, education, children's rights and poverty.

The UN has declared July 18 to be International Nelson Mandela Day.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)