The Hindu : International : Tributes pour in as Mandela turns 86

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jul 19, 2004

International

International

Tributes pour in as Mandela turns 86

JOHANNESBURG, JULY 18. Tributes poured in for Nelson Mandela today as the man credited with saving South Africa from race war celebrated his 86th birthday with close family and friends far from the familiar gaze of the world's media.

Among well-wishers was erstwhile foe Mangosuthu Buthelezi, whose Opposition Inkatha Freedom Party fought a fierce turf war with Mr. Mandela's African National Congress that saw an estimated 20,000 people killed in the years leading up to the first all-race elections in 1994 which installed Mr. Mandela as President.

``Through his unstinting work and dedication Madiba has managed to touch the hearts and souls of millions of people across the globe,'' Mr. Buthelezi said in a public birthday message to Mr. Mandela, affectionately known by his clan name Madiba.

The New National Party, which rose from the ashes of the National party that constructed the apartheid system of racial segregation and exploitation, praised the example Mr. Mandela has set to South Africans.

``The nation is indebted to former President Mandela for the selfless service he continues to give the nation and especially those in need. To Mr. Mandela there is never a thought spared for himself, it is always for others,'' the party said of the man its political forbears saw jailed for 27 years.

After his release from jail, Mr. Mandela is credited with holding South Africa together as its first black President and averting a race war that many predicted after the end of white hegemony in 1994.

Reuters

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