Post by cjm on Jan 19, 2016 7:55:34 GMT
Mbeki clearing his smudged image
Some odds and ends about the fact that the first article by Mbeki is about plots. Willie Esterhuyse on the Sunday night RSG talkshow said that liberation movements are obsessed by plots (imagined or real). Thanks, that was very helpful. Prof Esterhuyse (for those who don't know) was the man who saved SA. On the same show Max du Preez reaffirmed his number one position as the Sunshine Boy. We are so lucky to live in SA. The good news thread ran into the Financial Discussion as well where we were reassured that the new minister of Finances will undo all damage caused by Nene's sudden departure. In fact, one wonder whether there is anything to be undone as it was emphasised that the Rand's demise has nothing to do with SA - it is the world markets which are playing havoc with our fortunes. That is so comforting to know.
The link above helped me to locate Mbeki's statements about Mandela - which I read long ago but could not find again
...
I [ie Mbeki] have mentioned the people I have to make essential and crucial points, central to the value system of our movement and struggle, that none of these heroes or heroines ever sought adulation in any manner that would turn them into cult figures.
They never did anything, nor did we act in any way as we grew up in the liberation movement, which would result in our movement being enslaved in the cult of the individual.
In this regard there were exceptional circumstances attached to Comrade Nelson Mandela, which were not of his making or will.
In the context of the global struggle for the release of political prisoners in our country, our movement took a deliberate decision to profile Nelson Mandela as the representative personality of these prisoners, and therefore to use his personal political biography, including the persecution of his then wife, Winnie Mandela, dramatically to present to the world and the South African community the brutality of the apartheid system.
...
Some odds and ends about the fact that the first article by Mbeki is about plots. Willie Esterhuyse on the Sunday night RSG talkshow said that liberation movements are obsessed by plots (imagined or real). Thanks, that was very helpful. Prof Esterhuyse (for those who don't know) was the man who saved SA. On the same show Max du Preez reaffirmed his number one position as the Sunshine Boy. We are so lucky to live in SA. The good news thread ran into the Financial Discussion as well where we were reassured that the new minister of Finances will undo all damage caused by Nene's sudden departure. In fact, one wonder whether there is anything to be undone as it was emphasised that the Rand's demise has nothing to do with SA - it is the world markets which are playing havoc with our fortunes. That is so comforting to know.
The link above helped me to locate Mbeki's statements about Mandela - which I read long ago but could not find again
...
I [ie Mbeki] have mentioned the people I have to make essential and crucial points, central to the value system of our movement and struggle, that none of these heroes or heroines ever sought adulation in any manner that would turn them into cult figures.
They never did anything, nor did we act in any way as we grew up in the liberation movement, which would result in our movement being enslaved in the cult of the individual.
In this regard there were exceptional circumstances attached to Comrade Nelson Mandela, which were not of his making or will.
In the context of the global struggle for the release of political prisoners in our country, our movement took a deliberate decision to profile Nelson Mandela as the representative personality of these prisoners, and therefore to use his personal political biography, including the persecution of his then wife, Winnie Mandela, dramatically to present to the world and the South African community the brutality of the apartheid system.
...