Item 1283 - Article by Nelson Mandela " Mandela Is But Human" : Don

TRANSCRIPT

Original

Article by Nelson Mandela

"Mandela is but Human"

On 19 February 1996, at Potchefstroom University, I restated my testament: my desire to bring about reconciliation among South Africans - African, Coloured, Indian and white.
I also said that, as I near the end of my days, my determination to pursue these objectives will be even stronger. This I pronounced from the fullness of my convictions.
But is it correct for the President to talk about soon going to sleep forever, some have genuinely asked. Won't this plunge the country into turmoil?
I hope this short article will lay these concerns to rest.
Let me restate the obvious: I have long passed my teens; and the distance to my final destination is shorter than the road I have trudged over the years! All of us have to live with this truth, without suffering undue insecurity. That is what nature has decreed.
In any case, as I have indicated on countless occasions, I do not intend to continue in office after the end of this term.
There is no doubt that the broader population, serious investors and politicians have internalised this fact. The confidence in South Africa's future is reflected in the expansion of long-term fixed investments, the unfolding growth and development strategy and constitutional negotiations - all of which are laying the foundation for our progress well beyond the beginning of the new millennium.
A ridiculous notion is sometimes advanced that Mandela has been exclusively responsible for these real achievements of the South African people, particularly our smooth transition.
If only to emphasise that I am human, and as fallible as anyone else, let me admit that these accolades do flatter me. So too, does your editor's attribution to me of "warmth of spirit and generosity", in the edition of 18 February.
But what would irk any person worth his or her salt, is when these accolades present the President as "superhuman". Two very important falsehoods derive from this.
Firstly, the impression is created that the ANC - with its thousands of leaders and millions of supporters - is a mere rubber-stamp of my ideas. And the ministers, experts and others are all dwarfs, condemned to oblivion under the magic touch of a single individual.
Secondly, it seems to boggle the minds of some that success of world-wide significance can come out of a down-trodden people - out of Africa! How can Africans, with their supposed venality and incompetence achieve this feat! Thus, emerges an insinuation that I found quite distressing reading your editorial - that I do not belong to these African masses; I have not been raised by them; I do not share their aspirations: they are an epitome of retribution and turmoil; and I alone have "warmth of spirit and generosity".
Those who forecast doom for South Africa, suggest that I, alone, among Presidents of the ANC over the last 84 years, have created such a situation that, once I retire, the ANC will not be able to constitute a leadership collective, which will remain loyal to the policies of the movement - policies that I was directed to pursue while I was President.
I have on countless occasions explained how I matured, politically, within the ranks of a movement and a leadership that were critical in shaping my outlook. I am a product of the mire that our society was. On occasion, like other leaders, I have stumbled; and cannot claim to sparkle alone on a glorified perch.
Let me indulge the reader by citing three recent examples. I will exercise a bit of licence and may reveal information that has not as yet been made public.
In 1990, a number of leaders, including Joe Slovo, proposed that we should suspend armed actions. Because nothing much had come out of the fledgeling negotiations, I was taken aback: I was not convinced that it was the wisest thing to do. But after much discussion and soul-searching, I concurred; and the movement took that decision.
Later, it became clear that elements in the government were, by omission or commission, involved in the violence. Occasionally, issues came to a head with strange massacres. Except in the case of Boipatong and one or two others, my insistence that we suspend negotiations would be thrown out by the National Executive Committee.
Then there was the ANC Strategic Perspectives on enforced coalition. It took a lot of persuasion to convince me that that was the correct route to take - instead of direct majority rule and a voluntary decision by the majority party to take others on board.
Now, this should make me a Devil and other ANC leaders Angels!
But such an approach would be way off the mark. The ANC I lead has a rich tradition of frank discussion, looking at problems from different angles and synthesising ideas to reach balanced decisions.
It is particularly unacceptable that this strain of hero-worshipping should be coupled with a systematic campaign to denigrate other ANC leaders such as Deputy-President Thabo Mbeki - a campaign that is beyond any civilised norms of discourse, let alone objectivity. Further, an attempt is made to decide who should be in the leadership of the ANC, and whom I should have in Cabinet. The exaltation of the President, and denigration of other ANC leaders, constitutes praise which I do not accept.
Yes, I see nation-building and reconciliation as my mission: a mission of the ANC. The ideal of liberating all racial groups from past divisions aside; this is a strategy based on realism. For, none of the former enemies has vanquished the other. Through persuasion, and in line with the constitution, we should together build a democratic and prosperous society, at peace with itself.
At the opening of parliament this year, I emphasised that healing and building are a two-way process, which should receive the support of all South Africans. Reconciliation cannot be attained without reconstruction and development, and vice versa. In fact, the New Patriotism is emerging because the great majority of citizens are taking up this challenge.
This majority - both black and white - did play its part, to varying degrees, in making our miracle happen. They have not taken the idiom of "miracle" too literally; and they're not sitting back, believing that an individual, to whom super-human qualities are conveniently ascribed, will make our nation succeed.
It is a matter of certainty that, for a person of my age, the end is nearer than the beginning. But the liberation movement, to which I belong, is making every effort to ensure the establishment of enduring institutions of democracy and respect for human rights, which will outlive any personality.
As for the wild rumours, there is little that is new. When we were on Robben Island, enemies of democracy concocted stories that I once had died and, at another time, was "busy dying".
If there are still any such forces, let them be reminded that it is the masses and the collective leadership of the democratic forces that are decisive to our transformation, and not their special pleading.
Signed : N Mandela
Dated: 22 Feb 1996

TRANSCRIPT

Article published in the Sunday Times, 25 February 1996

Title: Don’t praise me to damn the rest

Blurb: Wild rumours of his imminent death date back to his days of Robben Island writes Nelson Mandela

On 19 February 1996, at Potchefstroom University, I restated my testament: my desire to bring about reconciliation among South Africans - African, Coloured, Indian and white.
I also said that, as I near the end of my days, my determination to pursue these objectives will be even stronger. This I pronounced from the fullness of my convictions.
But is it correct for the President to talk about this, some have genuinely asked. Won't this plunge the country into turmoil? I hope this short article will lay these concerns to rest.
Let me restate the obvious: I have long passed my teens; and the distance to my final destination is shorter than the road I have trudged over the years! What nature has decreed should not generate undue insecurity.
In any case, as I have indicated on countless occasions, I do not intend to continue in office after the end of this term.
There is no doubt that the broader population, serious investors and politicians have internalised this fact. The confidence in South Africa's future is reflected in the expansion of long-term fixed investments, the unfolding growth and development strategy and constitutional negotiations - all of which are laying the foundation for our progress well beyond the beginning of the new millennium.
A ridiculous notion is sometimes advanced that Mandela has been exclusively responsible for these real achievements of the South African people, particularly our smooth transition.
If only to emphasise that I am human, and as fallible as anyone else, let me admit that these accolades do flatter me. So too, does the Sunday Times editor's attribution to me of "warmth of spirit and generosity", in the edition of 18 February.
The compliment is genuinely appreciated, as long as it does not present the President as "superhuman" and create the impression that the ANC - with its thousands of leaders and millions of supporters - is a mere rubber stamp of my ideas; and that the ministers, experts and others are all insignificant, under the magic spell of a single individual.
Further, we should all be proud the success of worldwide significance has come out of a down-trodden people - out of Africa! Yes, Africans, with their supposed venality and incompetence achieve this feat! Thus I find quite distressing any insinuation that I do not belong to these African masses and do not share their aspirations.
Those who forecast doom for South Africa, suggest that I, alone, among presidents of the ANC over the last 84 years, have created such a situation that, once I retire, the ANC will not be able to constitute a leadership collective, which will remain loyal to the policies of the movement - policies which I was directed to pursue while I was President, including nation-building and reconciliation.
This is what was intimated when Chief Albert Luthuli was president of the ANC. Few knew of Oliver Tambo and his outstanding qualities. But, when the baton changed hands, Tambo ably rose to the challenge, building the ANC, under very difficult conditions, into a formidable force.
I have on countless occasions explained how I matured, politically, within the ranks of a movement and a leadership that were critical in shaping my outlook. I am a product of the mire that our society was. On occasion, like other leaders, I have stumbled; and cannot claim to sparkle alone on a glorified perch.
Let me indulge the reader by citing three recent examples. I will exercise a bit of licence and may reveal information that has not as yet been made public.
In 1990, a number of leaders, including Joe Slovo, proposed that we should suspend armed actions. Because nothing much had come out of the fledgeling negotiations, I was taken aback: I was not convinced that it was the wisest thing to do. But after much discussion and soul-searching, I concurred; and the movement took that decision.
Later, it became clear that elements in the government were, by omission or commission, involved in the violence. Occasionally, issues came to a head with strange massacres. Except in the case of Boipatong and one or two others, my insistence that we suspend negotiations would be thrown out by the National Executive Committee.
Then there was the ANC Strategic Perspectives on enforced coalition. It took a lot of persuasion to convince me that that was the correct route to take - instead of direct majority rule and a voluntary decision by the majority party to take others on board.
Now, this should make me a Devil and other ANC leaders Angels!
But such an approach would be way off the mark. The ANC I lead has a rich tradition of frank discussion, looking at problems from different angles and synthesising ideas to reach balanced decisions.
It is particularly unacceptable that this strain of hero-worshipping should be coupled with a systematic campaign to denigrate other ANC leaders such as Deputy-President Thabo Mbeki - a campaign that is beyond any civilised norms of discourse, let alone objectivity. Further, an attempt is made to decide who should be in the leadership of the ANC, and whom I should have in Cabinet. The exaltation of the President, and denigration of other ANC leaders, constitutes praise which I do not accept.
Yes, I see nation-building and reconciliation as my mission: a mission of the ANC. The ideal of liberating all racial groups from past divisions aside; this is a strategy based on realism. For, none of the former enemies has vanquished the other. Through persuasion, and in line with the constitution, we should together build a democratic and prosperous society, at peace with itself.
At the opening of parliament this year, I emphasised that healing and building are a two-way process, which should receive the support of all South Africans. Reconciliation cannot be attained without reconstruction and development, and vice versa. And I should strongly emphasise that the mission of reconciliation is underpinned by what i have dedicated my life to: uplifting the most down-trodden sections of our population and all-round transformation of society. In fact, the new patriotism is emerging because the great majority of citizens are taking up this challenge.
This majority - both black and white - did play its part, to varying degrees, in making our miracle happen. They have not taken the idiom of "miracle" too literally; and they're not sitting back, believing that an individual, to whom super-human qualities are conveniently ascribed, will make our nation succeed.
Supported by this majority, the liberation movement, to which I belong, is making every effort to ensure the establishment of enduring institutions of democracy and respect for human rights, which will outlive any personality.
As for the wild rumours about my health, there is little that is new. When we were on Robben Island, enemies of democracy concocted stories that I once had died and, at another time, was "busy dying".
If there are still any such forces, let them be reminded that it is the masses and the collective leadership of the democratic forces that are decisive to our transformation, and not their special pleading.
And let me assure the nation that, health-wise, I am on top of the world!