A Day To Bury Hatches

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image of mandela

Today is a great day to remember in the annals of world history. Over 90 head of states around the world are converging in South Africa to attend the funeral service of Nelson Madiba Mandela. They range from the presidents of United States (all the living US presidents except George Bush senior are attending) to prime minster of China to President of Cuba.

The death of Nelson Madiba Mandela was announced last week Thursday 5 December 2013 after a protracted illness. Mandela was a prominent leader of African National Congress (ANC) who spent 27 years in prison for his fight against the apartheid regime. Following his release from prison in 1990 and subsequent general elections in 1994 he became the first democratically elected black South African president. Mandela reached out to everyone during the latter part of his life and did not discriminate between his foes and friends. However, the United States which has a track record for being the champion of democracy, sat back and relax while South Africa was on fire.

The attitude of United States towards the apartheid regime in South Africa which Mandela had played a significant role could be explained in two ways. The United States supported the Apartheid regime because of American’s selfish interest in the country. South Africa is rich in natural mineral resources including gold and diamond. A number of American companies were involved in exploring or rather exploiting these resources and putting the proceeds into the US economy. The United States tried not to jeopardise this lucrative business by turning a blind eye to the apartheid regime.

The cold war between the United States and communist Russia was also an important factor that shaped the United States policies on South Africa. The United States competed with Russia for supremacy during the cold war era. This played out very well in South Africa. While United States was indirectly supporting South African government, Russia was very much supportive of the African National Congress (ANC). Evidence of the Russian support for the ANC could be seen in the way in which countries allied to Russia but at war with the United States such as Cuba and Libya offered both military training and financial support to the ANC members during the apartheid era.

Can the United States learn any lessons from today’s event? Can it put aside its differences with countries such as North Korea and Sudan, and seek ways of making the world a better place for everyone? Time shall tell if today’s event is a one-off or shall mark the beginning of a new political era in world politics.

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