On International Mandela day, Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs praises South African leader

Palestine

Published: 2017-07-19 15:09

Last Updated: 2024-03-26 15:26


Nelson Mandela was vocal in his support of Palestine. (Photo courtesy of MOFA)
Nelson Mandela was vocal in his support of Palestine. (Photo courtesy of MOFA)

“Palestine,” said Nelson Mandela, “is the greatest moral issue of our time.”

Now, on Nelson Mandela International Day, the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates (MOFA) has praised the South African politician and freedom fighter as an inspiration for all those struggling for justice around the globe.

“The great role the late President of South Africa played in promoting and protecting human rights, freedom and equality for all will always be remembered and treasured by our people and peace loving people around the world,” MOFA said in a statement on Facebook.

Mandela was a anti-apartheid revolutionary figure who dedicated his life to free his country from racial division through an essentially peaceful revolution.

The fight for racial equality in South Africa culminated in Mandela’s release from prison in 1990 and the post-apartheid election of 1994, which saw him elected as the first president of a democratic South Africa.

Throughout his political career, Mandela and his fellow freedom fighters remained vocal in his support for the Palestinians. In 1997 he famously equated the South African struggle with that of Palestine, stating, “we know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”

In South Africa, his words have not been forgotten. In May this year, dozens of South African officials, activists and public figures have stood in solidarity with some 1,300 Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli prisons, by hosting a 24-hour hunger strike of their own.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates thanked the people of South Africa for their support of the Palestinian struggle for freedom.

“The Palestinian people will draw on Mr. Mandela's legacy and will always commemorate his life in recognition of his historic march for freedom, his legacy of peace and justice, and his unwavering solidarity with their just cause. Nelson Mandela will always be in the hearts and minds while mobilizing support for a comprehensive, just and lasting solution of the question of Palestine,” the statement concluded.