Mandela: Poverty like apartheid

2005-02-03 16:33

London - Nelson Mandela on Thursday compared widespread poverty in developing countries to man-made evils such as slavery and apartheid, and urged wealthy nations to do more to fight it.

At a rally in central London's Trafalgar Square, the former South African president and Nobel Peace Prize winner said developed nations must provide more aid to poor countries and lift their crippling debts.

"In this new century, millions of people in the world's poorest countries remain imprisoned, enslaved and in chains. They are trapped in the prison of poverty.

"It is time to set them free," Mandela said before a crowd of several thousand people.

"Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings."

Mandela was speaking on the eve of a London meeting by the finance ministers of the Group of Seven industrialised nations.

He is expected to make a separate speech to the ministers with a similar message.

High-level talks

On Wednesday, the frail 86-year-old statesman met with British treasury chief Gordon Brown, and he planned to meet Prime Minister Tony Blair later on Thursday.

Blair has made doubling development aid to Africa a priority for his chairmanship of the Group of Eight industrialised nations this year.

Brown is expected to use the meeting of G-7 finance ministers to get backing for the international finance facility plan, which seeks to raise $50bn a year for development aid by selling bonds on the world's capital markets.

In his speech at Trafalgar Square, Mandela endorsed a campaign by make poverty history, the British arm of global call to action against poverty, a coalition of charities, trade unions, lobby groups, faith communities and high-profile individuals leading efforts to tackle global poverty.

Trade justice

He said developed nations know what needs to be done to fight the crisis, but they are falling far behind in their promises.

"The first (step) is ensuring trade justice," Mandela said.

"I have said before that trade justice is a truly meaningful way for the developed countries to show commitment to bringing about an end to global poverty.

"The second is an end to the debt crisis for the poorest countries. The third is to deliver much more aid and make sure it is of the highest quality."

Mandela, since stepping down in 1999, has campaigned on a range of platforms, including raising awareness about HIV/Aids, especially in Africa where about 25 million of the world's 40 million HIV-infected people live.

Mandela won praise last month for helping to break down stigma about HIV/Aids after disclosing that his 54-year-old son died of the disease, which is shrouded in silence and fear in his homeland.

- AP