'We owe her an immense debt'

2009-01-02 14:05

Johannesburg - Veteran anti-apartheid campaigner Helen Suzman should be given an official funeral, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu said on Friday.

"We owe her an immense debt... The least a grateful nation should do to show its appreciation for her contribution is to afford her an official funeral," Tutu said.

Her indomitable spirit was a gift to South Africa and the world, he said.

"A stalwart of the anti-apartheid struggle, she was a true heroine who contributed to our country's peaceful transition when many predicted a racial bloodbath."

The Speaker of Parliament's National Assembly, Gwendoline Mahlangu-Nkabinde, said even though Suzman was no longer actively involved in parliament at the time of her death, "she nonetheless leaves a rich tradition of proactive opposition politics; a mark of a true multiparty democracy the country holds in high esteem".

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Professor Loyiso Nongxa, vice-chancellor and principal of Wits university said the institution regarded Suzman as one of its most illustrious graduates and an icon representing much that the university was proud of in its heritage.

"Her loyalty to her alma mater was astounding given the demands made upon her in her public life.

"Despite her wide range of commitments and the demands made upon her, she found time to serve the University on its Council, having been elected by the alumni of the institution, and was a member of the Executive of Convocation," he said.

Former President Thabo Mbeki and his wife Zanele said in a letter to Suzman's family that all people of conscience could not forget how, though a lone voice in the apartheid parliament for many years, Suzman refused to be intimidated, determined to advance the cause of freedom and democracy in the country.

"Even as we mourn her death, we celebrate an eminent South African patriot who dedicated so many of her years to the struggle to end the apartheid system and secure freedom for all South Africans."

- SAPA