'A voice for the voiceless'

2009-01-02 21:42

Johannesburg - Veteran anti-apartheid campaigner Helen Suzman was "a voice for the voiceless", Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, Thabo Makgoba, said on Friday.

"... Her readiness to speak up, no matter what, made an exceptional contribution to the life of our nation, without which we would not enjoy the potential we have today for freedom and democracy," Makgoba said.

"It is for all of us who honour her name to take forward her legacy by continuing to raise our voices wherever that potential is impeded, or humanity diminished."

The Freedom Front Plus said that Suzman was an example of how opposition politics worked, even if one was in the minority.

The party's Gauteng MP Willie Spies said the fact that Suzman was the sole MP for the Progressive Federal Party for 13 years and had to state her case against a majority of National Party MPs was proof that numbers were not all that counted.

"Her beliefs and the way she stated her case weighed even heavier," Spies said.

- SAPA