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Mbeki: Happy birthday Madiba!
17/07/2007 23:25 - (SA)
Johannesburg - President Thabo Mbeki has wished his predecessor Nelson Mandela, who turns 89 on Wednesday, a happy birthday.
Mbeki said the celebration of Mandela's birthday was an opportunity to "re-dedicate ourselves to the ideals and values for which he has stood and continued to uphold".
He said the Fifa-organised soccer match in Madiba's honour was a fitting tribute to a deserving elder.
Mandela was an inspiration to South Africa, the continent and the rest of humanity through his life, his leadership, and his resolute and deep-seated commitment to the struggle against apartheid and for a just and democratic society.
"The country and the world are privileged to celebrate the life of such an outstanding leader of our people," wrote Mbeki in a statement.
He recalled Mandela's statement from the dock in the Rivonia Trial in 1964 when he said: "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities.
"It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die."
- SAPA
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