A truly great man. The Long Walk To Freedom is a must read.

I read about him being a terrorist before he became a “truly great man”. Tsk. Tsk. Tsk. And if it isn’t true someone should sue Google. Terrorist Nelson Mandela on Google is also a “must read”. Balance, you know.

Goofle apartheid conditions in the 60’s and then decide if he was justified in the actions that he took.

God it is no wonder you only got 200 votes:P

Harbinger; “Terrorist Nelson Mandela on Google is also a “must read”. Balance, you know.” Yeah, right wing nut jobs denouncing a great man fighting for his peoples freedom. Did you order a copy of Mein Kampf for your “balanced” reading as well?

Check your spelling O250, one L not two – Mandela is correct!

lonesome sparrow. Try 2621, not 200. Hasn’t someone told you a million times not to exaggerate? How many votes did you get?

Facts, just because they are upsetting, still ought to be considered.

Mandela headed the terrorist wing of SA Communist Party. He pleaded guilty to 156 acts of violence -bombing campaigns.

He was not imprisoned for opposing apartheid, or segregation, in Africa, but for being a communist terrorist murderer-bomber in service to the Soviet Union.

The ANC’s guerrilla force, known as uMkhonto we Sizwe—MK, or “Spear of the Nation”—was founded in 1961 by Mandela and his advisor, the Lithuanian-born communist Jew, Joe Slovo, born Yossel Mashel Slovo, who was officially named secretary general of the South African Communist Party in 1986.

Slovo had been the planner of many of the ANC terrorist attacks, including the January 8, 1982 attack on the Koeberg nuclear power plant near Cape Town, the Church Street bombing on May 20, 1983, which killed 19 people, and the June 14, 1986 car-bombing of Magoo’s Bar in Durban, in which three people were killed and 73 injured.

In 1962, Mandela was arrested along with 19 others, half of whom were White communist Jews, in a police raid of ANC headquarters at a farm owned by Andrew Goldreich, also a communist Jew, at Rivonia, a Johannesburg suburb.

In the Rivonia Trial, which took place between 1963 and 1964, the defendants were tried for 221 acts of sabotage designed to overthrow the government and conspiring to aid foreign military units, when they invaded SA to further the objects of communism.

The prosecutor, Percy Yutar said at the trial that “production requirements for munitions were sufficient to blow up a city the size of Johannesburg.”

By refusing to deal with the “necklacing” method of treating their enemies, he was guilty of complicity in some heinous crimes. (necklacing = place tires around the necks of those who were not ‘faithful’ to the cause, and then light them on fire.) Mandela’s group was guilty of this horrific treatment of fellow black South Africans.

If you can stomach it, take a look here:
http://www.thetruthaboutsouthafrica.com/p/ancs-black-on-black-killing-spree.html

It was in the old Soviet Union’s interests to destabilize South Africa in the 70’s as they had designs on the continent and SA was close to having nuclear power which would have made any Soviet takeover next to impossible.

South Africa has largely replaced one form of bad government with another.

Since his presidency to now here are the statistics (easily verifiable if you wish to do some checking) on South Africa:
Unemployment up, as are rape, murder, racism (it goes both ways), illiteracy, xenophobic riots & corruption.

But not everything is up. Some things are down. Like…
GDP, the Rand, the SA stock market & life expectancy & womens’ rights.

Did apartheid conditions in the ’60’s justify planting a bomb, in a train station wasn’t it, that was going to kill innocent people?

Good thing it was an ‘apprehended insurrection’, as they say, or maybe he might have had a somewhat tarnished sainthood.

Mandela admitted in his book that he “signed off” on the Church Street bombing (1983) that killed 19 and injured 200 unsuspecting citizens. The ANC that he led was a brutal organization.

Interesting facts, Jetstream.

But like those behind the struggle against communism in Rhodesia, ones that will be ignored as inconvenient truths. Bring them up and you’ll be labelled a ‘racist’. Or even worse, an ‘anti-Semite’.

The battle in Rhodesia was supposed to be poor, oppressed ‘blacks’ against rich, oppressing ‘whites’.

Not for what was really at stake. Which was a continuation of ‘civilisation’, and extension of its benefits to all, regardless of the color of their skin, versus a return to ‘barbarism’. Which seems to have now triumphed.

Lost in that tale are the various regiments of the Rhodesian Army that were made up of a majority of ‘blacks’, including officers. Who commanded ‘whites’ in the lower ranks, too.

And the growth of a black ‘middle class’ fully comparable to many in the white middle class, and who engaged in jobs, professions and businesses on the basis of merit alone. Serving both blacks and whites.

As for the Jews, and their role in it all, well, lets just say they seemed to do as they’ve always seemed to have managed to do all down through history ~ play one side against the other, hedge their bets, and come out ahead no matter who wins or loses. Their ticket to survival (of their ‘fittest’ individuals, anyways), and advancement of the collectivity in whose ‘name’ they seek to dominate.

Thanks, guys.

Thanks for offering the other side of the Nelson Mandela story. The popular media only report Mr. Mandela’s story from the time he left prison to present.
metalman.

Its amazing he wasn’t assassinated. One has to think as great a man as he was he had to have had enemies.

I think its a great testament to the people of South Africa that Mandela lived a long full life. Most great men of his stature end up like JFK, RFK, Lincoln, or MLK.

Something that will be lost by most on a day like this, but future generations will learn about this great leader, and the fullness of his life will continue to contribute to future generations the message of unity, and that will now be another one of his lasting legacies… and for that the white Africaners can take credit too.

Lonesome Sparrow. One day I would be very interested in a dichotomy you seem to have. On the one hand you abhor the South African Apartheid and honor Mandela as a great man, an easy given… but on the other hand you have a very strong pro Israeli defender of the settlers form of racism against indigenous Palestinians.

As I see it both situation are very similar in the abuse of human rights, but the outcomes are vastly different. Why is one abuser to be defended anytime a comment brings recognition to the problem, and the other abuser condemned for similar policies? Is it a religions thing that makes it ok? Or is it just a personal preference? I truly do not understand how one can have two sets of standards… politics maybe?

I don’t know much about Mandela’s ‘terrorist’ past. Sounds like enough not to see him get sainthood any times soon. What I see is a man that was motivated by peace and reconciliation after his long prison sentence and a person that became a leader of a people that needed a leader… and he wasn’t a Mugabe.

I have long suspected those around Mandela to be opportunists that are not much better than Mugabe… and I suspect Mandela turns a blind eye. For that reason I think full democracy came to early in South Africa… it should have been more gradual over a generation or so, and involved a lot of civics education in the mid term. Human rights should have had equality before the law, but republicanism would have been a better approach to eventual democracy in the long run IMO.

The only ones who will truly know the balance here are South Africans who lived through this..

With his permanent absence now I await to see if South Africa turns into another Somalia. Could happen. I seem to recollect that after President Tito bought the farm the whole of the Balkans went to hell.

The term “terrorist” is a label which is applied for purely political reasons. Whether it sticks historically depends entirely on who wins the political battle. No-one calls George Washington a terrorist. Few apply the term to those in the French underground during WW2. Mandela used the same tactics; those who called him a communist were either ignorant or lying. The ANC and its armed wing MK accepted aid from whoever would give it in the 60s and 70s; this included the Soviet Union, Sweden and Norway.

Full Disclosure. As a young man I had the opportunity to provide material support to MK (good Canadian work boots) and it got me into a world of grief from the RCMP Security Service, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.