IT HAS JUST BEEN ANNOUNCED THAT NESON MANDELA HAS DIED!

[Mitsuru]

The current president of south africa Jacob Zuma has announced the death of Nelson Mandela.
A good man has gone, but will never be forgotten!

[MG Mal]

Rest in Peace Sir, You certainly earned it!.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j94fteQR-TY

[JPB]

What made Nelson Mandela great was precisely what made him human. We saw in him what we seek in ourselves

RIP Big man, why can't our politicians have your kind of stuff?

[Martin Evans]

Because they are too full of something else He spent getting on for a third of his life locked up and I reflected it was just as well he lived so long or else the 28 years could have been getting on for half.

[tractorman]

One of the most memorable moments that I have seen on TV was his release from prison. I was almost dreading the violence that many thought would happen before South Africans had equal rights. It was soon obvious that this man was something special and much more than just a politician.

I am glad that he's out of the pain he was suffering in the last few months and hope his work - or mission - will be continued by those who follow him.

In a perverse way, I gather that the imprisonment was "helpful" in that it gave him time to think about actions he could take and the consequences of those actions. Perhaps we should lock our politicians away for a number of years before allowing them to govern.

I fear that we have a system that allows school leavers the opportunity to go into politics without seeing how real people live - or living that life. My late father was always against people going straight into the church after leaving school because they would have no experience of real life. Many people have told me how good Father was as a vicar (some of whom didn't know he was my father). He didn't become enter the church until he was about thirty and had served in Burma during the war before becoming a teacher. I feel that life experience, knowledge and compassion are sadly lacking (as are good manners!) and too many people look for a career path instead of a vocation.

[TerryG]

why can't our politicians have your kind of stuff?

Every single MP we have is doing the job to be a "celebrity" or because it pays well.

If our whole parliament combined had as much passion for the cause as he did, this country would still be great.

[Phil P]

He really believe in what he did and did it for the goodd of all. RIP Nelson Mandela

The only man to enter the British Houses of Parliament with good intent was Guy Fawkes!

[Richard Moss]

At the risk of sounding churlish, let's not forget that the ANC were not the WI. As a terrorist organisation (for that is what they were, even if their cause may have been just) they were directly and indirectly responsible for many thousands of deaths in their time - most of the victims being fellow black africans. Their leadership have blood on their hands in much the same way as IRA/Sinn Fein and any other political group that uses violence to get their way. I'm not judging, just reminding people to keep a sense of perspective

FW De Klerk is as much a hero for being prepared to release Mandela without condition in 1990. To Mandela's credit, he put his imprisonment behind him and looked forwards, not backwards, although that is relatively easy to do when you've got everything you were fighting for

[arceye]

Richard, you took the words right out of my mouth.

The old regime of South Africa was bad, but it has always worried me, that a man who apparently "signed off" on all that the ANC did, and its terrorist MK arm, should become almost saint like once a different slant is put on it through the writing of history.

It worries me, because will one day the members of the IRA responsible for atrocities such as the Warrington and Manchester bombings (and many more) be seen in the same light.

I know it isn't PC to compare these, but each ( and other current terrorists ) can claim to be fighters against opression and injustice. Only time and future beliefs, along with the writing of history will decide which of these people are freedom fighters or terrorists.

The atrocities linked to the ANC, and its fondness for necklacing etc seem to be largely forgotten, or at least whitewashed over.

I don't think we can place him in the same light as Gandhi, the achievements Mandela made came through bloodshed of innocent people, that should not be forgotten.

[TerryG]

I suppose the difference is winners are heros, losers are terrorists. In that instance both sides were pretty horrific.