SOUTH AFRICA: MANDELA'S FAREWELL SPEECH TO PARLIAMENT

(26 Mar 1999) English/Nat

South Africa's President Nelson Mandela on Friday bade farewell to parliament, bringing an end to a remarkable era of political change in South Africa.

During his speech he paid tribute to the achievements of five years of democratic government and all the work done to overcome the racial divisions left by apartheid.

Mandela will step down after the elections on June 2.

Nelson Mandela enters parliament for the last time as President.

He was received unanimously by a standing ovation.

The entire National Assembly wanted to pay it's respect to a man who has brought about such remarkable change in the history of South Africa.

In his final speech to parliament he said that the foundations for a better life were finally laid.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"To the extent that I have been able to take our country forward to this new era it is because I am the product of the people of the world who have cherished the vision of a better life for all people everywhere. They insisted, in a spirit of self-sacrifice, that that vision should be realised in South Africa too. They gave us hope because we knew by their solidarity that our ideas could not be silenced since they were the ideas of all humanity. I am the product of Africa and her long-cherished dream of a rebirth that can now be realised so that all of her children may play in the sun."
SUPERCAPTION: Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa

When all-race elections ended apartheid in 1994 and he voted in South Africa's first multi-racial parliament, Mandela emerged as a unifying symbol of racial reconciliation.

Preaching forgiveness and tolerance with wit and gentle humour, Mandela won friends both at home and abroad, earning a reputation as the moral conscience of his country and - some would argue - the world.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"I will count myself as amongst the aged of our society, as one of the rural population, as one concerned for the children and youth of our country and as a citizen of the world committed, as long as I have strength to work for a better life for all people everywhere. And as I have always done, I will do what I can within the discipline of the broad movement for peace and democracy to which I belong."
SUPERCAPTION: Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa

Despite the obvious affection members of parliament feel for Mandela, he showed his usual modesty on Friday and played down his achievements.

SOUNDBITE: (English)
"To the extent that we have still to reconcile and heal our nation, to the extent that the consequences of apartheid still permeate our society and define the lives of millions of South Africans as lives of deprivation, those challenges are unchanged."
SUPERCAPTION: Nelson Mandela 1/4 President of South Africa

At the end of his speech, A-N-C lawmakers sang and chanted Mandela's name, swaying and dancing in the aisles of the usually austere chamber.

Mandela acknowledged the cheers and raised both arms in the air, before leaving parliament for the last time.

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