5 Nelson Mandela Policies Western Governments Hypocritically Don't Support

Mandela Embraced Some of America’s Biggest Political Enemies, Including Cuba Nelson Mandela incited shock and anger in many American communities for refusing to denounce Cuban dictator Fidel Castro or Libyan Col. Moammar Gadhafi, who had lent their support to Mandela against South African apartheid. “One of the mistakes the Western world makes is to think that their enemies should be our enemies,” he explained to an American TV audience. “We have our own struggle.” He added that those leaders “are placing resources at our disposal to win the struggle.” He also called the controversial Palestinian Liberation Organization leader Yasser Arafat “a comrade in arms.” When speaking directly about Castro and Cuba, Madiba said: “From its earliest days, the Cuban Revolution has also been a source of inspiration to all freedom-loving people. We admire the sacrifices of the Cuban people in maintaining their independence and sovereignty in the face of the vicious imperialist-orquestrated campaign to destroy the impressive gain made in the Cuban Revolution. … Long live the Cuban Revolution. Long live comrade Fidel Castro.” Mandela Spoke For Civil Rights And Equality Across The Diaspora, Even in The United States On a trip to New York City in 1990, Mandela made a point of visiting Harlem and praising African Americans’ struggles against “the injustices of racist discrimination and economic inequality.” He reminded a larger crowd at Yankee Stadium that racism was not exclusively a South African phenomena. “As we enter the last decade of the 20th century, it is intolerable, unacceptable, that the cancer of racism is still eating away at the fabric of societies in different parts of our planet,” he said. “All of us, black and white, should spare no effort in our struggle against all forms and manifestations of racism, wherever and whenever it rears its ugly head.” Mandela Was a Die-Hard Supporter Of Labor Unions Long aligned with the Congress of South African Trade Unionists, Mandela framed his presidency with a declaration: “The kind of democracy that we all seek to build demands that we deepen and broaden the rights of all citizens. This includes a culture of workers’ rights.” In South Africa, as a young campaigner for racial justice, Mandela was profoundly influenced by the 1946 African Mine Workers Union strike. He learned organizing skills from AMWU activists and would become a champion of the miners, telling workers, “It is your sweat and blood that has created the vast wealth that white South Africa enjoys.” Mandela visited the Detroit auto workers union when touring the U.S., immediately claiming kinship with them. “Sisters and brothers, friends and comrades, the man who is speaking is not a stranger here,” he said. “The man who is speaking is a member of the UAW. I am your flesh and blood.” Mandela Supported Armed Struggle as a Path to Freedom Mandela was a true freedom fighter. Although he did not go out of his way to promote violence, he did not shy away from using arms to defend his people from oppressive governments, even in 1990, when he was the African National Congress (ANC) deputy president. Nelson Mandela warned that if the South African government failed to take effective steps to end the current violence in the country, the only defense of the people will be to take up arms. Mandela was alluding to the fact that the political violence and vigilante activities that had engulfed KwaZulu-Natal and the Rand, were due to the government's inability of putting effective measures in place. He ran short of accusing the government of fueling violence in order to enhance its aim of thwarting any effort of having a democratic government in place. Mandela Supported Palestinian People's Struggle Against The State of Israel With respect to Israel and the Palestinians, he noted that he unequivocally recognized Israel, not only as a de facto entity but its de jure right to exist as a state behind secure borders. But those borders, he stated, were the borders before the 1967 war. He saw Israel as an occupier and analogized Israel's occupation to South Africa's treatment of its Black population, both in taking over their lands and in the use of force to repress any counter efforts. Repeatedly, he said that the only path to peace in the Middle East lay in direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. He was grateful to Arafat and Gadhafi for their friendship and support for the ANC when it was all but abandoned by others. “The UN took a strong stand against apartheid; and over the years, an international consensus was built, which helped to bring an end to this iniquitous system. But we know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians.”

Related Stories

‘Every Day There Are People Who Want to be Nelson Mandela’: Meghan Markle Slammed by Nelson Mandela’s Grandson After Recounting a Time Her Wedding was Compared to Nelson Mandela’s Release from Prison

Zindzi Mandela, Youngest Daughter of Nelson and Winnie Mandela, Dead at 59

How Nelson Mandela Nearly Caused Will Smith to Quit Acting and 5 Other Ways the Late Revolutionary Impacted Celebrities