Nelson Mandela’s message: “let’s build a multi-racial society free of hate and prejudice,” says Obama

People are upset,” she said. “They’ve come with flowers, people are obviously very emotional about it, but they are also in a very celebratory mood as well. “It was very sombre when we arrived, (but) more and more people have gathered here and the mood is entirely different. It has changed to singing tribute songs, they’ve sung the national anthem, they’re singing a lot of songs from way back when they were pushing for democratic rights.”

One woman among the crowds told Sky News: “We’re really really sad but we show this by singing … the struggle songs all in his memory. He left a huge legacy, everybody still looks up to him all over the world.”

 Crowds outside the Mandela home — SKY News

BARACK Obama has paid solemn tribute to Nelson Mandela, dubbing him “influential, courageous and profoundly good. Through his fierce dignity and unbending will to sacrifice his own freedom for the freedom of others, he transformed South Africa and moved all of us,” President Obama said in a televised White House address held shortly after the death of the 95-year-old was announced.,,,,,,,,

“I am one of the countless millions who drew inspiration from Nelson Mandela’s life,” he said. “That he did it all with grace, good humour and ability to acknowledge his own imperfections only makes his achievements more remarkable. As long as I live I will do what I can to learn from him.” ……

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott said …. “Nelson Mandela was one of the great figures of Africa, arguably one of the great figures of the last century,” Abbott told Fairfax radio, referring to him as the father of modern South Africa. “And while I never met him, I did read that book A Long Walk To Freedom and I guess the impression we get of Nelson Mandela is someone who suffered but was not embittered but ennobled through that suffering.”

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OBAMA: “His commitment to transfer power and reconcile with those who jailed him set an example that all humanity should aspire to,” a grim President Obama said Thursday evening, describing Mr. Mandela as an “influential, courageous and profoundly good” man who inspired millions — including himself — to a spirit of reconciliation.” — in item in New York Times with the title “Mandela’s Death Leaves South Africa Without Its Moral Center”

As for Sri Lanka, reflect upon

A: the faces of hate and words of prejudiced hate that are the antithesis of the Mandelian message, see (1) reports and pictures of BBS demonstrations and activity; (2) the visage and words of Suren Surendiran,  the leader of the Global Tamil Forum, in the SKY interview with him and Lord Naseby.

B: note Michael Roberts: “Prejudice and Hate in Pluralist Settings: The Kingdom of Kandy,” in AJ Canagaratna (ed.) Neelan Tiruchelvam Commemoration Conference Papers, Colombo: Unie Arts for ICES, 2004, pp. 142-59   (ISBN  955-580-088 X)

C: See http://www.srilankaguardian.org/2010/03/understanding-zealotry.html OR http://sacrificialdevotionnetwork.wordpress.com/2007/12/29/understanding-zealotryquestions-for-post-orientalism/

D: Also read “Warfare as Torture” by Richard Koenigsberg — a review of Paul Kahn: SACRED VIOLENCE: Torture, Terror and             Sovereignty (University of Michigan Press)  at https://groups.google.com/forum/#!msg/LEYMPeace/3QzhDSBgKbo/MoqqnoCYW5AJ

E. Within a field that takes one away from the Tamil world and looks at Sinhalese relations with the Burghers over the centuires in a context of colonial subordinations … and implicates internal differentiation within the Burgher peoples, SEE “Disparaging Epithets in Lanka: A Chat – Van Arkadie and Roberts,” 3 October 2012, http://thuppahis.com/2012/10/03/disparaging-ethnic-epithets-in-lanka-a-chat-van-arkadie-and-roberts/

F: Further READING:

• Victor Rajakulendran’s Tirade at the Exposure of  Pirapaharan’s Admiration for Hitler, 20 Feb 2012, http://thuppahis.com/2012/02/20/victor-rajakulendrans-tirade-at-the-exposure-of-pirapaharans-admiration-for-hitler/
• Addressing Two Angry Tamils: Heat Distortion, Truth, Fact, Mendacity, and Eternal Enmity, 9 March 2012, http://thuppahis.com/2012/03/09/addressing-two-angry-tamils-heat-distortion-truth-fact-mendacity-and-eternal-enmity/
  • Usha S. Sri-Skandarajah: “Bikkhu Brigade, Dr Roberts and the Tamil Spring,” 6 April 2013, http://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/bikkhu brigade-dr-roberts-and-the-tamil-spring