Mandela
started the celebration by distributing cake to disabled children
sponsored by his organization, the Nelson Mandela Foundation, as a
military band played a march composed specially for him, according to
Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Newspapers
published special supplements and congratulations poured in from
well-wishes including UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, former U.S.
president Bill Clinton and retired Anglican archbishop Desmond Tutu.
The
white-haired statesman told guests he was inspired by the birthday
wishes received from around the world and, closer to home, from his own
ruling African National Congress.
"If
I have to live for another 85 years, it will be because of all the good
wishes I have received from all over the world, but equally importantly
from my own organisation," said Mandela, a Nobel peace prize
laureate and a key fighter in the global battle against AIDS.
The
former South African president, accompanied by his wife Graca Machel,
emerged from the front gate of his Johannesburg home as the 35-member
band played the "Madiba March" and "Happy Birthday"
on brass instruments and bagpipes.
"He
(Mandela) is in great form. He has had a good night of rest and has been
well fortified for the next two days of his birthday party,"
Mandela Foundation spokesman John Samuel told AFP.
The
military band commander and chief of the military health services,
Lieutenant General Rinus van Rensburg said that the march was especially
composed for Mandela's birthday, AFP reported.
"This
is the first time the 'Madiba March' is being played," he said.
"It
is dedicated to the former president for what he has meant to us. He is
the father of the nation."
Well-wishers
gathered at the Mandela home shortly after dawn, in spite of freezing
temperatures. Some held banners reading "Happy Birthday" and
"We love you Madiba", Mandela's Xhosa clan name.
Mandela
then kissed Modiehi Xaba, a four-year-old girl whom his wife Graca had
been cradling in her arms, before cutting the cake, with Machel handing
out the pieces.
"I
wish he has a happy birthday, it has been my wish to meet him and tell
him that," Dos Reis later told AFP.
The
man who became a worldwide symbol for the struggle against apartheid in
his decades behind bars on the notorious Robben Island - which today
houses an apartheid museum - clapped enthusiastically as the last note
of the march rang out.
Mandela's
birthday culminated with a high-profile banquet in Johannesburg on
Saturday July 19, where guests included Clinton, U.S. talk show host
Oprah Winfrey and Bono of the Irish rock band U2.
The
World's Gift To Mandela: Clinton
 |
|
“If
you want to give Mandela a birthday present, do something to deal
with Africa's challenges,” Clinton
|
The
world's greatest gift that can be granted to South Africa's beloved
statesman Nelson Mandela is to help solve Africa's challenges, former
U.S. president Bill Clinton said during Saturday's celebrations,
reported AFP.
Invited
by his "good friend" Mandela, Clinton delivered the first
annual Nelson Mandela Lecture, launched in Johannesburg to celebrate the
former South African president's 85th birthday Friday.
"In
all of history there's a story of struggle. In my lifetime there are
only two people who have made that personal journey. The one is Mahatma
Gandhi and his worthy successor, Nelson Mandela," Clinton declared.
"If
you want to give Mandela a birthday present, do something to deal with
Africa's challenges, do something to untap Africa's economy,"
Clinton told some 1,000 invited guests who included his wife Hillary,
Irish rock star Bono and U.S. actor John Cusack.
"It
is not if we don't know what to do. It is not as if we now have no
evidence that what we can do will work," He added
Clinton
said that Africa's challenges included the fight against AIDS and
cutting its debt, urging leaders of the developed world to provide
another round of debt relief.
"We
are not doing enough," said Clinton, who gave Mandela an emotional
embrace at the end of the address.
He
said he commended U.S. President George W. Bush's 15-billion-dollar plan
to fight AIDS in Africa and the Caribbean, hoping that the U.S. Congress
would make the money available.
"But
even if it does, I want the United States to do much more to channel
funds in the global fight against TB (tuberculosis) and malaria, making
it available ... to more African countries," Clinton said.
South
Africa and Nigeria should be included in efforts to relieve Africa's
debt, Clinton said.
"For
different reasons I think South Africa and Nigeria should be covered.
The whole future of sub-Saharan Africa depends on what happens in South
Africa and in Nigeria," he said.
Clinton
turned to Mandela saying he felt he was "in a natural history
museum."
"Is
this what an 85-year-old man looks like? I won't even look that good
when I'm 60," Clinton quipped, as an amused Mandela laughed.
"He
(Mandela) refused to go gentle into that good night. He had neither
raged against the dying of the light. Instead he simply soldiered on,
raging instead against injustice and leading us towards the light -
towards protecting the environment, reducing poverty, inspiring young
people in the civic service and resolving conflicts in Africa," But
added Clinton, paraphrasing from a poem by Dylan Thomas.
Mandela
was released from jail in 1990, and was elected president in South
Africa's first all-race elections in 1994.
In
1999, he handed over the presidency to Thabo Mbeki, but has not dropped
off the political stage since then, making the battle against AIDS,
which is ravaging much of Africa, a key part of his life.
