PRETORIA

South Africans remembered global statesman Nelson Mandela on Tuesday as they marked 30 years since he was released from prison after serving 27 years for opposing the apartheid regime.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said he vividly remembers 30 years ago how large crowds of people gathered to welcome Mandela upon his release.

“The people celebrated with great enthusiasm not only because, after 27 years, a great leader of our people was among us again, but because his release was a defining moment in our onward march towards democracy,’’ Ramaphosa said in an address to the country.

The president said as South Africans mark the joyous anniversary of Mandela’s release, they share a common goal of an equal, just and prosperous South Africa, where all experience an improving quality of life and all may be able to realize their potential.

He said he recalls one profound statement Mandela made in his inaugural speech when he was released Feb. 11, 1990, urging unity of all South Africans, irrespective of race.

“Of the many things that he said as he stood on the balcony of the Cape Town City Hall that day, there is one statement that has remained with me all these years: “The need to unite the people of our country is as important a task now as it always has been,” Ramaphosa said.

He said Mandela’s statement was true then and it remains true three decades later.

Four years after his release Mandela became the first democratically elected president of South Africa in 1994.

He led the country in ushering in a multi-racial setup. He stepped down in 1999, after completing his term, refusing to stand for the second term.

Former anti-apartheid struggle stalwart Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and his wife, Leah, joined South Africans in paying a tribute to Mandela.

“Thirty years ago, Nelson Mandela emerged from prison to dazzle South Africa and the world with his warmth and human values,” the Desmond & Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation said in a statement.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation also hosted an event to remember the global icon outside the City Hall of Cape Town where he addressed a crowd 30 years ago under the theme “From Freedom to Liberation.”

Born in the Mvezo village of East Cape province, Mandela spent 27 years in prison, for opposing the Apartheid regime. He joined South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) at the age of 25, along with stalwarts, such as Walter Sisulu and Oliver Tambo.

What distinguishes his personality was he did not exercise bitterness, rancor or revenge against his tormentors. Instead, he chooses reconciliation, forgiveness to unite all racial groups in South Africa. His leadership approach and ability to bring all together, won him global admiration and the 1993 Nobel Peace Prize.

He died in 2013 at the age of 95 after suffering a lung infection.