JOHANNESBURG
By Moses Mudzwiti
US President Barack Obama on Tuesday described late South African president and national hero Nelson Mandel as the "last great liberator of the 20th century."
"[Mandela was] a giant of history who moved a nation toward justice and, in the process, moved billions around the world," Obama told the thousands of mourners who packed Johannesburg's 90,000-seat FNB Stadium.
"There are too many of us who happily embrace Madiba's legacy of racial reconciliation, but passionately resist even modest reforms that would challenge chronic poverty and growing inequality," the US president said, using Mandela's clan name.
"After this great liberator is laid to rest, when we have returned to our cities and villages and rejoined our daily routines, let us search then for his strength – for his largeness of spirit – somewhere inside ourselves," he added.
"While I will always fall short of Madiba's example, he makes me want to be better. He speaks to what is best inside us," asserted Obama, America's first black head of state.
After his speech, Obama received a standing ovation. As he made his way back to his seat, he shared a few words with Mandela's widow, Graca Machel.
Thousands of people, including several world dignitaries, flocked to the stadium to attend the memorial service.
Braving heavy rain, well-wishers had lined up for hours outside the stadium to pass through airtight security.
Mandela's body was not displayed at the memorial service.
South Africans will have the opportunity to view Mandela's body from Wednesday to Friday at the Union Building in Pretoria, where the late leader's body will lie in state ahead of a formal funeral on Sunday.
Mandela, South Africa's first black president, will finally be laid to rest on Sunday at his rural home in Qunu village in the Eastern Cape.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
