Should Mandela be in the company of these great men? Disraeli served his country for 3 decades and Churchill was one of the most important leaders in world history! It's gonna be erected on Parliament Square in London.
2007-04-22 03:56:07 · 10 answers · asked by Porgie 7 in Travel ➔ Africa & Middle East ➔ South Africa
I think it is great that Mandela will get a statue. He was easily one of the most moving and influential leaders of the last century. He also has become a symbol for peace, human rights, and obviously the apartheid struggle in ZA.
2007-04-24 02:59:05 · answer #1 · answered by JAM2DMB 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's not at all surprising that they'd want to put up a statue of him in London.
Like Gandhi, Mandela is everywhere these days (like it or not). The man is beloved by many around the world, including a large number of white people in Europe and North America.
At least with London there's a case to be made that, as a former colony and member of the Commonwealth, there are certain ties between South Africa and Britain. Some places that honor Mandela have no relation to either him or South Africa.
Take the situation here in San Francisco:
After the 1989 earthquake destroyed the Cypress Freeway (which was located in the black ghetto of Oakland), some bureaucrat in the state government decided to rename the rebuilt road as the "Nelson Mandela Parkway." The stated reason was to show solidarity with the black community. They later added some sculptures with Mandela quotes espousing the virtues of racial tolerance and equality next to the exit ramps.
2007-04-23 21:02:57 · answer #2 · answered by SFdude 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have seen the scaled down version at the City Hall in London and its a good statue, from that point of view I like it. There is, of course, already a bust of Mandela proudly displayed near the London Eye so its not new, the idea of Mandela being revered in London.
The first option was to display it in Trafalgar Square, across the road from South Africa House and that might have been more appropriate?
He is held in great esteem by loads of Brits so it does not surprise me that they want to put his statue up.
2007-04-23 00:37:38 · answer #3 · answered by london.oval 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Well I guess that's their choice, but imagine erecting a statue of John F. Kennedy next to Paul Kruger on Kerkplein. He (Mandela) is not a British leader.
2007-04-22 07:07:18 · answer #4 · answered by Vango 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
What a monument! helpful the associates will like it! I made a gigantic boy statue in my front backyard made up of uncooked floor pork however the associates have been given all pis*y relating to the scent and that i had to devour it=:>(
2016-10-13 04:41:16 · answer #5 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, is also known as " Red Ken" so it comes as no surprise that he would erect a statue to a fellow Communist. What is interesting is that not so long ago Mbeki described Churchill as a racist thereby insulting probably the most revered of all British Statesmen. I find it hard to rationalise why a statue of Mandela is being erected for if you look at it objectively and ask what has he done to deserve it the answer has to be nothing. Remember he spent nearly 30 years of his life in Prison and when he was released he was so out of touch that his Presidency was more a figurehead than anything else.I suppose you can argue his anti Apartheid stance but if it wasnt for the US/UK he would still be in Prison.
The consolation is that Mugabe received a number of honorary degrees from prestigious Universities in the UK at one stage and now there is talk of withdrawing them. Maybe at some time in the future the real story of Mandela will gain popularity and the statue will be quietly demolished.
2007-04-22 05:30:06 · answer #6 · answered by ? 2 · 4⤊ 8⤋
Poor Brits, left wing liberals; don't they know this man was a terrorist involved in the planning to blow up a power station in his own country.
A better place would be in Red Square Moscow. . . .in memory of past communist leaders
2007-04-23 10:25:11 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
It would be better if it was erected outside the UN and not in London he deserves a bigger stage.
2007-04-22 21:19:02 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 2⤋
As he is not and has not ever been a British politican, I don't think his statue belongs there.
2007-04-22 10:33:12 · answer #9 · answered by Strudders67 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
No. Nelson Mandela is a garden variety terrorist. England suffers from the disease of political correctness, so it comes as no surprise that this is taking place.
2007-04-22 08:38:46 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 5⤋