RI Foreign Minister Express Condolences over Mandala's Demise

Jakarta (Antara) - Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa has expressed his deepest condolences over the demise of former South African president Nelson Mandela, the foreign ministry said here on Friday. "We deeply mourn the passing away of a man of honour and principle; a towering figure against the heinous policy of apartheid whose struggles served as a rallying call the world over against racialism, colonialism and other forms of injustice," Marty said in a statement made available to Antara here on Friday. South African President Jocob Zuma said Mandela died peacefully at his Johannesburg home on Thursday after a prolonged lung infection. He died at the age of 95. Mandela, the country's first black president and anti-apartheid icon, emerged from 27 years in apartheid prisons to help guide South Africa through bloodshed and turmoil to democracy. "Fellow South Africans, our beloved Nelson Rohlihla Mandela, the founding president of our democratic nation, has departed," Zuma was quoted by Reuters as saying in a nationally televised address. "Our people have lost a father. Although we knew this day was going to come, nothing can diminish our sense of a profound and enduring loss. His tireless struggle for freedom earned him the respect of the world. His humility, passion and humanity, earned him their love," he added. Mandela rose from rural obscurity to challenge the might of white minority apartheid government - a struggle that gave the 20th century one of its most respected and loved figures. He was among the first to advocate armed resistance to apartheid in 1960, but was quick to preach reconciliation and forgiveness when the country's white minority began easing its grip on power 30 years later. Mandela was elected president in landmark all-race elections in 1994 and retired in 1999. (*)