The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- Aide to N. Korean leader's ousted uncle seeks asylum in South-media
- South Africans, some fearful, wake to life without Mandela
- World honours Mandela as champion of freedom and reconciliation
| Aide to N. Korean leader's ousted uncle seeks asylum in South-media Posted: SEOUL (Reuters) - A man who managed funds for the ousted uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has fled the isolated country and is seeking asylum in South Korea, local media said on Friday. The aide is currently being protected by South Korean officials in a secret location in China, cable news network YTN said, citing a source familiar with the matter. If true, the defection would be the first instance in years of a significant insider from the Pyongyang regime switching sides. Jang Song Thaek, whose marriage to Kim's aunt and proximity to the young leader made him one of the most powerful men in North Korea, was reportedly relieved of his posts last month, South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) has said. His aide requested asylum about two months ago and is currently in China under the protection of South Korean officials, said YTN, adding that the man has knowledge of funds held by the Kim family. A spokesman for South Korea's Unification Ministry, Kim Eui-do, said the defection report could not be confirmed. The NIS said two of Jang's close associates were executed last month. These reports have not been confirmed either. YTN said Jang's aide fled to China some time in late September or early October and that Jang could have been sacked because of this. "A source familiar with the matter said the aide immediately requested asylum from the South Korean government and South Korean officials are currently protecting him at a secret place in China," it said. China, which is allied to Pyongyang, usually resists allowing defectors from North Korea to seek asylum elsewhere. YTN said the aide tried to escape to Laos, a route favoured by other defectors, but Chinese authorities prevented him from leaving. U.S. officials have also sought custody of the aide, the television station said. The last major defection was Hwang Jang Yop, a high-level Worker's Party ideologue who was the architect of the Juche (self-reliance) ideology of North Korea, who sought asylum in the South in 1997. (Reporting by Ju-min Park; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Michael Perry) |
| South Africans, some fearful, wake to life without Mandela Posted: JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africans woke on Friday to a future without Nelson Mandela, and some said they feared the anti-apartheid hero's death could leave their country vulnerable again to racial and social tensions that he did so much to pacify. As dawn broke and commuters headed to work in the capital, Pretoria, the commercial hub, Johannesburg, and Cape Town in the south, many were still in shock at the passing of a man who was a global symbol of reconciliation and peaceful co-existence. South Africans heard President Jacob Zuma tell them late on Thursday that the former president and Nobel Peace Prize laureate passed away peacefully at his Johannesburg home in the company of his family after a long illness. Despite reassurances from leaders and public figures that Mandela's passing, while sorrowful, would not halt South Africa's advance away from its bitter apartheid past, some still expressed a sense of unease about the physical absence of a man famed as a peacemaker. "It's not going to be good, hey! I think it's going to become a more racist country. People will turn on each other and chase foreigners away," said Sharon Qubeka, 28, a secretary from Tembisa township as she headed to work in Johannesburg. "Mandela was the only one who kept things together," she said. An avalanche of tributes continued to pour in on Friday for Mandela, who had been ailing for nearly a year with a recurring lung illness dating back to the 27 years he spent in apartheid jails, including the notorious Robben Island penal colony. U.S. President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron were among world leaders and dignitaries who paid fulsome tribute to Mandela as a moral giant and exemplary beacon for the world. American talk show host Oprah Winfrey added her voice to the tributes, saying Mandela "will always be my hero". "His life was a gift to us all," she said in a statement. But for South Africa, the loss of its most beloved leader comes at a time when the nation, which basked in global goodwill after apartheid ended, has been experiencing bloody labour unrest, growing protests against poor services, poverty, crime and unemployment and corruption scandals tainting Zuma's rule. Many saw today's South Africa - the African continent's biggest economy but also one of the world's most unequal - still distant from being the "Rainbow Nation" ideal of social peace and shared prosperity that Mandela had proclaimed on his triumphant release from prison in 1990. "I feel like I lost my father, someone who would look out for me. Already as a black person with no connections you are disadvantaged," said Joseph Nkosi, 36, a security guard from Alexandra township in Johannesburg. Referring to Mandela by his clan name, he added: "Now without Madiba I feel like I don't have a chance. The rich will get richer and simply forget about us. The poor don't matter to them. Look at our politicians, they are nothing like Madiba." Flags flew at half mast across the country and Zuma has announced a full state funeral for South Africa's first black president, who emerged from prison to help guide the country through bloodshed and turmoil to democracy. 'LIFE WILL CARRY ON' Just hours after the news of Mandela's death, one of his veteran anti-apartheid comrades, former Archbishop of Cape Town Desmond Tutu, sought to assuage fears that the revered statesman's absence could revive some of the violent ghosts of apartheid. "To suggest that South Africa might go up in flames - as some have predicted - is to discredit South Africans and Madiba's legacy," Tutu said in a reassuring statement. "The sun will rise tomorrow, and the next day and the next ... It may not appear as bright as yesterday, but life will carry on," Tutu said. Zuma and his ruling African National Congress face presidential and legislative elections next year which are expected to reveal widespread discontent among voters about persisting poverty and unemployment two decades after the end of apartheid. But the former liberation movement is expected to maintain its dominance over South African politics, despite the absence of one of its most towering figures. "It is painful losing him but the ANC is going to stay strong and be dominant. The party is powerful and will stay in power," said office worker Tumi Matshidiso, 27. Mark Rosenberg, Senior Africa Analyst at the Eurasia Group, said that while Mandela's death might give the ANC a sympathy-driven boost for elections due next year, it would hurt the party in the long term. He saw Mandela's absence "sapping the party's historical legitimacy and encouraging rejection by voters who believe the ANC has failed to deliver on its economic promises and become mired in corruption." "In short, Mandela's death will further de-couple the ANC from the liberation struggle on which it still bases much of its legitimacy," Rosenberg said in a briefing note. Although Zuma's initial announcement of Zuma's death left the country hushed, later a crowd gathered overnight outside Mandela's old house in Vilakazi Street, Soweto, to sing songs in his praise. "Mandela you brought us peace" was one of the songs. DEMOCRATIC MODEL FOR AFRICA Mandela rose from rural obscurity to challenge the might of white minority rule - 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. He was elected president in landmark all-race elections in 1994 after helping to steer the racially divided country towards reconciliation and away from civil war. "His greatest legacy is that we are basically at peace with each other," F.W. de Klerk, the white Afrikaner president who released Mandela in 1990, told the BBC in an interview. Mandela was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, an honour he shared with de Klerk. In 1999, Mandela handed over power to younger leaders better equipped to manage a modern economy - a rare voluntary departure from power cited as an example to African leaders. This made him an exception on a continent with a bloody history of long-serving autocrats and violent coups. In retirement, Mandela shifted his energies to battling South Africa's AIDS crisis, a struggle that became personal when he lost his only surviving son to the disease in 2005. Mandela's last major appearance on the global stage came in 2010 when he attended the championship match of the soccer World Cup hosted by South Africa. (Additional reporting by Ed Cropley, Tiisetso Motsoeneng, Xola Potelwa and Stella Mapenzauswa in Johannesburg, and Wendell Roelf in Cape Town, and Michelle Nichols in New York; Writing by Pascal Fletcher; Editing by Paul Simao) |
| World honours Mandela as champion of freedom and reconciliation Posted: (Reuters) - Nelson Mandela was hailed on Thursday as a champion of reconciliation who "achieved more than could be expected of any man," as people the world over mourned his death and celebrated his triumphant fight against apartheid in South Africa. "Today he's gone home, and we've lost one of the most influential, courageous and profoundly good human beings that any of us will share time with on this earth," U.S. President Barack Obama said of Mandela, who became South Africa's first black president. Obama, who himself made history when he was elected in 2008 as America's first black president, noted his first involvement in anything political was a protest against apartheid, the system of white rule in South Africa. "He achieved more than could be expected of any man," said Obama, who is expected to go to South Africa for Mandela's state funeral. The flag over the White House was lowered to half-staff after Mandela's death. "Nelson Mandela was a hero of our time," British Prime Minister David Cameron wrote on Twitter. "A great light has gone out in the world. A sombre South African President Jacob Zuma, announcing that Mandela died at his Johannesburg home on Thursday after a prolonged lung infection, said, "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," Zuma added. Mourners gathered outside Mandela's home and spontaneous tributes sprang up around the world. The famed Apollo Theatre in the Harlem neighbourhood of Manhattan, which Mandela visited in 1990, lit its marquee with the words: "In memory of Nelson Mandela ... He changed our world." In Washington, flowers and candles were set at the base of a statue of Mandela outside the South African Embassy. Dijon Anderson, a teacher from Bowie, Maryland, who came with his sons to pay respects, said, "I feel privileged to even say that I lived during the same time he was here." At "Madiba," a Brooklyn, New York, bar called after Mandela's Xhosa clan name, mourners gathered to remember him. Denis Du Preez, the bar's co-owner and a native South African, said he planned to release lit lanterns into the sky in Mandela's honour. The bar, a home away from home for Africans, is decorated with Zulu designs and large posters featuring Mandela's face. REVERED FIGURE Mandela emerged from 27 years in apartheid prisons to help guide South Africa to democracy, becoming one of the world's most respected and loved figures. He was elected president in landmark all-race elections in 1994 and retired in 1999. F.W. de Klerk, South Africa's last white president, who freed Mandela from prison in 1990 and shared the Nobel Peace Prize with him in 1993, praised him "as a great unifier and a very, very special man in this regard beyond everything else he did. "This emphasis on reconciliation was his greatest legacy," de Klerk told CNN. "Like a most precious diamond honed deep beneath the surface of the earth, the Madiba who emerged from prison in January 1990 was virtually flawless," fellow South African Nobel peace laureate Desmond Tutu, said of Mandela. "Instead of calling for his pound of flesh, he proclaimed the message of forgiveness and reconciliation, inspiring others by his example to extraordinary acts of nobility of spirit," Tutu, archbishop emeritus and anti-apartheid activist, wrote in the Washington Post. Bill Clinton, U.S. president during Mandela's time as South African leader, said history would remember him "as a champion for human dignity and freedom, for peace and reconciliation. We will remember him as a man of uncommon grace and compassion, for whom abandoning bitterness and embracing adversaries was not just a political strategy but a way of life." Former U.S. President George H.W. Bush, who was in office when Mandela was released from prison in 1990, said: "As president, I watched in wonder as Nelson Mandela had the remarkable capacity to forgive his jailers following 26 years of wrongful imprisonment - setting a powerful example of redemption and grace for us all." 'FREEDOM FIGHTER' The U.N. Security Council in New York was in session when the ambassadors received news of Mandela's death. They stopped their meeting and stood for a minute's silence. "Nelson Mandela was a giant for justice and a down-to-earth human inspiration," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told reporters. "Nelson Mandela showed what is possible for our world and within each one of us if we believe, dream and work together for justice and humanity." Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan, leader of Africa's most populous country, said Mandela's death "will create a huge vacuum that will be difficult to fill in our continent." Describing Mandela as "a world-renowned statesman, who during the long years led the South African people through arduous struggles to the anti-apartheid victory," Chinese President Xi Jinping said Mandela was also "one of the founders of China-South Africa relations, and an active champion of bilateral friendship and cooperation." Ordinary Chinese took to microblogging site Sina Weibo, the country's equivalent of Twitter, to express their sadness. But many took issue with their government's stance on Mandela's death, especially since Chinese Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiaobo remains in jail. Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu said Mandela was "one of the most honourable figures of our time ... a man of vision, a freedom fighter who rejected violence." "Today a great freedom fighter, Nelson Mandela has died, one of the world's most important symbols of freedom," said Moussa Abu Marzouk, a senior official of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas group, calling Mandela "one of the biggest supporters of our cause." In Venezuela, President Nicolas Maduro declared three days of national mourning. "Nine months since the passing of our comandante (Hugo Chavez), another giant of the people of the world passed away today. Madiba you will live forever!" Maduro said on Twitter. Figures from the world of entertainment and sport joined in honouring Mandela. "One of the great honours of my life was to be invited to Nelson Mandela's home, spend private time and get to know him," said actress and TV talk-show host Oprah Winfrey. "He was everything you've ever heard and more - humble and unscathed by bitterness. And he always loved to tell a good joke. Being in his presence was like sitting with grace and majesty at the same time." The South African Rugby Union recalled that Mandela "used the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the first major sporting event to be hosted (in South Africa) after the 1994 democratic elections, as an instrument of change to help promote unity amongst all South Africans." Actor Morgan Freeman who played Mandela in Clint Eastwood's 2009 film "Invictus" about the events surrounding the World Cup, said, "Today the world lost one of the true giants of the past century ... a saint to many, a hero to all who treasure liberty, freedom and the dignity of humankind." (Writing by Peter Cooney in Washington; Contributions from Reuters bureaux around the world; Editing by Jim Loney and David Storey) |
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