www.thesouthafrican.com
16 - 22 April 2013
Issue 510
BUTHELEZI AND DE KLERK TO ATTEND THATCHER FUNERAL
South African leaders from Thatcher’s era are to join around 2000 guests at the Iron Lady’s funeral this week - the grandest such occasion since the Queen Mother’s death in 2002 by STAFF REPORTER
MANGOSUTHU Buthelezi, FW de Klerk and a representative of Nelson Mandela are among those expected to attend the funeral of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in London on Wednesday. They will join more than 2,000 invited guests including Andrew Lloyd Webber, Shirley Bassey and Jeremy Clarkson at the funeral with military honours at St Paul’s Cathedral. Although not officially a state funeral, it is the grandest such service seen in Britain since the death in 2002 of the Queen Mother. De Klerk, the last president of apartheid South Africa, who was embraced by Thatcher as a reformer, became the first former head of state to confirm his attendance at her funeral, accompanied by his wife Elita. De Klerk ordered the release of Mandela from jail and then agreed to the negotiations that ended apartheid, for which he was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. On hearing of the controversial leader’s death De Klerk said, “I am honoured to have had Margaret Thatcher as a friend. She will be remembered not only as one of Britain’s greatest Prime Ministers but also as a leader whose policies and approach had a significant impact on politics throughout the world. Although she was always a steadfast critic of apartheid, she had a much
UK Immigration • UK Visas • Permits • EEA visas • Residency • Citizenship • Appeals • Sponsorship Licences South African Immigration
better grasp of the complexities of South Africa than many of her contemporaries. She consistently, and correctly, believed that much more could be achieved through constructive engagement with the South African government than through draconian sanctions and isolation.” IFP president Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi MP will be accompanied by his advisor Mario Oriani-Ambrosini, an IFP MP to “pay his last respects to his friend, with whom he stayed in very close contact, even after her retirement from politics,” according to a statement issued by the IFP. “The invitation speaks not only of their close relationship, but recognises Buthelezi’s role in history. They found themselves to be kindred spirits, equally committed to the cause of freedom in the world, and to a non-communist outcome to the South African liberation.” “Baroness Thatcher supported Buthelezi’s call for the rejection of economic disinvestment and international sanctions against our country, which both leaders recognised would only hurt the poorest of the poor. Like Buthelezi, Thatcher recognised that the abdication of principles only leads to decay. She loved South Africa and saw and hoped for a leadership place in the world for our country.” The Iron Lady’s position on apartheid is considered one of her greatest mistakes – one of the few
INSIDE:
p2 | Invictus author to write Oscar Pistorius biography p3 | Mandela daughters sue Madiba’s Treason Trial lawyer Bizos in art dispute p5 | Shannon Hope hits London music scene with sensational concert series
THE IRON LADY AND THE LAST APARTHEID PRESIDENT: For better or worse, Baroness Thatcher had a profound effect on South Africa’s transition to democracy
things both her supporters and enemies agree on. Thatcher once called the ANC a terrorist organisation – yet it was recently revealed in a previously secret 1985 letter that the Iron Lady had appealed to South African president PW Botha for Mandela’s release from prison. For all that Thatcher has been condemned by senior South
Africans, her neo-liberal policies went on to become a dogma of mainstream economics for a generation. The ANC under former president Mbeki adopted adopted many classic Thatcher positions in order to please the investors – such as avoiding debt, privatising parastatals and reining in wages and public spending.
0845 074 0514 info@bic-immigration.com www.bic-immigration.com
The Leading Name in UK Immigration
Third Floor, Cutlers Court, 115 Houndsditch, London, EC3A 7BR
Ref No. F201000144