Nelson Mandela: The United States of America is a Threat to World Peace
In a rare interview, the South African demands that George W. Bush win United Nations support before attacking Iraq
Sept. 10 — Nelson Mandela, 84, may be the
world’s most respected statesman. Sentenced to
life in prison on desolate Robben Island in 1964
for advocating armed resistance to apartheid in
South Africa, the African National Congress
leader emerged in 1990 to lead his country in a
transition to non-racial elections. As president,
his priority was racial reconciliation; today South
Africans of all races refer to him by his Xhosa
clan honorific, Madiba. Mandela stepped down
in 1999 after a single five-year term. He now
heads two foundations focused on children. He
met with NEWSWEEK’S Tom Masland early
Monday morning in his office in Houghton, a
Johannesburg suburb, before flying to Limpopo
Province to address traditional leaders on the
country’s AIDS crisis. Excerpts:
Why are you speaking out on Iraq? Do
you want to mediate, as you tried to on the Mideast a
couple of years ago? It seems you are reentering the
fray now.
Nelson Mandela: If I am asked, by credible
organizations, to mediate, I will consider that very seriously.
But a situation of this nature does not need an individual, it
needs an organization like the United Nations to mediate.
We must understand the seriousness of this situation. The
United States has made serious mistakes in the conduct of
its foreign affairs, which have had unfortunate repercussions
long after the decisions were taken. Unqualified support of
the Shah of Iran led directly to the Islamic revolution of
1979. Then the United States chose to arm and finance the
[Islamic] mujahedin in Afghanistan instead of supporting and
encouraging the moderate wing of the government of
Afghanistan. That is what led to the Taliban in Afghanistan.
But the most catastrophic action of the United States was to
sabotage the decision that was painstakingly stitched
together by the United Nations regarding the withdrawal of
the Soviet Union from Afghanistan. If you look at those
matters, you will come to the conclusion that the attitude of
the United States of America is a threat to world peace.
Because what [America] is saying is that if you are afraid of
a veto in the Security Council, you can go outside and take
action and violate the sovereignty of other countries. That is
the message they are sending to the world. That must be
condemned in the strongest terms. And you will notice that
France, Germany Russia, China are against this decision. It
is clearly a decision that is motivated by George W. Bush’s
desire to please the arms and oil industries in the United
States of America. If you look at those factors, you’ll see
that an individual like myself, a man who has lost power and
influence, can never be a suitable mediator.
What about the argument that’s being made about
the threat of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction and
Saddam’s efforts to build a nuclear weapons. After all,
he has invaded other countries, he has fired missiles
at Israel. On Thursday, President Bush is going to
stand up in front of the United Nations and point to
what he says is evidence of...
…Scott Ritter, a
former United Nations
arms inspector who is in
Baghdad, has said that
there is no evidence
whatsoever of
[development of weapons
of] mass destruction.
Neither Bush nor [British
Prime Minister] Tony
Blair has provided any
evidence that such
weapons exist. But what
we know is that Israel has
weapons of mass destruction. Nobody talks about that.
Why should there be one standard for one country,
especially because it is black, and another one for another
country, Israel, that is white.
So you see this as a racial question?
Well, that element is there. In fact, many people say
quietly, but they don’t have the courage to stand up and say
publicly, that when there were white secretary generals you
didn’t find this question of the United States and Britain
going out of the United Nations. But now that you’ve had
black secretary generals like Boutros Boutros Ghali, like
Kofi Annan, they do not respect the United Nations. They
have contempt for it. This is not my view, but that is what is
being said by many people.
What kind of compromise can you see that might
avoid the coming confrontation?
There is one compromise and one only, and that is the
United Nations. If the United States and Britain go to the
United Nations and the United Nations says we have
concrete evidence of the existence of these weapons of
mass destruction in Iraq and we feel that we must do
something about it, we would all support it.
Do you think that the Bush administration’s U.N.
diplomatic effort now is genuine, or is the President
just looking for political cover by speaking to the U.N.
even as he remains intent on forging ahead
unilaterally?
Well, there is no
doubt that the United
States now feels that they
are the only superpower in
the world and they can do
what they like. And of
course we must consider
the men and the women
around the president. Gen.
Colin Powell commanded
the United States army in
peacetime and in wartime
during the Gulf war. He
knows the disastrous
effect of international
tension and war, when
innocent people are going
to die, young men are going to die. He knows and he
showed this after September 11 last year. He went around
briefing the allies of the United States of America and asking
for their support for the war in Afghanistan. But people like
Dick Cheney… I see yesterday there was an article that
said he is the real president of the United States of America,
I don’t know how true that is. Dick Cheney, [Defense
secretary Donald] Rumsfeld, they are people who are
unfortunately misleading the president. Because my
impression of the president is that this is a man with whom
you can do business. But it is the men who around him who
are dinosaurs, who do not want him to belong to the
modern age. The only man, the only person who wants to
help Bush move to the modern era is Gen. Colin Powell, the
secretary of State.
I gather you are particularly concerned about
Vice President Cheney?
Well, there is no doubt. He opposed the decision to
release me from prison (laughs). The majority of the U.S.
Congress was in favor of my release, and he opposed it.
But it’s not because of that. Quite clearly we are dealing
with an arch-conservative in Dick Cheney.
I’m interested in your decision to speak out now
about Iraq. When you left office, you said, “I’m going
to go down to Transkei, and have a rest.” Now maybe
that was a joke at the time. But you’ve been very
active.
I really wanted to retire and rest and spend more time
with my children, my grandchildren and of course with my
wife. But the problems are such that for anybody with a
conscience who can use whatever influence he may have to
try to bring about peace, it’s difficult to say no. |
