Nelson Mandela, Former President of South Africa and Nobel Peace Prize Winner

Her Excellency the ambassador of South Africa to the United States of America Makati Sheila Sisulu members of the diplomatic and consular corps members of the clergy elected officials may Ally brown university presidents community leaders the board of trustees of Rice University faculty and students distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen allow me as the director of Rice University's Baker Institute for Public Policy to welcome you to this very special event which has been made possible by the generous support of the Shell Oil Company Foundation and Enron the program will start with remarks by the 61st secretary of state James a baker 2/3 who will then introduce His Royal Highness Prince Bandar bin Sultan the ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United States His Royal Highness Prince Bandar will make his remarks and then introduce our honored guest speaker His Excellency Nelson Mandela the former president of South Africa after President Mandela's remarks there will be a question-and-answer period based on the written questions you in the audience submit to the ushers who will collect them during the course of the program we will then make the presentation to President Mandela of the Baker Institute Enron prize for distinguished public service in consideration of our honored guests I would ask that no flashbulbs be used during this event join me ladies and gentlemen in welcoming our distinguished participants to the stage dr. Malcolm Gillis president of Rice University the Honorable James a baker 2/3 the 61st secretary of state of the United States of America His Royal Highness Prince Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz the ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United States of America and his Excellency Nelson Mandela the former president of the Republic of South Africa you thank you James a baker the third the honorary chair of the Baker Institute has served with great distinction and senior government positions under three United States presidents his record of public service began in 1975 as Undersecretary of Commerce in President Ford's administration he served as a 67 secretary of the Treasury in the Reagan administration and as chairman of the president's economic policy Council he was also White House chief of staff for both presidents Reagan and Bush as the nation's 61st Secretary of State in the bush administration he played a key role in some of the most dramatic historic events of our time such as the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany building the International Coalition behind Desert Storm and the Madrid peace process which launched the arab-israeli peace process join me in welcoming secretary Baker to the podium thank you very much thank you very much ambassador the ridging ladies and gentlemen we are really delighted to welcome you to a very very special occasion one that does great honor to the Baker Institute to Rice University and to the city of Houston the reason of course is very simple our speaker today is without exaggeration one of the most important figures of the last half of the 20th century during my years in public life I had the opportunity of meeting any number of world leaders but none and I repeat none was or is more deserving of the appellation great that is Nelson Mandela I first met President Mandela in Windhoek Namibia just a few short weeks after his release from 27 years in prison he was already a living legend not just among his followers in South Africa but for millions around the world who saw him as the very embodiment of the struggle against injustice he lived up to his reputation soft spoken but determined dignified but passionate willing to compromise but utterly committed absolutely committed to his ultimate goal the creation of a multiracial Democratic South Africa during that same visit I met with them South African President FW de Klerk and president de Klerk told me something that I found rather startling at the time he said I'm going to be the last white president of South Africa there was no doubt in my mind or I suspect in two clerks mine about who would succeed him four years later Nelson Mandela did precisely that thanks to his efforts apartheid was gone it was gone forever but perhaps most importantly it was gone peacefully Nelson Mandela is one of those rare historical figures who successfully navigate the course from being a revolutionary leader to being a national statesman and as such I think he bears genuine comparison with the early leaders of our own Republic men like Washington and Adams and Jefferson and like them he placed his stamp not just on his country and on his continent but also on the world as president of the new South Africa Nelson Mandela possessed immense prestige not just at home but abroad of course he still does and it is a prestige that he is put to frequent and effective use in the international arena for instance only recently he and our other distinguished guests successfully negotiated with Libya for the release for trial of the suspects and the bombing of Pan Am 103 that other distinguished guests that other distinguished guest is a friend of mine he is a friend of the Baker Institute but above all I think he is a friend of the United States of America as Saudi Arabia's ambassador to this country for over 16 years he has been a key architect of one of the most important and enduring of all of our bilateral relationships I can personally my friends attest to the critical role that he played in developing a joint saudi-american strategy during the Gulf War crisis and later the particularly important role that he played in bringing Arabs and Israelis together at the historic Madrid peace conference so ladies and gentlemen it is my distinct pleasure to present to you the ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the United States of America his royal highness Bandar bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz your royal highness mr. president secretary and friend Jimmy Baker it is with great pleasure that I am here with you all in Houston and in Texas and since the Oilers do not reside in Houston anymore I think I can get your support for the Dallas Cowboys which is my team the Texas has an important special place in my heart because this is the first state I visited when I first came to this great country in 1970 and I have a memory that has been with me ever since then because when I first came here I decided to call Saudi Arabia and in those days you couldn't dial directly after cold through New York to get to the Middle East and I had difficulty explaining to the International operator where hard Rabia was and I said to her finally when I was frustrated do you know where Israel is she said yes just down south a little and then I didn't get my call so I decided I might maybe if I impress her she would respond favorably so I said please this is an urgent call and she said what's your name I said and that's when I decided to impress her prince Bandar she said how do you spell your first name ladies and gentlemen it is my great privilege and honor to take this suicidal mission of introducing our honorable guests today but since I spent about 17 years of my life as a fighter pilot it takes a stupid fighter pilot to even assume he will have to introduce a man like the man we are honoring here tonight but I will prove to you that I have grown up since my fighter pilot days and I'm not going to overstay my welcome I have the distinct pleasure and honor to introduce a great human being and a great man citizen of the whole world my friend Nelson Mandela I do okay our friends I have a bit of a courage and my voice does not want to cooperate but I will not allow it to decide my program in the light of what has been said here I think I should put the motto in proper context as I have done on a number of occasions I was spending a holiday in the Bahamas a few years back and I was taking a walk when I met a couple and the gentleman stopped and said mr. Mandela I said many people mistake me for that trip and he said he tended to his wife and said mum mr. Mandela she was absolutely unimpressed and she said what is he famous for and the husband in his embarrassment had dropped his voice and said mr. Mandela mr. madano she said I asked what is he famous and without waiting for an answer she turned to me and said what are you famous for I couldn't answer that question what I want to say that of the international bodies that we have the United Nations is the most significant one can go into details in spelling out its performance but I just want to cite one example which I hope all of you will appreciate why we should support that organization the first world war broke out in 1914 and 25 years later we had the Second World War that was in 1945 1939 to 1945 it is now 54 years since the end of the Second World War there has been no third world war it is true there have been regional conflicts some of them very violent but and no weld a conflagration has taken place since 1945 and those therefore who wanted to get involved in conflict resolution should always relate their activities to the world body whether it is resolving a conflict in one country or a conflict between various countries once you say the United Nations is charter calls upon all these members to try and resolve their problems by peaceful means you then have a solid start and depending on the specific program a problem you are required to solve but the fact that you should relate your efforts to the United Nations is a very powerful weapon in your hands we have been involved in conflict resolution in our country when as I have pointed out before we had to try and change ourselves as individuals because there's no use trying to change others if you yourself are unable to change yourself and the problem that faced us was that our emotions said it is revolting for me to go and talk to people whom for more than three centuries have persecuted our people and treated us like flies that is what our feeling I said we were thinking through our blood when we suffered but our brains said something totally different our brain said if you don't talk to your enemy this country will go up in flames and innocent human beings men women children and the agent will be slaughtered and our brains prevailed of our blood and we solder we sat down and talked when you have a strong case you don't have to resort to violence you actually wanted to meet your opponent because he cannot answer your case if you give him a chance to use violence you'll never convince him it is going to be the strength of the weapons that you command that is going to prevail whereas if you sit and talk you can put anybody with a viewpoint contrary to yours against the wall on the cupboard and that is what we do now many serious political commentators said you will never be able to have a peaceful transformation in South Africa we confined them we had that peaceful transformation we were working with the international community especially through the United Nations we had a second college when it was announced that I was going to Libya the State Department where the figure at me and said if you go there we will withdraw our aid to South Africa I must confess I spoke more from my blood which was boiling time for my brain and I said no party anyway in the universe not only in the world in the universe is going to dictate to me I am going to Libya then they countered by saying world withdrawal our aid to South Africa I say please withdraw it in any case in any case the aid you are giving us in comparison with the aid were getting from others is peanut butter a very a very humorous member of the Congress put me on the carpet he said well if it is peanuts don't eat them but I want to live you and many people including out of state said you will never be able to convince Gaddafi to hand over those suspects I and at the His Royal Highness year representing a king fact we were able to persuade the Gaddafi to hand over those suspect we won his confidence again in that case we went too closely with the United Nations and we kept on reminding President Gaddafi that the chatter calls upon all of us including you to try and settle problems through dialogue through peaceful methods now I do therefore urge you that when you face any situation bear in mind consciously the charter of the United Nations but because that this is a university and there are many students here I want to serve can a story of a young man who left his village to go and look for a good wife for this purpose he crossed of vast plains famous rivers and the highest mountains and visited every major city of the day he met beautiful princesses actresses rich and influential women women from the countryside and from the other areas and when he had gone right around that world he could not see the care he was looking for he then returned to his fatherland and eventually reached his village he was going back and to die because he saw no reason why he should continue living when he had failed in his most of fervent a dream but as he entered his village he saw the girl from next door they were about the same age they went to the same school they went out of dancing together but throughout that period he never saw in this woman the girl of his dreams but having gone right round the world he now realized that this is the woman he left his village to go and look for living him/her next over what that means is that you must develop self-confidence confidence in yourself because you are not only an asset to the nation not only leaders of tomorrow each and every one of you has the ability the qualities to reach at the top position in your country as long as you have confidence in yourself and then acquire the best instrument for you to be able to save your society which is education now I would like to urge young people not only to think in terms of themselves as individuals of course you must improve yourself in order to be able to serve your society but you acquire that education in order to serve your country as it has been said by a writer coming from this area that one of the striking features of modern times is the emergence in every part of the country of the globe of men and women who have selected the world as the theater of the operations who are able to fight the suppression of human rights the question of illiteracy the question of poverty which is the single most important challenge facing humanity today those men and women are prepared to fight these social evils wherever in the world they are to be found we in South Africa have been the beneficiary of that a new feature which has been identified by this author in this part of the world and what is the reason why we have enormous respect for the international community and for the muscles of the people in the United States of America and elsewhere would demonstrated demonstrated almost everyday in the South African embassy to say we are here to tell you that we are part 10-person of those who have condemned apartheid as a crime against humanity the people of South Africa would have fought hard even without the support of the international community but the cost of that struggle would have been too crushing for us and it would have taken a long time for us to liberate our country who were able to liberate our country because we were supported by the United Nations and the international community as a whole we are therefore very grateful and we don't know exactly what words to choose which will indicate to you the depth of our indebtedness to you now as I concluded my remotes are somewhere yesterday I was having a discussion with a five-year-old young lady wouldn't ask me how old are you I said well I really do not know but I was born long long ago she said five years ago I say no much longer than that then she asked why did you go today I say no I didn't go to train because I wondered some people send me there who I say people who didn't like me she said how long did you stay there I say again I can't remember but it was a very very long time and she said you are a stupid old man unto well if you think what I have said here is stupid please be a little more diplomatic than that young lady mr. president before we begin the questions and answers I would like to read a letter that we just received at the Baker Institute from former President George Bush dear mr. president you will always be mr. president to me I am distressed that I will have to miss your appearance at the wonderful Baker Institute had I not been out of town I would certainly have been there to join in as your many friends in Texas salute you and honor you you have been an inspiration to so many and that includes every single member of the Bush family thank you ever so much for your thoughtful phone call last week that meant a great deal to me respectfully yours George Bush it's the president there are hundreds of questions but I will try to work I was I just want to comment about this letter from President George Bush our struggle has been remarkable because it has received support from all political tendencies in a country I have told the stories that had the first person to telephone me the day I came out today was that President George Bush to say to say welcome home and I invite you to come to the United States of America at Ted there was an interesting incident because a young fellow of about 13 or 14 came to the room where I was and he said there is a guy called George Bush who wants to speak to you I say no does the President of the United States of America and I wanted to take the call a little later he phoned me and somebody answered the phone at home and said Oh President George Bush now my grand son who was about three years of age listen to this and after that every time the telephone rang he ran to the telephone Patriot happened said push push so I'm reminded of those incident by this generous another thank you many questions about hopes for Africa and this is a question from the faculty at Rice University the last thirty years have been characterized by afro pessimism what are your hopes for Africa in the next 25 years can you open is a compost that demand justice just remember I'm nine to honor the last thirty years have been characterized by afro pessimism arson what are your hopes of an effort in the next 25 years while Europe you all have had the passion I think it's a misconception to talk of afro pessimism whatever the position was during the colonial days from the moment Ghana became free in 1957 and became the third country African country to be free next to authorial and Liberia the mood of optimism was at its highest peak in fact one of the mistakes we made in South Africa as the liberation movement was immediately after the end of the world war as a result of the statements by leading heads of states of the world in which there announce that we have crushed a fascism we believe and our slogan was freedom in our lifestyle we were over optimistic and when I went at with a conference of tough Maxo in Addis Ababa in Ferber in 1962 I then said in my address a Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria has called on South Africa to liberate our people within 10 years that was in 62 and president Kenneth Kaunda of course he was not present at the time but he was already an acknowledged leader he said Africa is not prepared to wait 10 years we want freedom now that was a mood of person ISM we had a period where we had one-party state but as a result of discussions as a result of a pressure from the Democratic world Africa abandoned the idea of one-party states and I decided to have multi-party states today throughout Africa with a few exceptions you have democratically elected government and you have a leadership which is not only highly gifted but experienced and whose policies as I have said our people orientated and who are rising to the challenges facing them of course we still have problems poverty corruption unemployment these are problems which you find in the old industrial countries as well and it's no surprise that a you'll find them in Africa but at the mood of optimism where we now people like President Mbeki our president in South Africa is piloting the idea of an African renascence in which he is calling upon the people of Africa to take that destiny in their hands and not add to look for intervention from outside the continent is there any greater continent come back there are many questions on the truth the truth and reconciliation such as the one you established in South Africa do you take it up heal some of the wounds of ethnic conflict in other countries are less okay several questions on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission mr. president do you think that a Truth and Reconciliation Commission such as the one you establish in South Africa can help heal some of the wounds of ethnic conflict in other countries I cannot speak for other countries especially without knowing the concrete conditions under which they address problems but for South Africa it was one of the best methods to heal at the hood to make the necks of King know what happened to their beloved we composed set up that Commission very carefully I was given by a committee which was set up to recommend to me the names of people who should form this commission they gave me 40 names and I had to select 70 I made sure that that Commission was fully inclusive no shade of political opinion was left out and we selected one of the most outstanding leaders in South Africa as news of tutu we selected him to preside over that commission it made a lot of mistakes it showed a lot of weaknesses but the overall picture was a commission which did an excellent job and it cutted the wound open cleaned it and the process of healing is now taking place many people were shocked when the previous security police came and said we buried this man alive we asked him to another one to dig a grave and then while standing above the crystal shorted into the grave and at the necks of Kidd saying we excuse you we know the conditions under which you carry out these orders we excuse you I had an officer in my security who had served at the apartheid regime a white officer an Afrikaner and after I was with him for six months the head the senior police officials came and said look this man in your security took part in bombing quarter house that is where the Council of Churches in South Africa operated from let people like Bishop tutu they say he was part of those who bombed at house so I say so what they say he's a security danger I said I'm not going to punish a young man destroy his future because he was instructed by his seniors to carry out that dirty job I am interested in the people who gave him those instructions those are the people I want if you want me if you want me to deal with the situation can me were instructed him then I'll deal with that man but this young fellow has proved a very innocent to me and I'm not going to dismiss him now that is the mood I'm not an exception that is the mood that is prevailing in South Africa as a result of people who have come forward to say this is what we do and when you listen to those stories it's very difficult to accept it that these things were done by human beings but that has brought about a new situation in the country where the community from whom the security police were recruited those days feel today very much achieved and that they have become therefore supporters some of the enthusiastic supporters of worthy causes and we have forgotten the past we have been able to go to our people who say that was a painful pause but let's forget it let us now we're together to build our country and that work is going on very well because the TRC has made it possible for us to know what actually happened and that is why we have forgive me I see us how real is the possibility of a successful separatist movement that is being waged by the Africana population there was a time when the right wing in South Africa was a real danger in fact three weeks before the election the general election of 1994 we discovered that they had decided to use force to stop the elections they had set a date I called the leaders of the right wing and I said to them I have discovered that hey you have planned that to stop the election by violence is that true and one of them who was the commander the national commander of the South African Defence Force a very honest Afrikaner he said yes mr. president it is so saying president of the a and said that time because the election had not taken place and he says I'm afraid there's going to be a lot of bloodshed the Afrikaners are arming I said you will give us a hard time you are better trained as soldiers than ourselves you command very dangerous weapons and because of your resources you know the country better than we do you will reduce this country into ashes and bring suffering to innocent civilians but at the end of that we will crush you we haven't reached this position we haven't reached this position where everybody expect that we are going the next government with your permission we have reached it in spite of what you have tried to do we will curse you because we have a just cause you do not have we have numbers you do not have we have the support of the international community you do not have what is the use of engaging in such a suicide instead of going to Kempton Park where 25 other political parties were negotiating the leader of at the South African army the former leader decided to break out from this group and you went to negotiate now from that day we started marginalizing the right way and today one of their leaders a chap called you gentle branch who had carried a swastika in his uniform and then everything that a deity imitated Hitler because when Hitler dressed meetings they wouldn't have a piece of paper you just Cobra meeting and started talking so this chap was imitating him he was drawing letter count than the president of the country president de Klerk but we have so much analyzed them that he cannot even call five members at a meeting and a nanner case is going to jail now so the right wing the right wing is no danger to us but there are few individuals who still want to go back to the old days we are not excited we wonder we'll let them to talk and one of the things that I've done is to form what is called a Nelson Mandela Foundation for development for peace for reconciliation and for justice and I am calling some of these rogue elements to say Siddhartha what is your case we have a beautiful country both black and white friend and foe have forgotten their differences we are building our country what is the place they can state it we have completely marginalized everybody who is thinking of a separatist movement but who can't stop people from thinking thinking widely we can't control them but the point is that they are no threat at all to the unity of South Africa this is a question from a twelve-year-old in the audience I would like to know mr. president what you most want to be remembered for doing what means the most to you in your heart well I would like to be remembered as a 91 year old pensioner who's looking for a job now it is for Humanity of a society to decide how I should be remembered a commander data from the BBC many of you would have seen it about two or three years ago said Mandela is a useless debt he has done nothing either for his country or for Humanity I then replied that I welcome such statement because they destroyed this myth that somebody is an angel and cannot be criticized I never wanted to be regarded as an angel I'm an ordinary human being with witnesses some of them fundamental and I've made many mistakes in my life I am NOT a saint unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying okay I do

Channel: BakerInstitute

Views: 508,551

Keywords: Shell Distinguished Lecture Series, Nelson Mandela, South Africa, Nobel Peace Prize (Award Category), Baker Institute

Id: NgfX7Yco0sI

Length: 55min 46sec (3346 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 05 2013