Quote #22

Far from the rough and tumble of the politics of our own country. I would like to take this opportunity to join the Norwegian Nobel Committee and pay tribute to my joint laureate. Mr. F.W. de Klerk. He had the courage to admit that a terrible wrong had been done to our country and people through the imposition of the system of apartheid. He had the foresight to understand and accept that all the people of South Africa must through negotiations and as equal participants in the process, together determine what they want to make of their future.

More from Nelson Mandela

  1. In relation to these matters, we appeal to those who govern Burma that they release our fellow Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi…
  2. We live with the hope that as she battles to remake herself, South Africa, will be like a microcosm of the new world that is striving to be…
  3. The value of our shared reward will and must be measured by the joyful peace which will triumph, because the common humanity that bonds bot…
  4. We do not believe that this Nobel Peace Prize is intended as a commendation for matters that have happened and passed. We hear the voices w…
  5. In front of this distinguished audience, we commit the new South Africa to the relentless pursuit of the purposes defined in the World Decl…
  6. Let it never be said by future generations that indifference, cynicism or selfishness made us fail to live up to the ideals of humanism whi…
  7. That triumph will finally bring to a close a history of five hundred years of African colonisation that began with the establishment of the…
  8. My fellow South Africans - the people of South Africa: This is indeed a joyous night. Although not yet final, we have received the provisio…

All Nelson Mandela quotes