Mandela, the country`s first black President and anti-apartheid icon, emerged from 27 years in apartheid prisons to help guide South Africa through bloodshed and turmoil towards democracy.
Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia offered condolences over the passing away of former South African President Nelson Mandela on Friday, Foreign Affairs Minister Marty Natalegawa said.

"We deeply mourn the passing away of a man of honor and principle; a towering figure against the heinous policy of apartheid, whose struggles served as a rallying call the world over against racialism, colonialism and other forms of injustice," said Marty.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela died peacefully at his Johannesburg home on Thursday after a prolonged lung infection, South Africas President Jacob Zuma said.

Mandela, the countrys first black President and anti-apartheid icon, emerged from 27 years in apartheid prisons to help guide South Africa through bloodshed and turmoil towards democracy.

"Fellow South Africans, our beloved Nelson Rohlihla Mandela, the founding President of our democratic nation, has departed," Zuma said in a nationally televised address.

"Our people have lost a father. Although we knew this day was going to come, nothing can diminish our sense of 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," he added.

Mandela will receive a full state funeral, Zuma said, ordering flags across the country to be flown at half mast.

Mandela rose from rural obscurity to challenge the might of a white minority apartheid government - a struggle that gave the 20th century one of its most respected and loved figures.

He was among the first to advocate armed resistance of apartheid in 1960, but was quick to preach reconciliation and forgiveness when the countrys white minority began easing its grip on power three decades later.

Mandela was elected President in a landmark all-race election in 1994 and retired in 1999.

He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, an honor he shared with F.W. de Klerk, the white Afrikaner leader, who was released from jail as arguably the world's most famous political prisoner.

As President, Mandela faced the monumental task of forging a new nation steeped in deep racial injustices left over from the apartheid era, and making reconciliation the theme of his time in office.

The hallmark of Mandelas mission was the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which probed apartheid crimes on both sides of the struggle and tried to heal the countrys wounds. It also provided a model for other countries torn by civil strife.(*)

Editor: Heru Purwanto
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