That's the title of an opinion piece in the Globe and Mail today. The sub-head reads, "Brian Mulroney's anti-apartheid speech 30 years ago was driven by an intellectual reverence for human rights and a fundamental sense of moral outrage."
No doubt it was. But this is Brian Mulroney we're talking about. Does the name Karlheinz Schreiber ring any bells? That little bit of chicanery triggered a goodly dose of moral outrage in many Canadians.
Which is not to suggest that Mulroney's intellectual reverence for human rights and his stand against apartheid were in any way inauthentic...
But!
Back when South Africa's ugly apartheid system was under well-deserved international sanction, one of their prime sources of foreign revenue was the Krugerrand gold coin. It was a favourite among gold hoarders around the world. There were few competitors.
Canada had introduced a rival gold coin in the late '70's, but it was slow to catch on. That began to change as the boycott of SA gained traction. Sales of the Maple Leaf gold coin soared! Brian was certainly one of the most high-profile champions of the SA sanctions.
Oddly enough, about fifteen minutes after leaving office, Mulroney was named to the board of directors of Barrick Gold, Canada's premier gold producer. He spent twenty golden years on the board of Barrick, pocketing millions!
Coincidence?...
Showing posts with label apartheid. Show all posts
Showing posts with label apartheid. Show all posts
Saturday, September 29, 2018
Thursday, December 5, 2013
On the passing of Nelson Mandela to a better place
First I heard of Nelson Mandela was in the early sixties, when he was making news headlines in the west on account of ANC "terrorism" in South Africa.
Apartheid South Africa was at the time a member in good standing of both the British Commonwealth and the community of nations at large.
That terror label was to stick for another twenty years or so in some circles. Mandela meanwhile spent most of his adult life in prison for standing up against what today is seen as a self-evident injustice, namely that some people may be deemed more worthy than others simply by dint of the colour of skin they were born into.
The last twenty years of Mandela's life were part triumph, part tragedy, and part farce.
The greatest triumph was the sweeping out of the Apartheid regime and the establishment of a racially inclusive democracy in South Africa.
Tragedies were plentiful enough, from his personal disappointments to the disappointments of his heirs in the ANC. But Mr. Mandela was never one to dwell on disappointments.
The farce has been continuous in the constant stream of senior politicos from the many nations who had condemned him as a "terrorist" making pilgrimage to Africa to touch the hem of his raiments and bask in the Great Man's refracted glory; all at the behest of their PR consultants of course!
What struck me most about his wonderful autobiography was the complete absence of anger or self-pity. Surely the man had much to rage against and much to rage about and even more reason to feel sorry for himself.
Nothing!
That was what I found most inspirational about Nelson Mandela.
Apartheid South Africa was at the time a member in good standing of both the British Commonwealth and the community of nations at large.
That terror label was to stick for another twenty years or so in some circles. Mandela meanwhile spent most of his adult life in prison for standing up against what today is seen as a self-evident injustice, namely that some people may be deemed more worthy than others simply by dint of the colour of skin they were born into.
The last twenty years of Mandela's life were part triumph, part tragedy, and part farce.
The greatest triumph was the sweeping out of the Apartheid regime and the establishment of a racially inclusive democracy in South Africa.
Tragedies were plentiful enough, from his personal disappointments to the disappointments of his heirs in the ANC. But Mr. Mandela was never one to dwell on disappointments.
The farce has been continuous in the constant stream of senior politicos from the many nations who had condemned him as a "terrorist" making pilgrimage to Africa to touch the hem of his raiments and bask in the Great Man's refracted glory; all at the behest of their PR consultants of course!
What struck me most about his wonderful autobiography was the complete absence of anger or self-pity. Surely the man had much to rage against and much to rage about and even more reason to feel sorry for himself.
Nothing!
That was what I found most inspirational about Nelson Mandela.
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