Word: mandela
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...problem with Yasser Arafat is that he's no Nelson Mandela." I've lost count of how many times I've head that complaint, both from Palestinians and Israelis...
...Israelis see in Mandela a leader who took a principled decision to make peace with his enemies, and kept his word. The Palestinians see him as a nationalist fighter who refused to compromise his principles even when that meant immense personal suffering - and as a leader guided by those same principles when making the historic compromises necessary to minimize bloodshed while pursuing his goals. And in both instances - and others - Arafat falls short by comparison...
...Arafat's dilemma is, in many ways, of his own making. And the Palestinians, who will at some point in the not-too-distant future have to choose his successor, may want to pay close attention to Arafat's mistakes - and, perhaps, to Mandela's example...
...contrast, Mandela negotiated with a lot more transparency, and always held himself accountable to his supporters, working to persuade them of the necessity of compromise rather than simply pretending it wasn't happening. He had rejected terrorism on principle: his soldiers were always under orders to avoid attacking civilians, even when their unarmed supporters on the ground were being massacred by the apartheid regime. And the South African leader also always displayed a keen understanding of his adversary's motivations and concerns, which gave him the ability both to read their tactics and articulate positions that could assuage their fears...
...South Africa out of its denial as he traveled the country making public appearances, forcing his compatriots to acknowledge the humanity of AIDS sufferers and to bring discussion of the disease out into the open. "It's a great pity that this young man has departed," former President Nelson Mandela told reporters after Nkosi died early Friday. "He was exemplary in showing how one should handle a disaster of this nature. He was very bold about it, and he touched many hearts...