Liberian leader rebukes Mugabe at Mandela lecture

(GIN)-Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf expressed her solidarity with the people of Zimbabwe in a speech prepared for the sixth annual Nelson Mandela Lecture in Soweto recently.

"All Africans must speak out about injustices in places such as Zimbabwe," said Madam Pres Johnson-Sirleaf.

The remark earned applause from Mandela and a crowd of several hundred gathered in a community hall for the lecture.

She also came out in support of a U.N. sanctions resolution proposed by the U.S.

Turning to Mandela, she said, "If someday I am remembered as one of the many dreamers who came in your wake, who, unable to fill your shoes, walked in your shadow to build a new Africa, then I can think of no better place to be in history."

Mandela, who addressed the crowd only briefly, called Johnson- Sirleaf "an inspiring example to Africa and the world.

"And, if a 90-year-old may offer some unsolicited advice on this occasion," continued Mandela, "it would be that you, irrespective of your age, should place human solidarity, the concern for the other, at the centre of the values by which you live."

This is part of the July 23, 2008 online edition of Frost Illustrated.

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