Anyone old enough will remember the day, twenty years ago today, that Nelson Mandela walked to freedom, blinking in the sunshine, after 27 years in jail, much of that time on Robben Island.
Following his release Mandela exhibited exemplary leadership leading his people to a relatively peaceful future in a democratic South Africa.
It was an incredible achievement given the depth of hostility which existed between black and white.
We should also acknowledge the role played by F.W de Klerk who paved the way for democracy and mitigated the hostility and understandable fears of the Afrikaans resistance.
Both Leaders demonstrated that when we sit down to negotiate a peace we do so with our enemies not our friends but that it is possible to achieve peace against seemingly impossible odds.
chris@projectsguru.co.uk
