Condolence message on the passing of the Honorable Nelson Mandela

December 17, 2013

We were deeply saddened to have learned the passing of the Honorable Nelson Mandela, president of the Republic of South Africa. Mayors for Peace would like to extend our deepest condolences to the bereaved family and the people of South Africa.

President Nelson Mandela, who devoted all of his self to fight against apartheid and any form of human discrimination, never giving in throughout 27 years of imprisonment, has continued to strive for the elimination of racial discrimination and reconciliation among the human races. We express our deepest and most heartfelt respect for these brave actions and his firm conviction.

The Honorable Mr. Mandela has long worked to accomplish multiracial coexistence. His spirit of tolerance echoes with the deep humanitarian convictions of Hiroshima’s atomic bomb survivors, who chose the path of reconciliation rather than retaliation, earnestly pleading for nuclear weapons abolition, continuously spreading the wish for peace to the people of the world. The existence of Nelson Mandela, who has overcome unimaginable suffering and saw his unshakeable conviction through to the end, has been incredibly reassuring and lent us a great deal of courage, and we deeply regret his passing.

It was the ideal of President Mandela to make South Africa into “A Rainbow Nation” – where a variety of people of all different skin colors live in harmony like a rainbow. Mayors for Peace truly wishes that this ideal can be inherited by countries around the world, and by deepening our bonds as members of the same human race, that a world without war or conflict can be realized. Furthermore, we pledge here to work on realizing nuclear abolition and everlasting world peace, overcoming barriers of mutual distrust based on nationality, race, or religion, and creating a security system rooted in a sense of global community as members of the same human family.

In closing, please allow us once again to extend our deepest condolences on the passing of the Honorable President Nelson Mandela.

Mayors for Peace