Dinner Speech to South Africa's President Nelson Mandela

Mr. President,

Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen

When disembarking the airplane on Saturday morning with my delegation, - I proceeded directly to Kayelitsha, to meet the future of this country, its youth and children.

The immediate purpose of our visit there was to initiate a cooperation called "Sports for All" - a project aimed at inclusiveness and broad participation in sports. We came there to present some modest contributions to the opportunity of these children. And we returned enriched and with new faith in the future of South Africa.

The look in the eyes of these youngsters, their discipline, their energy, held out more promise for this tried land than any Ministry of Planning can ever articulate by scales and charts.

Unity. A coming together for a common purpose. Yesterday's visit to Robben Island under your guidance, told it all. South Africa is uniting in dignity.

Forgiveness. Not bitterness or hatred. That is the glue which will unite this New South Africa. Robben Island, for decades a symbol of imprisonment and oppression, became a greenhouse of dignity, showing that mankind is the one single species on earth that can endure the most impossible conditions.

In your memories, "The Long Way to Freedom" - you reflect on a commanding officer on Robben Island. Although he was known to be the most callous and barbaric of commanders, you described this way that there was another side to his nature: "It was a useful reminder that all men, even the most seemingly cold-blooded, have a core of decency, and that if their hearts are touched, they are capable of changing."

Yes, Mr. President - you have proved that all human beings are capable of changing - and South Africa is a living testimony to this.

For decades, the fate of South Africa engaged more Norwegians than any other international issue. Your struggle shaped the political horizon of generations of Norwegians. The young, the students, the churches, the labour unions, the aid organizations, the political parties and countless individuals associated themselves with the struggle for freedom in South Africa.

Your have spoken generously about Norway during my visit. I assert the following: The struggle for freedom in South Africa has done more for our country than we have done for you. It has upheld our dignity, amidst affluence, that we were reminded that we could not fully enjoy our freedom, until you had yours.

On three occasions, the Norwegian Nobel Peace Prize Committee has chosen South Africans, and their outstanding contributions to peace and to justice.

The Price to Albert Luthuli in 196o was an eye-opener to the whole world. Luthuli said: "How great is the paradox - that an Award in support of peace and the brotherhood of man should come to a citizen of a country where the brotherhood of man is an illegal doctrine".

That paradox was precisely the reason for the decision of the Nobel committee. Today, it is no longer a paradox. Those who were outlawed, banned, censured, proscribed and prohibited won the struggle because they were morally right.

Then came Desmond Tutu in 1984 - at the doorstep to the final struggle against apartheid. The world was reminded of extraordinary moral strength of the anti-apartheid movement. All of Norway loved Desmond Tutu. He traveled the country. Spoke in churches. Met the people. Met the King. Won our hearts.

There was no turning back. We too, deserved to see the day. At this juncture, Mr. President, you were still in prison. And all of Norway sang the song: "Free Nelson Mandela".

And then you yourself, and Frederik Willem de Klerk, came to Oslo to receive the Nobel Prize for Peace. The prisoner and his warden. We asked the impossible. And our hopes for this country and its people were fulfilled tenfold. This can only happen to a country once in a thousand years. That the right person is there at the right point in time. To guide it through turbulence and trial. You, Mr. President is that kind of person.

There were times of sanctions and boycotts. They now belong to the past. Norway and South Africa can enjoy partnership. Relations are open, warm and friendly - between governments, between people.

Both my delegation and the agenda of my visit aims at building bridges from the past to the future. Today we have agreed on establishing a permanent consultation on international issues - bilaterally and within the United Nations. We have signed an important agreement on environmental cooperation. We are promoting cooperation between our universities. The Norwegian Church Aid - people who were pivotal in the support to the anti-apartheid forces - are now building new relationships with those responsible for reconstruction and development. Norwegian industry is here to forward their work in a challenging market.

Common to us all is this: We are here to give our full support to the efforts of all South Africans in building and securing democracy, in building a spirit of conciliation, - in shaping a new Constitution. We have been honored and privileged to support you. We will continue to do so.

Mr. President,

The ANC was the first of the modern liberation organizations in Africa. It is the mother of all liberation movements. But South Africa had to wait the longest. South Africans have suffered an historic aberration. Your victory stretches beyond your own borders.

The real struggle lies ahead. Your struggle will not be complete until there are lines of electricity and communication reaching even the most remote corner of your country. You are only half-way there as long as hope permeates the townships and the young people leave to take up employment. You are still on the move as long as great differences remain unbridged and the little black girls and the little black boys see only a prosperity that is not their own.

Building the future means policy. There are millions that require education, basic health services, basic amenities. By means of targeted policies, by investing in people, we know that South Africa will be a winning nation.

The world shared the frenzy of the moment when Bafana Bafana won the Africa Nations Cup. Norway became independent in 1905, and we know what winning what other nations want to win means to the self-esteem and coherence of a new nation. Congratulation.

I propose a toast to the future of your country. To its conciliation and new constitution. To its president who lived to see the result for which he was also prepared to die. To you President Mandela.