A giant Statue of the dead former South Africa Leader Nelson Mandela was today unveiled in Pretoria
South Africa.Speaking during the unveiling ceremony on the lawns of the Union Buildings, South African President Jacob Zuma said the statue's outstretched arms symbolized a call for people to join together.
"South Africa is now a democratic country, he is embracing the entire nation, he is advancing to the nation to say: 'Let us come together, let us unite'," he said.The 4.5 ton,
nine-meter (30-foot) high bronze statue, which cost some eight million rand (580,800 euros, $800,000) shows Mandela smiling, his arms spread in a gesture of welcome. He is wearing his trademark batik "Madiba shirt."
nine-meter (30-foot) high bronze statue, which cost some eight million rand (580,800 euros, $800,000) shows Mandela smiling, his arms spread in a gesture of welcome. He is wearing his trademark batik "Madiba shirt."
The statue, which had been planned long before Mandela's death, replaces one of Barry Hertzog, an Afrikaner nationalist who was prime minister of South Africa from 1924 to 1939. Hertzog's family gave their permission for it to be moved to another location in the gardens of the Union Buildings, the seat of government in the capital, Pretoria.
The ceremony came as South Africa celebrates Reconciliation Day, a public holiday commemorating racial and political reconciliation - an ideal that Mandela embodied for many both in his words and actions, and as the country's first black president.