to. we tried to get that language adopted on 32. incorporate that because no one objected. the subject was address in both bills in terms of sexual assault, even though the article 32 language is not limited to it's limited for he use of procedure for discovery now that creates unfair problems for people who visits or the complainants, so we were able to get an agreement that we should address that. could not get agreement that we would address either the illibrand or mccaskill agreements. however, they are free standing bills. so lked to senator reid and has senator gillibrand and mccaskill. ll of us want votes on these matters. even though in these bills there's major improvements in the area of sexual assault. for instance, i'll give you some of them again. retaliation s that is a crime. the threat of retaliation has een one of the reasons why

victims do not report the improper context or sexual behavior. o we make in this bill now that's going to be introduced in the next couple of days in the ouse and hopefully in the senate, retaliation is a crime under the ucmj. direction oint the for the commanders to be held accountable for the climate in this the units bill. e also say that the commander annot reverse a finding of a court-martial. s we've seen one of the problems which arose is when a commander reversed a finding of court-martial. and that created a -- a real problem and we've addressed that by saying that that can no longer happen. we also say that if a commander follow the advice -- excuse me, if there's a sexual

complaint that is filed, that that complaint, if it does to a court-martial, level to a higher official. official. officer and ederal can go right up to the secretary of the military involved. it can go up to the secretary of army, navy. so forth. that's about four of the 20 bill on s in this sexual assault. if i can, the detailed list has circulated to all of us. >> the press release is out. press release is out. >> is it on the web or -- > in terms of the detail on what's in the bill, i don't think there's any difference between, peter?

the house press release and the senate press release cover the same -- > so the description of the provisions of the bill are in both releases, even though our release is not out in terms of the rhetoric. have, what -- yes? the ch of you have leadership of either of the parties agree that the house is going to bring forward and republicans are okay with the agreement as well as the democrats? >> well, i can't answer that question right now. i have talked to them. i have two meetings before this, have another one after this as we try to get it here. even unately, some aren't in town yet. mitch mcconnell is in an airport some place unable to get out now. talked to them by phone. i see a totally different change we're in a now that point where the choices are so limited that it's either we do

do it.e don't so i can't tell you that we have a commitment on the republican this, but we have a lot more support than we would have had or that we did have in the of the bill. >> leader reid is hopeful the to pass a be able bill this week so we can take it up next week. realistic here's no way of passing a defense authorization bill this year without the procedure. the emphasize this is not same procedure that's used twice in 2010 recent years and in 2008, i believe. now, in terms of the democratic we will present this to my colleagues, as a matter of be meeting with the full armed services committee 15 minutes ago. meeting with the democratic caucus tomorrow.

last question, yes? >> you said -- [ inaudible question ] they're going to talk to each other. i talked to them individually. they couldn't make a commitment until they talked to each other they've done by now. >>. [ inaudible question ] >> let me go back over and tell had in the bill will be an improvement of what we've passed in the house and in committee. and it was an overwhelming vote. think ink we'll be -- i we'll be okay. i think we've addressed people's concern.

thank you very much. to go get the guest the bill passed. thank you. british house of common sense celebrated nelson mandela a tribute in monday. mr. cameron will join 100 world

at a memorial service tuesday in johannesburg. order. order. know how will wish to we intend today. defense questions will be for next monday. the present list of questions will be carried over. be another ot shuffle. the table office will announce changes shortly. this is a special day for special tributes to a special nelson mandela. i hope that as many members as be able to l contribute. tributes may continue until p.m. there will be no end of day adjournment debate. also wish to know that there will be an event to

and celebrate the nelson achievements of taking place in westminster hall at 2:00 p.m. on thursday, the 12th of december. prime minister? >> thank you, mrk. towering dela was a figure in our lifetime, a pivotal figure in the history of south africa and the world and it's right to pay tribute to his achievements, and his legacy. he union and south african flags flew at half mast over downing street the day after his on the day ll do so of his funeral. been ence books have authoriz authorized. this evening, we will fly to the africa to attend memorial service in johannesburg highness, theroyal prince of wales will represent us in the funeral. everyone's thoughts are with the

family of nelson mandela, his friends, and the millions in south africa and around the who are mourning him today. mr. speaker, when looking back over history, it can be easy to victories over prejudice and hatred as somehow inevitable as years lengthen it can seem natural progress can have humanity ever upwards away brutality and darkness toward something better. it is not so. is not just handed down as a gift, it's one through struggle, the struggle of men who believe things can be better, who refused to accept the world as it is but dream of it can be. nelson mandela is the embodiment of that struggle. himself as a helpless victim of history. the evil ofr forget apartheid and its effect on benches,life, separate separate pews in

church. whole language of segregation that expressed man's inhumanity to man. was n mandela's struggle made ever more vital by acts of brutality like apartheid. his was a journey that spanned decades from his activism in the '40s and '50s through nearly decades of incarceration through the negotiations that led to the end of apartheid and election to the highest office in south africa. it was, as he said, a long walk to freedom. prisoner in a cell measuring seven feet by eight, here must have been times when nelson mandela felt that his fists were beating against a wall that would not be moved. he never waivered. as he famously said at his wanted to livehe for and achieve the ideal of a democratic and free society. it was also an ideal for which as he said clearly, he was

prepared to die. lock long years of imprisonment, he lost all provisions. the sustained him was belief in human dignity, that no naturally superior over any else. work to do. in the end, the cries of an infant who dies because of a machete has se split over its stomach will penetrate the noises of the and the sealed windows to say, am i not human too? cries for ela's justice pierced the conscious of people around the world. et me pay tribute to the members of this house who considered it a part of their not to rest until ended.l of apartheid was mandela knew there were millions waysaid no to apartheid in

large and small. and there can be no doubt that e had a real warmth of feeling for this country. he visited months after his release from prison and then times in the of following years, including the memorablyhe spoke so trefalgar square. he was noted not in what he fought, but in the grace he won. he could have been bitter. n his release, he could have meted out vengeance on those who had done so wrong. ut the most remarkable chapter is how he took the opposite path. choose ry, he did magnaminity. he invited his own former jailer to come to the presidential inauguration. in his secretary a young woman who became his

confidante. in an image, he roused his powerful the most gesture of reconciliation. his government pursued a eliberate policy of forgiveness. f.w. declercq and other party officials were brought into his of national unity. he truth and reconciliation commission was established to break the spiral of recrimination and violence. astonishing brave moves. mandela's hope was south africa its heart and his time after office, he showed no less stepping up the fight against aids. it's been one of the great honors of my life to go to south mandela.d meet i remember discussing this issue with him in his office and determination to ensure that anti-retroviral those in h all of need. here was a man of 88 who had been imprisoned for decades and a lot of the rapid social change taking place, but who had the ision to see through

destructive attitudes towards aids in south africa. marks ofe actions were his extraordinary personal leadership. and today, though challenges emain in south africa, that country is on a far more hopeful path today because of what nelson mandela did. there are signs of hope across the whole continent, in the middle in the emerging lass, in the birth of new democracies. around the world, there exists already many monuments to nelson mandela. a few hundred yards from here, the champion of democracy is bronze, arm outstretched, mid speech, beseeching those in this house o remember that democracy is a gift and a gift to be used well. there's been a lot of debate his ly about how to secure legacy. be to one part must rededicate ourselves to the in africa where 7% of the gdp and aid to ensure

plays the full part. the most important monument to mandela must be the lessons that us, that there is dignity and worth in every human that an ounce of humility of orth more than a ton might. long-term change needs patience, lifetime atience of a but that change can come with determination and sacrifice. t's with sadness we meet here today to remember nelson mandela. but it is with gladness that we long y this -- it was a walk to freedom, but the walk is over. freedom was one. and after that, nelson mandela deepest enduring in this history. the place in >> ed miliband. >> we remember the uncomparable nelson mandela. this house gathers to pay led te to those who have our country. it is unusual for us to meet to

another.e leader of why was it so essential that we commemorate the life of mandela in this way? for simple reasons. enduring and unique symbol of courage, hope, and the injustice.st he teaches us the power of showing no bitterness toward his captors, just a love of the country that if all so much better of its people could be free. nd he demonstrates even to the most skeptical, the power of people and politics to change world. that is why we gather here today. party, i sendof my the deepest condolences to his and , the mandela family, all of the people of south africa. mourn with them. today's an opportunity to remember the extraordinary life story of rdinary nelson mandela. anc, thatmovement, the

liberated a country. and dured the suffering prison.ce of 27 years in a son unable to attend his father funeral, a unable to attend his son's. such the face of oppression, his spirit never bent or broke. offered the chance of release in 1985 after more than 20 years in jail, on the condition that he ive up the struggle, he refused. sell my birthright nor am i prepared to sell the to be ght of my people free, he said. we honor him, too, because of the remarkable person that the orld found him to be after he walked out of prison in 1990. remember.nes we all archbishop omrade

desmond tutu said, it can inable the sufferer, there can be than g more noble determining not to seek revenge but to seek reconciliation with them. he was, as archbishop tutu said magnanimity. that is why he became not just a but truly struggle can be described as the father of a nation. as we have seen in the tributes and the nation, he's inspired in the black and white communities of south africa. because nor him too, for him the struggle against never ce is a story that ended. having been an activist that president, he was a president who became an activist once again, campaigning on hiv s from debt relief to aids to the war in iraq. e honor somebody too, who wore

his extraordinary her rowism humility.st the year he gave up the the labor, he came to party and described himself as pensioner with a criminal record. tutumously said to desmond who teased him for his taste in that's pretty thick coming from a man who wears a dress in public. empathy led him to seek out not the most famous in the room, least, and his work made very person he met walk toward him. we see a man who showed the true meaning of struggle, courage, and humanity. mr. thered here now, speaker, also to recognize our country's history is bound up.

in the spirit of truth and reconciliation, south africa as, after all, a british colony. later, britain would become in mandela's own words the second headquarters of our movement in exile. he prime minister and i and thousands of others went to sign the condolence book at south africa house on friday. easy to forget now, the south africa house was not always such a welcoming place opponents of apartheid. o we should remember today the hundreds of thousands of people who were the anti-apartheid movement in britain. the people who stood month after month, year after year, on the when the hat embassy call seemed utterly futile. he churches, trade unions, campaigners who marched, supported the struggle financially, culturally, and so ways.other the people who refused to buy prodigies and call for special elections. people whose names we do not

who from all over britain are part of that struggle as well as those who will be etched history, including the leaders of the movement who sanctuary in britain, like ruth first, joe sliver, and others. f the house will allow me, those in my own party who played such an important role, like bob in the house of lords. more.o many, many odd to ker, it may seem a younger generation that the as long as itived did to now be universally world over.the he cause was unfashionable, dangerous by those in authority, and opposed to those in government. minister was right a few years ago to acknowledge the history. spirit of what nelson mandela taught us, to acknowledge the truth in the

and without rancor, honor past.ange that's come to but also to honor his legacy by acknowledging in every country the battle of wn racial injustice needs to be won. so we come here to honor the our history.wledge and also for one final reason -- to recognize and uphold the universal values for which nelson mandela stood. dignity of every person, whatever their color or creed, alue -- the value of tolerance and respect for all. and justice for all people wherever they may live and oppression they may face. "i son mandela himself said, am not a saint, i am a sinner who keeps on trying." his extraordinary life calls on trying.to keep on for nobler ideals, higher bigger and d for a not smaller politics. inspired by his example, and the

movement he led. we mourn his loss, we give thanks to his life, and we honor his legacy. liberal alf of the democrats, i want to add our voice to the many tributes to mandela, the father of modern south africa. the thoughts and condolences are his loved ones, the people of south africa, and everyone grieving his ld loss. nelson mandela's message transcended the boundaries of nations, people, creeds. and and his character transcended boundaries too. he was a politician. but appeared to be free of all of the pettiness of politics. warm human being with a mischievous wit, yet seemed to normal human frailties of anger and hurt. he was a man who was well aware

in history, but he didn't want to be placed on a pedestal and was humble at all times. so with qualities like this, it that millions r of people who did not meet him in person, nonetheless, feel hero and a st friend. i never had the privilege of nelson mandela myself. but like so many people, i had.t feel as if i he clearly made a huge impact to meet. those he did i remember patty once telling me -- he told me this with a wife, jane, would say mandela was the funniest and she'd ever g man met. as a student, i flooded to for the free m nelson mandela concert to mark his 70th birthday. tood there, i remember thinking, how on earth could one an live up to everyone's expectations if and when he was finally released? nelson a free man,

mandela not only met those expectations, he surpassed them. challenge for south africa seemed almost impossible at the time. how could people who'd spent so and divided in conflict either perpetrated or suffered so much abuse find it within forgive, to move on, and to build something together. well, mandela could and did. and the truly remarkable example forgiveness he set made it possible for his country to be as the rainbow nation. enormity r, given the of his achievements, we're all struggling to work out the best legacy.onor his i like to think one of the things he would like us to do in to pay se today is tribute to and support the ndividuals and the organizations around the world and fight for human rights

do not have a global name. all over the world, millions of men, women, and children struggling to overcome and ty, violence, discrimination. they do not have the fame or the nelson mandela. but i'm sure he would tell us in they achieve and endure their pursuit of an equal and open society shapes all of our lives. campaigners like mayor kwame who works to protect and empower the afghanistan, the head of the human rights commission theorganizations and around world like the committee and relationships that works in the shadow of threats and intimidation. they are just three examples of the individuals and deserve our that loyalty and support just as much as the british campaigners in in anti-apartheid movement london showed unfailing loyalty nelson ort towards mandela in his bleakest days. i would also in that like to pay

fellow to all of the at aigners for what he did the time. make what we ll mark tomorrow. and britain can pay no greater nelson mandela than by standing up around the world for the values of human rights he fought for. the nelson mandela took first steps for freedom, he made no call for vengeance, only forgiveness. he understood that dismantling apartheid's legacy was about removing the most explicit signs of discrimination and segregation. recognized too to build a brighter future, south africa must confront the darkness of its past. nelson mandela laid down a blueprint making it ossible for other communities such as in northern ireland to reject violence, overcome their

ifferences, and make a fresh beginning. that's why i hope in communities where people are still truggling to replace violence and conflict with peace and stability. he principles of forgiveness and reconciliation which mandela embodies are followed by others too. recently, for example, we debate in this house the alleged human lanka, abuses in sri surely there could be no better way for that country to heal its bring peace and unity for all of its people than to follow mandela's example and south africa's truth and reconciliation process. nelson i see it is mandela's last egg legacy to all of us, to champion the defenders today.n rights and to know that wherever there's conflict and injustice courage, peace is always possible. minister reminded us, in the 1964 trial, mandela equality in d that

south africa is an ideal for which he is prepared to die. to those listened words can fail to be moved to hear a man so explicitly, so put his life on the line for freedom. others remarked, mandela liked to repeat the great of the moral art universe is long, but it bends to moral justice. rights day 's human and beyond, let us mon nowhere is memory by ensuring that the hope he gave lives on for all of those whose liberties and rights denied.l gordon brown. >> mr. speaker, 51 years ago, directly across from this house, standing ent square, lincoln of the statues, and general schmaltz and with is friend oliver tanbull, nelson mandela asked the question -- when if ever would a

represented in that parliament square? that day in june in 1962 was an important one. the first visit to london and possibly his last. because he was on the edge of arrested, imprisoned, put on trial twice, once for his then spent 27 years incarcerated. it was a great privilege on what have of the people of that i was able to a statue to the irst black man represented on that square, nelson mandela himself in the presence of his wife.dela and elson mandela stand there now and forever. his hands outstretched but his finger pointing upwards as he always did to the heights. man most responsible for the

of what people thought was indestructible, the system, the man who taught us no injustice could last forever. greatest mana, the of his generation, yes, but across the generations, one of you ost courageous people could ever hope to meet. winston churchill said courage the greatest trait of all. pon courage everyone else depended. commitment, passion, wit, and charm. but it was his courage that things to of these life. we think of it as daring and bra stra doe and it's all of the things that mandela had in qualities. but mandela was the first to say true courage depends not just on of will power, but strength of belief. what drove mandela forward and

architect of ahe free south africa, the one and irst great achievement of nelson mandela? what made him this great south africa ree was this burning belief that everyone, every man and woman was equal. everyone born to be free. everyone created not with the poverty, but in created to have dignity in life. >> here here. the intensity to which nelson mandela believed this and his determination that he would paralyzed by fear. something that's recorded was brought to the prison in robin island, the shakespeare and he has e his signature, julius he words of ceasar. the coward dies 1,000 times the volumedeath, but

taste of death but once. it's strange seeing that death, end, will come when it will come. remarkably, that amazing courage to stand up to evil stood with this lack of bitterness that has been described already today, orgiving his prosecutors the would be executioners and the he told ing story that me, the night before they left rison calling all of the prisoners together saying, yes, they would be justified in acts f revenge, retaliation, and retribution, but there could never be a strong successful society.ial that's the second great achievement to achieve change in reconciliation. there was a third achievement, refusing to rest or relax when presidency, he had a great historic far most to his dged achievement name. he himself wrote in the first part of his life he had climbed

mountain to end apartheid, but in the later life, he wanted to climb another the world ain to rid of poverty and especially the poverty.f child i need speak of what i saw in the times i worked with him. how quietly without fanfare, he went about his work. south africa to meet nelson mandela to persuade so that he to london could persuade the need for debt relief to relieve poverty. this, he did. in 2006, his wife, a leader in right, who shared his ideal, someone who will now arry on his legacy to the future. he and she launched the british for education for every child. he warned us when we had that mozambique, ence in he said to get every child to school, we would have to end hild labor and child marriage

and child trafficking and we would have to end the discrimination against girls that he and his wife have been involved in ever since. nelson mandela, at the beginning of his conference said the cause was so rgent, they have now come out of retirement so that he could prosecute the cause. and at the end of the press onference, he said it's now up to the younger generation and he was returning to his retirement now. i visited in south his son he week that died of aids. in mourning and grieving about he events, he came out to the press with me and he said that ids is not to be treated as a moral judgment. like what he ated a disease and greatness for cure. his greatness was a greatness of the human soul.

mrk, my good fortune was to meet nelson mandela not so long after he left prison. i remember the first greeting. of the british empire. he flashed the same smile that could light up a room and the world. years ago, the birth of my son john, i picked up the nelson e, there was mandela on the floor. he, too had lost a child in infancy. and his birthday before the day second son's, we exchanged telephone calls on the days of birthdays, presents, letters, cards, the last only this october. raising money for children's causes was the purpose of nelson birthday party in london when president clinton and i were proud to pay tribute gave an auction where he the original copy of his famous letter to a child. nd first oprah winfrey bid for it. then elton john. both surpassed a million.

winfrey went beyond. she was told she would have to pay in pounds and not dollars. [ laughter ] nd nelson mandela and i joked it was time for another million pounds and write another letter send it to elton john. his last event was in hyde park london again to raise funds for children. sitting next to me, uniquely incapable of doing is to explain who the celebrity acts are and about.hey were and he was particularly intrigued by amy winehouse, longer with us. going down to meet him and her joking that her husband and mandela had a great common, both spent a huge amount of time in prison. t that point, she wanted a drink. they had banned drink at the occasion for him because of the health. i will never forget this mandela all of the achievements behind

him, but the celebration party urely entitled to celebrate hiding from his wife's view the just for him.agne few people know that nelson loved not only to tell stories but to gossip. verything from spice girls, celebrities in sport, to political leaders, i will refeign to mention what he said about them. he admired and respected her majesty, the queen. wanted the me he queen to invite an african wane reception in is buckingham palace and got the diplomatic hannels so he decided to telephone her personally. these are only words that mandela could use. elizabeth. the juke, the official minutes say the queen was

noncommittal, he got his way. hung by mandela on the bare of that bleak prison cell was a facsimile of a british artist, by famous frederick walls. it's the haunting image that he ad in his prison cell of a blinded girl sitting on top of the globe of the world. and the painting entitled, "hope," it's a the boldness of a irl to believe that even when blinded, even with a broken harp still string, she could play music. her and mandela's belief that and in the most difficult bleak of times, even when things eemed hopeless, there could still be hope. i believe that explains why over few days we both mourn the death of mandela and equal ted his life with intensity. unite the world

in sport with unanimous applause. we are mourning because even in disasters, amidst the evil that existed in the world, there was someone there standing between us and the represented goodness and nobility. because ebrating today the lessons we learned from them will live on. teaches us that indeed no injustice can last forever. teaches us that when ever good people of courage come infinite there is hope. >> here here. malcolm rifkin. release in ay of his 1990, i was with many millions of people for him to emerge from prison. and i remember a particular hought at that time -- that although he was a global figure, the whole world knew of nelson mandela, no one had the faintest

idea what he looked like. no picture had appeared. to prison 27 years earlier as relatively young man emerging as a relatively old man of 73. when hem the first time came to 10 downing street when john major was prime minister as he went to downing street, and number ten, 70 who staff of number ten, or 80 people quite spontaneously ad drawn themselves up in two lines in order to applaud him as cabinet room.he john major said that was the first time that had happened minister.ecame prime he was not a saint as we heard, politician to the fingerprints, he believed with the armed struggle of the earlier part of his career and perhaps in some degree to the his career. indians, see, he eventually decided the ways of

more likely to deliver than the armed struggle. have dinner g to with the deputy prime minister. communist. african he had been educated at the economics.ol of he was a strong believer of the armed struggle. you're a member of the south african party. ften argued at the time that you and your people, your colleagues were training in the was it true? he said it was true, we were trained in odessa. in the armedelieve struggle? particularly nelson mandela decided on a political solution. we believed that the giver rikanas would never up peacefully. it would only be a struggle to power.em out of

he said, no, is that what they taught you in the soviet union? said, no, that's what they taught me at the lse. lived and worked in southern africa in two years in the rhodesia.hern row i got to know south africa well. would be no there peaceful resolution of apartheid. hether one liked it or not, it would be revolution, by armed struggle, they would change that political system. and i was wrong. but i was wrong because what not one was there was hero in south africa, there were two and it's worth remembering this. nelson mandela who undoubtedly deserves the bulk of the credit. but there was the south african president, f.w. declercq. would both of them, it not have been a peaceful resolution. some ways it was more difficult for declercq than mandela. serious point.

mandela was receiving power -- mandela was receiving power of the that stage most struggle had already been won. he was receiving power, declercq was having to persuade his own people to give it up and to give up before he had actually been defeated. a different ituation which the world had not seen before. declercq realized he needed the although elected not at that were white time. he called the referendum, by the leadership, f his he persuaded 60% of white south the daysto accept that of apartheid were over. even then, it required mandela credit to go through long months of negotiation, not only with the support of his in the enc in order to deliver not just a transfer f power, but the transfer of

power that offered the prospect of peace for all of the people of south africa. said this is not about moving from white to black, domination.d be no he didn't just believe that, he ofcticed it with every fiber his being. as we look to what are the lessons of his extraordinary incredible achievements, if you look at not just the contribution in south saying but without the contribution to the wider world and why he's become such world as figure in the a whole, essentially there are two reasons for that. of all, he is perhaps the best example we've 100 years of how the force of personality, how political leaders who themselves from oliticians to statesmen can by

their sheer personal effort hange the world and make what was impossible to possible and then deliver it. he's not the only one who has done so. think of it as a unique example. the force of his personality helped to end the old war and deliver the distribution of eastern europe without a shot being fired if thought that possible. built up the solidarity and once mighty polish communist party. nwar sidot, a controversial figure, but by the extraordinary decision he took to fly from jerusalem and address the egyptian president which led between israel and and, we knowr day, burma.being done in

call it a political and charismatic figure in itself is sufficient.ut not it has to be combined with political skill, and, of course, politician to his being a ints a well as man with all of these other talents. tells ond lesson i think us is that you need political leadership. also as mandela did recognize the strength of getting as a way of political change. because even after mandela had released, it took months and months of negotiation that collapsed at any stage into internal civil war. year when we have seen howdy mroem si which is not produced the able agreement on syrian chemical weapons, produced an agreement iran's nuclear program, it's orth taking comfort from that

and seeing how mandela's example can deliver in an extraordinary way. i conclude by simply saying this -- when we paid tribute to wele rightly , as do, we should pay tribute to him for what he himself stood for. we should acknowledge what he south africa, but also recognize what he taught regard to the resolution of what seemed like political problems by patients, by personality, by diplomacy.d by military solution armed struggle sometimes unavoidable. it is avoidable and he demonstrated that better than anybody in our own time. peter haven. >> can i thank the deputy prime leader of the e opposition for their overgenerous remarks in my role

underline that there were many, many tens of thousands of activists in the anti-apartheid movement who deserve to be acknowledged as well. you, mrk, for your personal leadership in ensuring tribute. debate is a special event for such a special person. the south re wearing african tie on this occasion. specifically, for proposing thursday afternoon westminster all event for civil society along with the speaker including importantly veteran activists of anti-apartheid movement who worked so tirelessly over many tough and bitter decades for nelson mandela's release nd for the sanctions against partheid that he wanted and triggered his freedom. mr. speaker, i've never been in nelson mandela was mine from when i was a young in our retoria, unique

relatives as well and having welcomed everybody to their house in the anti-apartheid struggle. one fellow activist i remember remarked, this is the first time i've ever come through the front man's house.te blacks acting asker is vapts or gardiners might be allowed in door occasionally. y daughter was often alone in the white only section of the public gallery in the 1962 trial pretoria. a would acknowledge her with clinched fist which she would return. his beautiful wife, winnie, each day, e trial often magnificent in tribal dress. once winnie bent down and kissed he two blond girls to the

evident horror of the on looking white policeman. kissing two little white children disgusted them. before that, and he had the appointment with the prime minister which was very carefully

became a global celebration with a pulsating free mandela anti-apartheid rock concert attended by 100,000 people at wembley stadium and watched on live television by 600 million worldwide. despite, i say for the record, mr. speaker, not out of any recrimination some conservative members pressing for the bbc to pull the plug on its coverage. and then almost miraculously was something we had never dreamed. we'd dreamed of, but deep down doubted would ever, ever happen.

that historic day in february 1990 when he walked out of prison to freedom, an image forever imprinted on me and on millions, perhaps even billions across the world. i say almost miraculously because history gets compressed and rewritten over time, and we take change more granted. for granted. the reality was very different. nelson mandela's struggle for flee.com and that of his national african congress was long, and and it was bitter taking nearly 100 years from the days that under british colonial rule the roots of apartheid were established. under britain, under britain in 1900 50 years before apartheid was formally institutionalized in south africa, most of apartheid's features were already in place in the bustling gold rush city of johannesburg. by then africans were already prevented there walking on the pavements, they were to walk in the streets, had to carry passes to work in the city, could not

use buses and and trains designated for whites, were dreadfully exploited in the mines and had no political rights. we all say in britain we were against apartheid, and doubtless we were. but some did things about it, others didn't. the anti-apartheid struggle was for most of its life engaged in a big fight here in britain too. its executive secretaries, first ethel kaiser, its chairman, lord bob hughes and treasurer, richard cayborn, former members of this house, were real stalwarts and neil kin nick along with -- [inaudible] as well. protests to stop whites-only tours provoked fierce anger. i remember it well. [laughter] pain to payne, as i recall. some people might still feel that. [laughter] yet nelson mandela confirmed to

me that the isolation was a key factor in making whites realize that they had to change so that today that wonderful black rugby star, brian, can be a spring -- [inaudible] when his predecessors under apartheid at the time we were demonstrating never could. demands for trade and economic sanctions were also relisted, yet their partial implementation progressively not by london, but by washington, eventually helped to pell the white business -- propel the white business community in the late 1980s to demand change from the very same apartheid government from which they had so long benefited. mr. speaker, forgive me if for a brief moment i strike what i hope won't be seen as too discordant a note on this occasion which sees the house at its very best coming together to salute a great man. were it not for the interventions in the media in recent days, i'd have let pass the historical record.

i dui credit especially to you -- give credit to you especially, mr. speaker, that you were on the wrong side of the anti- apartheid struggle as a young conservative. i give credit to the prime minister for apologizing for his party's record of what i have to describe as craven indulgence towards apartheid's rulers. and if nelson mandela can forgive his oppressors without forgetting their crimes, who am i not to do the same for our opponents in the long decades of the anti-apartheid struggle? when it really does stick in the craw when charles moore and others still tried over recent days to say their complicity somehow brought about its end. [laughter] even to my utter incredulity when the lord told bbc world this a debate with me that they had brought about mandela's freedom. [laughter] i know for a fact that nelson mandela did not think so. [laughter]

on every possible opportunity, he went out of his way to thank anti-apartheid activists across the world for freeing him and his people. it's, therefore, especially welcome that nelson mandela always retained an almost our special series focuses on rosalynn carter. a discussion of cybersecurity and the financial markets. we will rear air but -- we will re-air the british house of commons on nelson mandela.

another thing is you are going to be criticized no matter what you do. i would have been criticized for what i did, and i got a lot of criticism, but you learn to live with it. i never let it influence me.