Maldives pays final respects to Mandela

Minister at the President’s Office Mohamed Hussain Shareef has paid his respect to Nelson Mandela as the late former South African President lay in state at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, revealed the President's Office today.

"The Minister also extended deepest condolences to the family members of Nelson Mandela, on behalf of President Yameen, Vice President Dr. Jameel, the people and the Government of the Maldives," read the President's Office statement.

In a book of remembrance placed for Mandela by the Maldives Foreign Affairs on 11 December, President Abdulla Yameen hailed Mandela as the greatest statesman the world has seen. "His patriotism and his passion for the protection of human dignity will stay with us for generations to come," wrotePresident Yameen.

In a statement delivered on 6 December, Vice President Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed said that the South African former President was an exemplary character who stood for human equality and human rights, and who fought courageously against apartheid.

South Africa's first black president, Nelson Mandela is remembered for his work in the anti-apartheid movement and for fostering racial reconciliation in South Africa. He will be buried today with full state honors at his ancestral home in Qunu.