MANDELA STATUE UNVEILED IN WASHINGTON

A statue of former South African president Nelson Mandela was unveiled
Saturday outside the South African Embassy in Washington, D.C., the
site where four protestors were arrested in 1984 — an event credited
with spurring anti-apartheid sanctions against South Africa.
The 3 meter statue, a replica of the sculpture outside the gates of
Drakenstein Correctional Centre in South Africa where Mandela was
released after 27 years in apartheid-era jails, is the work of South
African artist Jean Doyle, who modeled the sculpture from photographs
of Mandela leaving the prison in 1990, his fist is raised triumphantly
over his head.
Ebrahim Rasool, South Africa's ambassador to the United States, noted
the statue stands across the street from a statue of British Prime
Minister Winston Churchill, who is also depicted with his hand over
his head but with two fingers raised, flashing the V for victory sign.
Suggesting the two statues are engaged in a game of
Rock-Paper-Scissors, Rasool noted that "rock beats scissors."
A plaque at the base of the statue quotes from Mandela's address to a
joint session of Congress months after his release in 1990.
"The stand you took established…that here we have friends…fighters
against racism who feel hurt because we are hurt, who seek our success
because they too seek the victory of democracy over tyranny. I
speak…of the millions of people throughout this great land who stood
up and engaged the apartheid system in struggle. Let us keep our arms
locked together so that we form a solid phalanx against racism…Let us
ensure that justice triumphs without delay.