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Patriarch Kirill condoles on death of South African ex-president

Nelson Mandela, who “has become a symbol of the struggle for the rights of human dignity”, the religious official said

© ITAR-TASS/Alexander Astafyev

MOSCOW, December 09. /ITAR-TASS/. Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia has expressed condolences on the death of South African ex-president Nelson Mandela, who “has become a symbol of the struggle for the rights of human dignity”.

“Nelson Mandela came against apartheid. He had been imprisoned for about 30 years. But his struggle was crowned with the victory over racial discrimination,” the patriarch said.

“Mandela’s activity won citizens’ sincere love and broad international recognition. The Nobel Prize was one of the proofs,” Patriarch Kirill said.

Mandela died on December 5. The burial ceremony will take place in Johannesburg’s stadium on December 10. It will involve U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other world leaders. Mandela will be buried in the remote village of Qunu, Eastern Cape, where he had grown up and where he withdrew from political activity.

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