“So far, despite high level approaches from senior ANC figures, the British embassy has not relented or issued a visa. As a result, he was unable to catch his plane.”
Zwelivelile Mandla Mandela, the grandson of Nelson Mandela, has been prevented from traveling to the UK where he was scheduled to address a series of pro-Palestine events after he did not receive a visa in time for his flight.
“We deeply regret to announce that Mandla Mandela has been prevented from traveling to the UK,” the Sheffield Palestine Coalition Against Israeli Apartheid said in a statement on Thursday.
Mandla Mandela, Nelson Mandela's grandson, is unable to travel to UK to give his talk this evening due to UK visa conditions. The talk will be on zoom. He is, however, allowed to travel to Ireland. #wewillnotbesilenced#CEASEFIRE_NOW #StopGazaLebanonGenocide #StopArmingIsrael pic.twitter.com/wmWRZP7xuB
— SheffieldPSC (@SheffieldPSC) October 10, 2024
“British officials had initially told him that his South African government passport did not require a visa to enter the UK. However, on Monday, Mandla was informed that he did require a visa,” the statement added.
It said, “So far, despite high level approaches from senior ANC figures, the British embassy has not relented or issued a visa. As a result, he was unable to catch his plane. By contrast, the Irish authorities have waived the visa requirement for him”.
‘Not the First’
The group said it was “not the first occasion that pro-Palestinian speakers from abroad have been obstructed” from addressing audiences in the country.
“We will make every effort to have Mandla come to Sheffield in the near future,” it added.
Mandela’s speaking schedule would take him to nine cities including Sheffield, Manchester, Edinburgh, Dundee, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Dublin, Bristol and Brighton, from October 10 to October 21.
According to his Instagram page, Mandela was also scheduled to speak at the Global Peace & Unity Festival in London as well.
‘Paid a Heavy Price’
On Thursday evening, he delivered his speech to the Sheffield event via Zoom as part of the Dismantling Apartheid South Africa to Palestine: UK and Ireland Tour.
In his speech, Mandela said: “My voice carries the echoes of the many nations on our continent who have waged a bitter struggle against colonisation; we paid a heavy price but we remained strong in the conviction that the end of occupation is inevitable, the end of colonisation is inevitable, and that justice will always prevail.”
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He said he did not know “whether I will be able to be with you physically for the remainder of the UK and Ireland Trip or for the Peace and Justice Festival later this month.”
“It seems that there are those who are intent on preventing me from being physically with you,” he added.
The organizers said they will “make every effort” to have Mandela come to Sheffield in the near future.
“We will not allow expressions of solidarity with the Palestinian people to be silenced,” they said.
Vocal Stance
Like his late grandfather, Mandela has been vocal in support of the Palestinian people’s right to resist Israeli occupation.
In a post on Instagram on the anniversary of the October 7 resistance operation, Mandela said “We commemorate one year of heroic resistance in a long continuum of the Palestinian people’s inevitable march to freedom.”
He said the “myth of the invincibility of the Zionist entity and its brutal military has been forever dispelled.
“Apartheid Israel is the Goliath of the Middle East and it stands challenged and no matter how many billions in aid it receives from the forces of Western Imperialism, it will always remain an illegitimate occupying force and the end of its occupation is inevitable.”
Giving true meaning to Nelson Mandela's legacy.
"The Israeli embassy must be shut down now"
Manila Mandela addresses the crowd during a pro-Palestine protest in Cape Town.
🎥 Nurah Tape, Palestine Chronicle pic.twitter.com/GSQXOHg9oK
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) November 11, 2023
At a protest march in Cape Town last October he said “the apartheid state of Israel’s embassy is no longer welcome in South Africa”.
The following month, at another protest, he called for the immediate expulsion of the Israeli ambassador.
“We want you to give true meaning to what Nelson Mandela expects us to do. Expel the Israeli ambassador immediately!” he said.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
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