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The triumph of freedom and humanity over oppression
100 years since the birth of Nelson Mandela KEN LIVINGSTONE writes on the fight to commemorate the revolutionary leader a short distance away from the British institutions that once ruled the African colonies
Nelson Mandela statue, Parliament Square

THIS week would have been Nelson Mandela’s 100th birthday, and here in London Nelson Mandela’s statue in Parliament Square stands as just one small testimony of the triumph of freedom and humanity over oppression that he led.

The unveiling of the statue, sculpted by the late Ian Walters, was one of my proudest moments as Mayor of London, and came after seven years of campaigning from myself, Lord Richard Attenborough, Wendy Woods (widow of anti-apartheid campaigner Donald Woods) and thousands of ordinary Londoners who supported the idea.

It’s perhaps not widely known that getting agreement for — and then finding an appropriate location for — the statue took many years and experienced many obstacles.

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