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Issued by the Presidency: Republic of South Africa on 1 January
2004<br><br>
ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF SOUTH AFRICA,<br>
THABO MBEKI, AT THE CELEBRATIONS OF THE BICENTENARY OF THE INDEPENDENCE
OF<br>
HAITI: PORT-AU-PRINCE, 01 JANUARY 2004.<br><br>
Your Excellency, President<br>
Jean-Bertrand Aristide, Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The<br>
People of Haiti: Thank you very much for allowing us this opportunity
to<br>
celebrate the Bicentenary of one of the greatest revolutions in<br>
history.<br><br>
We bring you warm greetings and messages of support and<br>
solidarity from millions of your brothers and sisters in the vast expanse
of<br>
the<br>
African continent. All of them, without exception, are with you
in<br>
spirit<br>
as we celebrate a revolution that established the first black republic
in<br>
the<br>
world, and the second independent state in the Americas and the<br>
Caribbean.<br><br>
Indeed, all African people, wherever they may be, on the<br>
continent or in the Diaspora, view the Bicentenary of the Haitian
Revolution<br>
as<br>
an inspiring occasion that communicates an important message to all of
us<br>
that<br>
the poor of the world can and must act together decisively to confront
the<br>
common challenges they face - poverty, underdevelopment, discrimination
and<br>
marginalization.<br><br>
As we know, as a French slave colony, this country<br>
contributed two third of French overseas trade, was France's greatest
colony<br>
in<br>
the world and an envy of other colonial powers.<br><br>
Yet, as the coincidence of circumstances would have it, the San
Domingo<br>
masses began their heroic revolt<br>
when the Paris masses carried out their historic revolution, which<br>
transformed<br>
France into a modern democracy, inspired by the principles of
equality,<br>
liberty<br>
and fraternity.<br><br>
Accordingly, we celebrate the heroic deeds of these<br>
Africans who single-mindedly struggled for their freedom and inspired
many<br>
of us<br>
to understand that none but ourselves can defeat those who subject us
to<br>
tyranny, oppression and exploitation.<br><br>
We celebrate the Haitian Revolution<br>
because it dealt a deadly blow to the slave traders who had scoured
the<br>
coasts<br>
of West and East Africa for slaves and ruined the lives of millions
of<br>
Africans.<br><br>
As we meet today, on the occasion of this Bicentenary, we are<br>
mindful of the fact that there are many problems that confront all
Africans,<br>
here in Haiti, others Africans in the Diaspora and on the mother
continent<br>
of<br>
Africa.<br><br>
These are challenges that we must urgently overcome. <br>
Together we have a duty to join hands in mutually beneficial solidarity,
to<br>
work<br>
in partnership to defeat poverty, underdevelopment, conflict and<br>
instability.<br><br>
For far too long have Africans been incapacitated by the<br>
debilitating scourge of poverty!<br>
For too long have the unbroken cries of<br>
the African child failed to sooth the pangs of hunger!<br><br>
For too long has<br>
our underdevelopment stifled the potential of our people, condemning
the<br>
energetic and the creative to be perpetual beggars!<br><br>
For too long have<br>
Africans been victim to the indecencies of conflict and war.<br><br>
For too long<br>
have some of us worked and acted outside the African spirit of humanism
that<br>
teaches all to be guided by the ethos of respect for the human
being,<br>
democracy,<br>
tolerance, solidarity, sharing, sacrifice and service to all our<br>
people.<br><br>
Today we celebrate because from 1791 to 1803, our heroes, led by<br>
the revolutionary Toussaint L'Ouverture and others, dared to challenge
those<br>
who<br>
had trampled on these sacred things that define our being as Africans and
as<br>
human beings.<br><br>
Today, we are engaged in an historic struggle for the<br>
victory of the African Renaissance because we are inspired by among
others,<br>
the<br>
Haitian Revolution.<br><br>
We are engaged in struggle for the regeneration of<br>
all Africans, in the Americas, the Caribbean, Africa and everywhere,
because<br>
we<br>
want to ensure that the struggle of our people here in Haiti, in
the<br>
Caribbean,<br>
in the Americas, Europe and Africa must never be in vain.<br><br>
Accordingly,<br>
together with the leadership and people of Haiti, we are determined to
work<br>
together to address the problems facing this inspirational home of
African<br>
freedom and achieve stability and prosperity in this important site
of<br>
African<br>
heroism and wherever Africans are to be found.<br><br>
We trust and are confident<br>
that in both the leadership and people of Haiti we will find
equally<br>
determined<br>
partners, so that together we can here, help to recreate a model
country,<br>
informed by the wise words of the 1805 constitution of Haiti that we
have<br>
"an<br>
opportunity of breaking our fetters, and of constituting ourselves as
a<br>
people,<br>
free, civilized and independent".<br><br>
In this way, we will contribute to the<br>
renaissance of Africans everywhere in the world and ensure that we are
no<br>
longer<br>
an object of ridicule and pity, nor a tool of exploitation to be
discarded<br>
at<br>
the fancy of the powerful, but that we become what we really and truly
are:<br>
proud and confident human beings who occupy their pride of place as
equals<br>
among<br>
the peoples of the world.<br><br>
We wish the people of Haiti, all Africans and<br>
people of goodwill throughout the world, joyful Bicentenary Celebrations
of<br>
the<br>
great Haitian Revolution whose victory was proudly proclaimed this
day,<br>
January<br>
1st, 200 years ago.<br><br>
I thank you.<br>
Issued by the Presidency:<br>
Republic of South Africa on 1 January<br>
2004<br><br>
<br><br>
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