JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa's
president on Monday said a critically ill Nelson Mandela was "asleep"
when he visited the 94-year-old at the hospital, and he urged the
country to pray for Mandela, describing him as the "father of democracy"
who made extraordinary sacrifices on behalf of his people.
President Jacob Zuma told dozens of foreign and South African
journalists that doctors are doing everything possible to help the
former president feel comfortable on his 17th day in a Pretoria
hospital, but refused to give details of Mandela's condition, saying:
"I'm not a doctor." The briefing came a day after the government said
Mandela's condition had deteriorated and was now critical.
Monday's press gathering highlighted the tension between the
government's reluctance to share more information about Mandela on the
basis of doctor-patient confidentiality, and media appeals for thorough
updates on a figure of global interest. The government's belated
acknowledgement that an ambulance carrying Mandela to the hospital on
June 8 broke down has fueled the debate about transparency versus the
right to privacy.
Zuma's briefing was also an indicator of the extent to which reports
on Mandela's health sometimes overshadow the business of the state.
Under questioning, Zuma said President Barack Obama would go ahead with a
visit to South Africa, despite concerns about Mandela's health.
"President Obama is visiting South Africa," Zuma said. "I don't think you stop a visit because somebody's sick."
Obama, who arrives in Africa this week, is due to visit Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania.
White House spokesman Jay Carney wouldn't speculate about how
Mandela's health would impact Obama's upcoming visit to South Africa,
saying only that the U.S. president "continues to look forward to his
trip."
"The president obviously has long seen Nelson Mandela as one of his
personal heroes, and I think he's not alone in that in this country and
around the world," Carney said.
Zuma, who in the past has given an overly sunny view of Mandela's
health, briefly spoke of his visit Sunday night to Mandela in the
hospital in the capital. That visit was mentioned in a presidential
statement on the same night that said Mandela, previously described as
being in serious but stable condition, had lapsed into critical
condition within the previous 24 hours.
"It was late, he was already asleep," Zuma said. "And we then had a
bit of a discussion with the doctors as well as his wife, Graca Machel,
and we left."
The president said South Africans should accept that Mandela is old, and he urged people to pray for their former leader.
"Madiba is critical in the hospital, and this is the father of
democracy. This is the man who fought and sacrificed his life to stay in
prison, the longest-serving prisoner in South Africa," Zuma said, using
Mandela's clan name.
Mandela, who became South Africa's first black president after the
end of apartheid in 1994, was hospitalized for what the government said
was a recurring lung infection. This is his fourth hospitalization since
December.
Mandela was jailed for 27 years under white racist rule and was
released 23 years ago, in 1990. He then played a leading role in
steering the divided country from the apartheid era to an all-race
democracy. As a result of his sacrifice and peacemaking efforts, he is
seen by many around the world as a symbol of reconciliation.
"Nelson Mandela, for me, is like my father," Alex Siake, a South
African, said in Pretoria. "Every day, I just pray that he can recover
quickly and be among us again."
The Democratic Alliance, South Africa's main opposition party, said
in a statement that the news that Mandela was in critical condition came
"as a blow to all South Africans."
Zuma referred to the transfer of Mandela from an ambulance with
engine trouble to another ambulance on the night he was taken to the
hospital in Pretoria.
"Nobody can predict whether the car is going to break down or not,"
he said. But he said he was pleased because seven doctors, including
specialists, in the convoy "made all the contingencies before leaving"
and Mandela's health was therefore not affected.
Asked why none of Mandela's doctors had been made available for a
news briefing, presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said an arrangement
had been made in consultation with Mandela's family whereby information
would be provided through a "single source in an authoritative way."
"We've come to that arrangement on the basis that we need to respect
the privacy of the family, we need to adhere to doctor-patient
confidentiality," he said.
"You can be assured that what we are saying is based on agreement
with the doctors," Maharaj said. Doctors approve the text of
announcements on Mandela's health, and believe some media reporting has
transgressed professional ethics, he said.
Monday also marked the 18th anniversary of Mandela's appearance at
the 1995 Rugby World Cup final in Johannesburg, a day still enshrined as
a hugely significant moment for South Africa.
In a move crucial in unifying sections of a previously fractured
society, Mandela wore a green and gold Springboks rugby jersey at the
June 24 final in Johannesburg and brought all South Africans together in
support of their national team — once an all-white bastion of the
apartheid regime and hated by blacks.
Mandela shook hands with and patted the shoulder of the Springboks'
captain, Francois Pienaar, after South Africa won a tense final against
New Zealand, underlining the new president's dedication to
reconciliation.
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