Commemoration of Nelson Mandela
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The United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) on Thursday hosts a ceremony to commemorate South Africa's former president Nelson Mandela at the Bangkok headquarter.
Starting from 2pm to 3pm, the 2013 Thailand commemoration of Nelson Mandela International Day has been organised by the South African Embassy in Bangkok. It was hosted in honour of Mandela’s 67 years of service to humanity.
The programme lasted exactly 67 minutes and feature remarks by UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP, Dr. Noeleen Heyzer and Ambassador Robina P. Marks, South African Embassy, Thailand.
South African Cultural Performances by the CC Boys were featured as well as a discussion of Nelson Mandela's Legacy in the style of a South African Imbizo Townhall, and a photo exhibition celebrating Nelson Mandela's life.
Mandela today turns 95.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised Nelson Mandela's historic role in the democratisation of South Africain a message.
"Your name is inseparable from a whole epoch of modern African history that heralded the building of a new democratic South Africa,"Putin wrote in the message published on the Kremlin's website.
Putin added that it was "hard to overestimate" Mandela's personalrole in establishing good ties with Moscow. He said that Russian-South African relations had reached a "strategic partnership."
