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It was Margaret Thatcher that considered Mandela to be a terrorist, not David Cameron. I didn't down-vote you.

k-mcgrady 13y ago
I understand she was in power at the time. Cameron was linked however to this[1] 'hang Mandela' campaign poster. I'm not positive but I believe he apologised in parliament after Mandela's death. [1] http://i.stack.imgur.com/TeN0o.jpg http://i.stack.imgur.com/TeN0o.jpg
- andyjohnson0 13y ago
  Cameron apologied on behalf of Conservative party [1], not personally. The "Hang Nelson Mandela" material was created by a group, which Cameron was not involved with, within the Federation of Conservative Students. Disclosure: I'm not a Conservative supporter. I dislike what Cameron is currently doing and loathe Thatcher. [1] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/cameron-we-were-wrong-to-call-mandela-a-terrorist-413684.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/cameron-we-wer... [2] http://www.newstatesman.com/media-mole/2013/12/twitter-fact-check-david-cameron-didnt-want-hang-nelson-mandela-80s http://www.newstatesman.com/media-mole/2013/12/twitter-fact-...
SideburnsOfDoom 13y ago
I'm pretty sure that they both "considered Mandela to be a terrorist", and most of the rest of the Conservative party at the time did too. But at the time nobody cared what David Cameron thought.
vixen99 13y ago
"Mandela was leader of the ANC's armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe which he co-founded. "he coordinated a sabotage campaign against military and government targets, and made plans for a possible guerrilla war if sabotage failed to end apartheid". If that's not terrorism (systematic use of violence as a means of coercion for political purposes) what is? The morality of this is another discussion.
- wnoise 13y ago
  > terrorism (systematic use of violence as a means of coercion for political purposes) All warfare seems to fit under this definition. Commonly explicitly added qualifiers are "against civilians" or "by non-state actors". Another implicit one is "by people the speaker doesn't like".
  - lmm 13y ago
    Right, but we're talking about a non-state actor attacking civilian targets like power stations. Mandela fits any reasonable definition of terrorist.
    - wnoise 13y ago
      Sure, not disputing that, only the definition expressed.

I understand she was in power at the time. Cameron was linked however to this[1] 'hang Mandela' campaign poster. I'm not positive but I believe he apologised in parliament after Mandela's death. [1] http://i.stack.imgur.com/TeN0o.jpg http://i.stack.imgur.com/TeN0o.jpg

andyjohnson0 13y ago
Cameron apologied on behalf of Conservative party [1], not personally. The "Hang Nelson Mandela" material was created by a group, which Cameron was not involved with, within the Federation of Conservative Students. Disclosure: I'm not a Conservative supporter. I dislike what Cameron is currently doing and loathe Thatcher. [1] http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/cameron-we-were-wrong-to-call-mandela-a-terrorist-413684.html http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/cameron-we-wer... [2] http://www.newstatesman.com/media-mole/2013/12/twitter-fact-check-david-cameron-didnt-want-hang-nelson-mandela-80s http://www.newstatesman.com/media-mole/2013/12/twitter-fact-...

SideburnsOfDoom 13y ago

I'm pretty sure that they both "considered Mandela to be a terrorist", and most of the rest of the Conservative party at the time did too. But at the time nobody cared what David Cameron thought.

vixen99 13y ago

"Mandela was leader of the ANC's armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe which he co-founded. "he coordinated a sabotage campaign against military and government targets, and made plans for a possible guerrilla war if sabotage failed to end apartheid". If that's not terrorism (systematic use of violence as a means of coercion for political purposes) what is? The morality of this is another discussion.

wnoise 13y ago
> terrorism (systematic use of violence as a means of coercion for political purposes) All warfare seems to fit under this definition. Commonly explicitly added qualifiers are "against civilians" or "by non-state actors". Another implicit one is "by people the speaker doesn't like".
- lmm 13y ago
  Right, but we're talking about a non-state actor attacking civilian targets like power stations. Mandela fits any reasonable definition of terrorist.
  - wnoise 13y ago
    Sure, not disputing that, only the definition expressed.