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30/07/08 : Labour celebrates Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday
On 19 July, Reading Labour Party celebrated Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday along with other revellers at Forbury Gardens.
To mark the occasion of Nelson Mandela's 90th Birthday, RISC (Reading International Solidarity Centre), the Reading International Development Forum and Reading Borough Council came together to organise a special family picnic.
Martin Salter, MP for Reading West, Anneliese Dodds, Labour candidate for Reading East, and Labour Councillors and party members came to express their support for Nelson Mandela's vision of a socially just South Africa.
Reading Labour Party invited members of the public to sign a birthday card for Nelson Mandela saluting his lifelong contribution to the movement for freedom, democracy, peace and rights for all.
They will also be relaying a serious message: that we must continue to support the people of Southern Africa after the end of apartheid, in the face of the many challenges they still face which are holding back development in the country and beyond, not least in neighbouring Zimbabwe.
Anneliese Dodds said: "It's great to be able to celebrate Mandela's birthday today and his legacy of action against racism. I hope we can continue to work in solidarity with the people of South Africa, as they face up to the modern challenges of HIV and AIDS, and continuing poverty".
Martin Salter said: “Nelson Mandela has been an inspiration for millions of people around the world who have campaigned against apartheid, racism and injustice. I remember supporting the anti-apartheid movement rallies in the 1980s calling for his release from Robben Island. I also remember the disgraceful antics of the Federation of Conservative Students and their “Hang Nelson Mandela” T-shirts. We have come a long way from those days and it is great that President Mandela survived his ordeal and is still here to celebrate his 90th birthday”
The first signatory of the birthday card is long-standing Labour party member and Tilehurst resident Vic Day who himself turns 90 next month and wrote of “the great feeling of relief that was shared by many when Nelson Mandela received his freedom”.
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