Yorkshire Post - Nelson Mandela Put Into Context.

He suffered from a lengthy term of imprisonment with hard labour, but in other African countries insurrectionists were tortured and summarily executed.
Nelson Mandela did not repudiate the violent actions of the African National Congress (ANC), or even seek to moderate the public exhortations of his wife, Winnie Mandela, who vociferously proclaimed “with our necklaces we will liberate them!” The “necklace” was the horrifying practice of hanging a rubber tyre round some hapless victim’s neck, dousing it with petrol and setting it ablaze.
It is apposite to note that the victims were often black members of the ANC’s political rivals, the Inkatha Freedom Party (Zulus). Margaret Thatcher thus had ample cause to be “sceptical” of Nelson Mandela.
Another factor was that the ANC was allied to the South African Communist Party. It was the height of the Cold War. A destabilised South Africa would have implications for world peace because it occupied a pivotal position on the strategic sea route by which oil was transported from the Middle East to Europe and the USA. William Snowden.
On the other side of the coin he has claimed in his writings to be a christian and he did show a genuinely non-vengeful, diplomatic side as his nation's president. He became a symbol of hope for unity of the races.
Proof maybe - if ever it were needed - that humans are indeed, complicated beings.