PHILIPSBURG:--- President of Parliament Hon. Gracita Arrindell on Thursday afternoon during a session of the Youth Parliament of Sint Maarten in the legislative House, called for a moment of silence in connection with the passing of South Africa's first black president and anti-apartheid icon Nelson Mandela (95).
Mandela led South Africa's transition from white-minority rule in the 1990s, after 27 years in prison. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 and was elected first black president in 1994. He stepped down in 1999 and retired from public life in 2004.
President Arrindell on Thursday afternoon expressed her heartfelt sympathy on behalf of the people of Sint Maarten and the House of Parliament on the loss of Nelson Rolihlahla 'Madiba' Mandela.
"President Mandela was a great leader of the century. His legacy will inspire generations to come. He was a prisoner of conscience and an inspiration for all mankind.
"I shared with the members of the youth parliament, while studying in the Netherlands back in the 1990s, I had the privilege to see him when he visited Holland back then after he was released from prison.
"I wanted to make that connection with our youth, because they will be the ones to live his legacy. Mandela was a great man for the world, South Africa and mankind," President of Parliament Hon. Gracita Arrindell said on Thursday on the passing of world icon Nelson Mandela.