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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Tutu 'not going' to Mandela funeral | Tutu 'not going' to Mandela funeral |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Veteran anti-apartheid campaigner Desmond Tutu has said he will not be going to Nelson Mandela's funeral because he has not been invited. | Veteran anti-apartheid campaigner Desmond Tutu has said he will not be going to Nelson Mandela's funeral because he has not been invited. |
| "I would have loved to attend the service to say a final farewell to someone I loved and treasured," the retired archbishop said in a statement. | "I would have loved to attend the service to say a final farewell to someone I loved and treasured," the retired archbishop said in a statement. |
| But he did not want to gate-crash "a private family funeral". | |
| However, a presidential spokesman insisted he was among those invited and any problems would be sorted out. | However, a presidential spokesman insisted he was among those invited and any problems would be sorted out. |
| "The arch is not an ordinary church person, he is a special person in our country and he is definitely on the list," Mac Maharaj told AFP news agency. | |
| "If there's any problem we will try to iron that out, but I can assure you that he is on the programme." | "If there's any problem we will try to iron that out, but I can assure you that he is on the programme." |
| Government spokesman Collins Chabane also said that Mr Tutu was on the guest list. | |
| Cancelled plans | |
| The archbishop's office said he had cancelled plans to travel to the Eastern Cape for the burial after receiving no indication that he was invited. | |
| "Had I or my office been informed that I would be welcome there is no way on earth that I would have missed it," the statement said. | |
| Archbishop Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, was a friend of Nelson Mandela for decades. | |
| He chaired South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which investigated human rights abuses in the apartheid era, and was a visible symbol of the anti-apartheid struggle during the decades of Mr Mandela's incarceration. | |
| He has been critical of the current ANC government led by President Jacob Zuma. | He has been critical of the current ANC government led by President Jacob Zuma. |
| The archbishop was not initially due to speak at Tuesday's memorial event for Mr Mandela in Johannesburg. | |
| However he was invited to the podium to give the closing prayer at the event and scolded the unruly crowd for booing Mr Zuma. |