SOUTH AFRICA: Brian Cowen travelled yesterday to Nelson Mandela's former Soweto home. Deaglán de Bréadún, Foreign Affairs Correspondent, went with him
There are some places where history hangs in the air like tear gas after a riot. One of these is the Regina Mundi church in Soweto, the other is Nelson Mandela's house on nearby Vilakazi Street.
The Irish taxpayer financed the refurbishment of the roof at Regina Mundi (Latin for Queen of the World), notwithstanding a bullet-hole that remains in the ceiling.
As large as an aircraft hangar, this house of worship became a scene of battle in the 1970s and 1980s, when the struggle against the apartheid system of white supremacy in South Africa was at its height.
Meetings of the outlawed African National Congress (ANC) were held there and, as a commemorative plaque puts it, the building was "often under fire".
Much later, when the ANC came to power, sessions of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, set up to heal the wounds of the past with the soothing balm of honesty, took place at Regina Mundi.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, went to the church at the weekend as part of his official visit to South Africa and he later took a guided tour of Mr Mandela's former home.
Madiba, the tribal name by which the former president is known to his people, lived here with his former wife, Winnie. "The house was bombed and burned a couple of times," our guide, Mr Ngugi Githuka, said matter-of-factly. But it had no effect: "There was a higher presence looking after the people in this house."
Even the Mandela bedroom is on view, its tiny bed and cheap fitted wardrobe underlining the fact that his grandeur was moral rather than material.
Madiba's boots are there, as well as a pair of shoes he wore in prison. The soles are almost new, because prisoners don't do much walking, but Mr Githuka pointed to a worn spot, caused by Mandela's custom of running in place in his cell as a form of exercise.
No Irish person could visit without thinking of other troubles nearer home that have yet to be resolved to the same extent as the South African conflict.
"He's a great man," Mr Cowen said as he left the Mandela residence. "I have met him personally, he's a wonderful man."
These are different times and, by the side of a nearby road, someone had spelt out the slogan with white stones: "AIDS kills".
This is one of the great new challenges facing post-apartheid South Africa and Mr Cowen held a 90-minute working lunch with AIDS experts and government officials involved in the drive to eliminate the pandemic that has brought untold death and misery to the country.
Critics say South Africa has been slow to come to terms with the need for realistic measures to tackle HIV/AIDS but there is a new determination in the air and it looks like solid steps are being taken at last.
The Minister stressed Ireland's willingness to assist the campaign in whatever way possible.
Mr Cowen had a private one-hour meeting with South Africa's President Mbeki at the presidential residence in Pretoria, where the Minister pledged that Ireland would ensure that African issues were prominent on the agenda of the EU during the Irish presidency next year.
At a separate meeting between Mr Cowen and the South African Foreign Minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, it was agreed in principle to establish a Partnership Agreement between Ireland and South Africa.
This would build on the links that already exist through trade, development aid, and co-operation in United Nations peace-keeping and the elimination of nuclear weapons in the world.
Mr Cowen told Dr Zuma that Ireland greatly admired South Africa's "political and moral leadership" in the region, especially in support of the peace processes in Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Ireland was a "staunch supporter" of multilateral organisations such as the African Union and the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). Mr Cowen said the establishment of these two bodies reflected the "great vision and determination" of Mr Mbeki. Ireland is donating €300,000 towards the funding of the NEPAD secretariat.
Looking forward to Ireland's six-month European Presidency which starts in January, Mr Cowen said the Zimbabwe situation was a "particularly difficult and sensitive issue".
The Northern Ireland experience had shown that dialogue between the parties in Zimbabwe was the only way forward, not violence and the abuse of human rights.
"As elsewhere, the involvement and encouragement of an outside party can be critical to success. For our part, we do not wish to see this one issue continue to inhibit the full development of the EU-Africa dialogue," Mr Cowen said.
