Nelson Mandela’s grandson denied UK visa over Hamas support
Mandla Mandela, grandson of anti-Apartheid icon Nelson Mandela, has been denied an entry visa to the United Kingdom due to his support for the Hamas terrorist organization.
Mandla Mandela attends the inaugural Visionary Honours Awards at BAFTA Piccadilly on Feb. 8, 2019 in London, England. Photo: David M. Benett/Getty Images.
Mandela, a vocal anti-Israel activist, had been scheduled to address pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel gatherings in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester earlier this month.
However, the U.K. Home Office sent him a letter this week informing him that his visa application had been denied because of his “support for Hamas,” and because his presence in the UK was “not conducive to the public good,” according to the Associated Press.
The letter cites several of Mandela’s posts on Instagram in which he voices his support for Hamas, including a photograph of him with former Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, who was killed in Tehran in July.
“As such, your presence in the UK is considered to pose a threat to UK society as it would highly likely cause tensions amongst UK Jewish communities. It is in the interests of the community to refuse your visa to protect public safety and prevent disorder or crime in the UK,” the letter states.
Hamas is a proscribed terrorist organization in the United Kingdom.
Mandela, who holds a South African government passport that would ordinarily have allowed him entry without requiring a visa, said that the move by the U.K. would not deter him from continuing to express his support for the Palestinians.
“We can never be silenced and we will never let the refusal of a visa prevent us from standing for justice, peace and equality,” he said, according to AP. “We will continue to raise our voice against the unjust occupation, genocide and ethnic cleansing of Gaza and all of Occupied Palestine sponsored by the U.K. and its ilk,” he added.
Mandela compared the visa denial to the restrictions his grandfather faced during Apartheid in South Africa.
“My grandfather’s movement and freedom were likewise restricted but he refused the condition of release from prison that restricted him to the Transkei. He remained firm in his pursuit of justice and continued to be a symbol of freedom, justice and human rights for all,” he said, according to the report.
Nelson Mandela supported both Israeli and Palestinian rights to self-determination.
Pro-Palestinian organizations, including the Desmond Tutu Foundation in South Africa and the U.K.-based Sheffield Palestine Coalition against Israeli Apartheid, have criticized the United Kingdom for its decision.
