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Richard Branson forms a band of 'Elders' with Mandela, Carter, Tutu and others
By Michael Wines Tuesday, July 17, 2007 - International Herald Tribune
JOHANNESBURG: Melding serious statesmanship and a large slug of audacity, the former South African president Nelson Mandela and a clutch of world-famous figures plan to announce on Wednesday a private alliance to launch diplomatic assaults on the globe's most intractable problems.
The alliance, to be unveiled on Wednesday during events marking Mandela's 89th birthday, is to be called "The Elders." Among others, it includes the retired Anglican archbishop Desmond Tutu; Jimmy Carter, the former U.S. president; the retired United Nations secretary general Kofi Annan, and Mary Robinson, the human-rights activist and former president of Ireland. ...
Mandela states in remarks prepared for Wednesday that the fact that none of The Elders holds public office allows them to work for the common good, not for outside interests.
"This group can speak freely and boldly, working both publicly and behind the scenes on whatever actions need to be taken," the remarks state. "Together we will work to support courage where there is fear, foster agreement where there is conflict, and inspire hope where there is despair."
Whether governments that become the objects of The Elders' freelance diplomacy will agree remains to be seen. One of the group's founders and principal sponsors, the British tycoon Sir Richard Branson, said that those leaders whom he had briefed - including Prime Minister Gordon Brown of Britain and the South African president, Thabo Mbeki - "very much support the initiative."
"There will always be skeptics of any positive initiatives, but these are people giving up their time for nothing," he said of The Elders. "
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