World leaders hailed Senator Barack Obama’s triumph yesterday in the US presidential election as the start of a new era while calling for the global superpower to change the way it does business.
Obama parties were staged in capitals around the world. A national holiday was declared in Kenya — where Obama’s father was born — to welcome the first black US president.
But in a reminder of the global rivalries that Obama will have to confront, within hours of his victory speech, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev announced that Russian short range missiles would be aimed at a US missile shield in Europe.
PHOTO: AP
Nothing however could stop the wave of optimism that spread out from the US after Obama’s victory over Republican rival Senator John McCain.
South Africa’s iconic first black leader Nelson Mandela said Obama had shown that anyone could change the world.
“Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place,” Mandela wrote to Obama.
Mandela applauded Obama’s commitment to global peace and security and said: “We wish you strength and fortitude in the challenging days and years that lie ahead.”
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said “your brilliant victory rewards a tireless commitment to serve the American people. It also crowns an exceptional campaign whose inspiration and exaltation have proved to the entire world the vitality of American democracy.”
“By choosing you, the American people have chosen change, openness and optimism,” said Sarkozy, who sent one of a flood of congratulatory messages to the 47-year-old Democratic senator.
“This is a moment that will live in history as long as history books are written,” said British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. “Barack Obama ran an inspirational campaign, energizing politics with his progressive values and his vision for the future.”
China’s President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) said in a written message: “In a new historical era, I look forward to ... taking our bilateral relationship of constructive cooperation to a new level.”
Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso pledged to work with the new US leader to strengthen relations.
Indian Premier Manmohan Singh called it an “extraordinary” victory while Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Obama’s victory was a landmark for equality 45 years after Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech.
“Today what America has done is turn that dream into a reality,” Rudd told reporters.
European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso called for the election to usher in a “new deal” between the US and the rest of the world to tackle the global financial crisis and other troubles.
The Russian president said in his first state of the nation speech that the Kremlin hopes “that our partners, the new US administration, will make the choice for fully-fledged relations with Russia.”
But Medvedev said Iskander missiles will be based in the western territory of Kaliningrad to “neutralize” US missile defense plans.
With wars in Iraq and Afghanistan heading White House priorities abroad, there were also calls for a change of tack on the US “War on Terror” launched after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
“The ‘War on Terror’ cannot be fought in Afghan villages ... Afghanistan is the victim of terrorism,” Afghan President Hamid Karzai said.
Obama’s election would not lead to a quick US disengagement from Iraq, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said.
“We don’t think there will be change in policy overnight. There won’t be quick disengagement here. A great deal is at stake here,” Zebari said.
Outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he was certain US-Israeli ties would strengthen under Obama.
“Israeli-US relations are a special relationship based on values and common interest, with tight cooperation,” he said in a statement.
Election parties were held in major capitals around the world and hundreds of villagers in Kogelo, Obama’s Kenyan family home, erupted into song and dance. Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki declared a national holiday today to mark Obama’s victory.
Swinging branches and chairs in the air, men cheered and clapped while women shouted “Obama! Obama!” in the village where his grandmother lives and where his late Kenyan father was born.
In Obama, an ancient fishing town on the Sea of Japan — Obama means small shore in Japanese — residents dressed in Hawaiian skirts did a hula dance in celebration, embracing Hawaiian-born Obama as one of their own.
“I’m so excited because Obama shares our town’s name. But even if the town was called McCain I would still support Barack Obama,” said 44-year-old dancer Masayo Ishibashi.
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