LONDON: Britain marked 50 years on Friday since the state funeral of wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill, with the boat which carried his coffin under the dipping dockside cranes in 1965 retracing its journey along London’s River Thames.
The Havengore, the boat that carried Churchill’s coffin along the Thames in 1965, will carry the statesman’s family as it retraces its journey down the river Friday. Tower Bridge will be raised as the boat and a small flotilla travels to the Houses of Parliament.
A million mourners turned out on London’s streets to bid farewell to Churchill on Jan. 30, 1965, and the state funeral was broadcast live to millions others around the world.
Britain’s current leader, David Cameron, began the remembrance events at a ceremony in Parliament, laying a wreath at a statue of Churchill, a man he described as “a great Briton” who should never be forgotten.
“Churchill was confident that freedom and democracy would win out over barbarism and tyranny in the end ... and it did,” he said. “And with every affront to freedom in this century, we must remember that courage and resolve in the last century.”
Churchill was prime minister of Britain from 1940 to 1945 and again from 1951 to 1955. His political career spanned 64 years, the longest in Britain in the 20th century. He died Jan. 24, 1965.
“A full fifty years since his funeral when the cranes along the Thames dipped low and the streets were lined with vast silent crowds, the sheer brilliance of Winston Churchill remains undimmed,” he said.
“He left a Britain more free, more secure, more brave and more proud, for that we will always be grateful to him.”
Churchill, whose inspirational leadership and dogged spirit are widely credited with having saved Britain from invasion by Nazi Germany, died on Jan. 24, 1965 aged 90.
Queen Elizabeth granted him the rare honor of a state funeral and more than 320,000 people filed past his coffin to pay their respects during three days of lying in state.
His funeral was the world’s largest at the time, attended by leaders from more than 100 countries, as well as the queen, another unusual tribute for a prime minister.
The procession began at parliament, with the chimes of Big Ben silenced for the rest of the day, and the coffin was taken to St Paul’s Cathedral for the funeral service. He was buried in Bladon, Oxfordshire, in central England.
On Friday, the Havengore, the boat which carried the coffin along the Thames after the service, will retrace that 1965 journey, with Tower Bridge being raised to honour the occasion.
The day’s events conclude with a ceremony at London’s Westminster Abbey.
Nicholas Soames, Churchill’s grandson and himself a lawmaker, said it was a “fitting tribute.”
“This event, 50 years after his death, is a strong reminder of all he did for his country and the continuing importance of his presence in our public life,” he said.
Britain marks 50th anniversary of Churchill’s funeral
Britain marks 50th anniversary of Churchill’s funeral
Indonesia reaffirms Yemen’s territorial integrity, backs stability efforts amid tensions
- Statement comes after Saudi Arabia bombed a UAE weapons shipment at Yemeni port city
- Jakarta last week said it ‘appreciates’ Riyadh ‘working together’ with Yemen to restore stability
JAKARTA: Indonesia has called for respect for Yemen’s territorial integrity and commended efforts to maintain stability in the region, a day after Saudi Arabia bombed a weapons shipment from the UAE at a Yemeni port city that Riyadh said was intended for separatist forces.
Saudi Arabia carried out a “limited airstrike” at Yemen’s port city of Al-Mukalla in the southern province of Hadramout on Tuesday, following the arrival of an Emirati shipment that came amid heightened tensions linked to advances by the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council in the war-torn country.
In a statement issued late on Wednesday, the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “appreciates further efforts by concerned parties to maintain stability and security,” particularly in the provinces of Hadramout and Al-Mahara.
“Indonesia reaffirms the importance of peaceful settlement through an inclusive and comprehensive political dialogue under the coordination of the United Nations and respecting Yemen’s legitimate government and territorial integrity,” Indonesia’s foreign affairs ministry said.
The latest statement comes after Jakarta said last week that it “appreciates the efforts of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as other relevant countries, working together with Yemeni stakeholders to de-escalate tensions and restore stability.”
Saudi Arabia leads the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, which includes the UAE and was established in 2015 to combat the Houthi rebels, who control most of northern Yemen.
Riyadh has been calling on the STC, which initially supported Yemen’s internationally recognized government against the Houthi rebels, to withdraw after it launched an offensive against the Saudi-backed government troops last month, seeking an independent state in the south.
Indonesia has also urged for “all parties to exercise restraint and avoid unilateral action that could impact security conditions,” and has previously said that the rising tensions in Yemen could “further deteriorate the security situation and exacerbate the suffering” of the Yemeni people.
Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority country, maintains close ties with both Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which are its main trade and investment partners in the Middle East.
