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Wed 04 Apr 2007Alarm at South Africa's UN votesSouth Africa:Nelson Mandela's South Africa projected an image of a virtuous nation reconciling with a brutal white minority government and serving as an enduring symbol of resistance to political oppression.But South Africa's brief debut this year on the UN Security Council has tattered its reputation. It has prompted human rights activists to condemn President Thabo Mbeki for abandoning the human rights principles that defined the anti-apartheid movement and for routinely siding with some of the world's worst human rights abusers.