12 June 2004	Saturday	23 Rabi-us-Saani 1425

WASHINGTON, June 11: America bade farewell to Ronald Reagan on Friday in a majestic state funeral at Washington's National Cathedral where past and present world leaders lauded the former president as a prophet of freedom and moral victor of the Cold War.

"Ronald Reagan believed ... in the courage and triumph of free men and we believe it all the more because we saw that courage in him," said President George Bush, delivering a eulogy to his predecessor.

"As Ronald Wilson Reagan goes his way, we are left with the joyful hope he shared," he said. The ceremony capped six days of mourning and nostalgic remembrance for the 40th president of the United States, who died last Saturday at age 93 after a long struggle with Alzheimer's disease.

"He won the Cold War, not only without firing a shot but also by inviting enemies out of their fortress and turning them into friends," former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher said of her close ally and friend.

Celebrated by supporters as a champion of freedom and free enterprise, Reagan also provoked furious opposition during his 1981-1989 presidency. Critics accused him of building up massive budget deficits, cutting programmes for the poor and supporting right-wing hard-liners in Central America.

The one-time Hollywood movie star, known to millions as "the Gipper" after his favourite film role, had himself said goodbye to the American people in a moving letter revealing his illness in 1994 and had since lived in seclusion, cared for by his wife, Nancy.

"It has been 10 years since he said his own farewell, yet it is still very sad and hard to let him go," Bush said. Veterans of the Cold War struggle against communism that Reagan helped end were prominent at the funeral, attended by 25 current heads of state or government, 14 foreign ministers and 11 former heads of state.

Thatcher was present in the congregation but her message was delivered on videotape since her health has become too fragile for public speaking. Former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney recalled Ronald Reagan's elegance and ease. "No one could more eloquently summon his nation to high purpose," he said. -Reuters