Johnathan Paoli
Opposition parties gathered at the Philandaba Cemetery in Soweto to commemorate the 64th anniversary of the Sharpeville Massacre, which led to the deaths of 69 people, including 8 women and 10 children, and wounding 180 people protesting against the pass laws of the Apartheid regime.
Political party leaders attended the commemoration on Thursday morning and included the PAC leadership, Act leader Ace Magashule, ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba, Azapo leader Nelvis Qekema, and Musi Maimane from BOSA.
The Pan Africanist Congress led the commemoration and said that despite the powerful nature of the tragedy as a turning point in the country’s history, many more remain marginalised when it comes to the realisation of human rights.
The PAC Secretary General Apa Pooe said it was unbelievable that the government has not compensated the victims of the Sharpeville Massacre, and called on the government to probe why this is so.
Pooe said it has been 64 years since the PAC-led protests that saw the apartheid government intensify its violent policies; but that even under democracy, the majority of black South Africans remain oppressed.
Pooe who was speaking in Sharpeville, said the massacre will never be forgotten and that it remained a turning point in history.
“Sharpeville Day, the Sharpeville massacre was a turning point in the history of the liberation of this country. It was as a result of Sharpeville Day that we had many political parties being banned. It was as a result of Sharpeville Day that many of our leaders went to prison.
“It was as a result of Sharpeville Day that the United Nations had to sit and declare apartheid as a crime against humanity. It was as a result of this day that apartheid was recognized as something that needs to be fought with all the might,” the SG said.
Pooe said that it was due to the fight the party made, that the day was officially accepted as a public holiday of national commemoration.
“This day should remain Sharpville-Langa day, so all the victims, families and loved ones are remembered,” the SG said.
Pooe said that despite the money invested in the graveyard, it has become neglected, but for the maintenance done by the PAC.
“It would appear that their struggle was in vain. We still have serious hardship, high unemployment and lack of service delivery, our people are crying, and as the PAC, we are hearing their cries,” he said.
Earlier in the week, the Philandaba Cemetery experienced its second incident of vandalism which left the plaque commemorating the party’s involvement in Human Rights Day shuttered in pieces.
In 2022, the same plaque was partially destroyed days before the commemoration on March 21, leaving party members broken and furious.
Pooe said the vandalism was a deliberate attempt to erase the significant role the PAC played in the struggle for human rights and dignity, particularly during the Sharpeville massacre.
“The then ANC government wanted to demolish the stone officially because they claimed we didn’t have permission to erect it. We produced letters and correspondence to which we were given permission. The vandalism of the memorial stone can mean it could be the very same people who didn’t want the stone there who vandalised it, or alternatively it can be some extremist whites who do not need the history of that place to be known. The attack is not innocent. If you look at the vandalism, you can see there is a pattern,” he said.
ActionSA held its own wreath-laying ceremony before visiting the Sharpeville Memorial, with leader Mashaba leading a dedication to the graveyard.
Mashaba said that in light of the high unemployment, crime, GBV and violence experienced by the country, it was ironic that the day was celebrated as “Human Rights day”.
The ActionSA leader criticised the high salaries of what he termed as “human rights lawyers defending criminals” as an indication of the reality of the failures of human rights in the country.
Mashaba said the country was facing massive challenges with an inadequate government that is cooperating with criminal elements.
“Ultimately, it is the responsibility of a democratic government to ensure that our people live in dignity, no one individual or political party, in opposition can only do so much, and their role is to expose the failures of government,” he said.
ACT leader Ace Magashule accused the ANC of muscling the PAC out of Sharpeville commemorations and said the ANC is only visible during this time of the year, but leaves the community to fend for itself throughout the year.
“The ruling party does not want to recognise the PAC and Robert Sobukwe, only on the 21st of March do they fix the roads,” Magashule said.
BOSA’s Maimane said the lives of South Africans are put in danger everyday, and that the sacrifices of Sharpeville will never be forgotten, and that the spectre of Marikana still haunts the ANC.
“73 South Africans are being killed every day… there shall never be human rights until every life is safe in South Africa,” Maimane said.
AZAPO leader Qekema addressed supporters over the cruelty and violence of the ANC-led government, and said that the country needed a government that never forgets the African.
“Let the spirit of Sobukwe rise… let us go and vote cruelty out,” Qekema said.
The South African Human Rights Commission has urged the government to ensure that no citizen is left behind in the pursuit of justice and equality and said the project of realising human rights was far from over.
“Yes, we’ve come a long way, but it’s about people who are supposed to execute the Constitution per the mandate,” the SAHRC’s Chris Nissen said.
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