Sharpville 1960, the beginning of the end

Today is Human Rights day in South Africa and whilst it is intended to celebrate all human rights the history of the day started in Sharpville in 1960 when the apartheid state killed 67 peaceful protesters, shooting most of them in the back as they fled.

The day had started as a protest against pass laws organized by the Pan African Congress (PAC). The plan was for thousands of black South Africans across the country to hand in their dreaded pass books at local police stations opening themselves to arrest and ultimately bringing the system to a stand still as the jails filled up and industry slowed down as high numbers of arrested workers were unable to attend work. It was a classic disobedience campaign that went horrible wrong.

Between 5,000 and 7,000 people had gathered at the Sharpeville police station and initially things went peacefully as planned. But soon the young police started to panic and without warning or instruction they opened fire on the protesters continuing to fire on the fleeing protesters for an estimated 30 seconds.

Sharpville was the first time the apartheid state had turned violent against protesters and we can mark this as a new strategy by the apartheid state – ironically, we can also mark it as the beginning of the end for the apartheid state.

Further, even though this was a PAC protest, it was pretty much also the start of the end for the PAC - the ANC launched their armed struggle soon afterwards and the PAC faded away to the point where in the current national parliament they are largely a non-entity.

Tragically, the Sharpville massacre was repeated many times in South Africa in the decades that followed, with the most well known being the 1976 Soweto student riots. Ultimately the continued killing of peaceful protesters by the apartheid state was not sustainable and eventually even the world community started to object.

But it is the massacre in Langa (outside Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape) on 21 March 1985 that really demonstrated that the centre could not hold. On that day, several thousand protesters held a memorial service for the victims of Sharpville; although the apartheid state had banned the service the protesters decided to go ahead. The result was more trigger-happy young police and another 40 dead protesters - once again most were shot in the back as they tried to flee. This was exactly twenty-five years after the Sharpville massacre - within five years of the Langa massacre Mandela was free, the ANC and other black political parties unbanned and the apartheid state finished.

We will always remember the victims of apartheid.

Comments

[Siphelele Xulu]

Amandla awethu!! My ignorance, my bad. I am one of thhose people who have been ignonarant about SA history,Mzansi please accept my apologies. Right now I am busy digging the past and I have learnt so many things and my heart is only starts boiling now. I salute you Tata Madiba for the forgiving heart, to me you are the 2nd Jesus. I am looking up to you and all the other heros of this beautiful country

[matthews botsime]

iam so proud of all the people who fought for democracy that we as the future of tommorow misuse,and not forgetting those who lost their lives.

[Peter]

To echo what Samantha says, we're so busy enjoying and arguing about our new democracy that we forget about the sufferig that got us here.

Great post.

[Samantha]

Thanks for a powerful reminder of what Human Righst Day is really about! In many ways to much of our history is being forgotten as we re-phrase it to focus on the positive such as Human Rights. It is a difficult balnce to ensure taht we do not forget the past while celebrating our vitories!

Cheers