“We still recall how every black South African – African, coloured and Indian – was denied the basic human rights to which they were entitled.”
These were President Cyril Ramaphosa’s words during his address at the Human Rights Day commemoration rally held at George Thabe Stadium in Sharpeville, a few miles outside Vereeniging on Thursday.
Despite few technological glitches and rain, Ramaphosa carried on with his speech.
Journey of relentless struggle
He noted that even though many years have passed, the nation is still grieving deeply and remembers the 69 people who died when apartheid-era police opened fire on protestors.
Hundreds others were injured on March 21 1960 while peacefully protesting against the severe injustices inflicted upon them.
“We gather here so that we may trace our journey as a nation over the last 64 years, from a state of discrimination and repression to a land of democracy and freedom. Ours was a journey of relentless struggle,” Ramaphosa said.
He admitted that although there have been tremendous advances in South Africans’ lives in the 30 years of democracy and 64 years since the Sharpeville Massacre, the journey is continues.
Rights enshrined in the constitution
“The rights for which the residents of Sharpeville fought, the rights that are now enshrined in our constitution, have not yet been fully realised for all South Africans.
“As we begin the next decade of freedom, we must strive together not only to safeguard the rights of everyone in our country, but to ensure that all may enjoy the equal protection and the equal benefit of these rights,” the president said.
Just sufficiently distant from where Ramaphosa was giving his speech, political leaders from several parties – including Build One South Africa, Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC), African Congress for Transformation Azanian People’s Organisation, and ActionSA – gathered for a parallel memorial.
The leaders of these parties claimed that they had to force entry into the memorial site after they were denied access.
The day belongs to the PAC
According to Mzwandile Nyhontso, the president of PAC, their meeting rally was the main event because “the day belongs to the PAC”.
“This day belongs to the PAC. It was not a spontaneous event, it was organised by the late Robert Sobukwe and he launched this day,” Nyhontso said.
“Therefore, as the PAC, we have the right to invite like-minded organisations to come and commemorate this day together.
“We are commemorating this day because we lost lives, they are celebrating because they don’t have an idea of what happened.”
