Sunday, 21 March 2021
Abahlali baseMjondolo Press Statement
We Are Still Struggling for our Humanity to be Recognised
Today is Human Rights Day, a day during which we are always told that we should celebrate the human rights that were included in the 1996 Constitution.
As everyone knows the origin of Human Rights Day is the Sharpeville massacre in 1960. Under the leadership of Robert Sobukwe, the Pan Africanist Congress organised a non-violent protest against the pass laws that were used to exclude African people from the cities, and to keep them under white control in the cities. Sobukwe was clear that the protestors would “observe absolute non-violence” and that the protest would be the beginning of a campaign for “life abundant”. Around five thousand people joined the protest, and 69 were shot down like animals. Another three people were murdered by the police during protests against the massacre in Cape Town. Continue reading