Click here to see some photographs.

http://mpbackyarders.org.za/2010/10/04/photos-of-hangberg-rally-and-march/#more-274

Statement on the Hangberg Rally and March from the Mandela Park Backyarders

Mandela Park Backyarders along with the Poor People’s Alliance and some other social movements joined the march organised by residents of Hangberg in Hout Bay on Sunday. Well over 1,000 people marched over 6km to Hout Bay Police Station.

It was very important for all of us to make our voices heard about the unacceptable police violence as well as the way the government manipulates the development process in our communities.

However, we were very disappoint to see how, during the march, COSATU allowed itself and the SACP and ANC to take over the march. While all of them got to speak at the rally, Hangberg residents were not allowed to speak at all with the exception of a one minute slot for a community leader. Hangberg residents were very angry about this.

We are upset that the ANC alliance is using the resident’s struggle to score political points for next year’s elections. We have resolved to meet with Hangberg residents in order to see what they would like to do about this issue.

Letter to the Editor from Martin Legassick

Letter to the Editor by Prof. Martin Legassick

Your article on the Hout Bay protest rally and march (“Hundreds march over destruction of shacks, 4/10/2010) mentions that the rally in a Hangberg park heard “messages from political parties.” It fails to mention that community-based social movements from across Cape Town, including representatives of the Western Cape Anti Eviction campaign from Gugulethu and Hanover Park, of Abahlali baseMjondolo (Western Cape) from Khayelitsha, and of Mandela Park (Khayelitsha) backyarders also spoke at the rally in solidarity with the residents of Hangberg and condemning the eviction and police brutality (including four people’s eyes shot out) orchestrated by Helen Zille two weeks ago. These social movements mistrust existing political parties, believing that they are purely interested in securing votes for themselves rather than delivering services to communities. COSATU, chairing the rally, welcomly encouraged a diversity of spokespeople. However there was only one one-minute speech from a resident of Hangberg itself, which was very unfortunate. Moreover, at the end of the march, at the police station, the rally was hijacked by the ANC, who in pursuit of their anti-DA local election aspirations, presented the memorandum of Hout Bay residents as if it was their own.

Martin Legassick
7 Langton Road,
Mowbray 7700
Cell phone: 083-417-6837

Slideshow from The New Worker.