The Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities will be joining the rest of the African Continent and the African Diaspora Communities on Friday 25th May 2012 to celebrate Africa day under the theme “Towards the Realisation of a United and Integrated Africa and its Diaspora”
25th May is Africa liberation day, For many years it has been a celebration of African unity. It dates back to 1963 when the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) was founded in Ethiopia on the 25th of May, Before then 15th April, which marked the first Conference of Independent African States held in Ghana in 1958, was upheld as African Freedom Day and when the African Union succeeded the OAU in July 2002 the African Liberation Day became known as Africa Day and has since been a statutory holiday in many African countries.
We trust that the South African government and its relevant department of Home Affairs and office of the President will consider this day as public holiday in 2013.
Importantly, Africa Day occasions a moment for reflection. Africa is one stereotyped continent that continues to evoke gruelling images of poverty, scenes of famines, blighted tales of corruption, tragic narratives of civil conflicts.
Recent stories of coup d'états in Mali and Guinea Bissau, the cross-border conflict between the North Sudan and South Sudan and the never ending civil war in DR Congo are some of the human made catastrophes fuelling and issues of ethnicinity, religious and language barries are the cause.
The CRL Rights Commission is of the view that at the same time, Africa Day deserves celebrating. It will be paramount that our communities can celebrates African diversity and mutuality, culture, identity, history and heritage.
We therefore encourage all Africans and African diaspora living in South Africa to celebrate this day with unity, tolerance and mutual respect to each others culture, religion and language and recall this words from the preamble of the Cultural Charter for Africa in 1976 in stating that we are ‘Convinced that African culture is meaningless unless it plays a full part in the political and social liberation struggle and in the rehabilitation and unification effortsand that there is no limit to the cultural development of a people”.
CRL Rights Commission wishes you a happy Africa day and may peace and prosperity be upon all Africans those at home and abroad!
For enquiries regarding this statement please contact:
Adv Sipho Mantula (Communications and Marketing Officer)
Tel: 011 537 7628
Cell: 084 781 5587
E-mail: sipho@crlcommission.org.za
