The Programme Director
It is indeed and honour and a privilege to be part of this gathering which is here today to commemorative a very important and significant day in the history of our country. As you are well aware, it was pursuant to the events of this day that that very first state of emergency was declared by the apartheid regime, that the liberation movements were banned by the apartheid state, and the politics of protest were replaced by the armed struggle.
Today 50 years on, as I receive the Torch of Peace, a symbol of the national campaign to combat violence against women and children, I join millions of South Africans and the international community in paying tribute to the contribution made by fallen heroes and heroines of this land in the struggle for freedom and liberation in South Africa. Their action was part of nationwide peaceful demonstrations to defy the pass laws and thereby presenting themselves to police stations to be arrested.
In recognition of the significance of this day, the month of March is popularly known as human rights month wherein various human rights activities are carried out in my department. In this regard the Torch of Peace will be utilised for the human rights and other programmes that my department will have for the duration of that this Torch will be in my department.
March 21, 1960 is of paramount significance in the struggle against apartheid and needs to be understood in its historical context. Sharpeville marked unquestionably a turning point in the struggle for freedom and liberation in South Africa.
On the sixth anniversary of the Sharpeville Massacre, in 1966, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 21 March as the day of International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
On the 26th anniversary of the Sharpeville Massacre, on 10 December 1996, the first democratic President of the Republic of South Africa, Mr Nelson Mandela, chose Sharpeville also as the site to announce the signing of the new democratic Constitution.
Speaking at the signing of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa here, the Honourable Mr Nelson Mandela pays tribute as follows:
“In all sectors of our society workers and employers; government and civil society; people of all religions; teachers and students; in our cities, towns and rural areas, from north to south and east to west let us join hands for peace and prosperity. In so doing we will redeem the faith which fired those whose blood drenched the soil of Sharpeville and elsewhere in our country and beyond. Today we humbly pay tribute to them in a special way. This is a monument to their heroism. Today, together as South Africans from all walks of life and from virtually every school of political thought, we reclaim the unity that the Vereeniging of nine decades ago sought to deny.
We give life to our nation's prayer for freedom regained and continent reborn. The day is now also commemorated as Human Rights Day, the day on which innocent civilians were killed by the apartheid regime, merely because they dared to express their democratic right to protest against oppression and discrimination.
As the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and also the custodian of the Constitution, I am mandated to ensure that our government is committed to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights enshrined in our Constitution’s Bill of Rights by the establishment of the Constitutional Bodies such as the South African Human Rights Commission, the Office of the Public Protector, the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities, the Commission for Gender Equality, and recently a new ministry responsible for the Women, Children and Persons with Disabilities serves as an indication of our government’s commitment to human rights. These institutions are designed to strengthen constitutional democracy in our country and to ensure the supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of the law.
On 11 June 2010 all eyes will be on South Africa and Africa, as the FIFA Football World Cup will be hosted for the first time in the African soil. We must as a nation and also as Africans unite to ensure we host a successful 2010 showpiece. I am confident that through the hosting of the World Cup, we will consolidate our self-respect and the dignity we gained when we attained our freedom and democracy in 1994.
In conclusion I wish to convey my appreciation to the Sharpeville community for coming to this event in their multitude. I think that today’s event illustrates that we can work together as government and the community. We need more of these events as they inspire confidence and make us understand who we are and how we are doing in addressing the challenges that our country is facing.
Long live Sharpeville, long live!
Issued by: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
21 March 2010
Source: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (http://www.justice.gov.za/)
