Programme director
His Excellency, President Jacob Zuma
Acting Premier of the Western Cape, Mrs Patricia De Lille
Ministers and Deputy Ministers present here
Leaders of political parties
Distinguished guests
Fellow South Africans
We gather here today to pay tribute to and honour the memory of South African heroes and heroines who sacrificed their lives in pursuit of freedom, justice and human rights.
It was on this day in Sharpeville 51 years ago, that the apartheid security forces mowed down in cold blood 69 defenceless and unarmed peaceful demonstrators and injured 180 others for protesting against injustices and indignities of the apartheid regime.
Theirs was a peaceful protest, a human rights exercise, to walk freely in the streets of the land of their birth without carrying the badge of racial oppression and slavery called the dompass.
The Sharpeville massacre became the turning point in our history, the threshold to the chain of events that ultimately led to the installation of a democratic regime in 1994, and remain a reminder that the struggle for human rights and human dignity is a continuing and ongoing struggle.
The international condemnation of the policies and practices of apartheid increased international pressure on the then regime and universal support for freedom in South Africa. Consequently, in 1966, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 21 March, the anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre, as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
As we celebrate this important day let us pay our respect to the survivors and families of the victims of the Sharpeville and Langa and other massacres for their courage and determination in resisting the dehumanising oppressive system of apartheid.
Programmed director,
We owe our Constitution and our being as a democracy to the sacrifices of these heroes and heroines, many of whom paid the ultimate price for us to enjoy the democracy that we have today.
It is in recognition of our history that our Constitution was written in such a way that it sought to heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights.
Human rights and democracy are intertwined. Democracy is rooted in values based on respect for the equal worth of all human beings.
Programme director,
Today, we are celebrating 17 years of our freedom. The attainment of fundamental human rights based on the values of human dignity, equality and freedom remain the cornerstone of our democracy.
It is also the respect, protection, promotion and fulfilment of the principle of equal access to opportunities and the restoration of human dignity that we are celebrating here today.
To commemorate the victims and survivors of the Sharpeville and Langa massacres and other bloodbaths, we must tirelessly work for the realisation of the socio-economic rights as envisaged in the Bill of Rights of our Constitution.
As we gather today we must recall that among the founding principles of our Constitution is the need to improve the quality of life of all our citizens and free the potential of each person. It is therefore no coincidence that our Constitution recognises a group of rights referred to as socio-economic rights.
In doing so, we recognise that human rights and the basic social conditions in which people live are fundamentally interconnected and therefore our government should continue to strive for the attainment for all the right to education, healthcare, food, water, sanitation, shelter, access to land and housing.
Programme director,
Today our Parliament is not only the guardian of democracy, but an institution that must shape and give meaning to democracy. Our Parliament and the freely elected representatives, that you, the people, have entrusted this responsibility to, must therefore be at the forefront of improving the lives of people and ensuring access to basic services.
As elected representatives we must give effect to this important responsibility by always upholding and protecting the values found in our Constitution, by striving to heal the divisions of the past and by seeking to establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights.
Parliament, as the primary institution responsible for the protection of human and civil rights, has a vital role to play in fostering and promoting a culture of human rights. It provides the legislative and oversight framework within which democracy thrives.
Programme director,
As we know on 18 May, South Africans will once more have an opportunity to cast their vote. Let us turn out in our millions to exercise one of our basic human rights the right to vote for leaders of our choice at the local level of government.
All of us have the responsibility to make our voice heard in this democracy that our heroes and heroines fought so hard for and died for.
Respect for human rights is fundamental to a well functioning democracy. The words of our icon, former President Nelson Mandela, remain inspirational and I quote: “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.”
Let us celebrate this day and continue our efforts to promote and entrench our proud tradition and culture of human rights.
I thank you.
Source: Parliament of South Africa
