Pass Laws - Remember & Honour: Sharpeville Day
On March 21, 1960 the Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) under the leadership of Robert Sobukwe held a non-violent anti-pass laws protest campaign.
PASS LAWS, WHAT ARE PASS LAWS, AND THEIR IMPACT:
Pass laws turned African man ‘bachelors’ and as such they had to stay away from their loved ones in some “bachelor zones” (hostels). African women and children had been “endorsed” and separated from their husbands and fathers – the bachelors. The apartheid government had removed Africans from urban areas to reserves in an 'endorsing out' law. Under the discriminatory Urban Areas Act, Africans weren’t allowed to stay in urban areas for longer than 72 hours unless they’d lived there for longer than 15 years, had worked with the same employer for 10 years or had a discretionary permit to reside and work there.
Employers - employers were legally and technically white people (exclusively) - would quite often terminate the workers’ (black workers) contracts after nine years and 11 months. (Just one month before the ten-year term allowing them in urban areas). Now what does that mean? It means that the poor African had to go be automatically “endorsed out” - back to the sytematically disadvantaged bantustans. They'd have to go back to square one (see discriminatory Urban Areas Act above) through the whole process of getting rights to stay in urban area – and then it becomes one long-unending struggle.
Back to that fateful March 21, 1960 in Sharpeville where thousands gathered to hold a non-violent anti-pass laws protest campaign. About 20,000 people assembled outside the local police station. In other areas – in the Vaal Triangle (GP) – some people had had the brush of the apartheid police force. However, in Sharpeville, planes were flying high and low, and lots of cops – about 300 – were in the area. In no time, unprovoked and uninstructed, the apartheid trigger-happy cops opened fire on unarmed and visibly defenceless people – including women and children.
These cops - against the backdrop of visibly defenceless and unarmed campaigners - were supported by Saracens armoured vehicles.
The above said, the first scuffle broke out then the police station fence was trampled, apartheid officer pushed over, and the front rank of the crowd pushed forward resulting in the cops shooting randomly. Most of the victims had been shot in the back and what this means is that despite the campaigners leaving the scene these cops felt a need to "just" shoot.
THE COPS? …what did they have to say: they had been in serious danger as the crowd had been in possession of dangerous weapons and had been throwing stones.
THE GOVERNMENT? …what was the reaction: a legislation was to be introduced to indemnify the government and its officials retrospectively against claims resulting from action taken during the demonstration. Pass laws were suspended and re-instated on March 28 (day of mourning).
THE WORLD? …horror and shock waves following the massacre greeted the whole world.
THE AFRICANS? … under the leadership of Chief Albert Luthuli of the African National Congress (ANC) they observed March 28 as a day of mourning, resulting in a massive national stay-away. Chief Luthuli had publicly burned his pass in the capital (Pretoria) the previous day.
THE WHITES? …they rushed to the stock exchange (JSE) to sell their shares, and some made emigration arrangements.
Sharpeville Day was followed by the banning of freedom and political formations (also known as “terrorist” movements) in SA: ANC, PAC, SA Communist Party and many others. Umkhonto we Sizwe (Spear of the Nation) was formed many months later after it became apparent that “there are many people who feel that it is useless and fully futile for us to continue talking peace against the government whose reply is only savage attacks on an unarmed and defenceless people” (-Nelson Mandela).
… and that was the beginning of the underground struggle – more on this on December 16 or earlier!
Picture: Apartheid police force watches as 69 bodies lie dead and hundreds others wounded after accomplishing their murder mission - against the unarmed and defenceless people (and women and children)
