In conclusion; Sharpeville, the imposition of a state of emergency, the arrest of thousands of Black people and the banning of the ANC and PAC convinced the anti-apartheid leadership that non-violent action was not going to bring about change without armed action. Over five thousand individuals came to protest the cause in Sharpeville. The ANC was encouraged and campaigned for democracy in South Africa. Find out what the UN in South Africa is doing towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Lancaster University provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation UK. All Rights Reserved. The Sharpeville massacre sparked hundreds of mass protests by black South Africans. When an estimated group of 5000 marchers reached Sharpeville police station, the police opened fire killing 69 people and injuring 180 others in what became known as the Sharpeville Massacre. BlackPast.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our EIN is 26-1625373. Business Studies. In the following days 77 Africans, many of whom were still in hospital, were arrested for questioning . In the aftermath of the events of 21 March, mass funerals were held for the victims. This article first appeared on The Conversation, Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. March 21 Massacre in Sharpeville In the Black township of Sharpeville, near Johannesburg, South Africa, Afrikaner police open fire on a group of unarmed Black South African demonstrators,. The Sharpeville Massacre is commemorated through Human Rights Day, a public holiday in South Africa, which honours those whose lives were sacrificed in the fight for democracy. However, the governments method of controlling people who resisted the apartheid laws didnt have the same effect from the early 1970s and onward. Even so and estimated 2000 to 3000 people gathered on the Commons. Significant reshaping of international law is often the result of momentous occurrences, most notably the two world wars. This march is seen by many as a turning point in South African history. Massacre in Sharpeville. Although the protests were anticipated, no one could have predicted the consequences and the repercussions this would have for South African and world politics. This assisted in minimizing unity between the exploited to rally against European control as it backhandedly induced submission for survival. After demonstrating against pass laws, a crowd of about 7,000 protesters went to the police station. The massacre was one of the catalysts for a shift from passive resistance to armed resistance by these organisations. Expert Answers. Let's Take Action Towards the Sustainable Development Goals. and [proved to be] the only antidote against foreign rule and modern imperialism (Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom 2008, 156) . The Sharpeville Massacre occurred on March 21, 1960, in the township of Sharpeville, South Africa. The only Minister who showed any misgivings regarding government policy was Paul Sauer. The central issues stem from 50 years of apartheid include poverty, income inequality, land ownership rates and many other long term affects that still plague the brunt of the South African population while the small white minority still enjoy much of the wealth, most of the land and opportunities, Oppression is at the root of many of the most serious, enduring conflicts in the world today. Furthermore, a new police station was created, from which the police were energetic to check passes, deporting illegal residents, and raiding illegal shebeens. [5], F-86 Sabre jets and Harvard Trainers approached to within 30 metres (98ft) of the ground, flying low over the crowd in an attempt to scatter it. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Dr. Verwoerd praised the police for their actions. Sharpeville massacre, (March 21, 1960), incident in the Black township of Sharpeville, near Vereeniging, South Africa, in which police fired on a crowd of Black people, killing or wounding some 250 of them. Police officers attempted to use tear gas to repel these advances, but it proved ineffectual, and the police fell back on the use of their batons. The Sharpeville massacre also touched off three decades of protest in South Africa, ultimately leading to freedom for Nelson Mandela, who had spent 27 years in prison. Sixty-nine protesters died, and the massacre became an iconic moment in the struggle against apartheid. Many people need to know that indiviual have their own rights in laws and freedom . The massacre also sparked hundreds of mass protests by black South Africans, many of which were ruthlessly and violently crushed by the South African police and military. The protesters responded by hurling stones (striking three policemen) and rushing the police barricades. According to an account from Humphrey Tyler, the assistant editor at Drum magazine: The police have claimed they were in desperate danger because the crowd was stoning them. In November 1961, a military branch of the party was organized with Mandela as its head. Unfortunately, police forces arrived and open fired on the protesters, killing ninety-six in what became known as the Sharpeville massacre. These resolutions established two important principles: that the human rights provisions in the UN Charter created binding obligations for member states, and the UN could intervene directly in situations involving serious violations of human rights. Protestors asyoung as 12and13were killed. Nelson Mandela was a member of the banned African National Congress and led an underground armed movement that opposed the apartheid by attacking government buildings in South Africa during the early 1960s. As a result of racial segregation, resistance from coloured people in both the United States and South Africa escalated. [5] The police began shooting shortly thereafter. This affirmed that the elimination of racial discrimination was a global challenge that affronted the respect and dignity of all human beings. By the end of the day, 69 people lay dead or dying, with hundreds more injured. Britannica does not review the converted text. [7][8], On 21 March, 1960, a group of between 5,000 and 10,000 people converged on the local police station, offering themselves up for arrest for not carrying their passbooks. Pass laws intended to control and direct their movement and employment were updated in the 1950s. All the evidence points to the gathering being peaceful and good humoured. The United Nations Security Council and governments worldwide condemned the police action and the apartheid policies that prompted this violent assault. Omissions? The event has been seen by some as a turning point in South African history. Steven Wheatley does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. The PAC organised demonstration attracted between 5,000 and 7,000 protesters. apartheid: aftermath of the deadly Sharpeville demonstration, This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/event/Sharpeville-massacre, Canadian Museum for Human Rights - The Sharpeville Massacre, South African History Online - Sharpeville Massacre, Sharpeville massacre - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Sharpeville massacre - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). After demonstrating against pass laws, a crowd of about 7,000 protesters went to the police station. Its been 60 years since the Sharpeville massacre, when 69 unarmed civilians were killed by armed South African police on March 21 1960. This, said Mr Subukwe, would cause prisons to become overcrowded, labour to dry up and the economy to grind to a halt. Race, ethnicity and political groups, is an example of this. On March 21st, 1960, the Pan Africanists Congress, an anti-Apartheid splinter organization formed in 1959, organized a protest to the National Partys pass laws which required all citizens, as well as native Africans, to carry identification papers on them at all times. On this 60th anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre, the world should remember the contingency and fragility of the international human rights law system that we so easily take for granted today. Witness History. Reports of the incident helped focus international criticism on South Africas apartheid policy. Although this event in itself acted as a turning point in the struggle of black South Africans towards restoring dignity, but there were certain events which happened before Sharpeville massacre that caused widespread frustration and resentment in the black African community. A United Nations photograph by Kay Muldoon, Courtesy of the International Defence and Aid Fund for Southern Africa, SATIS (Southern Africa - the Imprisoned Society). On 30 March 1960, the government declared a state of emergency, detaining more than 18,000 people, including prominent anti-apartheid activists who were known as members of the Congress Alliance including Nelson Mandela and some still enmeshed in the Treason Trial. The Sharpeville massacre, the name given to the murder of 69 unarmed civilians by armed South African police, took place on 21 March 1960. A policeman was accidently pushed over and the crowd began to move forward to see what was happening. Police arrested more than 11,000 people and kept them in jail. The police were armed with firearms, including Sten submachine guns and LeeEnfield rifles. Tafelberg Publishers: Cape Town. And then there are those who feel deeply involved and moved, but also powerless to deal with the enormity of the situation (Krog 221). Philip H. Frankel, An Ordinary Atrocity: Sharpeville and its Massacre (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001); Henry F. Jackson, From the Congo to Soweto: U.S. Foreign Policy Toward Africa Since 1960 (New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1982); Meredith Martin, The History of Apartheid: The Story of the Colour War in South Africa (New York: London House & Maxwell, 1962). At its inaugural session in 1947, the UN Commission on Human Rights had decided that it had no power to take any action in regard to any complaints concerning human rights. The same safe and trusted content for explorers of all ages. Sharpeville is a township near Vereeniging, in the Gauteng province of South Africa. The poet Duncan Livingstone, a Scottish immigrant from the Isle of Mull who lived in Pretoria, wrote in response to the Massacre the Scottish Gaelic poem Bean Dubh a' Caoidh a Fir a Chaidh a Marbhadh leis a' Phoileas ("A Black Woman Mourns her Husband Killed by the Police"). OHCHRs regional representative Abigail Noko used the opportunity to call on all decision-makers to give youth a seat at the decision-making table. Under the country's National Party government, African residents in urban districts were subject to influx control measures. The police response to the protest became the primary cause of the massacre. Migration is a human right, How the Sharpeville massacre changed the United Nations, Extra 20% off selected fashion and sportswear at Very, Up to 20% off & extra perks with Booking.com Genius Membership, $6 off a $50+ order with this AliExpress discount code, 10% off selected orders over 100 - eBay discount code, Compare broadband packages side by side to find the best deal for you, Compare cheap broadband deals from providers with fastest speed in your area, All you need to know about fibre broadband, Best Apple iPhone Deals in the UK March 2023, Compare iPhone contract deals and get the best offer this March, Compare the best mobile phone deals from the top networks and brands. Just after 1pm, there was an altercation between the police officer in charge and the leaders of the demonstration. Other witnesses claimed there was no order to open fire, and the police did not fire a warning shot above the crowd. When it seemed the whole group would cross, police took action, with mounted officers and volunteers arriving at 1:12 pm. On March 21, 1960, without warning, South African police at Sharpeville, an African township of Vereeninging, south of Johannesburg, shot into a crowd of about 5,000 unarmed anti-pass protesters, killing at least 69 people - many of them shot in the back - and wounding . The police and army arrested thousands of Africans, who were imprisoned with their leaders, but still the mass action raged. The commission completed this task, under the chairmanship of Eleanor Roosevelt, when it finalised the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. Sharpeville massacre, (March 21, 1960), incident in the Black township of Sharpeville, near Vereeniging, South Africa, in which police fired on a crowd of Black people, killing or wounding some 250 of them. It was adopted on 21 December 1965. The logjam was only broken after the Sharpeville massacre, as the UN decided to deal with the problem of apartheid South Africa. It was one of the first and most violent demonstrations against apartheid in South Africa. Courtesy BaileySeippel Gallery/BAHA Source. To read more about the protests in Cape Town. Dr. Verwoerd praised the police for their actions. ISCOR and SASOL, the state's metal and fuel companies, were and continue to be the two key role players in the provision of employment in the Sharpeville region. The Sharpeville massacre sparked hundreds of mass protests by black South Africans, many of which were ruthlessly and violently crushed by the South African police and military. The foundation of Poqo, the military wing of the PAC, and Umkhonto we Sizwe, the military wing of the ANC, followed shortly afterwards. "[18][19], Since 1994, 21 March has been commemorated as Human Rights Day in South Africa. These resolutions established two important principles: that the human rights provisions in the UN Charter created binding obligations for member states, and that the UN could intervene directly in situations involving serious violations of human rights. When the news of the Sharpeville Massacre reached Cape Town a group of between 1000 to 5000 protestors gathered at the Langa Flats bus terminus around 17h00 on 21 March 1960. For them to gather means violence. On the same day, the government responded by declaring a state of emergency and banning all public meetings. A state of emergency was announced in South Africa. Confrontation in the township of Sharpeville, Gauteng Province. It's been 60 years since the Sharpeville massacre, when 69 unarmed civilians were killed by armed South African police on March 21 1960. [20], Sharpeville was the site selected by President Nelson Mandela for the signing into law of the Constitution of South Africa on 10 December 1996. In addition other small groups of PAC activists presented themselves at police stations in Durban and East London. International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Committee Member - MNF Research Advisory Committee, PhD Scholarship - Uncle Isaac Brown Indigenous Scholarship. Often times individuals feel proud to be a member of their group and it becomes an important part of how they view themselves and their identity. Fewer than 20 police officers were present in the station at the start of the protest. In 1946, the UN established the Commission on Human Rights, whose first job was to draft a declaration on human rights. On that day, demonstrations against the pass laws, which restricted the rights of the majority black population in apartheid South Africa, began in the early morning in Sharpeville, a township in Transvaal. The subject of racial discrimination in South Africa was raised at the UN General Assembly in its first session, in 1946, in the form of a complaint by India concerning the treatment of Indians in the country. Many thousands of individuals applied for the amnesty program and a couple thousand testified through the course of 2 years. By the 25 March, the Minister of Justice suspended passes throughout the country and Chief Albert Luthuli and Professor Z.K. The impact of the events in Cape Town were felt in other neighbouring towns such as Paarl, Stellenbosch, Somerset West and Hermanus as anti-pass demonstrations spread. The Sharpeville Massacre took place in a south african police station of Sharpeville. The South African governments repressive measures in response to the Sharpeville Massacre, however, intensified and expended the opposition to apartheid, ushering in three decades of resistance and protest in the country and increasing condemnation by world leaders. The incident resulted in the largest number of South African deaths (up to that point) in a protest against apartheid. Everyone should have an equal rights and better community . Mandela went into hiding in 1964, he was captured, tried, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Sharpeville Massacre, The Origin of South Africa's Human Rights Day [online], available at: africanhistory.about.com [accessed 10 March 2009]|Thloloe, J. Lined up outside was a large contingent of armed police with some atop armoured cars. This detailed act separated tribes based on ethnics; consequently, further detailing segregation amongst the natives .

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