Pass Laws and Sharpeville Massacre | South African History Online Sharpeville Massacre - South Africa: Overcoming Apartheid The United Nations Security Council and governments worldwide condemned the police action and the apartheid policies that prompted this violent assault. [17], Not all reactions were negative: embroiled in its opposition to the Civil Rights Movement, the Mississippi House of Representatives voted a resolution supporting the South African government "for its steadfast policy of segregation and the [staunch] adherence to their traditions in the face of overwhelming external agitation. 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. This caused many other countries to criticize South Africas apartheid policy. The call for a stay away on 28 March was highly successful and was the first ever national strike in the countrys history. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The PAC called on its supporters to leave their passes at home on the appointed date and gather at police stations around the country, making themselves available for arrest. Improved homework resources designed to support a variety of curriculum subjects and standards. [10] Some insight into the mindset of those on the police force was provided by Lieutenant Colonel Pienaar, the commanding officer of the police reinforcements at Sharpeville, who said in his statement that "the native mentality does not allow them to gather for a peaceful demonstration. Dr. Verwoerd praised the police for their actions. After demonstrating against pass laws, a crowd of about 7,000 protesters went to the police station. The mood of the protest had started out as peaceful and festive when there were . Sharpeville had a high rate of unemployment as well as high crime rates. The Sharpeville massacre. The incident resulted in the largest number of South African deaths (up to that point) in a protest against apartheid. The policemen were apparently jittery after a recent event in Durban where nine policemen were shot. On 20 March Nana Mahomo and Peter Molotsi has crossed the border into Bechuanaland to mobilize support for the PAC. This was in direct defiance of the government's country-wide ban on public meetings and gatherings of more than ten persons. The protesters offered themselves up for arrest for not carrying their passes. Courtesy BaileySeippel Gallery/BAHA Source. In November 1961, a military branch of the party was organized with Mandela as its head. In my own research, I have looked to complexity theory a theory developed in the natural sciences to make sense of the ways that patterns of behaviour emerge and change to understand the way that international human rights law developed and evolved. The police assembled and used disproportionate responses to the protest. It had wide ramifications and a significant impact. About 69 Blacks were killed and more than 180 wounded, some 50 women and children being among the victims. 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. That day about 20,000 people gathered near the Sharpeville police station. The police shot many in the back as they turned to flee, causing some to be paralyzed. Without the Sharpeville massacre, we may not have the international human rights law system we have today. It can be considered the beginning of the international struggle to bring an end to apartheid in South . As they attempted to disperse the crowd, a police officer was knocked down and many in the crowd began to move forward to see what had happened. A small donation would help us keep this available to all. This march is seen by many as a turning point in South African history. Apartheid in South Africa. - GCSE Politics - Marked by Teachers.com Yet only three policemen were reported to have been hit by stones - and more than 200 Africans were shot down. During those five months roughly 25,000 people were arrested throughout the nation. To read more witness accounts of the Sharpeville Massacre, click on the 'Witness accounts' tab above. On 24 March 1960, in protest of the massacre, Regional Secretary General of the PAC, Philip Kgosana, led a march of 101 people from Langa to the police headquarters in Caledon Square, Cape Town. 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. Now aged 84, Selinah says she is still proud of her efforts to end apartheid. He was tricked into dispersing the crowd and was arrested by the police later that day. The presence of armoured vehicles and air force fighter jets overhead also pointed to unnecessary provocation, especially as the crowd was unarmed and determined to stage a non-violent protest. The event was an inspiration for painter Oliver Lee Jackson in his Sharpeville Series from the 1970s.[23]. Sharpeville Massacre, The Origin of South Africa's Human Rights Day [online], available at: africanhistory.about.com [accessed 10 March 2009]|Thloloe, J. Stephen Wheatley explores how this tragedy paved the way for the modern United Nations, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. Weve been busy, working hard to bring you new features and an updated design. The adoption of the convention was quickly followed by two international covenants on economic, social and cultural rights and on civil and political rights in 1966, introduced to give effect to the rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. 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"). Another officer interpreted this as an order and opened fire, triggering a lethal fusillade as 168 police constables followed his example. The logjam was only broken after the Sharpeville massacre, as the UN decided to deal with the problem of apartheid South Africa. Sharpeville is a township near Vereeniging, in the Gauteng province of South Africa. [6]:pp.14,528 From the 1960s, the pass laws were the primary instrument used by the state to detain and harass its political opponents. Britannica does not review the converted text. One of the insights has been that international law does not change unless there is some trigger for countries to change their behaviour. Later, in the fifties and the sixties, these same goals, enlign poll taxes and literacy tests, were once again fought for by African American leaders, through advocacy and agitation. Omissions? NO FINE!" Half a century has passed but memories of the Sharpeville massacre still run deep. Selinah Mnguniwas 23 years old and already three months pregnant when she was injured in the Sharpeville massacre on 21 March 1960. These protestors included a large number of northern college students. Some estimates put the size of the crowd at 20,000. In Cape Town, an estimated 95% of the African population and a substantial number of the Coloured community joined the stay away. [10] Few of the policemen present had received public order training. What event happened on March 21 1960? After demonstrating against pass laws, a crowd of about 7,000 protesters went to the police station. The OHCHR Regional Office for Southern Africa also produced a series of digital stories on the Sharpeville massacre and young peoples concerns about their human rights. It authorized the limited use of arms and sabotage against the government, which got the governments attentionand its anger! It also came to symbolize that struggle. The victims included about 50 women and children. [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. The Minister of Justice called for calm and the Minister of Finance encouraged immigration. The adoption of the Race Convention was quickly followed by the international covenants on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and on Civil and Political Rights in 1966, introduced to give effect to the rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Sharpeville massacre marked turning point in South Africa's history Sources disagree as to the behaviour of the crowd: some state that the crowd was peaceful, while others state that the crowd had been hurling stones at the police and that the mood had turned "ugly". Accessible across all of today's devices: phones, tablets, and desktops. Reddy. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. It was adopted on 21 December 1965. 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. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Sharpeville Massacre - BlackPast.org Nearly 300 police officers arrived to put an end to the peaceful protest. Find out more about our work towards the Sustainable Development Goals. This angered the officers causing them to brutally attack and tear gas the demonstrators. This riot was planned to be a peaceful riot for a strike on an 8-hour day, ended up turning into a battle between protesters and the police. It is also a day to reflect on the progress that has been made in ensuring basic human rights for all South Africans, as enshrined in our Constitution. 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. A dompass in those days was an Identification Document that determined who you were, your birth date, what race you are and permission from your employers to be in a specific place at a specific time. The ANC Vice-President, Oliver Tambo, was secretly driven across the border by Ronel Segal into the then British controlled territory of Bechunaland. Sharpeville was much more than a single tragic event. A black person would be of or accepted as a member of an African tribe or race, and a colored person is one that is not black or white. Sobukwe was only released in 1969. Sobukwe was only released in 1969. This shows a major similarity as they wanted to achieve the same things. By 1960 the. Many of the contemporary issues in South Africa can easily be associated with the apartheid laws which devastated the country. According to his "Testimony about the Launch of the Campaign," Sobukwe declared: To read more witness accounts of the Sharpeville Massacre, click on the, According to an account from Humphrey Tyler, the assistant editor at, Afrikaner Nationalism, Anglo American and Iscor: formation of Highveld Steel and Vanadium Corporation, 1960-70 in Business History", The Sharpeville Massacre: Its historic significance in the struggle against apartheid, The PAC's War against the State 1960-1963, in The Road to Democracy in South Africa: 1960-1970, The Sharpeville Massacre - A watershed in SouthAfrica, Saluting Sharpevilles heroes, and South Africa's human rights, New Books | Robert Sobukwes letters from prison, South African major mass killings timeline 1900-2012, Origins: Formation, Sharpeville and banning, 1959-1960, 1960-1966: The genesis of the armed struggle, Womens resistance in the 1960s - Sharpeville and its aftermath, Eyewitness accounts of the Sharpeville massacre 1960, List of victims of police action, 21 March, 1960 (Sharpeville and Langa), A tragic turning-point: remembering Sharpeville fifty years on by Paul Maylam, Apartheid: Sharpeville Massacre, 21 March 1960, Commission of Enquiry into the Occurrences at Sharpeville (and other places) on the 21st March, 1960, Volume 1, Johannesburg, 15 June 1960, Commission of Enquiry into the Occurrences at Sharpeville (and other places) on the 21st March, 1960, Volume 2, Johannesburg, 15 June 1960, Documents, and articles relating to the Sharpeville Massacre 1960, Editorial comment: The legacy of Sharpeville, From Our Vault: Sharpeville, A Crime That Still Echoes by J Brooks Spector, 21 March 2013, South Africa, Message to the PAC on Sharpeville Day by Livingstone Mqotsi, Notes on the origins of the movement for Sanctions against South Africa by E.S. When protesters reconvened in defiance, the police charged at them with batons, tear gas and guns. Mandela went into hiding in 1964, he was captured, tried, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Many thousands of individuals applied for the amnesty program and a couple thousand testified through the course of 2 years. A deranged White man, David Pratt, made an assassination attempt on Dr. Verwoerd, who was seriously injured. And then there are those who feel deeply involved and moved, but also powerless to deal with the enormity of the situation (Krog 221). It was one of the first and most violent demonstrations against apartheid in South Africa. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Mr. Tsolo and other members of the PAC Branch Executive continued to advance - in conformity with the novel PAC motto of "Leaders in Front" - and asked the White policeman in command to let them through so that they could surrender themselves for refusing to carry passes. One of the insights was that international law does not change, unless there is some trigger for countries to change their behaviour. The event also played a role in South Africa's departure from the Commonwealth of Nations in 1961. Corrections? There was no evidence that anyone in the gathering was armed with anything other than stones. Reports of the incident helped focus international criticism on South Africas apartheid policy. As well as the introduction of the Race Convention, Sharpeville also spurred other moves at the UN that changed the way it could act against countries that breached an individuals human rights. The police ordered the crowd to disperse within 3 minutes. The Sharpeville massacre was a turning point in South African history. "[6]:p.538, The uproar among South Africa's black population was immediate, and the following week saw demonstrations, protest marches, strikes, and riots around the country. Along with other PAC leaders he was charged with incitement, but while on bail he left the country and went into exile. On March 21, 1960. The argument against apartheid was now framed as a specific manifestation of a wider battle for human rights and it was the only political system mentioned in the 1965 Race Convention: nazism and antisemitism were not included. Selinah was shot in her leg but survived the massacre. The two causes went hand in hand in this, rocketing in support and becoming the main goal of the country - the end of segregation was the most dire problem that the Civil Rights Movement needed to solve. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. On March 21, 1960, police in Sharpeville, South Africa, shot hundreds of people protesting laws that restricted the movement of blacks. The Sharpeville massacre, the name given to the murder of 69 unarmed civilians by armed South African police, took place on 21 March 1960. Robert Sobukwe and other leaders were arrested and detained after the Sharpeville massacre, some for nearly three years after the incident. Many of the civilians present attended voluntarily to support the protest, but there is evidence that the PAC also used coercive means to draw the crowd there, including the cutting of telephone lines into Sharpeville, and preventing bus drivers from driving their routes. In the following days 77 Africans, many of whom were still in hospital, were arrested for questioning . "[6]:p.537, On 21 March 2002, the 42nd anniversary of the massacre, a memorial was opened by former President Nelson Mandela as part of the Sharpeville Human Rights Precinct.[22]. Race, ethnicity and political groups, is an example of this. (1997) Focus: 'Prisoner 1', Sunday Life, 23 March. These two industries experienced rapid growth in the immediate aftermath of World War II and continued growing into the 1950s and 1960s. Approximately 10,000 Africans were forcibly removed to Sharpeville. The term human rights was first used in the UN Charter in 1945. To share with more than one person, separate addresses with a comma. He became South Africa's . International sympathy lay with the African people, leading to an economic slump as international investors withdrew from South Africa and share prices on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange plummeted. In response, a police officer shouted in Afrikaans skiet or nskiet (exactly which is not clear), which translates either as shot or shoot. When police opened . But it was not until after Sharpeville that the UN made clear that the countrys system of racial segregation would no longer be tolerated. Confrontation in the township of Sharpeville, Gauteng Province. In response, a police officer shouted in Afrikaans skiet or nskiet (exactly which is not clear). UNESCO marks 21 March as the yearly International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, in memory of the massacre. The Black Consciousness Movement sparked mass protests among Blacks and prompted other liberation movements to demonstrate against the apartheid. As the number of UN members from Africa increased, the commission reversed its no power to act position and turned its attention to the human rights situation in South Africa. The story of March 21 1960 is told by Tom Lodge, a scholar of South African politics, in his book Sharpeville. The Apartheid was initiated as a ploy for Europeans to better control the exploited populations for economic gain, as maintaining tension between the different racial classifications diverted attention from the Europeans as it fed hatred between groups. Take a minute to check out all the enhancements! The moral outrage surrounding these events led the United Nations General Assembly to pronounce 21 March as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial . The events also prompted theInternational Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discriminationwhich took effect on 4 January 1969. How the 1960 Sharpeville massacre sparked the birth of international However, many people joined the procession quite willingly. As an act of rebellion the passes were set alight, as seen in a picture by Ranjith Kally. In particular, the African work force in the Cape went on strike for a period of two weeks and mass marches were staged in Durban. Find out what the UN in South Africa is doing towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. At 13h15 a small scuffle began near the entrance of the police station. Sharpeville, a black suburb outside of Vereeniging (about fifty miles south of Johannesburg), was untouched by anti-apartheid demonstrations that occurred in surrounding towns throughout the 1950s. Time Magazine, (1960), The Sharpeville Massacre, A short history of pass laws in South Africa [online], from, Giliomee et al. 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.