A file picture of the PAC and AZAPO remembering those who died during the Sharpeville massacre.. Picture: Timothy Bernard African News Agency (ANA)
Pretoria - Azapo and the PAC have teamed up to commemorate Human Rights Day, previously known as Sharpeville Day, tomorrow.
In March 1960, 69 people were killed when scores of people took to the streets to protest against pass laws.
The apartheid police sprayed bullets at the crowd when they threatened to enter the Sharpeville police station.
There were scores of victims – 10 children and 59 adults killed, and many injured.
The two liberation movements signed an agreement to work together in February last year. Yesterday, the parties said they had established a task team to mobilise members to take part in the commemoration.
The PAC’s Apa Pooe said the party had initiated and led the action campaign against the pass laws.
“The aim was to dismantle the economic base of the racist settler South Africa.
“The atrocities of the Sharpeville and Langa massacres exposed the evil policies of apartheid and settler-colonialism to the international community.
“The heavy-handed and callous approach of the erstwhile apartheid regime resulted in the banning of the PAC within a month of launching the Positive Action Campaign.”
The parties will visit Pelindaba Cemetery in Sharpeville and march to the memorial site near the old police station where the massacres took place. In Langa, Cape Town, the two organisations will hold a joint mass rally at Sobukwe Square.
“The PAC and Azapo draw inspiration from the visions of icons like Mangaliso Sobukwe and Bantu Steve Biko,” Pooe said.
Pretoria News
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