EFF commemorates Sharpeville Massacre Day

21 March 2023

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) commemorates the 21st of March, as Sharpeville Massacre Day, a day on which thousands of Africans stood up against the Apartheid regime in defence of their inalienable right to be free in the land of their birth.

It was on this day in 1960, that the Pan-Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC) led by Robert Mangaliso Sobukwe embarked on a massive anti-pass campaign, in defiance of the Pass Laws which regulated and restricted the movement of African people. The Dompass, was a document that restricted Africans to specific areas on the basis of racial segregation, meaning Africans could not be in areas where white people resided except for purposes of providing labour.

The PAC mobilised society and embarked on a massive campaign of destroying the dompass and initiated a non-violent campaign with the intention of flooding the Apartheid prisons in order to bring the Apartheid economy to a standstill.

The Campaign, which rested on the call of 'Leaders To The Front' was the most militant and selfless confrontation of Apartheid at the time, and led to the massacre of 69 people, while hundreds were injured. The massacre inspired uproars across the country, notably in Langa were thousands gathered in defiance of the ban on public meetings, and marched, resulting in the murder of three people.

The history of the Sharpeville Massacre, has since been distorted by the ruling party, which feels ashamed for not being part of the historic anti-pass demonstrations. As a result, the substance of the Sharpeville Massacre has been hollowed into a generic Human Rights Day, to remove the prominent role of the PAC in sparking the consciousness of our people and the international community against the Dompass system.

It is for this reason that the EFF declares this day as Sharpeville Massacre Day, because we understand that the political freedoms we enjoy today are born out of the sacrifices of many leaders, including Robert Sobukwe and the PAC.

The EFF reminds the people of the South Africa of the brave heroes and heroines who led the Anti-Pass Campaign, and reaffirms their role in the history of our liberation.

Today, the rights which they fought and died for are yet to be attained in their entirety, as African people are still subject to the Apartheid labour reserves called townships, and remain landless.

The EFF commits to fulfil the generational mission of the return of the land and the freedom of Africans to reside anywhere they please in the country and the continent.

If true liberation and Economic Freedom is to be attained, it will require the bravery of the 1960 generation who were willing to flood the prison cells in order to cripple the brutal Apartheid regime.

Izwe Lethu!

Issued by Sinawo Thambo, National Spokesperson, EFF, 21 March 2023