‘We reject Human Rights Day’: Malema accuses govt of ‘erasing’ Sharpeville history

Economic Freedom Front (EFF) leader Julius Malema accused the ANC-led government of seeking to erase history by referring to the 21st of March as Human Rights Day instead of Sharpeville Day.

The EFF held its own Human Rights Day commemoration at the Dlomo Dam in Sharpeville, south of Johannesburg.

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The annual event commemorates the killing of 69 anti-pass law marchers in Sharpeville in 1969, organised by the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC).

The peaceful march took a turn when security police confronted the marchers headed to the local police station and opened fire.

Many were shot in the back as they tried to run away. More than 100 were injured.

‘Reject Human Rights Day’

Addressing the crowd, Malema said the ANC has been lying over the years.

“We reject Human Rights Day… today is Sharpeville Day. They changed it because they want to distort history. When school children ask about this day, they say ‘it’s for your rights’… stop lying.

“You must come out and tell kids that 69 people died here today, tell them they fought against the regime and died for freedom. We are here to remember Sobukwe and the PAC,” he said.

The EFF leader said government does not want to properly honour the 69 people who died on the day because they fear that doing so would be praising the PAC.

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He added that there were no human rights in South Africa because women lived in fear of being raped, and that farm workers were still exploited.

“Farm workers in the Northern and the Western Cape are still paid with alcohol… what human rights?

“There is no water to drink for people in Emfuleni, there is no reliable electricity. What human rights when people are unemployed? That is because the ANC destroyed the economy.

“When it rains, houses are flooded… what human rights when we are forced to sing Die Stem, which they sand when they are torturing our people at Vlakplaas?” Malema asked.

‘Every freedom fighter was a soldier’

Turning to anti-apartheid activists, the EFF leader said the ANC should not think that it exclusively fought for freedom for South Africans.

Taking a jab at the ANC’s military wing Umkhonto weSizwe (MK), Malema said it was wrong for the veterans to only recognise their own freedom fighters, while overlooking those who stayed behind and fought in the country.

“Today, they say those who were in MK are soldiers, and that you were never in the MK if you never had a commander. But there people fought here, they fought the regime… those who fought here were soldiers.

“They were not trained by anyone… they themselves confronted a well armed regime and fought for our freedom. Not only those who were commanders and in the MK fought for us.”

Malema’s remarks came as the Department of Defence and Military Veterans was criss-crossing the country verifying former combatants from the ANC, PAC and Azanian People’s Organisation (Azapo) to get rid of bogus former freedom fighters on its data base.

It emerged two weeks ago that Carl Niehaus failed a military veteran verification test in East London, Eastern Cape, as he could not answer questions on who recruited him to the MK and when.

He was issued with a letter that specified that he was a political prisoner, and not a former MK veteran.

READ MORE: World Human Rights Day: South Africa’s shameful record laid bare

Niehaus has since denied that he failed the verification, saying he was in the MK, and accused the verification panel of bias.

Many fought against the apartheid regime fearlessly, said Malema.

“There were many people here who fought for us…they were led by leaders such as Jafta Masemola, Nomvo Booi and Zeph Mofokeng in the forefront…the ANC was not alone in struggle, the PAC led from the front, they gave birth to black consciousness.

“All the ANC in the country did was to bomb power stations. PAC and Azapo confronted the brutal and heavily armed apartheid regime head-on.”

Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa led government’s Human Rights Day commemoration in Koster, North West.

This year’s event was held under the theme ‘The Year of Unity and Renewal: Protecting and Preserving our Human Rights Gains.’

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