South Africans on Thursday marked the 40th anniversary of Soweto riots, a 1976 black student uprising in the Soweto area of Johannesburg, which became a turning point in the anti-apartheid struggle.
An estimated 20,000 students took part in the June 16 1976 protest against being forced to study in Afrikaans, the Dutch-based language of the white rulers who introduced the system of racial segregation in the country.
The students were met with fierce police brutality, and 13-year-old Hector Peterson and hundreds of others were killed.
The number of protesters killed by police was given as 176, but it was reportedly said that more than 700 persons lost their lives, and in remembrance of these events, June 16 is being observed annually as a public holiday in South Africa.
South African President Jacob Zuma marked the day by laying a wreath at the Hector Pieterson Memorial, urging South African youths to make education their priority, saying: “We will never rest until we achieve an equal and prosperous democratic society. Education remains the apex priority of government. We urge the youth to make education their apex priority too.”
Zuma also condemned current trend of protest in the country, which had led to attacks on schools‚ clinics and other government institutions, noting that, “no country is built on anger. If there are problems‚ they must be discussed through dialogue.”
Mmusi Maimane, leader of the opposition Democratic Alliance, said the protest by 20,000 students 40 years ago had changed “the course of our history”.
He, however, said the government had failed in resolving South Africa’s fundamental problems, despite putting on an annual “show” to salute the youths of 1976.
“This government has become the very thing the students were protesting against 40 years ago. The present government has maintain the status quo,” he added.
