Sharpevilel Massacre During Apartheid
Sharpeville Massacre The young man places his identification pass on the table with the rest of his family’s pictures. ... In the beginning years of the Apartheid in South Africa, the government proclaimed a law called the Pass Law in which all Africans were to be registered and carry a corresponding id card. ... During the years of the South African Apartheid in the 1960s, the African National Congress planned a campaign of demonstration against this Pass Law. ... The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, who investigated the Sharpeville massacre, concluded that there was a "degree of deliberation in the decision to open fire at Sharpeville" which indicated "that the shooting was more than the result of inexperienced and frightened police officers losing their nerve” (Reagehr 245). ... When the medical assistance finally did show up, it took even more time to attend to the injured because of the prejudice thoughts due to the Apartheid. ... Steve Biko, leader of one of the underground groups, encouraged his people to fight for the injustice they felt not only during the Apartheid but during Sharpeville. ... Although everyone who lived in South Africa obviously knew what the conditions and situations were, the rest of the world was left in the dark when it came to the Apartheid. ... What caused this worldwide disapproval was not only the deaths but the callous way in which the Apartheid government put the blame squarely on the dead and injured. Following the massacre, the police made seventy-seven arrests including several people still receiving treatment in hospitals. ... With everything that went on during this time, many thought that Apartheid policy would be lessened. Rather than instigate a change in policy, Apartheid was more rigidly applied. ... During this time period over 18,000 black strikers were detained. In 1966, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed March 21, the anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre, as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. ... de Klerk, the governmental system of Apartheid began to crumple. ... In 1996, on the 26th anniversary of the Sharpeville Massacre, Nelson Mandela chose Sharpeville as the site to announce the signing of the new democratic constitution. ... Also in 1996 the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was headed by Archbishop Tutu, sought to establish the truth about atrocities committed during the countrys apartheid era, especially during the Sharpeville protests and its arrests afterwards. ... The commissions final report said the apartheid government had in fact introduced violence in its fight against racial equality, but they were also hypocritical of most of the groups involved in the liberation struggle.