According to Section 10 (1a-d) of the 1954 Native Urban Areas Act Africans could only stay in an urban area for more than 12 hours if they: In addition to the grievance about passes, the ANC promoted what became known as the one pound a day campaign. The 1960 Sharpeville Massacre was the result of a peaceful protest regarding racist South African policies of apartheid. This marked the beginning of the rivalry over responsibility for organizing the march. The Sharpeville massacre occurred on 21 March 1960, at the police station in the South African township of Sharpeville in Transvaal (today part of Gauteng).. After a day of demonstrations against pass laws, a crowd of about 7,000 protesters went to the police station.The South African Police opened fire on the crowd, killing 69 people and injuring 180 others. In the early 1950s, Vereeniging's only Black Township, Top Location, was modelled along the same lines as Sophiatown and was also notoriously difficult to police. Even more important than strict policing, Sharpeville, like all other townships created by the NP government, was made to pay for the cost of its upkeep. Also, they were exploited off from their land. The Sharpeville massacre occurred on 21 March 1960, at the police station in the South African township of Sharpeville in Transvaal (today part of Gauteng). The Native Laws Amendment Act of 1952 was used as a mechanism to distribute African labour in such a way that White commercial agriculture was guaranteed adequate supplies of labour despite increasing levels of impoverishment in the countryside. On 22 March, PAC announced that Robert Sobukwe, the president of the PAC, and 130 other members had been arrested. One of the insights was that international law does not change, unless there is some trigger for countries to change their behaviour. Further campaigns were launched, implicitly or explicitly against apartheid. However, besides the pass laws, the Sharpeville demonstrations were meant to highlight other grievances. The Sharpeville massacre itself is well documented. South African History Online. At this conference, it was announced that the PAC would launch its own anti-pass campaign. The critical question, often ignored in the literature on the event is, "Why was it in Sharpeville as opposed to anywhere else in the Union that the PAC's campaign received its strongest response, a question that can only be answered by examining the local history that led up to the shootings" (Chaskalson, 1986). The 1910s saw significant opposition to pass laws being applied to black women. [See in this database, “South Africans disobey apartheid laws (Defiance of Unjust Laws Campaign,) 1952-1953”).] Finally, the ejection of the unemployed considered in excess of the requirements of the town's labour needs had the potential to create dissent against the town council. d) Signed a contract to migrate from a rural reserve to a specific job for a limited period of time in an urban area after which they must return home. Protest against these humiliating laws fueled the anti-apartheid struggle - from the Defiance Campaign (1952-54), the massive women's protest in Pretoria (1956), to burning of passes at the police station in Sharpeville where 69 protesters were massacred (1960). Significant reshaping of international law is often the result of momentous occurrences, mos… Around 11:00 am the police started arresting the demonstrators. In 1913 the first mass action by African and Coloured women was initiated in the Free State. Examples of these include the first passive resistance campaign initiated by the Indian community in the Transvaal, led by Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, in 1906. By the end of 1959 all residents of Top Location had been relocated to Sharpeville where they were subjected to stricter controls. These two industries experienced rapid growth in the immediate aftermath of World War II and continued growing into the 1950s and 1960s. In my own research on international human rights law, I looked to complexity theory, a theory developed in the natural sciences to make sense of the ways that patterns of behaviour emerge and change, to understand the way that international human rights law had developed and evolved. These books had to contain stamps providing official proof that that the person in question had permission to be in a town at that time. März 1960 zogen in Sharpeville zwischen 5.000 und 7.000 Schwarze gegen 10 Uhr ohne Pass auf ein Polizeirevier zu, um sich inhaftieren zu lassen, darunter hochrangige PAC-Funktionäre. The exact date on which the campaign will start is still unknown. Pass Laws and Sharpeville Massacre Role of local industries. Sobukwe. It has come! Today Sharpeville is also remembered as the place where former president Nelson Mandela signed the new Constitution in December 1996. On March 21, 1960, without warning, South African police at Sharpeville, an African township of Vereeninging, south of Johannesburg, shot into a crowd of about 5,000 unarmed anti-pass protesters, killing at least 69 people – many of them shot in the back – and wounding more than 200. Apartheid means “apartness” in the Afrikaans language. This subtopic will examine the role of the Vereeniging Town Council as well as the role of local industries in the decade and half immediately after World War II as a factor in the explanation of the Sharpeville Protest. The party was devoted to apartheid and white supremacy, maintained through a collection of policies, including the pass laws. The Chief of Security promised to grant them an audience and the crowd dispersed, but there was no meeting. More proactive opposition to discrimination became necessary after the National Party (NP) came to power in 1948, and racial segregation and discrimination was intensified through the implementation of the policy of 'apartheid' or separate development. Sharpeville Black township, n of Vereeniging, South Africa, scene of a massacre by security forces in March 1960. According to Section 10 (1a-d) of the 1954 Native Urban Areas Act Africans could only stay in an urban area for more than 12 hours if they: women's march to the Union Buildings in August 1956. The police opened fire on the protesters during the first protest. The document came into force in February 1997. Banners, posters, and displayed communications, 141. Therefore, the social and economic development of Vereeniging towards the end of the 1950s, particularly the administration of its African Township, is significant in the Vereeniging Town Council's role in the events of 21 March 1960. Low wages were the norm, reinforced by the fact that Black trade unions were not legally recognised and could not negotiate with employers. Sharpeville massacre survivors feel betrayed by government . This movement had a significant bearing on the NP government's designs for all urban areas across South Africa. Source for information on Sharpeville: World Encyclopedia dictionary. Apartheid and the pass system. After about two minutes, police had killed sixty-nine people and wounded 180 more. On 21 March 1960, the South African Police opened fire on a crowd of black African protesters demonstrating against pass laws at the Sharpeville police station, killing 69 and injuring 180 people in what became known as the Sharpeville Massacre. These included protests by the African National Congress Women's League (ANCWL) in 1950, and the women's march to the Union Buildings in August 1956, which is now commemorated each year as Women's Day. On 2 April, the New York Times estimated that 70,000 people were involved in these organizations. c) Were the child or wife of a man permitted to live in the urban area on the conditions of (a) or (b) mentioned above. The aim of the protest was to express opposition against the pass-laws for Black Africans, which required them to carry a pass at all times due to their race. Sharpeville: a source of inspiration and rededication The reverence of the African people for this Day grows from the fact that the political campaign launched to attack a fundamental cornerstone of apartheid colonialism, i.e., the pass laws, brought them far closer to the seizure of political power than anything attempted before. Around noon that day, 30,000 black South Africans marched into Cape Town and demanded to see the Minister of Justice. On 30 March, the government declared a State of Emergency. If police caught a black African in public without one of these booklets, the police could arrest and fine the individual. Registered users can login to the website. those found to be in Vereeniging illegally because they were not in formal employment, risked being forced back to the rural areas. Planning the 1960 anti-pass campaigns: ANC and PAC. Pass laws have been resisted in several significant instances. Accessed 29 April 2013. a) Had been born there and had lived there ever since. "Sharpeville Massacre: 21 March 1960." By 6 May, the total number of people arrested because of the protest had grown to 18,000. Yet it was Sharpeville and the events of the 21st March that came to represent the struggle of Black people against the unjust system of apartheid. Pass laws required all black Africans to carry a small booklet containing personal information and a history of employment. Sharpeville massacre was turning point in anti-apartheid movement On March 21, 1960, 3,000 black South Africans gathered to protest one of the … Sharpeville massacre, incident in the Black township of Sharpeville, near Vereeniging, South Africa, on March 21 1960, in which police fired on a crowd of Black people, killing or wounding some 250 of them. The decision lies with the P.A.C. These books had to contain stamps providing official proof that that the person in question had permission to be in a town at that time. This campaign was over, amongst other things, the carrying of passes. The Sharpeville massacre occurred on 21 March 1960, at the police station in the South African township of Sharpeville in Transvaal. Transgressors of location regulations, i.e. In 1960 the African National Congress (ANC) decided to launch a campaign to rid South Africa of these laws. South Africa had started a new phase in her history. The South African Police opened fire on the crowd, killing 69 people and injuring 180 others. These were the circumstances that many residents of Sharpeville were faced with when the march against passes was proposed in 1959. The Global Nonviolent Action Database is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International license unless otherwise noted. The Sharpeville massacre of 21 March 1960 - the 50 th anniversary of which was commemorated in the past week - brought notoriety to the National Party government of premier Hendrik Verwoerd and elevated the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) to the status of a major anti-apartheid resistance movement overnight.. Through a series of mass actions, the ANC planned to launch a nationwide anti-pass campaign on 31 March 1960 the anniversary of the 1919 anti-pass campaign. These families settled in the only accommodation in the area offered to Africans, namely; Top Location, and later, Sharpeville. Black Africans had made previous … Black Africans had made previous attempts to abolish the pass laws, but none had been successful. The pass laws remained until the fall of South African apartheid in 1986. On March 21, an estimated 7,000 Africans gathered in front of the Sharpeville police station to protest against the restrictive pass laws. In response to this growth and increased employment opportunities, thousands of African families from the immediate rural hinterland, dominated by White commercial agriculture, inevitably found their way into Vereeniging, Transvaal (now Gauteng). These designs are reflected in the government's most elaborate piece of legislation intended to regulate the numbers of Africans entering urban areas, the Native Laws Amendment Act of 1952 (see info block). b) Had worked there for ten years under one employer, or had lived there for 15 years without breaking any law (including pas laws) The Sharpeville Massacre in the 1960s was a turning point in South African history. The Sharpeville incident was the largest single-day massacre in apartheid South Africa up until the Soweto Youth uprising and massacre on June 16, 1976. . On 6 April, the police once again started enforcing the pass laws. On Monday, 21st March 1960, we launch our positive, decisive campaign against the pass laws in this country.” – Mangaliso Sobukwe, three days before Sharpeville. The despised pass laws were eventually repealed in 1986 under the leadership of the late state president Pieter Willem (PW) Botha. The issuing of passes was one of the cornerstones of the colonial and later racial capitalism in South Africa. African Students Association (ASA), African Students Association (ASA), African Students Union of South Africa (ASUSA)., African Students Union of South Africa (ASUSA). This was done through charging rentals considered exorbitant when taking into account the families' incomes. For the resistance movements it marked the change from non-violent to violent protest. Pass laws in South Africa were met with fierce resistance during the 20th century. The lives of residents of African townships elsewhere in the Union were regulated through the application of the provisions of Section 10 (1) of the Native Laws Amendment Act of 1952, Sharpeville was no different. On 5 October, fifty-two percent of white South Africans voted in favour of an Independent Republic that would no longer be a part of the British Commonwealth; this did not change apartheid laws in any way. Sharpeville Massacre Marks Apartheid's Turning Point. Sharpeville Massacre On 21 March 1960 at least 180 black Africans were injured (there are claims of as many as 300) and 69 killed when South African police opened fire on approximately 300 demonstrators, who were protesting against the pass laws, at the township of Sharpeville… After a day of demonstrations against pass laws, a crowd of about 5,000 to 7,000 protesters went to the police station. Passes were used to control the movement of African, Coloured and Indian people, ensuring the provision of a cheap labour source and enforcing the segregation of South African's along racial lines. The PAC and ANC continued to exist, but remained illegal, and most of their leaders were in prison. The campaign of resistance to the pass laws ended in September. Those who died protesting the apartheid pass laws were remembered. Civil disobedience of "illegitimate" laws, Opponent, Opponent Responses, and Violence, Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International. A few hours later 300 police officers and 5,000 protesters had gathered at the scene. Pass laws required all black Africans to carry a small booklet containing personal information and a history of employment. This came to be known as the ‘Sharpeville Massacre.’. A week after the ANC's 1959 annual conference, a breakaway group from the ANC, formed the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) at a conference held in Johannesburg. The Global Nonviolent Action Database is a project of Swarthmore College, including the Peace and Conflict Studies Program, the Peace Collection, and the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility. The peaceful protest at Sharpeville against the pass laws was organised by the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) and met by … The ‘Dompas’, Pass Laws and the Sharpeville Massacre When the Nationalist Party came into power in South Africa in 1948, the government legalised segregation by enforcing a series of laws that gave them control over the movement of people of colour. Sharpville Massacre 1100 Words | 5 Pages. On 4 May, a court sentenced Robert Sobukwe to three years in prison for his involvement in the protests. If police caught a black African in public without one of these booklets, the police could arrest and fine the individual. Beyond this campaign the PAC and ANC continued to exist, but remained illegal, and most of their leaders were in prison. The party was made up entirely of white people, mostly the descendants of Dutch immigrants. For example, Durban's Cato Manor, Cape Town's Langa and, until five years earlier, Johannesburg's Sophiatown were potentially hotbeds of dissent. Police arrested over 2,000 people. Robert Sobukwe (PAC)and Chief Albert Luthuli. In response to the Sharpeville Massacre the ANC also developed a wing devoted to violent resistance called "Spear of the Nation" in English. Over time, apartheid repression became even worse. Download this stock image: The Sharpeville massacre, 21 March 1960, in the South African township of Sharpeville in Transvaal. Anfangs war das Revier mit weniger als 20 Beamten besetzt, später wurden zahlreiche Polizisten zur Verstärkung herangeholt, so dass die Zahl etwa 300 betrug. Eric Naki. The Pan Africanist Congress will shortly launch a nationwide campaign for the total abolition of the pass laws. On 28 March, the ANC began a stay-at-home protest and strike to call attention to the Sharpeville Massacre. Those gunned down in Sharpeville, a township south of Johannesburg, were not the only ones who died on March 21,1960 protesting “ pass laws ” … [See in this database: “Durban, South Africa, workers mass strike for a raise in wages, 1973,” and “South African blacks boycott apartheid in Port Elizabeth, 1985-86.”]. The Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), a splinter group of the African National Congress The government also banned the ANC and the PAC, but this did little to lower membership. Sections 10 (1) (a), (b), (c), and (d) were enforced in such a way that only Africans in long term, regular and somewhat permanent employment were allowed to reside in urban areas. This campaign had its origins in the call made by the South African Congress of Trade Unions (SACTU) in 1957, and followed up as an ongoing campaign in 1959 dubbed the anti-poverty campaign. Am 21. Sixty-nine people were killed and another 180 were wounded in what came to be known as the Sharpeville Massacre. By 27 March, the police had announced the temporary suspension of pass laws because the jails could not hold any more people. Resistance to the pass laws intensified during the 1950s, and various protests took place. In order to reduce the possibility of violence he wrote a letter to the Sharpeville police commissioner announcing the upcoming protest and emphasizing that its participants would be non-violent. However, little of the literature focuses on background explanations as to how developments within Sharpeville led to the confrontation between police and anti-pass demonstrators on that fateful day. The role of the Vereeniging Town Council. A Black person caught without a pass, unless given permission by a white authority, would be arrested. They were deprived of racial equality with the whites.