Sharpeville massacre

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The Sharpeville massacre, also known as the Sharpeville shootings, occurred on March 21, 1960, when South African police opened fire on a crowd of black protesters. The confrontation occurred in the township of Sharpeville, in what is now Gauteng province.

1 Preceding events
2 Massacre
3 Aftermath
4 See also
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Preceding events

Since 1923, the movements of black South Africans were restricted by pass laws. Leading up to the Sharpeville massacre, the Apartheid-supporting National Party government under the leadership of Hendrik Verwoerd used these laws to enforce greater segregation,^[1] and had recently been extended by the National Party to include women.^[2]

The African National Congress (ANC) had decided to launch a campaign of protests against pass laws. These protests were to begin on March 31, 1960, but the rival Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) decided to pre-empt the ANC by launching its own campaign ten days earlier because they believed that the ANC could not win the campaign, on March 21, 1960. ^[3]

[edit] Massacre

Police surveying the area after the Massacre

In northeastern South Africa, a protest organized by the PAC on March 21, a group of between 5,000 and 7,000 people converged on the local police station, offering themselves up for arrest for not carrying their pass books. According to the Times newspaper, there was random shooting in the morning of the day on which the massacre happened, and this later prompted crowds to stone the police vehicles, at which point the police fired on them.^{[citation needed]}

Sixty-nine people were killed including 8 women and 10 children, and over 180 injured, including 31 women and 19 children. It is debated whether or not the police attack was provoked. Many of those killed and injured were women and children; the photographs taken at various places in Sharpeville at the time of the massacre show no sign of any weapon which might cause the police to open fire on the protestors. The statements of Lieutenant Colonel Pienaar show that the mere gathering of blacks was taken as a provocation:

"The Native mentality does not allow them to gather for a peaceful demonstration. For them to gather means violence."

[edit] Aftermath

The uproar among blacks was immediate, and the following week saw demonstrations, protest marches, strikes, and riots around the country. On March 30, 1960, the government declared a state of emergency, detaining more than 18,000 people.

A storm of international protest followed the Sharpeville shootings, including condemnation by the United Nations. On April 1, 1960, the United Nations Security Council sat to "consider seriously the apartheid colonial oppression of the African people in South Africa". Sharpeville marked a turning point in South Africa's history; the country found itself increasingly isolated in the international community.

The Sharpeville massacre led to the banning of the PAC and ANC and was one of the catalysts for the foundation of Poqo, the military wing of the PAC.