President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on hard-won freedoms to be protected ahead of Human Rights Day on Tuesday.
“One hundred years ago, in May 1923, the first Bill of Rights in South Africa’s history was adopted by the African National Congress. It had no legal standing at the time, but it clearly expressed the desire for the equal rights of all people to be recognised and guaranteed,” he said.
One person’s right to protest should in no way infringe on any other person’s right to life and dignity.“Many people were imprisoned, many were driven into exile and many lost their lives so that our basic human rights are protected and upheld. Given our country’s repressive past, some of the most valued of those rights are the rights to freedom of expression and association,” he said.
In the wake of the EFF national shutdown and protest action, he urged the country to remember the events of March 21 1960, when 69 peaceful protesters in Sharpeville were killed by the apartheid police, saying the country needed to be resolute in its defence of the right to peaceful protest. Protest action should not impede their freedom of movement and association, or their right to engage in their trade or profession without hindrance, he said.
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