THE decision to hold the Human Rights Day commemoration in Soweto instead of Sharpeville will definitely add to the long list of political blunders committed by President Jacob Zuma's government.
Included in the list is obviously the government's support for the appointment of a chief justice who does not understand the essence of a secular state as entrenched in the country's Constitution.
The government's justification that moving the event from Sharpeville amounts to moving forward and not being trapped in the past is not only insensitive but absurd. In fact, judging from the reaction by the people of Sharpeville and the statement by Sedibeng mayor Simon Mofokeng, the decision has created divisions within the people of Gauteng and the ruling party itself.
Mofokeng told protesting Sharpeville residents on Tuesday that the ANC Gauteng leadership had unsuccessfully tried to convince the national leadership that the commemoration be held in Sharpeville, as has always been the case.
Mofokeng correctly pointed out that while Human Rights Day is a national day, it observed the Sharpeville massacre. Indeed, given the historical essence of the event and how it changed the political climate in the country, Sharpeville and the monument subsequently built in the area are of historical importance.
So important that it is unimaginable that any commemoration of this historical significance could exclude paying homage to the place where it happened.
Given this context, the government's decision does not make sense, because whatever national call for unity Zuma has made in Kliptown he could have done in Sharpeville, while also paying respect to those who were killed by the apartheid security forces.
Some of the protesters against the decision have revealed how they have benefited economically from the remembrance being held in the area. This means that not only does Sharpeville's recognition bring unity, it also has economic benefits for the area.
The government must come out and say why it had decided the commemoration should not be held in Sharpeville - thereby ignoring cries by those who were directly affected by the massacre that such a move would amount to snubbing them.
The question is what really drove the government to "fix something that is not broken", and in the process undermine the much-needed national unity that it continues to call for?
Blunder over Sharpeville
THE decision to hold the Human Rights Day commemoration in Soweto instead of Sharpeville will definitely add to the long list of political blunders committed by President Jacob Zuma's government.
Included in the list is obviously the government's support for the appointment of a chief justice who does not understand the essence of a secular state as entrenched in the country's Constitution.
The government's justification that moving the event from Sharpeville amounts to moving forward and not being trapped in the past is not only insensitive but absurd. In fact, judging from the reaction by the people of Sharpeville and the statement by Sedibeng mayor Simon Mofokeng, the decision has created divisions within the people of Gauteng and the ruling party itself.
Mofokeng told protesting Sharpeville residents on Tuesday that the ANC Gauteng leadership had unsuccessfully tried to convince the national leadership that the commemoration be held in Sharpeville, as has always been the case.
Mofokeng correctly pointed out that while Human Rights Day is a national day, it observed the Sharpeville massacre. Indeed, given the historical essence of the event and how it changed the political climate in the country, Sharpeville and the monument subsequently built in the area are of historical importance.
So important that it is unimaginable that any commemoration of this historical significance could exclude paying homage to the place where it happened.
Given this context, the government's decision does not make sense, because whatever national call for unity Zuma has made in Kliptown he could have done in Sharpeville, while also paying respect to those who were killed by the apartheid security forces.
Some of the protesters against the decision have revealed how they have benefited economically from the remembrance being held in the area. This means that not only does Sharpeville's recognition bring unity, it also has economic benefits for the area.
The government must come out and say why it had decided the commemoration should not be held in Sharpeville - thereby ignoring cries by those who were directly affected by the massacre that such a move would amount to snubbing them.
The question is what really drove the government to "fix something that is not broken", and in the process undermine the much-needed national unity that it continues to call for?
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