S. Africa’s Blacks Commemorate Two Grim Anniversaries
Blacks across South Africa noted two grim anniversaries Saturday--police shootings that killed 69 people in Sharpeville in 1960 and at least 21 in Langa in 1985.
Blacks attended memorial services and meetings throughout the country. In Cape Town, police banned all observances sponsored by the Azanian People’s Organization, an anti-apartheid group.
There were no reports of violence.
On Friday, a service in the Durban township of Chesterville ended with police firing tear gas at blacks who were stoning a police car. Fifty blacks were arrested.
The Sharpeville killings in 1960 came during a demonstration against “pass laws” that restricted blacks’ freedom of movement. The deaths brought world outrage and galvanized the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa.
But in Sharpeville on Saturday only a handful of residents turned up at a cemetery in response to a call to help tend the graves of shooting victims.
The Langa shootings in 1985 came when police fired on blacks marching to mark the 25th anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre. Some Langa residents say the actual death toll was higher.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
