Today 21 March 2012 will be a public holiday in South Africa. Today many South Africans will spend the day outside doing some leisure activity. Many South Africans will spent “Human Rights” day as part of “Braai” or Barbeque day and just relax with friends. The Human Rights Day is a public holiday that celebrates the Human Rights Day of all South Africans. There is also a more serious part to the holiday remembering those that have protested and were killed at Sharpville.
Human Rights Google Doodle
At the time of writing this article there were no sign yet of a Google Doodle celebrating the Human Rights day in South Africa and we here at Car Site were wondering if Google will announce the day this year with a spesial Human Rights Day Google Doodle. We will keep an eye on the Google South Africa homepage and if there is a Google Doodle for Human Rights Day we will update this page with the Google Doodle.
In the past Google have not had many Google Doodles for South Africa only and we sure hope that they will have a Human Rights Day Google Doodle, telling the world about some South African history.
“Google South Africa Freedom Day Doodle.”
We have searched the Google Doodle library to see some South African only holiday Google Doodles and found one for Freedom Day.
Sharpville Shootings and Protests
Human Rights Day is celebrated and remembered in South Africa because of those who stood up for Human Rights and who were killed in the Sharpville Protests.
“The Sharpeville Massacre occurred on 21 March 1960, at the police station in the South African township of Sharpeville in the Transvaal (today part of Gauteng). After a day of demonstrations, at which a crowd of black protesters far outnumbered the police, the South African police opened fire on the crowd, killing 69 people.
Sources disagree as to the behaviour of the crowd; some state that the crowd were peaceful. while others state that the crowd had been hurling stones at the police, and that the shooting started when the crowd started advancing toward the fence around the police station.
In present day South Africa, 21 March is celebrated as a public holiday to commemorate the Sharpeville Massacre and to celebrate South Africa’s democratic government enforcing equal human rights.” – Source
Human Rights Day Celebrations in South Africa
President Jacob Zuma will tomorrow deliver a keynote address at the National Human Rights Day celebrations in Kliptown, Soweto.
March 21 is a National Day and a Public Holiday in which South Africans celebrate their country’s rich human rights tradition.
This year the celebrations will be held in Kliptown, Soweto, the place where the biggest gathering of all South Africans before 1994 took place. The gathering brought together people from diverse backgrounds, from all corners of the country, rich and poor, young and old, where they signed the Freedom Charter, proclaiming that “South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white”.
The Constitution that all South Africans celebrate and the rights it guarantees, has its basis in Kliptown where the Freedom Charter was signed.
On this day South Africa also remembers the horrific events of the 21st of March 1960, when 69 people were mercilessly killed and scores were injured, as police opened fire on demonstrators who were protesting against the pass laws in Sharpeville. The police also attacked protesters in Vanderbiljpark and kwaLanga in Cape Town on the same day.
Post-apartheid South Africa celebrates this day as the National Human Rights Day.
Details of the commemoration are as follows:
Date: Wednesday, 21 March 2012 Time: 9h00
Venue: Walter Sisulu Square of Dedication, Kliptown, Soweto
President Zuma Human Rights Day
South Africa celebrates Human Rights Day on 21 March to remember sacrifices that accompanied the struggle for the attainment of democracy in South Africa.
South Africans worked tirelessly for the transformation of our country to an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom in which government is based on the will of the people and every citizen is equally protected by law.
The massacres in Sharpeville and Langa continue to serve as a historical reminder to all of us to make effort towards protecting human rights and human dignity.
Human Rights are expressly protected in the Bill of Rights, which is part of the country’s Constitution.
Human Rights Day was formally established by the United Nations in 1950, with the General Assembly inviting all member states to celebrate the day as they saw fit.
President Jacob Zuma will deliver a keynote address at the commemoration to reinforce government’s commitment to protect and promote human rights as enshrined in our constitution. The event will be celebrated at the Walter Sisulu Square in Kliptown Soweto.
