20 March 2008
The SACP marks the celebration of Human Rights day today, as we gear ourselves up to the celebration of the 15 years of our democracy.
As we commemorate this day, we dip our red banner deep in memory and in honour of the freedom martyrs who sacrificed their lives for us. We also vow as we mark this day that our country shall never again witness the horrible past that we have just emerged from.
Since 1994 the ANC led government has done much more to restore the dignity of our people and entrench a human rights culture in our country. Millions of our people now have access to decent housing, running water and electricity. Health care has been made more accessible and pregnant mothers and children have access to free basic primary health care.
We have made some strides towards creating an independent judiciary; however we are still far from achieving that objective. There can be no independent judiciary if it remains untransformed. The task at hand is to transform the criminal justice system to effectively deal with violence directed against women, children and black farm workers amongst others. In addition we need to transform the judiciary to embrace the values of a society whose primary objective is to defend and advance the interest of the workers and the poor of our country.
It is against this background that as we prepare for our 3rd democratic elections, we must approach the elections informed by our commitment to deepen the values and culture of human rights. In that regard we must not condone all forms of violence and intimidation in the run up to the elections.
The SACP calls on all the registered voters to come out in their numbers and vote the ANC on the Election Day. It is the ANC and its alliance partners that have a proud history of defending and fighting for human rights in South Africa and internationally.
It is this ANC led government that continues to create and deepen the culture of public participation in governance through ward committees, school governing bodies, community policing forums, collective bargaining structures and other structures.
As we celebrate here at home, we remain worried by the situation in Zimbabwe and are hopeful that there will be a restoration of human rights culture in that country. The situation of thousands of Zimbabwean Nationals in our country continues to be a worrying factor. The SACP will continue to support the people of Zimbabwe for them to achieve a long lasting solution to their challenges.
We are deeply worried by the growing aggression of the Swaziland regime and the repression of any political activity in that country. We call for the release of all political prisoners in Swaziland including the President of PUDEMO, the President and the Secretary General of SWAYOCO. The SACP calls for the end of torture of media practitioners in Sudan and the lifting of the ban on the Communist Party of Sudan.
We are celebrating this year’s human rights day in the midst of the worsening global capitalist crisis. We welcome the fact that our planned response to this crisis involves all the key social partners- labour, government, communities and business. However the current capitalist crisis – which is already costing our people thousands of their jobs – is prove that capitalism is incapable of meeting the basic needs of humanity.
In memory of those who fell on this day 49 years ago, the SACP pledges to deepen the struggle for a better alternative, a Socialist world!
Issued by the SACP
Contact:
Malesela Maleka
SACP Spokesperson – 082 226 1802