The Congress of the People (Cope) has called for the Orlando Stadium to be renamed “Tsietsi Mashinini Stadium” in honour of the 1976 student uprising leader.
Cope says it is time all struggle heroes are honoured, irrespective of which organisation they belonged to. Other parties have also emphasised the importance of recognising the sacrifices of the youth of 1976.
Tsietsi Mashinini’s name became prominent during the 1976 student uprising. He was among the prominent young people who led thousands of youth against the imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction in black schools.
The young Morris Isaacson High School learner was eventually hounded into exile by the apartheid authorities. He died in exile in 1990.
“We must never distort the history of our country. We believe all our heroes and heroines must be honoured and acknowledged for the role they have played in the liberation of out country irrespective of their political affiliation” says Cope spokesperson, Denis Bloem.
Interim Democratic Alliance leader, John Steenhuisen says it is important to remember and honour the struggles of the youth of 1976. He added however that the struggles of today’s young people should also be recognised.
“We have one of the highest youth unemployment rates in the world we have young women being targeted through a scourge of gender based violence and we have a situation where many young people are struggling to be able to pay for University fees to be able to provide for themselves. We need to do better as a country at looking after young people in creating more opportunities for young South Africans. It’s not good enough to say these are the leaders of the future. We need young people to be the leaders of today as we forge a brand new future of prosperity and hope.”
African Christian Democratic Party Youth Leader, Bongane Luthuli, says it is time the youth of South Africa follow the example of the 1976 generation by standing up for their rights. He says it is not right that the youth are still being excluded from economic opportunities.
“The ACDP calls on young people to stand up and move from obscurity of poverty and make themselves count. This generation must stand up and be woke. This generation cannot die from the impasse of drug abuse and substance abuse. There’s lot of potential young people have and we call upon this generation in 2020 to be counted, to stand up for a cause and say no to being excluded economically.”
In a statement the African National Congress said it salutes those young heroes and heroines and remembers the bravery of the class of 1976 who fearlessly fought a vicious and brutal regime.
The party says they risked their own lives and that of their families in the process. It added that that it honoured all young people who paid the ultimate price in pursuit of a just and equal education system.
It has been 44 years since the Soweto uprising that changed the history of in South Africa and its educational system.
The theme for Youth Day 2020, as stated by the South African government, is “ Youth Power: Growing South Africa in a period of COVID-19”.
On Wednesday, 16 June 1976, thousands of young South African learners took to the streets to protest against an unjust, oppressive educational system designed for black people by white people to benefit the apartheid government.
What began as a peaceful protest on June 16th 1976 quickly turned violent , more than 170 young South Africans dead and many injured.
Youth Day 2020: It’s been 44 years
