ANC marches in Soweto

2003-06-16 10:52

Johannesburg - About 100 African National Congress members marched from Soweto's Morris Isaacson High School, the gathering point for the 1976 uprising, as part of Youth Day celebrations on Monday.

Wearing ANC T-shirts and caps, the group chanted freedom songs as they embarked on the five kilometre march to the Orlando Stadium, where a wreath-laying ceremony would be led by Gauteng premier Mbhazima Shilowa.

"We want to show the youth who were not part of the 1976 group that history was done here and how important it was," said ANC spokesperson Chilly Magagula.

Monday marks the 27th anniversary of the uprising which saw apartheid police open fire on pupils protesting against the use of Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in schools. Scores were killed and wounded.

The Anti-Privatisation Forum and the Education Right Programme were expected to gather at the same school to prepare for a march to the Hector Petersen memorial. The memorial commemorates the first pupil to die.

- SAPA