S Africa to mark Soweto uprising
South Africans are preparing to mark 30 years since the Soweto uprising, a student protest which proved pivotal in the fight against apartheid.

The image of Hector Peterson became symbolic of the struggle
President Thabo Mbeki will lead a march along the route taken on 16 June 1976 by black students fighting a law forcing them to learn in Afrikaans.

Wreaths will be laid at a memorial to the teenagers killed when police opened fire on the crowd in the township.

Hundreds later died in clashes as an outpouring of black anger spread.

Spilled blood

Friday's commemorations will centre on the Hector Peterson memorial, named after the first and youngest student to die.

He was caught on camera as he died in the arms of a fellow student, in a photograph that became iconic in the struggle against apartheid.

Red paving stones symbolising spilled blood have been laid along the route the protesters took.

The coloured slabs start at Morris Isaacson High School, where many of the protesting students began their march, and end at Orlando West where the fateful confrontation with police took place.

Walkers following the route on Friday will pause half-way along for a moment of silence.

The entourage will then continue to Johannesburg's FNB stadium, where Mr Mbeki will give a keynote speech.

The Soweto uprising and the riots that spread to other township are seen as a milestone in the growth of the movement against apartheid.

The government said that 95 black people had been killed, but unofficial estimates put the number of dead closer to 500.

At the time, Winnie Mandela, the wife of then-imprisoned ANC leader Nelson Mandela, described the protests as "just the beginning".

Domestic and international pressure eventually lead to the release of Mr Mandela in 1990 and the country's first non-racial elections four years later.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/africa/5085450.stm

Published: 2006/06/15 23:19:34 GMT

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