Right2Know Campaign

Statement: R2K Gauteng to hold a protest rally against police brutality on Human Rights Day

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RIGHT2KNOW PROTEST RALLY IN JOHANNESBURG AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY ON HUMAN RIGHTS DAY

To voice our outrage at increasing police brutality and the growing attacks on the right to protest, the Right2Know Campaign will hold a protest rally on Saturday, 21 March 2015 (Human Rights Day), at the Johannesburg Central Police Station. DateThe Right2Know Campaign is both saddened and outraged at the increasing incidences of protesters being harassed and killed by the police. The police killings of protesters around the country are a symptom of the growing attacks on the right to protest in South Africa, fuelled by the militarisation of the police and criminalisation of protest.

The right to protest is a critical dimension of our Constitutional freedoms of expression and assembly. We must all defend the right to protest with the same passion and vigilance we give to defending press freedom and other aspects of freedom of expression.

According to reports, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) received 6700 complaints and notifications against members of the SAPS in 2012/13 and 4180 of these involved torture and assaults of suspects and other people by members of the SAPS.

On 21 March 2015, Human Rights Day, we will gather and lay headstones at Johannesburg Central Police Station to commemorate those who have been killed by the police, including those murdered at Marikana in August 2012, the at least 44 other people who have been killed by the police during protests since 2004, and the scores of people who have experienced brutality at the hands of the police during protests (see R2K Secret State of the Nation Report 2014).

We have called repeatedly for the police to stop their brutality against the community of Thembelihle, and to stop the harassment of community leaders and activists there. The community of Thembelihle is in a state of crisis, which is only exacerbated by the actions of the police. The tactics of the police in Thembelihle are outrageously heavy-handed, unnecessarily brutal and must stop at once.

WE DEMAND:

  • That the police personnel implicated in all abuses against protestors, including protest-related murders, assaults, excessive use of force, illegal use of firearms, be charged and brought to justice
  • that the people’s right to protest, freedom of assembly and freedom of expression be respected and protected by the police
  • an end to the surveillance and harassment of activists (and their families) by the police, and that the police respect and protect the right of activists to protest
  • full community and public inclusion and participation in the review of the policy of the police, and safety and security
  • that the police must abide by relevant laws and regulations
  • the demilitarization of the police, and that the police be trained to deal with peaceful protests and de-escalate violence
  • the full release of the Farlam Commission report that is due to be sent to the President by the end of March 2015.

We will call on the SAPS Gauteng Provincial Commissioner, Lt Gen. Lesetja J. Mothiba, to accept our list of demands in person at the Johannesburg Central Police Station on 21 March 2015.

THE POLICE MUST CHANGE!

The growing criminalization of protests is an attack on freedom of expression and assembly. The right to protest was at the heart of the democratic struggle for freedom. Mobilising brute force against unarmed individuals is an insult not just to the freedoms of expression and assembly enshrined in our Constitution; it is a rejection of the legacy of the struggle for which thousands paid the ultimate price.

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