The Thembelihle Crisis Committee, the United Front (UF), the Right to Know (R2K) Campaign
and the Democratic Left Front call on all people of good conscience in South Africa to
endorse the call for an end to the security siege of Thembelihle. Since the 25th of
February 2015, Thembelihle has faced a de facto State of Emergency at the hands of the
South African Police Services (SAPS) and other security agents. This undeclared,
unofficial State of Emergency in Thembelihle is an attack on all our constitutionally
guaranteed rights to and freedoms to organise, associate and freely express ourselves. We
call for urgent action to put pressure on the SAPS to end the siege. We call for the
creation of conducive conditions for free, open and democratic political activity in which
the people of Thembelihle may express and exercise their right to protest, and have their
demands for a decent life of dignity met.
We call for concrete and active solidarity with the people of Thembelihle. We call on all
to join tomorrow's Mass Solidarity Meeting (1st April 2015) to end the siege in Thembelihe
which will held from 5pm at the "Park Station" community meeting area in Thembelihle.
For many years, the Thembelihle informal settlement (adjacent to Lenasia south-west of
Johannesburg) has been a site of unyielding struggles for basic services of housing,
water, sanitation and electricity. These are basic needs promised by our country's
constitution. Yet with every struggle the ANC government has never bothered to meet the
demands of this community. Instead, it has increasingly opted to use the police as its
response.
Since the 25th of February, Thembelihle has seen widespread deployment of heavily armed
SAPS members and other security agents to patrol the township. In effect, Thembelihle is
living through an undeclared, and therefore illegal State of Emergency due to the SAPS-led
security operation with many local leaders in hiding as a result causing incalculable harm
and trauma to them and their families. Gatherings of more than three people are broken up
and there is harassment of individual activists.
On 25th February 2015, 36 people were arrested with a further 36 arrested a few days
later. Of these 17 have been charged and the others released. The 17 facing charges have
been granted R1,000 bail each. The DLF has contributed money to bail out two. For the
second set of people arrested, R2K Gauteng contributed bail for 4 of them. Another two
have been bailed by their families. There are still six who need bail money. Another six
have been denied bail and remain in custody due to their being in South Africa 'illegally'.
All these underline the fact that the Thembelihle crisis is a national emergency. The TCC,
the UF, R2K and the DLF firmly believe that the Thembelihle siege represents one of the
most severe cases demonstrating that the ANC government is now prepared to use repression
and police brutality to stamp out social protest. cases of systematic and sustained police
repression against public protest in our post-apartheid democratic South Africa. This is
part of the ruling elite's increasing securotisation of political, social and economic
demands of the mass of the people that it has proved incapable and unwilling to resolve.
As stated above, the Thembelihle siege goes against everything in a democratic society
promised by the 1996 Constitution.
The TCC, UF, R2K and DLF also call on the public to make donations to set up a Legal
Defence Fund to raise money for bail and other legal costs immediately for the Thembelihle
comrades in custody and other activists who are facing and will face similar repression
and action from the police. Donations may be made to this account:
o Account holder: The Right 2 Know
o Bank: Standard Bank
o Account Number: 07 022 865 5
o Branch Code: 020909
o Reference: Thembelihle Legal Defence
Needless to say, this de facto State of Emergency has effectively removed attention away
from the service delivery and housing process, and has turned political demands into a
security question.
End the siege of Thembelihle!
FOR COMMENTS, CONTACT:
Siphiwe Segodi - Thembelihle Crisis Committee - 072 655 4177
Mzwonke Mayekiso - United Front Organiser - 074 991 6202
Godfrey Phiri - R2K National Working Group - 078 733 1236
Rehad Desai - Democratic Left Front - 0839979204
Related Link:
https://unitedfrontsa.wordpress.com/2015/03/31/press-statement-end-the-de-facto-state-of-emergency-in-themelihle/
http://www.anarkismo.net/article/28045
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