Target: Cyril Ramaphosa, President of South Africa
Goal: Bring perpetrators of apartheid-era crimes and officials who covered up these crimes to justice.
The U.S. president’s decision to open the refugee asylum doors to white South Africans – while slamming them shut to most ethnic minority populations – stirs haunting memories of a time in South Africa when racial inequality was rampant. Beginning in the mid-twentieth century and continuing for decades, apartheid saw the passage of multiple discriminatory laws that codified segregation into every sector of society. Citizens of South Africa were legally divided into four racial groups, with whites occupying the top tier. Marriages between the races were prohibited. Whites were prioritized for jobs and economic opportunities. Millions of Black South Africans were forced from their homes and into segregated housing. And violent crimes against Black citizens were frequent, including the notoriously brutal murders of four men.
After apartheid’s end, a commission was developed to investigate alleged crimes and to refer these cases for prosecution. But survivors and relatives of victims have repeatedly contended that prior governments have actively interfered in and obstructed these prosecutions, denying suffering families justice. Current leadership has promised an inquiry into whether these allegations are true.
Sign the petition below to demand South Africa’s leaders fulfill this promise and do everything in their power to ensure justice is finally served.
PETITION LETTER:
Dear President Ramaphosa,
The names of the Cradock Four and every victim of apartheid – both known and unknown – cannot be forgotten. The families of these victims are suing South Africa’s government not for retribution but from a deep sense of pain and injustice. Their concerns about interference in prosecutions can no longer be ignored.
Please follow through on the pledged inquiry. Most importantly, take steps to move every prosecutable case forward with expedience. Justice delayed is justice denied.
Sincerely,
[Your Name Here]
Photo Credit: Gille de Vlieg
