A significant number of ANC supporters participated in a solidarity procession backing Palestine on Wednesday (May 1st) in Cape Town.
Subsequently, they convened at the Athlone Stadium for a May Day gathering organized by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu).
President Cyril Ramaphosa reaffirmed his nation’s enduring support for the Palestinian cause during the event.
“You as workers, need to join this fight to fight for those who are oppressed around the world. And today as South Africa, we have stood up for the rights of those in other parts of the world (who) are currently being subjected to torture, to violence and genocide,” the head of state said.
“And that is why as a country and yes, as an alliance, we have stood firm in our support for the people of Palestine. And that is why we say ‘we want Palestine to be free’.”
Ramaphosa’s governing African National Congress forms a tripartite alliance with the South African Communist Party and COSATU.
COSATU stands as the largest trade union federation within the nation.
“We are here standing in support of our government, of our movement, in support of the Palestinian cause. Our freedom, comrades, is not complete until the people of Palestine are free and they are liberated,” Zingiswa Losi, president of Congress of South African Trade Unions told cheering crowds.
For years, the ANC and numerous South Africans have drawn parallels between Israel’s actions towards Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and the treatment of non-whites during Apartheid in South Africa.
General elections in South Africa are scheduled for May 29th.
