Police van ‘petrol-bombed’
VIOLENT protests entered their second day at the Hoërskool Overvaal in Vereeniging as a van was set alight yesterday.
Community members and political parties continued to protest against the school’s “exclusion” of non-Afrikaans-speaking pupils.
The situation was tense but calm outside school at about 2pm, with police officers chatting on one side and scores of protesters on the other side.
The marked SAPS Nissan Hardbody double-cab was in flames. The fire was quickly extinguished after causing extensive damage to the car.
Police officers, pointing pistols and shotguns, then rushed to arrest groups of Congress of South African Students members who had been protesting.
There were skirmishes as most of the detained people said they had no involvement in the arson attack.
On Wednesday, police had fired rubber bullets at the protesters outside the school, where 55 English-speaking children had been turned away.
The first day of school was chaotic when protesters were hit by rubber bullets. Ambulances arrived outside the school and ferried away bleeding protesters.
The protests outside the school came in the wake of a high court ruling in Pretoria in the school’s favour, preventing the Gauteng Department of Education from compelling it to enrol the 55 English-speaking children.
Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi had confirmed that all 55 children had been placed at a nearby school adding that they would appeal the ruling.
Yesterday a delegation from the South African Human Rights Commission, led by advocate André Gaum, SAHRC commissioner responsible for education, met officials from the Hoërskool Overvaal, the police and protesters.
The SAHRC has called on all parties to act with restraint and to ensure demonstrations remain peaceful. The commission said it is “heartened by the fact that the demonstration did not disrupt classes”.
“Noting media reports that a petrol bomb was discharged subsequent to its visit, the commission remains concerned about the impact on pupils of escalating tensions and strongly condemns the use of violence during protests.”
Gaum said: “The commission will continue to closely monitor developments at Hoërskool Overvaal. The commission intends to play a central role in this regard.”