Afriforum takes farm attack demands to Union Buildings
Some 1000 people marched on the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Saturday to demand that farm attacks be made more of a priority by government.
Civil society organisation AfriForum was joined by the Democratic Alliance (DA), the Congress of the People (COPE), Solidarity, Freedom Front Plus (FFPLUS) and union TLU SA.
AfriForum is demanding that farm murders be made a priority by the Hawks and that specialised rural safety units be brought back.
AfriForum Deputy CEO Ernst Roets said the time has come for action.
"Strict measures to bring political leaders who romanticise farm attacks or any other form of violence towards famers or farm workers to justice. We sincerely hope that the spiral of de-prioritisation will be broken with this event. And that you will agree with us on the severity of this problem."
COPE leader Mosiuoa Lekota also addressed the crowd, reminding them that South Africa belongs to everyone who lives in it.
"When in 1912, the South African Natives National Congress was formed, our people said, we want a government that will embrace everybody. In 1955, our people gathered in Kliptown, and the question was if we are against apartheid, what do we want in its place? They said, we want a South Africa that belongs to all who live in it, black or white," said Lekota.