On 21 March 1960, 69 people demonstrating against the Pass Laws were killed in the South African township of Sharpeville. This was not the first time that violence had erupted, but the effect was immediate; after a 50-year history of passive resistance, armed struggle became part of the liberation campaigns. The Pan-Africanist Congress and the African National Congress were outlawed and political leaders imprisoned.

Sharpeville became a symbol of defiance. Now, 30 years later, the PAC and the ANC have been unbanned, perhaps signalling a new direction in the struggle against apartheid. But can the violent legacy of Sharpeville be forgotten?