May Day: South African workers march in support of Palestinians

Large crowds of ANC supporters took part in a solidarity march in support of Palestine Wednesday (May.1 st) in Cape Town.

They later gathered at the Athlone Stadium for a May Day rally hosted by the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu).

President Cyril Ramaphosa doubled down on his country's long-standing support for the Palestinians.

"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 ruling African National Congress is in a tripartite alliance with the South African Communist Party and COSATU.

Cosatu is the largest trade union federation in the country.

"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.

The ANC and many South Africans have for years compared Israel’s policies against Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank with the treatment of non-whites in South Africa during Apartheid.

South Africa will hold general elections on May 29th.