And today marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Soweto Uprising. On June Sixteenth, 1976, hundreds of black South African schoolchildren rose up to protest the compulsory teaching of the Afrikaans language. State security forces killed at least 23 people, the first of hundreds to die in an uprising that spread across the country in what became a pivotal event for the anti-apartheid struggle. The anniversary was marked earlier today with a march through central Soweto led by President Thabo Mbeki. Thousands of marchers followed the same route taken by demonstrators thirty years ago. They passed a memorial honoring the slain activist Hector Peterson. He was 13 years old when he was killed by South African police, making him the first and youngest student to die in the Soweto Uprising. A picture showing a comrade carrying away Peterson’s dead body went on to become a world-wide symbol of the anti-aprtheid struggle. Earlier this week, Nelson Mandela reflected on Peterson’s death.

• Nelson Mandela: “Many of you will remember this picture, because it was one of the cruelties of the apartheid government, and in this way, it has now been immortalised and we are very happy for that.”