Joburg Pride Ploughs Ahead Under #wewillmarch Banner Despite Sandton Terrorist Attack Warnings

• The annual pride march in Sandton, Johannesburg, will go on as planned, the organisers announced
• The announcement comes after the US embassy warned of a potential terrorist attack in the greater Sandton area
• Johannesburg Pride insisted it consulted authorities that no direct threats were made to the event

JOHANNESBURG - The pride flag will be flown high over the weekend despite warnings of a terrorist attack in Sandton.

The organisers of the 33rd Johannesburg Pride March announced their plans to march on after the US Embassy warned of a potential terrorist attack in Sandton on the weekend of 29-30 October.

The embassy advised its staff to avoid large gatherings and crowded places over the weekend, yet the SA government claims the warning is unfounded, TimesLIVE reported.

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Johannesburg Pride released an impassioned statement indicating that the organiser toiled with whether to move forward or not. However, after consultation with authorities, the organisation found that the event had not been directly threatened.

The statement referenced the origins of pride, reminding people that the celebration began as a protest action and maintained the marginalised LBGTQ+ community must take up space, despite threats of violence.

South Africans weigh in on the decision to move ahead with Joburg Pride

While some netizens thanked the organisation for not cancelling the event, others still worry about the possibility of a terrorist attack.

Here are some comments:

@HloniMosana thanked:

"More than anything, this has reminded everyone of the essence of pride. Thank you, @JhbPride #wewillmarch."

@ibanathi added

"Risqué ☠️ I get the positioning of “Us standing our ground against the constant attack we face”. But I don’t know if potentially losing more lives is the answer as well, we know for fact unleashing terror and attacks are more prone to the most marginalised and oppressed groups."

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@ClJATM commented:

"Impossibly hard decision to make but in the end, don't negotiate with terrorists! Wishing you huge success this weekend!"

Sandton terrorist threat: Organisers consider cancelling events as UK also raises alarm

In a related matter, Briefly News reported that event organisers in Sandton were considering shutting down activities and parties after a security alert warning of a possible terrorist attack in the area.

The US embassy raised the alarm on Wednesday, 26 October, when it released a statement claiming that terrorists may be planning a coordinated attack in the greater Sandton area on Saturday, 29 October.

While the US embassy's security alert was vague, the UK government has released a more detailed warning indicating that the main threat is from extremists linked to Daesh, formerly known as ISIL.

Source: Briefly News