Madam Deputy Speaker, the Congress of the People congratulates the Minister of Police and his department on staging the recent ceremony to commemorate the untimely and tragic deaths of the men and women in the police force who had fallen in the line of duty.
It grieves us to see how often this happens, and the number of families who have had their lives cruelly shattered. It is intolerable that brave men and women who strive to uphold the law and guarantee the safety and security of all of us should be made to pay the ultimate price for no reason. For our police to be continuously targeted in such a callous manner by vicious criminals is absolutely and totally unacceptable. Therefore, as much as it is appropriate and necessary to pay homage to these fallen heroes and heroines and to remember them with fondness, we need to do more, much more.
Cope proposes that a commemorative ceremony be held annually and that the occasion be declared a national day. It is imperative that all parties, across all divides, and all South Africans rally behind our police to demonstrate unity and solidarity in respect of the mortal danger that they face every day in the line of duty.
We owe it to the memory of those who have fallen; we owe it to their spouses and children; and we owe it to their colleagues. Let us stand with our police on this issue and let us be resolved to stop the criminals. [Time expired.] [Applause.]