WIPING OUT THEIR HERITAGE?

Pretoria name change is approved and I wonder in the years ahead how will the loss of these parts of their country's heritage be felt. History is history, and to me it should not be just wiped out if you dont like it. We are continually told to remember what Hitler did in Europe and we must not forget what happened. Therefore to remove names, statues etc is wrong for future generations, who will want to know what happened. I wonder how they will think of their politicians of today actions. Many countries deny to their own people the knowledge of what happened in their past past.

Opponents of the change say they feel marginalised. A recommendation that the name of South Africa's capital be changed from Pretoria to Tshwane has been unanimously approved.
The Geographic Names Council took four hours to back the change. Tshwane is the name of a pre-colonial local chief and means "we are the same".

Supporters of the change say the switch will underscore South Africa's break with apartheid in 1994. The city was named after Boer settler and Afrikaner hero Andries Pretorius. At the weekend, hundreds of predominantly white South Africans staged a demonstration against the name change.

The city council approved the switch to Tshwane in March as part of moves to make place names more African. Arts and Culture Minister Pallo Jordan is expected to approve the name change.