Follow the Mail & Guardian‘s liveblog as shootings have left several dead at Lonmin’s Marikana platinum mine late on Thursday afternoon.
Mine workers have been striking since Friday in an increasingly violent situation that saw 10 people killed, including two police officers and security guards. Several mine workers were shot dead by police on Thursday, following a shootout between police and miners.
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To all famalies who lost thier loved ones, tshidisehang!
Who gave the order for the police to start shooting. All we hear is cease fire.
This is really sad and some form of justice should be brought about.
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What room will the silk flower arrangement beautify? Obviously this method works by inflicting physical pain to your pet, though exactly how much pain seems to differ depending on who you are talking to about it. There are also days when you are tired, you wonder how you will make it through to nap time; these are the days when you need some luxury.
No difference between ANC an NP. Same ole shit, diff govt. Everybody thought the ANC was the saviour, they r more corrupt than the NP govt.
WE ALL 0TEND TO BLAME THE POLICE FOR THE WHOLE SITUATION, BUT WE FORGET THAT TWO POLICE OFFICXERS WERE KILLED DURING THE BEGINNING OF STRIKE. POLICE ARE ALSO PEOPLE, HAVE FAMILIES AND THEY CAN’T JUST STAND AND LOOK AT PEOPLE ATTACKING THEM WHILE THEY CAN DEFEND THEMSELVES.
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Hi,
I find your report one sided and its blaming government for the Lonmin massacre, but you are not quoting as to what lead to the initial shooting, I am also a policeman no ne pitties polce men anymore yet when shits hits the fan, their are requiried to ACT, 2(two) of our family passed on and no one pitties their families, they were BREADWINNERS too, the surferring that will be experienced by their loved ones is not important. In training (police) one is taught to defend his/her life and anyone that his life is threatened, the police according to all the footage that I viewed SHOWS clearly that they acted in self defence, no one wants to mourn the death of a loved one, the miners should have shown their frustration towards the mine management and not the police but instead they ATTACKED the police with dangerous weapons. One last point that I want to make, “How “can you compare Malemas action to that of our Government? The President cancelled an important event and came back to attend this massacre, that to you is not PRIORTISING the situation and to set up a Judicial Inquiry so as to get the facts, you seem to be judgemental on the issue.
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Death is comdemed but they are at times where it is neccessary to bring peace. One may wonder why these hooligans where trying to take the law unto their hands and butchering two law enforcement officers inthe process. Well their colleagues suffered an instant death as compared to the pain endured by the two officers at the mearcy of their machets and spears!!!!!! People should learn to desist from violence. Violence should be condemed in all its kinds. Law enforcment agencies are here to protect our interests hence we should not make it difficult for them to execute their duty.
I don’t see any water cannons being used? Handful of strikers approaching the police and being gunned down in cold blood is what I see in the video footage. It’s been said before – JZ and his ANC administration are just not up to scratch in solving this country’s problems (frankly – he should GO), and I think the new police commissioner is completely out of her depth, and does not have any police experience or background whatsoever. Instead, we have loss of lives and increasing loss of voter confidence in the ANC to be able to proactively deal with these situations. If I were a visitor or investor, I would probably run and go to Australia instead. So much for “The Rainbow Nation” – an absolute disgrace.
Whatever justification Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa and President Jacob Zuma say, sympathetic to the situation at Lonmin Marikana Platinum Mine, it all does not justify looting away of humans as it happened. Lives of breadwinners or fathers lost their precious lives in a manner that cannot be justified. It was clear in the incident that live ammunition was used. The question to ask is, at what situation of life threat are our police men and women allowed to use live ammunition. Our police have obviously become loose with the dangerous weapons they carried in a situation were they were supposed to be protecting than wiping out the miners. It is further not going to assist the situation in blaming each other. While recognizing the important intervention by government to institute a commission of inquiry, it is also important for the affected families of the deceased to cooperate and allow due process brought to establish the course of the incident. Whilst in the recent we hear of businessman and ANC NEC, Cyril Ramaphosa contributing financially to assist families of the deceased, it is also important to consider the emotional effect this had on families, thereby hightening a strong need for intervention through counselling. Condolenses to the affected families.
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When we start using COMMON SENSE we will realise that if you shoot at the police they will shoot back and kill you.Because they have better Guns and we will also discover that President Zuma was not there so we cant blame him.Lets not abuse the word democracy by going to strikes with big knives coz one day u will regret when you realise that u wanted to be untouchable but your kid is now an ophan coz u a dead.if u want better money go to school and improve your education and get a better job.Im not a policeman but what i know is that if i want a wage increase i can go on strike and talk to my employer.AND NOT ATTACK THE POLICE.
In my opinion:
The Lonmin strike is a direct result of the AMCU involving itself in an existing NUM workforce by promising what seems to be ridiculous wage payments to a critical segment of the workforce. The blame therefore lies squarely on AMCU for the strike.
The shooting of the strikers lies squarely on the shoulders of the S A Police an increasingly corrupt, poorly trained, poorly controlled and heavily armed force of semi-literate thugs. Whose blatant arrogance of the law that they profess to uphold is daily proved in their indifference and often participation in the very criminal activities they are employed to control.
The blame for the fact that this tradgedy happened at all, lies directly with the ANC Government who have since taking office, consistently failed to show any ability to govern the people with any degree of integrity, honesty or effectiveness. Blatant corruption in high powered circles is condoned, ignored or where a “blind eye” can no longer protect the culprit a slap on the wrist and “redeployment” sends a message of indifference more clearly to the rest of the world than any committee, or commision of inquiries finding s can ever do.
The ANC flouts the fundamental requirement of a governing party – to protect and uplift its people in a fair, honest and democratic manner. No fellow South Africans, I think it is a Chinese saying that encapsulates this abismal state of affairs – “A fish rots from its head first”
VIVA AFRICA
People should learn to hold placards not dangerous weapons when they are on strike. Directing your anger to innocent people when you are on strike is not a good approach at all. The police have a duty to protect the lives of all the people including their own lives. The death of marikane mine workers was unnecessary if the strikers, their unions and their employers had allowed the proper and rightfull methods of striking and toyi-toying. It was again unfortunate that they had to be misled by an Inyanga who made them to believe that they invisible and they could attack anyone including the police and that no gun will have power on them. Should the police had allowed them to penetrate them, we would be talking about thousand deaths than the 34. Those guys meant business, they were not going to kiss and laugh with the police or anyone who was not on their side. They had already mercilessly killed two police officials and ten other innocent people and no one made noise about that till todate. Oppotrtunists like Julias Malema and opposition parties are not moaning with those who died, but is a stage for them to score political at the expense of the bereaved families and the deceased. Things did not go well at marikane and what is of most important are the lessons learnt by all of us and how do we go foraward making sure that simmilar incidents do not happen again in future. Cheap politics is not the answer for us as the nation; we need something that we unite us when dealing with the incident, when moving away from the incident into a peacifull future.
GOD, GIVE US THE WISDOM TO LEARN TO UNDERSTAND THAT ANY DEATH MUST NOT BE USED FOR POLITICAL GAINS AND DEVIDE US; BUT IT SHOULD HELP US TO UNITE MORE THAN BEFORE.
MAY ALL THE SOULS OF THOSE WHO LOST THEIR LIVES DUE TO MARIKANE STRIKE REST IN PEACE. WE LOVE YOU MZANSI. JAY-JAY
This is a serious tragedy since 1994. It does serve to show deep seeded scars left in ‘black minds’ because of what they were subjected to.
We can debate all we want but we need serious psychological therapy to help us understand our worth as a people. We honestly do not value life of other black fellows period. This is a cry for help from all black people of this land.
We need to acknowledge our problem and start working on devising solutions, sooner rather than later!
Peace be upon everyone,
It is absolutely insane to accuse the strikers of murder of the 34 miners caused by over-zealous police who over-reacted and went with a purpose and mission to shoot with live ammunition. They sought revenge – not justice. They were “miffed” that two of their own had been hacked to death earlier in the week leading up to the fateful shootings on 16 August 2012. There may be a legitimate claim of charges of murder, or attempted murder, or violence or incitement to violence leading to the earlier 10 deaths, which included the two members of the police service. Nevertheless, it is disturbing that miners were shot in isolated areas hemmed in by rocks, and many were shot in the back. Why not wait for the outcome of the official judicial commission of enquiry, as appointed by the state president himself? What I do know is that there are at least 45 persons who will not be voting for the ANC in the next General Election. These include the 44 dead persons of whom 40 shared legitimate grievances concerning low wages and squalid living conditions at the mine, and myself (probably many, many more voters, who are as disgusted as I am). It feels like apartheid has never left South Africa. First it was a white minority group of predominantly Afrikaans nationalists, now a black majority group of predominantly black nationalists (the ANC) heaping shame and disgrace upon this nation. In both cases, it is still the millions of historically disadvantaged and disenfranchised that are doomed and at the receiving end of callousness of magnanimous proportions, who will never see economic transformation in their lifetimes, while corruption, incompetence, and government arrogance reign supreme. Believe me the mining industry has a sordid history. And so does South Africa and its government.
I fully agree with your insightful analysis of this terrible mess.