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Marikana massacre

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Marikana miners' strike
DateAugust 10, 2012 (2012-08-10) — August 16, 2012 (2012-08-16)
LocationMarikana area, close to Rustenburg, South Africa
ParticipantsMarikana mine strikers, South African police
Deaths44
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Marikana in South Africa

The Marikana miners' strike was a wildcat strike that occurred in August 2012 at a mine owned by Lonmin, a leading platinum producer, in the Marikana area, close to Rustenburg, South Africa. On 16 August, 34 strikers were shot dead by the police. The shootings have been described as a 'massacre' in the South African media and has been compared to events at Sharpeville in 1960.[1][2] However, the police and government officials have characterised the shootings as an act of self-defence against an aggressive and armed mob.

The shootings are the most lethal by South African security forces since the end of the apartheid era.[3]

Initial strike

On 10 August 2012, rock drillers initiated a series of strikes in pursuit of a $US 1,000 per month pay rise, amounting to around 200% of typical current salaries.[4][5] This occurred against a backdrop of antagonism and violence between the National Union of Mineworkers and its emerging rival, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union. The NUM, closely linked to the ruling African National Congress, lost its organisation rights at the mine after its membership dropped from 66% to 49% and its leadership began to be seen as 'too close' to management.[6] At the Marikana platinum mine operated by Lonmin at Nkaneng near Rustenburg, 3,000 workers walked off the job.[7] Four NUM members were shot and wounded in two separate clashes with AMCU members at Nkaneng on the first day of the strike.[8] On 13 August, nine people, including two police officers, were killed at the same mine. Three of the dead were miners shot by police,[9] after two police officers were hacked to death by the crowd.

16 August shootings

On 16 August 2012[10] striking miners gathered on nearby Nkaneng Hill armed with spears, pangas (machetes) and sticks.[5] A large group of women, not employed at the mine, some armed with knobkerries, joined them. One of the women was quoted as saying: “We have joined our husbands in their bid to earn a living wage. We cannot take this thing anymore. We are joining them in their fight; we are the ones who suffer at home because of the peanuts that our husbands earn."[11]

Later that afternoon, police opened fire on a group of armed strikers. Official statements said that 34 miners were killed and at least 78 wounded.[12] The South African Police Service said that they had refused a request to disarm and attacked them with various weapons including firearms taken from the two police officers killed earlier in the week.[13][14] The Congress of South African Trade Unions, a union federation to which the strikers are opposed,[5] supported the police account of events and said that the police had first used tear gas and water cannon on the miners, who then responded with "live ammunition".[15] However journalists who were eyewitnesses to the events have not reported seeing the strikers fire first.[16] Both Amcu[17] and a group of the miners' wives have vigorously disputed the police claim that the strikers shot first.[18]

Reactions

Amcu blamed the NUM and the police and insisted that, contrary to various rumours, the union was not affiliated to any political party.[19]

According to the New York Times, Frans Baleni, the general secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers, defended the police action to the Kaya FM radio station in saying: "The police were patient, but these people were extremely armed with dangerous weapons."[20]

The South African Communist Party, which is in an alliance with the ruling African National Congress and COSATU, to which NUM is affiliated, called for the leaders of Amcu to be arrested.[21]

President Jacob Zuma expressed "shock and dismay" at the violence and called on the unions to work with the government to "arrest the situation before it spirals out of control".[22] The day after the shootings, Jacob Zuma ordered an inquiry, saying: "Today is not an occasion for blame, finger-pointing or recrimination."[12] The opposition Democratic Alliance criticised the police action.[7]

The Ministry of Safety and Security said that while protesting is legal, "These rights do not imply that people should be barbaric, intimidating and hold illegal gatherings." The ministry defended the police's actions, saying that this was a situation in which people were heavily armed and attacked.[9]

Mine owners Lonmin issued a statement following the shootings expressing regret for the loss of life, stressing the responsibility of the police for security during the strike and disassociating the violence from the industrial dispute.[23]

The Bench Marks Foundation argued that "The benefits of mining are not reaching the workers or the surrounding communities. Lack of employment opportunities for local youth, squalid living conditions, unemployment and growing inequalities contribute to this mess.”[24]

Reuters described the incident as causing South Africa to question "its post-apartheid soul".[25] South African news media showed graphic footage and photos of the shootings, while the headlines included "Killing Field", "Mine Slaughter", and "Bloodbath". The newspaper Sowetan issued a front-page editorial, questioning what changed in South Africa since the fall of Apartheid in 1994, saying that this has happened in South Africa before under Apartheid when blacks were treated cruelly, and "it is continuing in a different guise now."[10] Mining Weekly.com said that the Lonmin killing would hurt South Africa as a destination for investment.[26]

Protests in Response to the Killings

The day after the shootings a group of miners' wives protested singing and chanting slogans and songs from the anti-apartheid struggle. They denied that the striking miners had shot first, insisted that the strike was about wages[27] and demanded that the police officers responsible for the shooting be fired.[28]

There was a small protest outside parliament in Cape Town the day after the shootings.[29]

In Auckland, New Zealand, protesters attacked the South African embassy with paint bombs.[30]

References

  1. ^ Richard Stupart (16 August 2012). "The Night Before Lonmin's Explanation". African Scene. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  2. ^ Monde Maoto and Natsha Marrian (17 August 2012). "BDlive". BDlive. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  3. ^ "South African police open fire as striking miners charge, killing and wounding workers". The Washington Post. Associated Press. 16 August 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  4. ^ "South Africa's Lonmin Marikana mine clashes killed 30". BBC News. 17 August 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  5. ^ a b c Greg Marinovich (17 August 2012). "Beyond the Chaos at Marikana: The search for the real issues". Daily Maverick. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  6. ^ The Marikana action is a strike by the poor against the state and the haves, Justice Malala, The Guardian, 17 August 2012
  7. ^ a b "Police open fire on South African miners". Al Jazeera. 16 August 2012. Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 15 August 2012.
  8. ^ "Mineworkers shot in mine clash". News24.com. South African Press Association. 11 August 2012. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  9. ^ a b "South African platinum mine union riots 'kill nine'". BBC News. 13 August 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  10. ^ a b "Police kill 34 striking miners in South Africa". The Jerusalem Post. Reuters. 17 August 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  11. ^ "Miners' wives join Lonmin protest". Independent Online. South African Press Association. 16 August 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  12. ^ a b "South Africa mine killings: Jacob Zuma announces inquiry". BBC News. 17 August 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  13. ^ "Residents stunned by Marikana violence". News24. South African Press Association. 17 August 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  14. ^ Ryk van Niekerk (16 August 2012). "South African president condemns platinum mine massacre". MineWeb. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  15. ^ "Mine massacre claim as police open fire on striking workers". Sydney Morning Herald. Associated Press. 17 August 2012. Archived from the original on 17 August 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  16. ^ Conflicting accounts of Lonmin shooting, SAPA, Business Report, 17 August 2012
  17. ^ Amcu blames NUM, politics for Lonmin massacre, Faranaaz Parker, Mail & Guardian, 17 August 2012
  18. ^ Miners' wives rage at South African police brutality after 'massacre', David Smith, The Guardian, 17 August 2012
  19. ^ Amcu blames NUM, politics for Lonmin massacre, Faranaaz Parker, Mail & Guardian, 17 August 2012
  20. ^ Lydia Polgreen (16 August 2012). "Mine Strike Mayhem Stuns South Africa as Police Open Fire". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  21. ^ SACP calls for arrest of Amcu leadersBusiness Report, 17 August 2012
  22. ^ David Smith and Terry Macalister (16 August 2012). "South African police shoot dead striking miners". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 August 2012.
  23. ^ "Lonmin Statement on Marikana". Lonmin. 16 August 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 August 2012. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  24. ^ Lonmin an example of exploitation, SAPA, Business Report, 18 August 2012
  25. ^ Herskovitz, Jon (August 17, 2012). "Mine "bloodbath" shocks post-apartheid South Africa". Reuters. Retrieved August 17, 2012.
  26. ^ http://www.miningweekly.com/article/lonmin-killings-hurt-sa-as-mining-destination-2012-08-17
  27. ^ Miners' wives rage at South African police brutality after 'massacre', David Smith, The Guardian, 17 August 2012
  28. ^ Fire killer cops, Marikana women urge, News 24, 17 August 2012
  29. ^ Cape demo against Lonmin killing, Bussines Report, 17 August 2012
  30. ^ Auckland protest against South Africa shooting, Jane Luscombe, 3 News, 18 August 2012

Striking Lonmin miner shooting at police on 16 Aug 2012 on YouTube

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