South African police killed 35 striking workers at Lonmin Plc (LMI)’s Marikana platinum-mining complex yesterday, the worst death toll in police action since the end of apartheid in 1994.
Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa gave details of the number of deaths in an interview with Johannesburg-based 702 Talk Radio today. Several other miners were injured, he said.
Violence erupted yesterday after police used tear gas and live ammunition to disperse thousands of workers gathered on a hilltop near the mine. Clashes between rival labor unions at the mine led to a six-day standoff with police in which 10 people had already died, including two officers. Police say they acted in self-defense yesterday after coming under attack from the workers armed with spears, machetes and pistols.
“There was absolutely nothing else police could have done,” Mthethwa told 702. “People should not ignore the laws of the land.”
Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega is due to speak to reporters at the mine, located in North West province, at 11:30 a.m. local time.
The clashes at Marikana mine this week were triggered by fighting between rival labor unions, according to Lonmin. The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union is seeking to recruit members at the mine to challenge the dominance of the National Union of Mineworkers.
Public Protests“It’s a national tragedy,” Dianne Kohler Barnard, a spokeswoman on police matters for the opposition Democratic Alliance party, said in a phone interview. “An independent inquiry must take place.”
Lonmin SharesVideo footage broadcast by Johannesburg-based eNews showed that police were fired on by the strikers.
Read more: BusinessWeek.com
Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa gave details of the number of deaths in an interview with Johannesburg-based 702 Talk Radio today. Several other miners were injured, he said.
Violence erupted yesterday after police used tear gas and live ammunition to disperse thousands of workers gathered on a hilltop near the mine. Clashes between rival labor unions at the mine led to a six-day standoff with police in which 10 people had already died, including two officers. Police say they acted in self-defense yesterday after coming under attack from the workers armed with spears, machetes and pistols.
“There was absolutely nothing else police could have done,” Mthethwa told 702. “People should not ignore the laws of the land.”
Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega is due to speak to reporters at the mine, located in North West province, at 11:30 a.m. local time.
The clashes at Marikana mine this week were triggered by fighting between rival labor unions, according to Lonmin. The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union is seeking to recruit members at the mine to challenge the dominance of the National Union of Mineworkers.
Public Protests“It’s a national tragedy,” Dianne Kohler Barnard, a spokeswoman on police matters for the opposition Democratic Alliance party, said in a phone interview. “An independent inquiry must take place.”
Lonmin SharesVideo footage broadcast by Johannesburg-based eNews showed that police were fired on by the strikers.
Read more: BusinessWeek.com
Striking mineworkers are caught in teargas as police open fire on striking miners at the Lonmin Platinum Mine near Rustenburg, South Africa, Thursday, Aug. 16, 2012. An unknown number of people have been killed and injured. Police moved in on workers who gathered on a rocky outcropping near the Lonmin late afternoon, firing unknown ammunition and teargas. (photo AP)
Protesters sing as they hold weapons outside a South African mine in Rustenburg, 100 km (62 miles) northwest of Johannesburg, August 16, 2012. South African police opened fire on Thursday against thousands of striking miners armed with machetes and sticks at Lonmin's Marikana platinum mine, leaving several bloodied corpses lying on the ground. A Reuters cameraman said he saw at least seven bodies after the shooting, which occurred when police laying out barricades of barbed wire were outflanked by some of an estimated 3,000 miners massed on a rocky outcrop near the mine, 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Johannesburg. (photo: Reuters)
photo: mysanantonio.com
A massacre occured at the Lomnmin platinum mining area where 30 have been reported killed. Police opened fire on striking workers on August 16, 2012. (photo: By Pan-African News Wire File Photos/ Abayomi Azikiwe via Flickr)
A paramedic (front L) receives help from a policewomen as he tends to the injured after protesting miners were shot outside a South African mine in Rustenburg, 100 km (62 miles) northwest of Johannesburg, August 16, 2012. South African police opened fire on Thursday against thousands of striking miners armed with machetes and sticks at Lonmin's Marikana platinum mine, leaving several bloodied corpses lying on the ground. A Reuters cameraman said he saw at least seven bodies after the shooting, which occurred when police laying out barricades of barbed wire were outflanked by some of an estimated 3,000 miners massed on a rocky outcrop near the mine, 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Johannesburg. (photo: Reuters)
South African workers at the Lonmin strike area where platinum is extracted. Violence in the mines has resulted in over 40 deaths in August 2012. (photo: By Pan-African News Wire File Photos/ Abayomi Azikiwe via Flickr)
