PHM-Exch> South Africa: Lonmim miners atrocity

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: People's Health Movement of SA public list


*THE PEOPLE’S HEALTH MOVEMENT OF SOUTH AFRICA CONDEMNS THE LONMIM MASSACRE
!!!*


The brutal massacre of at least 34 Lonmim Mine workers, who were mowed down
by automatic rifle fire from the South African police at Marikana in the
North West province, has sent shock waves throughout South Africa and the
world. The backdrop to this tragedy is the terrible working conditions in
the mining industry and the desperate poverty and inequality that continues
to plague South African society.


When 3000 workers went on a strike at Lonmin mine, the country watched in
horror as the situation rapidly spiralled out of control. While union
rivalry is placed at the forefront of this conflict, we must not forget
that this was primarily a wage dispute with Lonmin Mine management. The
failure of management to deal with this crisis effectively, and
specifically their refusal to meet with the workers, must be condemned.  When
union leaders failed in their attempts to persuade workers to come down
from the hill they had congregated on, it was management the workers
demanded to see. Even on the final day, before the massacre took place,
Lonmin management ignored this call.


Although the real facts behind the rivalry between the two unions (NUM and
AMCU) may never be known, it is clear that the hostile attitude of
traditional unions towards new or independent unions contributed to this
crisis. The principle of worker solidarity is nowhere to be seen in this
conflict, a disheartening symptom of the failure of leadership in the union
movement.


While this complex and volatile situation required insightful negotiation;
instead of political leadership intervening as they should have; instead of
Lonmin management speaking directly to workers as they should have; the
police angered by the prior deaths of two of their colleagues and
alarmingly armed with automatic assault rifles, were brought into this
volatile situation and moreover instructed to restore law and order at all
costs! Workers fleeing teargas moved towards the police who without
employing any other means of crowd control, unleashed a hail of bullets on
them, and when the dust settled, dozens of workers lay dead, more lay
injured and another South African day of mourning had been created. No
police contingent should ever enter a civilian situation with such deadly
weapons. We also note with concern the lack of visible emergency workers
who should have been present in a situation where a violent outcome was
possible. In their absence we question the quality of immediate care given
to those injured.



This tragedy is symbolic of the brutality of a society where it is
considered normal for mine workers to live in corrugated iron shacks
without running water or electricity, where abject poverty coexists with
the obscene wealth of those sitting on the boards of mining companies,
where the basic dignity of our people is undermined every day and where a
group of workers can become so desperate that they are prepared to risk
their lives to settle a wage dispute.


As PHM we extend our sympathy to the workers who have died and the many
more who were injured, also to their families and their comrades at Lonmin
mine. We condemn the violence of the police and call for action to be taken
against those who were in charge of this operation. In addition to the
enquiry into the massacre which the president has announced, we call for a
reaction to this tragedy that addresses the root causes in the form of a
people driven National Enquiry into the Mining Sector, investigating the
living conditions of workers, the ongoing migrant labour system and the
general conditions of work within the industry.



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