Marikana Bloodbath Remembered – Two occasions in London on Wednesday sixteenth August 2017 marked the fifth anniversary of the bloodbath when 34 putting miners had been shot lifeless by South African police at Lonmin’s Marikana platinum mine.
In addition to these killed in what “was essentially the most deadly use of drive by South African safety forces in opposition to civilians for the reason that Soweto rebellion of 16 June 1976” not less than 78 miners had been injured and round 250 had been arrested.
A press assertion three days in the past from SERI, the Socio-Financial Rights Institute of South Africa offers extra particulars of the occasion and the failure of the federal government to compensate lots of these concerned and the continued denial of legal duty.
This states that “of the 315 claimants, about 129 folks have obtained nothing, together with all eleven members of the family of the murdered Thobile Mpumza” and accuses the police of trying to tamper the proof within the legal instances. Though there are six officers on trial for an occasion wherein three miners and two law enforcement officials had been killed three days earlier than the bloodbath, “Nobody has been charged for the occasions of 16 August.”
The mine was in 2012 owned by the UK primarily based Lonmin plc, formery Lonrho plc, which turned infamous underneath the management of CEO Tiny Rowlands from 1962 till 1993. It was an organization on the coronary heart of the British institution. Duncan Sands, the son-in-law of Winston Churchill and a minister in a number of Tory governments, turned is chair in 1972, and Sir Angus Ogilvy, the husband of Princess Alexandra was a director till he needed to resign after the corporate’s involvement in breaking the sanctions in opposition to Rhodesia was revealed – described by then Prime Minister Edward Heath in 1973 as “an disagreeable and unacceptable face of capitalism.”
Lonmin was acquired by multinational mining and metals course of group with its headquarters in Johannesburg in 2019 Sibanye-Stillwater, making the group the worlds largest producer of platinum and rhodium amongst its different treasured metals and different pursuits. It is among the 4 largest personal employers in South Africa.
In August 2017, Lonmin was nonetheless in cost, and protesters met outdoors its London workplaces in Mayfair for a lunchtime protest.
They held up massive pictures of the lifeless and known as for a public apology by Lonmin and the ANC authorities, significantly Cyril Ramaphosa, in 2012 on the board of Lonmin and now President of South Africa, of in addition to the cost of reparations to the dependent of these killed and people injured and arrested, each on the sixteenth August and on the police killing and injuring of ladies a month later. Ramaphosa had urged the police to take agency motion in opposition to the strikers earlier than the masscre.
Amongst these collaborating had been Primrose Nokulunga Sonti and Thumeka Magwangqana from the Marikana ladies’s organisation Sikhala Sonke (We Cry Collectively) who had come to the UK asking to fulfill with Lonmin representatives – however had been ignored. They tried to take a letter into the workplaces for Lonmin however had been refused entry, ultimately giving the letter to the receptionist who promised to ship it.
Within the early night there was the annual vigil outdoors the South African Excessive Fee in Trafalgar Sq. on the anniversary of the bloodbath, organised by the Pan-Afrikan Society Group Discussion board (PACSF) and Marikana Miners Solidarity Marketing campaign.
Folks once more held the photographs of the murdered miners which additionally had their names and a short description. Some had include yellow flowers and these had been handed out to those that had come to participate within the vigil.
Amongst those that spoke on the occasion had been the 2 ladies from Sikhala Sonke who gave a robust presentation in regards to the results of the bloodbath. I needed to go away as this ended and earlier than the photographs had been taped to the locked gates of the Excessive Fee and other people got here to put flowers.
Extra on My London Diary at Justice for Marikana vigil and Marikana Bloodbath Protest at Lonmin HQ.
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Tags: 34 killed, 78 injured, Charlie X, Cyril Ramaphosa, Excessive Fee, humeka Magwangqana, London, Lonmin, Lonrho, marikana, Marikana Bloodbath, Marikana mine, Mayfair workplaces, miners killed, peter Marshall, pictures of the killed, platinum mine, Primrose Nokulunga Sonti, protest, reparations, capturing, Sibanye-Stillwater, Sikhala Sonke, South Africa, South African police, yello flowers
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