After local South African prosecutors made the decision to charge striking mineworkers with murder under an old apartheid-era law, the shit began to hit the fan. Questions were asked about why the state had not charged any of the police officers who actually shot the striking miners with murder.
I would imagine that part of that answer can be found in the fact that the striking miners were from a "militant" union not affiliated with the "approved" union. What better way to protect a friendly union than to imprison the members of the competing union.
While South African President Jacob Zuma decided not to dirty his hands with the matter, the national director of prosecutors, Nomgcobo Jiba, was left holding the bag for the government. Of course one must wonder in such a high-profile matter how local prosecutors were allowed to have some 270 miners arrested on murder charges without someone from Pretoria having at least a little say in the matter.
In a bid to save face, the government finally decided to drop the charges (provisionally) and release the imprisoned miners.
Now, over a week later, all of the imprisoned miners have been released. But now the government has to rely on the miners to cooperate with an official investigation into what happened at the mine. The union has promised to conduct its own investigation.
The law in question was used to imprison demonstrators whenever violence ensued - usually at the hand of government troops. That way, whenever soldiers fired into a crowd, they could grab any demonstrator at hand and charge them with the murder of their fellow demonstrator. The law was a tool of oppression.
And that's exactly what happened at the Lonmin platinum mine in Marikana. The law was used by the government to quash a budding union movement that didn't place compromise as its ultimate goal.
Showing posts with label South Africa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label South Africa. Show all posts
Monday, September 10, 2012
Friday, August 31, 2012
Deflecting blame
Two weeks ago in South Africa, police fired into a crowd of striking mineworkers. Thirty-four miners ended up dead.
The police claimed the miners, on strike against a London-based mining company, charged at them with guns and machetes. The police claimed they had no choice but to open fire. Others have claimed that the violence was a result of a struggle between an established miners' union and an upstart that represented miners at the Marikana mine.
Now the government has come down on the miners, charging 270 miners with the murder of their co-workers. Prosecutors allege that the 270 men acted with a common purpose and that their actions led to the deaths of the 34 miners shot by police.
The men, none of whom are alleged to have fired a shot, were denied bail.
None of the police officers who killed the miners have been charged.
Instead of the issue being the exploitation of workers and the transfer of wealth out of the country by a foreign corporation, the focus is now on the conduct of the striking miners. Instead of questioning the control of local resources by a foreign company, the public's attention is focused on whether the miners doth protested too much.
All around the world, and throughout history, those who control the means of production have used the force of the state to try to break the resolve of the working class. The police, whose mantra is to protect and serve, do in fact protect and serve their masters.
The government's actions are nothing more than a capitulation before the forces of international capital. The rule of law is tossed on its head and replaced with, as Mr. Gamso would note, the law of rule. The state charges the miners with murder because it can and allows the killers to walk free because it can.
The police claimed the miners, on strike against a London-based mining company, charged at them with guns and machetes. The police claimed they had no choice but to open fire. Others have claimed that the violence was a result of a struggle between an established miners' union and an upstart that represented miners at the Marikana mine.
Now the government has come down on the miners, charging 270 miners with the murder of their co-workers. Prosecutors allege that the 270 men acted with a common purpose and that their actions led to the deaths of the 34 miners shot by police.
The men, none of whom are alleged to have fired a shot, were denied bail.
None of the police officers who killed the miners have been charged.
"The policemen who killed those people are not in custody, not even one of them. This is madness."There's something seriously wrong when the men who fired the shots are free while the men who were fired at are sitting in a jail cell awaiting their next court appearance. By blaming the striking miners, the government is able to distract the public's attention from the way in which the might of the state was used to crush a worker's rebellion.
Instead of the issue being the exploitation of workers and the transfer of wealth out of the country by a foreign corporation, the focus is now on the conduct of the striking miners. Instead of questioning the control of local resources by a foreign company, the public's attention is focused on whether the miners doth protested too much.
All around the world, and throughout history, those who control the means of production have used the force of the state to try to break the resolve of the working class. The police, whose mantra is to protect and serve, do in fact protect and serve their masters.
The government's actions are nothing more than a capitulation before the forces of international capital. The rule of law is tossed on its head and replaced with, as Mr. Gamso would note, the law of rule. The state charges the miners with murder because it can and allows the killers to walk free because it can.
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