11°c A few clouds
18°c Sunny
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Miners vow fight to death in wake of police shootings
Armed police keep an eye on protesting women at the Lonmin mine on Friday. (DENIS FARRELL / THE ASSOCIATED PRESS)
MARIKANA, South Africa -- Frantic wives searched for missing loved ones, President Jacob Zuma rushed home from a regional summit and some miners vowed a fight to the death Friday as police announced a shocking casualty toll from the previous day's shooting by officers of striking miners: 34 dead and 78 wounded.
Wives of miners at the Lonmin platinum mine northwest of Johannesburg took the place of dead and wounded husbands on Friday in staging a protest. But this time, instead of asking for higher wages as the miners had done, the women demanded to know why police had opened fire Thursday with automatic rifles, pistols and shotguns on the strikers, many of whom had been armed with spears, machetes and clubs, as they rushed towards the officers.
Police said at a news conference it was in self-defence, noting strikers even possessed a pistol taken from a police officer they had beaten to death on Monday. But video footage indicates the miners may have simply been trying to flee tear gas police had fired at them moments earlier.
As the miners rushed away from a hill they had occupied and was being tear-gassed, police opened fire, including with automatic rifles. Police were perhaps jumpy, knowing the strikers were armed and two officers had already died earlier in the week.
"Police stop shooting our husbands and sons," read a banner carried by the women on Friday. They kneeled before shotgun-toting police and sang a protest song, saying "What have we done?" in the Xhosa language.
National police Chief Mangwashi Victoria Phiyega told a packed news conference Thursday was a dark day for South Africa and it was no time for pointing fingers, even as people compared the shootings to apartheid-era state violence.
Political parties and labour unions demanded an investigation.
Zuma returned home from a summit in Mozambique and announced an official inquiry into the killings, which he called shocking and tragic.
The president headed directly to the mine, 70 kilometres northwest of Johannesburg, where his office said he would visit injured miners in the hospital.
At least 10 other people were killed during the week-old strike, including the two police officers battered to death by strikers and two mine security guards burned alive when strikers set their vehicle ablaze.
Makhosi Mbongane, a 32-year-old winch operator, said mine managers should have come to the striking workers rather than send police. Strikers were demanding monthly salary raises from $625 to $1,563. Mbongane vowed he was not going back to work and would not allow anyone else to do so either.
"They can beat us, kill us and kick and trample on us with their feet, do whatever they want to do, we aren't going to go back to work," he told The Associated Press.
"If they employ other people, they won't be able to work either. We will stay here and kill them."
-- The Associated Press
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 18, 2012 A26
Fact Check
Have you found an error, or know of something we’ve missed in one of our stories? Please use the form below and let us know.
More World
- Back to Top
- Return to World
More World
(1 of 35 articles for today)
In Cannes entry 'Only God Forgives,' a glorious dip into darkness for Kristin Scott Thomas
2:32 PM 0
Poll
Most Popular World
- Man shot to death in Fla. while being questioned in Boston Marathon bombing investigation
- Polish man gets quick face transplant in what doctors say was life-saving decision
- Search for survivors of Oklahoma tornado nearly complete, as homeowners confront devastation
- Jury sent to begin deliberating whether to give Jodi Arias life in prison or death sentence
- Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris evacuated after suicide inside the landmark church
- Preliminary estimate puts Oklahoma tornado damage at $2 billion; 13,000 homes damaged, ruined
- Gay teen charged for having younger girlfriend
- UK's Cameron: 'Strong indications' brutal attack that killed 1 man in London is terror related
- FBI: Man killed had become violent during questioning on Boston bombing
- The pope and the devil: Francis' obsession with Satan leads to suspicion he performed exorcism
- Massive tornado roars through Oklahoma City suburb, killing at least 51
- Search for survivors of Oklahoma tornado nearly complete, as homeowners confront devastation
- Man shot to death in Fla. while being questioned in Boston Marathon bombing investigation
- Phone cracked? Cool
- US woman credits 'mother's instincts' in chase of 4-year-old daughter's abductor
- Polish man gets quick face transplant in what doctors say was life-saving decision
- Umbrella-gate stirs outrage
- US zoo looking into conception mystery after birth of anteater; no male in pen
- Remote Alaska volcano continues to erupt, with lava fountains, ash plumes
- The pope and the devil: Francis' obsession with Satan leads to suspicion he performed exorcism
- Amanda Berry, 1 of 3 women freed after held captive in Ohio home, arrives at sister's home
- Massive tornado roars through Oklahoma City suburb, killing at least 51
- Friendship with bomb suspect, complex chain of events leads to 3 being charged
- Police vow to solve shooting that wounded 19 people during Mother's Day parade in New Orleans
- Missing Pa. woman, last seen dropping off kids for school in 2002, surfaces in Fla.
- Cleveland police: Ohio captive suffered 5 miscarriages after being beaten and starved
- Jodi Arias convicted of first-degree murder, says she prefers death penalty
- Neighbours: Man in custody comforted missing girl's mom, helped search for missing US women
- Search for survivors of Oklahoma tornado nearly complete, as homeowners confront devastation
- High school baseball team lifts car to free 16-year-old girl
- Jury sent to begin deliberating whether to give Jodi Arias life in prison or death sentence
- Arias hearing a 'witch hunt,' lawyers say
- Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris evacuated after suicide inside the landmark church
- Trove of Muppets creator Jim Henson's items headed for NYC's Museum of the Moving Image
- Stockholm riots spreading, youths burn down cultural centre housed in 19th century building
- Man shot to death in Fla. while being questioned in Boston Marathon bombing investigation
- Phone cracked? Cool
- Ray Manzarek, keyboardist and founding member of rock group The Doors, dies at 74 from cancer
- Hatchet-wielding hitchhiker who intervened in California attack arrested in NJ homicide
- Remote Alaska volcano continues to erupt, with lava fountains, ash plumes
- Argentina's 'dirty war' dictator dies
- Massive tornado roars through Oklahoma City suburb, killing at least 51
- Shady characters: Cookie Monster, Elmo accused of aggressive behaviour in Times Square
- U.S. envoy punted; Russia alleges spying
- 16 tornadoes wallop North Texas, 6 dead; Habitat homes among many devastated in 1 subdivision
- US woman credits 'mother's instincts' in chase of 4-year-old daughter's abductor
- 'Coronation Street' actor William Roache charged in UK over alleged rapes in 1967
- Coroner: 5-year-old boy shoots 2-year-old sister in US with rifle he got as a gift
- Hitler ate well, his food taster recalls
- Black bear wanders into LA-area suburbia, chases swimmers from pool, strands kids in class
- Female guards, rapidly growing in numbers, at heart of U.S. prison scandal
- Phone cracked? Cool
- Bill to alter rules of succession before Kate gives birth nears completion as Lords approve
- US tourists swim for nearly 14 hours after boat sinks near St. Lucia
- IBM makes movie about a little boy - a very little boy - by pushing molecules around
- Friendship with bomb suspect, complex chain of events leads to 3 being charged
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.