In 2012, 34 Lonmin mine workers were gunned down by police officers in the area after being embarked on a six months strike demanding ‘decent’ living wages. Picture: Simphwe Sibeko
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) continued to blame the ANC government, particularly the "murderer" President Cyril Ramaphosa, for allegedly sanctioning the Marikana killings.
"These brave heroes were killed for demanding an end to years of exploitation and a decent living wage of R12,500, a meagre amount compared to the large profits that Lonmin made as a company through the contribution of these labourers," the EFF said in a statement.
Thousands headed to Marikana on Wednesday to commemorate the 11th anniversary of the killing of mineworkers in 2012.
In 2012, 34 Lonmin mine workers were gunned down by police officers in the area after embarking on a six-month strike demanding "decent" living wages.
"Bask in shame as it will always be remembered in history as being a former liberation movement that massacred its own people, the very people it sought to liberate from the brutal oppression of the apartheid government," the statement continues.
However, the party said it was not surprised that 11 years later, there was still no accountability and no arrests for the most atrocious killing of workers.
"As we bow our heads today, in salutation to all 34 freedom fighters, we continue to seek justice and reparations for the immense losses, and continue to fight for economic freedom in our lifetime," it said.
According to the EFF statement, "the Marikana Commission was a pretence of justice, as most commissions are. There has been no justice for the slaughter of 34 mineworkers at the hands of the ANC Government".
The EFF further alleged that "the government of Ramaphosa has not learned any lessons, and continued to ignore the sufferings of black working class in protection of capital".
The party said it will be only its government that will implement justice and arrest the murderers who were responsible for killing mine workers and all those who have been murdered at the hands of State violence.
"The wages workers work relentlessly to continue to be meagre, with criminally high unemployment rates affecting the youth, black, and women populations the most," and it added that workers do not benefit from the rich mineral resources of their country.
To deal with the unemployment issue, fighters said there was "a need for a beneficiation process to create more industries in the country that will provide more jobs with a better living wage".
kamogelo.moichela@inl.co.za
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