Workers' representatives of Lonmin miners, on an illegal strike have delivered a memorandum to management: either give workers R 12 500 a month, or die. The miners have said that Lonmin must shut down their separate Karee mine where workers are not striking or it will be burnt down and management slaughtered. Alternatively, management must give them R 12, 500 a month, triple their agreed salary. Lonmin risks bankruptcy, if they triple rock driller salaries to R 12 500 per month, with stock already at its lowest, and a slump in platinum demand worldwide. Miners have also attempted to stop Karee workers earning their living.
The National Prosecuting Authority, as I have demonstrated before, was correct under current and actively used South African Law (Common Purpose and Dolus Eventualis) to charge miners with the anticipated deaths of their 34 colleagues, as they charged police armed to the teeth, ignoring tear gas and rubber bullets, and having been assured by a Sangoma they were invincible. A miner's wife, put a hit out of R 500 per any policeman shot in South Africa. Media didn't mind. Miners, killed ten people in targeted brutal assassinations before the 34 deaths incident, including two policemen brutally beaten to death. Surely, they must be angels.
So, why are these angels, who were let off, after objections from American and British Press, and also by South African media, as a special case: now insisting they will continue their killing spree?
This is what Independent Newspapers reports is now happening:
'North West - Marikana miners have threatened to kill Lonmin management unless they stop operations at the platinum mine in North West.
The threat was made by representatives of protesting workers who marched to Lonmin's Karee mine, from Marikana on Wednesday.
The five representatives told manager Jan Thiroun that management had Wednesday and Thursday to close the mine's K3 shaft or they would end up dead and the mine would be burnt down. The shaft is where most of the mine's operations take place.
On August 16, police fired on a group of protesting workers near the mine, killing 34 and wounding 78. Another 10 people were killed earlier that week, including two policemen and two security guards.
Thiroun, who arrived at the gate escorted by two heavily armed bodyguards on Wednesday afternoon, told the workers' representatives to go back to the negotiating table and sign the peace accord.
“Violence doesn't solve anything. It is not in everyone's interest.”
When the marchers arrived at the mine, police took up position about 500 metres from an entrance gate, and kept a close watch. Two helicopters circled overhead.
Workers have been on strike for the past three weeks, demanding a monthly salary of R12,500.
On Wednesday, the miners started marching the more than five kilometres from Lonmin's mine in Marikana to the mine in Karee around 10am in an apparent attempt to stop their colleagues from working there.
The marchers carried knobkerries, sticks and iron rods and as they marched, sang: “We died because of (President Jacob) Zuma. (Bantu) Holomisa please come and rescue us.”
They also carried placards bearing pictures of their dead colleagues.
Police were unable to prevent the marchers from entering Marikana.
Five Nyala armoured personnel carriers parked at the town's entrance in an attempt to divert the march, but the crowd pushed its way around the vehicles and continued to the Karee mine.'
IOL | 'Miners threaten to kill Lonmin management' by Getrude Makhafola at September 5 2012 at 01:20pm SAST
http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/miners-threaten-to-kill-lonmin-management-1.1376492#.UEdEHNYgd4A
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