Credits: NYTimes.com
South Africa’s police ministry has confirmed that at least 30 people were killed on Thursday, when officers opened fire on striking workers at a platinum mine. According to an official of the ministry, the police opened fire with automatic weapons at the Lonmin PLC mine, about 120 kilometers northwest of Johannesburg. Lonmin is the world’s third largest platinum producer.
About 3,000 mine workers have embarked on the strike over a pay dispute. However, the management of Lonmin had issued a statement earlier Thursday, warning workers they would be dismissed if they did not return to work by Friday. Also, after these fresh clashes, the management issued a statement saying some of the strikers were armed.
However, other reports have it that the Miners were only armed with machetes. But, prior to Thursday’s deadly clash, 10 people, including two police officers had been killed in violence related to the mine strike.
Meanwhile, President Jacob Zuma has condemned the violence refraining from criticizing the police for their actions. According to a statement from the president, “there is enough space in our democratic order for any dispute to be resolved through dialogue without any breaches of the law or violence”. He further pointed out that he had “instructed law enforcement agencies to do everything possible to bring the situation under control and to bring the perpetrators of violence to book.”
Source: VOA
