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SOLIDARITY: Suspended ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema addresses striking Impala Platinum miners.

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EMBATTLED ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema has told more than 7,000 dismissed Impala Platinum Mine workers not to allow white people to divide them.

Malema, who was accompanied by North West Premier and deputy secretary of the ANC Thandi Modise, told the striking miners at Freedom Park sports ground in Rustenburg that Impala was using apartheid tactics to divide its workers.

"These mines belong to us. They are on our land and if we do not benefit we must fight until we benefit. We will never side with white capitalist," Malema said.

Malema told them not to allow white people to use them, saying "you must know your rights and fight for what is rightfully yours".

"It's been a long time since white people took over our land. The mine must re-employ all of you, with benefits. You deserve it. We are not scared of them," he said.

He asked the miners not to fight and kill each other.

Since the beginning of the strike three people have been killed and shops looted.

Malema said he knew that workers could not be wrong, but fighting each other was not acceptable.

"We know the enemy, so fight the enemy and not the community."

He said they could lose the support of the community if they carried on fighting.

Malema said he was confident the employer (Impala Platinum) could afford the R9,000 demand.

He encouraged the workers to have faith in their union (National Union of Mineworkers.)

"It is your home and you cannot run away from the union," he said.

He told them to be militant and radical, but killing undermined their demands.

Modise promised the angry crowd that the ANC leadership would fight their case until they got what they wanted. She promised to return next week to give feedback.

"The ANC will never walk away from the workers. We want people to make demands in a reasonable manner. We are going to make sure there is stability in the province and here at Impala," Modise said.

Malema and Modise yesterday met with NUM and the mine management.

Comments

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Thu May 23 06:02:52 SAST 2013 ::

Feb 29, 2012

MorenaWaPolelo

Eish Malema why do you always use race when you are adressing the people?? Please tell me??? And when are going to adress the mine workers in your Province especialy the mine that Casel Mathale's wif.e was illegaly mining? Is this the ANC that you want to create?
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Feb 29, 2012

Pointman

He sees them as "useful idiots". This week killing "undermines their demands. Next week who knows what he will come out with. To borrow from the Republication nomination contest - "he is a well greased weather vane" - will say what people want to hear.
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Feb 29, 2012

LAWAAI

Where were you Juju during the aurora mine scandal?

Mr.Malema I am just asking why you did not intervene when aurora that happen to belong to black people (Mandelas&Zumas) did not pay their employees.

Popeye I want to know where were you when aurora employees were stranded in their hostels with no food,water and electricity.

Fat boy where were you when black employees were suffering at the hands of black employers.

Why, Why, Why ,Why you did not intervene?



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Feb 29, 2012

BUDDYC

People are crying out there:

Unban the youth league of Madiba.
Bring back President Julius Malema.
People have faith in him more than president of the country? Wow...haters better sit back.
ANC leadership, what is going on? You remove influential people and people have no faith in you and they even prefer people you try to remove for no reason? We losing votes because people don't have faith in you. Motlanthe...zuma..mantashe...what is going on comrades.

All youth league previous leaders were like Malema and some were worse, even zuma confessed he wanted to butcher whites but was never removed, first a leader of ANCYL is threatened with expulsion for being radical and militant as the YL want.

Africans prefer youth league over ANC, what is happening? Andile Lungisa is president of African youths because at the elective conference they said they want someone from youth league only with the begging of Julius Malema...but dlamini zuma failed with the begging of jacob zuma to be chairperson of AU wow. Miners prefer Malema over Zuma, unions negotiate with Malema. Wow kzn youth league please just chill till the next episode.
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Feb 29, 2012

UTHANDOLUKABABA

eish! this guy whats wrong with malema,his speech is allways about race.eish south africa i wonder bathini kwamanye amazwe?.
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Feb 29, 2012

Baba_T

@LAWAAI

Well Said.

Die Panpun Dink nie.

When Crap heats the fan the only thing he can use is Race.
He gets involved when it suites him.
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Feb 29, 2012

ApelMankotsana

The fact that our poor suffering toiling masses of Impala Platinum has called Julius to address them means that the employees there sees Julius as the only leader who will be able to assist them...they trust him politically... We can sit in our luxury air conditioned offices with armchairs and lambast him, but people on the streets still trust him..
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Feb 29, 2012

kolobe

race is an issue in south africa and deserves mentioning every second. if you have a problem with malema discussing race why arent you concerned with the we@lth distribution that is along racial lines? its definitely not normal, bunch of hypocrites!
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Feb 29, 2012

lamolath

Thobela
Malema my future president what you saying it's true but one can ask where were you at time of AURORA MINE SCANDAL.You did not say anything because it was managed and own by (Mandelas&Zumas).Aowa monna gesho ake obe le nnete o bolele nnete ka nako tsohle o seke wa kgetha.
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Feb 29, 2012

imthegreatest

if old people like Pieter Muder are still fading in front of the whole parliament and the nation, what will youth like Malema do infront of agry over 7000 miners.
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