AT LEAST 10 mineworkers were killed and more than 20 injured yesterday during a confrontation with police at Lonmin's Marikana mine, where violent clashes have been taking place since last Friday.
AT LEAST 10 mineworkers were killed and more than 20 injured yesterday during a confrontation with police at Lonmin's Marikana mine, where violent clashes have been taking place since last Friday.
The police advanced on the hill where striking workers were peacefully gathering and, as workers started moving, fired teargas at them. It appears that some workers then shot at the police using live ammunition.
The police in turn opened fire with live ammunition.
A defiant mineworker, who was lying on the ground bleeding from a gunshot wound, kept on swearing at police and urged them to finish him off, saying: "Kill us too, please abelungu ."
At least 10 people, including two security guards and two police officers, had died in the violence earlier, bringing the death toll to 20.
Yesterday no one, not even the police, seemed to know anything about the identity of these men.
It seemed the veil of secrecy was due to fear of victimisation.
Police spokesman Captain Dennis Adriao told Sowetan that detectives were were still investigating.
"At the moment we have not established the identities of the deceased," Adriaosaid.
The workers have been on an illegal strike since Friday, demanding that their salaries be increased from R4,000 to R12,500 a month.
Some of the striking workers claimed yesterday they were attacked by leaders of the National Union of Mineworkers. They accused NUM leaders of collaborating with their enemy, the employer.
"We were attacked when we were on our way to a meeting. Those NUM leaders killed us because they are protecting the employer," said a worker who identified himself as Tau Tau.
"They (NUM leaders and the employer) have called the police to come and kill us. We are not afraid because we work underground and our lives are forever at risk," said worker Andries Tsinyao.
An unidentified worker, who addressed his fellow strikers, dared the police to attack them and "we will see who would be left on the ground".
Vusimuzi Mathunjwa, president of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, failed to persuade workers to disperse while the union entered into negotiations with the employer.
The workers refused to back down. They have vowed that they would not return to work until their demands were met.
They told Mathunjwa to go and get management to address them.
Mathunjwa caused a scare among journalists when he told workers who were heavily armed that "journalists who are covering the strike are controlled by NUM".
Members of the media who were metres away from workers retreated - all except those who do not understand isiXhosa.
Striking miners dare police to 'finish us off'
AT LEAST 10 mineworkers were killed and more than 20 injured yesterday during a confrontation with police at Lonmin's Marikana mine, where violent clashes have been taking place since last Friday.
AT LEAST 10 mineworkers were killed and more than 20 injured yesterday during a confrontation with police at Lonmin's Marikana mine, where violent clashes have been taking place since last Friday.
The police advanced on the hill where striking workers were peacefully gathering and, as workers started moving, fired teargas at them. It appears that some workers then shot at the police using live ammunition.
The police in turn opened fire with live ammunition.
A defiant mineworker, who was lying on the ground bleeding from a gunshot wound, kept on swearing at police and urged them to finish him off, saying: "Kill us too, please abelungu ."
At least 10 people, including two security guards and two police officers, had died in the violence earlier, bringing the death toll to 20.
Yesterday no one, not even the police, seemed to know anything about the identity of these men.
It seemed the veil of secrecy was due to fear of victimisation.
Police spokesman Captain Dennis Adriao told Sowetan that detectives were were still investigating.
"At the moment we have not established the identities of the deceased," Adriaosaid.
The workers have been on an illegal strike since Friday, demanding that their salaries be increased from R4,000 to R12,500 a month.
Some of the striking workers claimed yesterday they were attacked by leaders of the National Union of Mineworkers. They accused NUM leaders of collaborating with their enemy, the employer.
"We were attacked when we were on our way to a meeting. Those NUM leaders killed us because they are protecting the employer," said a worker who identified himself as Tau Tau.
"They (NUM leaders and the employer) have called the police to come and kill us. We are not afraid because we work underground and our lives are forever at risk," said worker Andries Tsinyao.
An unidentified worker, who addressed his fellow strikers, dared the police to attack them and "we will see who would be left on the ground".
Vusimuzi Mathunjwa, president of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, failed to persuade workers to disperse while the union entered into negotiations with the employer.
The workers refused to back down. They have vowed that they would not return to work until their demands were met.
They told Mathunjwa to go and get management to address them.
Mathunjwa caused a scare among journalists when he told workers who were heavily armed that "journalists who are covering the strike are controlled by NUM".
Members of the media who were metres away from workers retreated - all except those who do not understand isiXhosa.
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