(en) US, WSA* Statement on Souther Africa Marikana Massacre

We, members of the Workers Solidarity Alliance, send our deepest condolences to the
families and friends of the murdered miners. ---- On August 16th police open fire on
striking miners outside the Lonmin platinum mine in South Africa?s north west province.
Defending their interests, over 30 miners were killed and over 70 suffered injuries in a
gruesome display of the violence upon which this society has been built. One day prior to
the massacre, the Guardian & Mail reported that nearly 3,000 workers gathered daily near
the mine for several days, that the striking workers had said they were a united force
with no particular allegiance to a union and finally that negotiations had broke down
between the striking workers and the police. Its? also known that the workers have
stopped production in a dispute is over pay, a dispute between workers and bosses.

A video, that is very graphic in nature, clearly shows that the massacre was proceeded by
police stalking near the gathering not in standard riot gear like batons and shields, but
rather looking like foot soldiers wearing fatigues and carrying automatic rifles at the
ready. It was quite obvious that these mercenaries of capital fully intended to engage
the miners as if they were on a modern battlefield with a well-equipped enemy. It would
seem the strikers took this as a clear message from the mining bosses and the state that
workers standing up for themselves in unison is an activity that can no-longer be
tolerated. The arrival of militarized police appeared from the outside as a direct
provocation and a threat to the continuation of the strike. It was seen that the workers
resisted this threat with their available means.
Before the blood had dried at the site of the massacre, the mass-media wasted no time with
its? misdirection and deception. Framing the story as a ?tense scene? between rival
unions with police caught in the middle, the media have done well playing a strong defense
for the mine owners and their partnership with South Africa?s government. Sure, it can be
said that union bureaucrats from ?rival? unions had been playing a power game at the mines
prior to this massacre. At one point in the days prior, workers had even fell victim to
snipers allegedly acting in the name of one of the unions. Despite this bureaucrat fueled
discord, it would seem that the bulk of the rank-and-file miners have taken to direct
action against the mine owners. After all, the large gatherings outside the mine complex
were said to of been happening under no specific union?s flag. It was in this struggle,
the struggle of the workers against the bosses, that the strikers eventually faced down
automatic rifles. Most disgracefully, in the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, the
union leaders have wasted no-time helping the media perpetuate its? lies by pointing a
shaking finger of blame at each others organizations and members.
While union bureaucrats and the media have been tripping over themselves trying to assess
the blame and misdirect attentions in this clear-cut case of state violence on behalf of
the rich, the mine owners have threatened to fire every striking miner on Aug. 20th if
they refuse to end the strike.
The Workers Solidarity Alliance sends our solidarity to the workers engaged in united
struggle for higher wages and encourage workers everywhere to spread the news of the
massacre and discuss it with neighbors and co-workers. We condemn in the strongest
possible manner; the police, the mine owners they work for, the worried South African
state, the competing union hierarchies and any others who stand in the way of the unity of
workers in desperate struggle for a better life. We understand this massacre in a global
context of increased violent repression of independent movements of workers advancing or
defending their conditions. We understand this massacre to be an attack on workers
everywhere, a futile attempt to scare us away from uniting and advancing our shared
interests. We stand in solidarity with actions, however far removed from South Africa
itself, that draw attention to the massacre and the brutality of capitalism.
A workers best weapon is their solidarity with their fellows.
Wherever workers are in struggle, may the worlds poor and oppressed call out in unison: An
injury to one is an injury to all!

Yours in Solidarity,

The Workers Solidarity Alliance
=====================================
* Anarcho-syndicalists

Bron : a-infos-en@ainfos.ca