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Marikana massacre

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The Marikana massacre occurred on August 16th, 2012 when a contingent of the South African Police Service (SAPS) opened fire on a crowd of miners involved in the 2012 Marikana Mineworkers Strike. The shooting resulted in the death of 34 strikers, with a further 78 seriously injured. The Marikana massacre is the deadliest police shooting in South African history since the Sharpeville massacre of 1960 perpetrated by the colonial Apartheid government.

Class warfare[edit]

In the aftermath of the massacre, a wealth of evidence has emerged pointing to a high likelyhood that the massacre was deliberately orchestrated by the SAPS as a deterrent to the massive 2012 South African Platinum belt strike wave, then at its height. Press footage which emerged during the Farlam Commission of Inquiry into the shooting included a police spokesperson saying "today we are ending this matter. Today, unfortunately, is D-Day".[1] Additionally, many of those killed were shot in their backs, indicating that they were fleeing and posed no threat to the SAPS officers shooting at them.[2] The testimonies of survivors, and further evidence which has emerged in the Farlam Commission, corroborates this.

Anarchist response[edit]

The Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front (ZACF), Tokologo Anarchist Collective (TAC) and the Inkululeko Wits Anarchist Collective (IWAC) issued a statement in response to the massacre on August 19th calling for working class unity against the repression.[3] Internationally, the American Workers Solidarity Alliance (WSA) also responded.[4]

References[edit]