Marikana massacre

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

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". 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. The testimonies of survivors, and further evidence which has emerged in the Farlam Commission, corroborates this.

Anarchist response

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. Internationally, the American Workers Solidarity Alliance (WSA) also responded.