South Africa
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Apartheid never died in South Africa. It inspired a world order upheld by force and illusion By John Pilger
The murder of 34 miners by the South African police, most of them shot in the back, puts paid to the illusion of post-apartheid democracy and illuminates the new worldwide apartheid of which South Africa is both an historic and contemporary model. Continue reading
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The Marikana Massacre and the South African State's Low Intensity War Against the People By Vishwas Satgar
The massacre of the Marikana/Lonmin workers has inserted itself within South Africa’s national consciousness, not so much through the analysis, commentary and reporting in its wake. Instead, it has been the power of the visual images of police armed with awesome fire power gunning down these workers, together with images of bodies lying defeated and… Continue reading
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Shocking autopsy: South African police 'shot fleeing protesters in the back'
South African police are facing accusations of mass murder after autopsies on the victims of a bloody crackdown at Marikana platinum mine, showed that miners were shot in the back. Meanwhile, new violence has broken out at the location. Continue reading
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Ronnie Kasrils: Marikana – It was like poking a hornet's nest
An order was given to deploy almost 500 police armed with automatic weapons, reinforced by armoured vehicles, horsemen and helicopters; they advanced on a desolate hill where 3000 striking miners were encamped. That denoted an order from on high with a determination to carry out a dangerous and dubious operation to clear an isolated, stony… Continue reading
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Can't you hear the thunder? By Jay Naidoo
The headlines scream ‘Marikana Massacre’; ‘Killing Fields of Rustenburg’. Radio and TV Talk shows and social media all display the anger and expose the psyche of a nation badly wounded. The bloodiest security operation since the end of apartheid has left us shocked and asking what went wrong? The reality is, many things went wrong.… Continue reading
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Democratic Left Front: Justice now for the Marikana workers and community!
On August 16, 2012, post-apartheid democracy lurched into a horror. It was estimated 34 mineworkers at the Lonmin mine in the North West province were brutally gunned down by police, and in total over 70 workers have been injured. The death toll at this stage is still not completely verified, with the community still reporting… Continue reading
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South Africa’s Unfinished Revolution and the Massacre at Marikana
The massacre of 34 miners at Marikana lays bare the central contradiction of the South African “arrangement.” Back in 1994, “the ‘revolution’ was put on indefinite hold, so that a new Black capitalist class could be created, largely from the ranks of well-connected members of the ruling party and even union leaders.” The regime now… Continue reading
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Turmoil at South Africa’s Platinum Mines by Pratap Chatterjee
Clashes between South Africa’s powerful mining companies and the government are only part of the story. A battle to win membership between two rival unions – the older establishment affiliated National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the newer more radical Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) – is also reported to be a major… Continue reading
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Echoes of the Past: Marikana, Cheap Labour and the 1946 Miners Strike Chris Webb
On August 4, 1946 over one thousand miners assembled in Market Square in Johannesburg, South Africa. No hall in the town was big enough to hold them, and no one would have rented one to them anyway. The miners were members of the African Mine Worker’s Union (AMWU), a non-European union which was formed five… Continue reading
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Lonmin, the 'unacceptable face of capitalism' By Sipho Hlongwane
The company that preceded Lonmin was once dubbed ‘the unacceptable face of capitalism’ by a British prime minister. Tiny Rowland, man who turned the company into an international colossus, wore the slur happily. In the aftermath of the Marikana shootings, it seems like not much has changed since his day. Continue reading
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NGO accuses platinum mine owners of neglecting communities
Several Platinum miners have dismissed a non-governmental organisation report on their operations in the Rustenburg area. The Bench Marks Foundation is accusing platinum miners of neglecting mining communities in pursuit of profits. Mineworkers union National Union of Mineworkers has come out in support of Bench Marks findings. Continue reading
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Letter from a South African reader on the Marikana miners massacre
Shortly before the police attack on striking mine workers at Rustenburg’s Marikana platinum mine, police spokesperson Dennis Adriao issued a chilling threat, a portent of the massacre to follow: “Today is unfortunately D-Day.” Continue reading
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Marikana: NUM: Rival union 'may have planned' mine violence
National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) secretary general Frans Baleni put the toll at 36 and blamed the unrest on the rival Association of Mineworkers and Communication Union making promises which could never be delivered and, in the process, organising an illegal action which led to the loss of lives. Continue reading
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South Africa: Lonmin's Killing Fields By Greg Nicolson
On Monday, a dozen Lonmin mineworkers sat on the grass at a North West resort. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) shop stewards and leaders of Lonmin’s Western Platinum branch fled their homes at the world’s third largest platinum producer, outside of Rustenburg, on Saturday. “We heard they identified the branch top five to kill,”… Continue reading
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At least 18 killed as S. African police open fire on thousands of striking miners (PHOTOS)
At least 18 bodies were seen lying bloody and motionless on the ground after local police opened fire on striking miners, a South African news agency reports. Some of the protesters were allegedly armed with machetes and spears. Continue reading
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Reflections As Nelson Mandela Turns 94 July 18th By Danny Schechter
Cape Town, South Africa: Nelson Mandela was released from prison 22 years ago. He has been “free” ever since. At the same time, I sometimes feel as if I became his prisoner—imprisoned by the work I have been doing enthusiastically in service to the struggle he led ever since the mid 1960’s. Continue reading
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South Africa's Political Wars Begin To Resemble Our Own By Danny Schechter
The Mail & Guardian reports political scientist Achille Mbembe saying in a debate in Johannesburg, “after 18 years of relative complacency and self-congratulatory gestures” the ANC was realizing South Africa was an ordinary country and not a miracle. Continue reading
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A Poisoned Chalice: Liberation, ANC-Style By John S. Saul
There is good and obvious reason to celebrate the long history of the African National Congress (ANC): the organization’s marked dedication over one hundred years to the cause of the betterment of the lot of the oppressed African people in South Africa. It has also sustained an honourable commitment to a multi-racial, pan-ethnic outcome to… Continue reading
The New Dark Age 