MARIKANA, South Africa (Reuters) - South African police raided hostels at a Lonmin mine on Saturday to disarm miners a day after the government promised to crack down on "illegal gatherings" and the carrying of weapons by strikers.
After five weeks of spiralling labour unrest that has left 44 dead and choked off platinum production in the world's top producer of the precious metal, South Africa's government is toughening its stance against the militant strikers.
About 500 police officers raided the hostels at Lonmin's Karee platinum mine near Marikana 100 km (60 miles) northwest of Johannesburg in the early morning and seized weapons such as machetes and spears, regional police spokesman Thulani Ngubane said.
Police later fired rubber bullets and used tear gas to disperse miners gathering in a field in Marikana, according to a Reuters television reporter at the scene.
"The aim of the raid was to disarm the mine workers to make sure that we do away with the elements of threats that are taking their toll in the area of Marikana," Ngubane said.
Police arrested five people in the raid for drugs and not because of weapons, Ngubane said. About 6,000 miners stay at the hostel.
In Marikana last month police shot 34 striking miners dead in a single day, the bloodiest police action in South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994.
The "Marikana massacre" has poisoned industrial relations in South Africa and drawn criticism that President Jacob Zuma and the ruling ANC have been too slow in dealing with the widening crisis.
The mine shootings have also made it hard for the police to use force to disperse crowds of strikers, most of whom are armed with sticks, spears and machetes.
The government said on Friday it would crack down on "illegal gatherings" and the carrying of weapons, but failed to say how the police would put it into effect.
"All those who break the law, regardless of who they are, will be dealt with with the full might of the law," Justice Minister Jeff Radebe said at a news conference on Friday.
Lonmin has increased its pay offer, although the revised offer was still short of the 12,500 rand a month demanded by strikers, a union spokesman said on Saturday.
Workers on Friday rejected a pay offer from Lonmin, and repeated their demand for the 12,500 rand, which has become a rallying cry for strikers.
Led by the militant Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU), the strikes have threatened the long dominance of the National Union of Mineworkers, which is in an alliance with the ruling African National Congress.
The strikers say that the ANC and big unions have forgotten the needs of South Africa's millions of poor.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/africa-police-retrieve-weapons-raid-miners-092423175.html
the darkest hour the darkest hour neverland wormwood bcs bowl games phoebe prince jose reyes
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.