JOINT PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 12/03/18
Community leader, bishop and lawyer representing workers at Marikana, South Africa, visit London 12-16 March to hold platinum mining company Lonmin to account over 2012 Massacre
Lonmin has still not fulfilled its obligations to the Marikana community after 34 mine workers were killed in 2012. Time is running out for Lonmin to be held accountable since the company announced its impending takeover by South African mining corporation Sibanye-Stillwater in December 2017; 13,000 jobs are under threat.
If you would like to arrange an interview with one of our visitors or have any questions, please get in touch. Visitor biographies are available online along with further quotes. Professional photography is also available on request.
Events:
Thursday, March 15, London – Lonmin AGM Solidarity Demonstration, 9.30am – 11am – Lincoln Centre, 18 Lincoln’s Inn Fields, London WC2A 3ED
Thursday, March 15, London – London and the Marikana Massacre: from the frontlines to the centre of Extractive Imperialism, 7-9pm – Karibu Education Centre, 7 Gresham Rd, Brixton, London SW9 7PH.
Thumeka Magwangqana is a civil rights activist and head of the women’s organisation Sikhale Sonke (We cry together). She said: ‘More than five years after the massacre, there is no one held accountable. The people of Marikana are living in shacks that are leaking, there is no sanitation, no running water, no electricity. And there are no roads. Where is the better life for all?’
Andries Nkome is a lawyer who has represented 279 injured and arrested Marikana mineworkers. He said: ‘None of the mineworkers has been formally approached by the government with a compensation offer despite the state saying in March 2017 that it had set more than one billion Rand aside’.
Right Reverend Johannes Seoka is a former Anglican Bishop of Pretoria, South Africa. He said: ‘What will be the future of the 13,000 miners who will lose their jobs after the takeover by Sibanye-Stillwater?’
Organised by Marikana Solidarity Campaign and Decolonialising Environmentalism. Supported by South-African/European Campaign Network Plough Back the Fruits, Association of Ethical Shareholders Germany, London Mining Network and War on Want.
Association of Ethical Shareholders Germany: Markus Dufner, dachverband@kritischeaktionaere.de 0049-(0)173 713 52 37,
London Mining Network: Lydia James, lydia@londonminingnetwork.org, 07460 394223
War on Want: Marienna Pope-Weidemann, mweidemann@waronwant.org, 020 7324 5060 / 07380 194 788
Notes to editor
Lonmin is a British-South African mining company; it is the world’s third largest platinum producer and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. One of its mines is in Nkaneng, Marikana, an informal settlement in rural South Africa. On August 16, 2012, 34 miners from the Lonmin platinum mine in were shot and killed by South African police during strike action. The miners were on strike due to low pay and inhumane working and living conditions. While the killings were carried out by the police, according to a report by the Farlam Commission, an independent commission of inquiry, significant responsibility for the massacre also lies with Lonmin for failing to adequately negotiate with workers, or to protect its employees during the dispute.
Lonmin has obligations to the community that they mine under and around, but they have yet to comply. Since the massacre, living conditions have got worse. Families of those killed are still waiting for compensation and their widows are working at the mine, because they cannot afford not to. Only a handful of the promised 5,500 homes for the 36,000 Lonmin workers have been built. Sibanye-Stillwater’s looming takeover makes Marikana’s call for justice even more urgent.