guardian.co.uk,
David Batty, Thursday 30 August 2012
 |
| South African police gather around fallen miners on 16 August after they opened fire during clashes near the Lonmin platinum mine in Marikana. Photograph: Stringer/AFP/Getty Images |
The 270
miners arrested during violent strikes in South Africa have been charged with
the murder of their 34 colleagues who were shot dead by police.
The murder
charge – and associated charges for the attempted murder of 78 miners injured
at the Marikana mine near Johannesburg – was brought by the national
prosecuting authority under an obscure Roman-Dutch common law previously used
by the apartheid government.
The move
came as the men appeared in court charged with public violence over the clashes
at the Lonmin platinum mine on 16 August when striking miners armed with clubs,
machetes and at least one gun allegedly charged police, who opened fire. It
suggests President Jacob Zuma's government is trying to shift the blame for the
killings to the striking miners.
The
prosecuting authority said all 270 miners had been charged. Less than one in 10
Lonmin miners turned up for work at the mine on Tuesday, the lowest level since
workers returned to work following the clashes. Violence has since spread to
Lonmin's other operations.
The firm
said 8% of its 28,000 workers showed up as union protests continued.
Lonmin had
initially threatened to sack striking workers.
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