Hon Speaker, hon Deputy President Motlanthe, hon members, guests in the gallery, the bereaved families and a nation in mourning, we watched in disbelief pictures of what happened in Marikana. The television pictures resemble a horror movie that should not be watched by people younger than 18 years or by sensitive viewers.
To say that we were shocked by what happened at Marikana would be the understatement of the decade. In our media release we characterised it as the mowing down of people by the police and we stand by what we said.
We have noted the intention by President Zuma to establish a judicial commission of inquiry and we hope that it will help the nation to know and understand what really happened. We hope the judicial commission will dig deep and help us understand the real causes of the tragedy.
The nation may want to understand relations that exist between the management of Lonmin and the different unions that exist and operate at Lonmin, including allegations that unions are treated differently and the perception that there are those that are favoured and those that are marginalised and victimised. I was part of the delegation of leaders of political parties that visited Marikana yesterday, and some of the allegations that were made by workers in this regard are shocking.
Hon Speaker, I must say that I take exception to insinuations that we had gone there to pose for pictures.
South Africa may also want to know why the police carried and used live ammunition on the day. Azapo is not insensitive to the dangers that the police face on a daily basis. They work under difficult conditions, and some of them work every day literally "in the valley of the shadow of death" in their work.
We acknowledge their right to protect themselves when they are under attack, and we understand the concept of proportionate force in dealing with different situations. Our initial reaction is that the force used was disproportionate to the danger that was faced on the day. What we saw reminded us of Sharpeville and 16 June 1976. If the police had used rubber bullets, for example, we would have had miners with sore buttocks, legs and thighs, instead of having 34 dead bodies.
I know that some may take exception to and offence at the comparison between Sharpeville and Marikana. We visited some of the injured workers in hospital, and the majority of those that we saw were clearly shot at from the back. So, it is reasonable to believe that they were shot while running away.
We want to know whether it is the duty of the police to drive workers to work. The information that we have is that the workers were congregating at a koppie, which is some distance from the plant. What would have happened if the police had kept their distance just to ensure that they did not cause any harm? We met with the management of Lonmin yesterday, and nowhere did they make allegations that the workers posed a danger to anybody.
We have made a call to the workers to come forward and repeat some of the allegations they made, including the allegations that some of the workers were shot while laying down with their hands up, pleading for mercy. [Interjections.] They also made startling allegations that some injured workers were fetched from the hospital, and they were later found dead in the bushes. We have also noted that the President has established a task team to deal with the humanitarian situation in Marikana. We want to understand why the hon Minister Shabangu held meetings with other stakeholders, but excluded the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, Amcu. Information from management is that Amcu is a recognised union with organisational rights although they do not meet the threshold to participate in collective bargaining. Azapo's view is that the Minister should have included them in her meeting, unless she had gone there for collective bargaining.
We have also pleaded with the management of Lonmin to extend a hand towards those leaders whose authority and influence are respected by the striking workers. We have cautioned against dogmatic and orthodox stances in dealing with this sensitive matter.
We are encouraged by the involvement of the churches there and we hope they will help in alleviating the problem. Azapo passes a motion of condolence to the families and communities that lost their loved ones. We believe that the killing of the 10 people was barbaric, and so was the killing of the 34 people. And we also say, God bless Africa, God bless South Africa, bless her children and give her peace. We also wish the injured people a speedy recovery. I thank you.