“A peaceful march for the Truth and Justice”
This briefing deals with three announcements, namely:
• The march to the Union Buildings on 12 September 2013;
• The formation of the Marikana Dignity Trust as a fundraising instrument and its bank account; and
• The court application for funding scheduled for 25 and 26 September 2013
On 19 August 2013, the survivors of the Marikana Massacre instructed their legal representatives to pursue the main application for funding in the Pretoria High Court and to take necessary legal steps to secure permission for a legal march to the Union Buildings in order to appeal directly to the President for legal assistance in their quest to uncover the truth of what happened in August 2012. Since then, the legal team has secured the dates of 25 and 26 September 2013 for the expedited hearing of the main funding application. The proposed march to the Union Buildings will take place on 12 September 2013 and will be attended by the victims and their families. The Marikana Support Campaign calls on all South Africans to lend their support to the victims by either participating in the march or any other form of support and prayers. The victims have requested Bishop Jo Seoka to be the overall convener of the march and the call for public support. Bishop Seoka, who has been associated with the cause of the victims for more than a year now, is the President of the South African Council of Churches and the presiding Anglican Bishop of Pretoria.
Bishop Seoka Said: “I was so touched at the commemoration service when the workers passed around buckets to make a collection towards the funding of their legal team. This indicated their thirst for justice and fairness. The bucket collection came to a staggering R17,201.50 (plus one American dollar and one Lesotho maloti!). Although this is obviously not enough, it symbolises the desperation of the workers and the community of Marikana for the truth. The proposed march is a non-partisan effort to say to our government that it must not turn its back on the poorest of the poor. Nor can the democratic government act in a manner that entrenches inequality. The only difference between these victims and the parties remaining at the Commission is their poverty and economic status.”
Minister Jeff Radebe revealed last week that the government has put aside an amount of R115 million for the Marikana Commission but it is not prepared to spend even one cent for the victims who are poor citizens. Meanwhile, and in a bid to assist the fundraising cries of the victims, a newly established organisation called Citizens for Marikana has also initiated a campaign targeted at like-minded citizens and taxpayers who are of the view that the government’s stance in refusing funding is unjustifiable, both from a legal and moral point of view. Citizens for Marikana has joined hands with the victims and with the Marikana Support Campaign to leave no stone unturned in ensuring the speedy return of the victims and their
representatives to the Marikana Commission. This can be achieved either by the government coming to its senses and settling the legal dispute out of court, by the court process itself or by the citizens dipping into their pockets in solidarity with the victims’ search for the truth. In pursuit of the above, a trust named the Marikana Dignity Trust was registered yesterday. Its short-term aims are to raise funds to assist the victims to uncover
the truth and to have their say at the Commission. This campaign will be driven both locally and internationally.
The long-term objectives of the Marikana Dignity Trust go beyond the Commission into the restoration of the dignity of the victims, their families and their communities, including the general welfare and education of the surviving wives and children. The account number to which donations by individuals and organisations can be made will be announced in the weekend media and at the march next week. This fundraising campaign is a stop-gap measure which is not intended to absolve the government of its responsibility to assist the poor and vulnerable victims in the Marikana Commission. We say as a collective: “There can be no reconciliation without the truth. There can be no truth without justice.”
Issued by : The Marikana Support Campaign and Citizens for Marikana
Contact: Kay Sexwale or Tracey Nixon
(Mobile: 072 950 0082)
email: citizens4marikana@gmail.com
