South Africa Massacre By Government
Forces; What Is Change And Progress Anyway?
Written by Paul I. Adujie Esq.
It is reasonable to assert that so
much have changed in South Africa and progress has been made there since the
attainment of majority rule with the end of Apartheid minority rule.
But a South Africa in which
protesting workers are mauled and mowed down by South Africa forces as if
swathing mosquitoes or pests, is no one's idea of change and progress in both
political and economic terms.
The horrors and murderous brutality
meted upon protesting workers in the Lonmin-Marikana Mines massacre, is reminiscent
of the heinous apartheid days in South Africa. No one thought it possible, to
ever again see such senseless extra judicial murders by agents of South African
government in post-apartheid South Africa!
Rivalry between unions, unruly and
rancorous protesters is no excuse. Nothing could justify the wanton massacre of
34 South African citizens by government forces. It reeks of vengeance and
vendetta stemming from the death of two police officers since the onset of the
protests. It does look like revenge and payback by police for the strikers!
South African government forces, in
full public glare, killed 34 and injured 78 citizens for exercising their
constitutional and legitimate right to assemble and protest, this is clearly
unacceptable! What were these government forces thinking or why were they not
doing any thinking?
It is the case that bad things happen
everywhere, but given the vivid horrors of apartheid era egregious behavior of
South African government agents, and equally bearing in mind the very public
attempt at cleansing South Africa's collective national memory.
And what was considered to be South
Africa's bold attempt at national reconciliation and healing through the Truth
and Reconciliation Commission etc, it is gulling, to see or be witness to the
global shame and embarrassment of shooting.
South Africans fought gallantly to
decimate and eliminate the injustices and oppression of apartheid. South
African workers were at the forefronts of these struggles for freedoms and
struggles to end segregation based on race.
South African miners were indeed the
arrowhead and recipient of the most egregious labor practices by apartheid era
government and corporate entities.
The senseless killing of protesting
workers, who were in fact running away and their backs turned, in flight from
armed policemen, gave the impression that so much have changed in South Africa
for South Africa, and sadly, so much have remained the same.
It is quite unfathomable that a post
1994 South African security forces would aim live bullets at protesting workers
and shoot them!
These shootings and with the impunity
in which they were carried out, begs the question, what indeed has really
changed? What is the value of majority rule and what is the meaning of
democracy for South African and indeed all Africans?
It does looks as if, the business of
government in South Africa and all over Africa, is the protection of corporate
wrongdoers. Governments in African nations seem quite dedicated to humiliating,
killing and taking every actions unedifying of African citizens, so long as corporate
profits for conglomerates are protected.
What exactly is the value of majority
rule, democracy and a new South Africa in which South African citizens are
murdered most heinously by agents of own government? This is human depravity
beyond descriptions.
What is the benefit of democracy or
prosperity in Nigeria, when oil majors are permitted to engage in environmental
pollution and degradation, and every protest by well meaning Nigerian citizens
is meant with violent overreaction on the part of Nigerian government in order
to protect the oil majors and their obscene profits without corporate social
responsibility.
What does it profit South African
citizens, Nigerian citizens and indeed all African citizens, to be shot
indiscriminately, despite all pretensions to political independence, majority
rule and democracy on the African continent?
It would seem there is no change, no
progress and there is no difference in attitudes and practices from colonial
and apartheid days on the African continent, as the devaluation of the humanity
of Africans has continued despite the change of guards
It is almost irrelevant who is
in-charge politically in South Africa and much of the African continent, the
color of political leadership may have change, but the change is perfunctory
and nearly meaningless.
The brutality of government agents
remains and impunity may have, or seem to have worsened in some in certain
instances.
The late Justice Thurgood Marshall it
was, quoted as saying that a venomous snake is a snake regardless of its color!
In whose service therefore, are African political leadership, in the service of
the people, African citizens or in the service of multinationals in obeisance
of "mother countries".
If it is argued that there is change and progress, might we ask, change
and progress and for whose benefit?
The shift of leadership to the hands
of some Black faces from their colonial and apartheid predecessors or
progenitors, is merely cosmetic perfuming of pigs or brutality. Extreme and abject
poverty, sufferings, hardships remain the lot of most Africans.
How can anyone argue otherwise? The
unmitigated violence by government agents in defense of oil companies and
conglomerates which plunders and pollute the environment in Nigeria is the same
as the maiming and killings in defense of South African mining conglomerates.
These violence and killings for
profits are not different from apartheid era killings and maltreatment of
workers or the indiscriminate killings of political opposition such as the Mau
Mau in Kenya by the British colonial government?
But of course, there are no Africans,
and in fact there are no reasonable persons anywhere, with preference for
apartheid, colonialism or occupation, even so, it is relevant to ask whether
anything has really changed , with real benefits for Africans in political and
real economic terms?
The end of apartheid is supposed to
have ushered in political and economic emancipation, including legal, social,
economic and land reforms, but the wait continues!
The multinationals still do what they
want, almost without regard to laws and rules; the government still kills and
maims innocent citizens to protect corporate profits!
Majority rule, political independence
and democracy have not changed much of anything for African citizens in real
terms. South Africans are still and much of African peoples are still palpably
poor, despite diamonds, gold, petroleum and much more, which are mined from
Africa; Cry My Beloved Continent!
So much has changed, so much have
remained the same, what price change, progress and democracy in Africa?
There are a few months remaining in
2012 and economic and social justice still elude the majority of African
citizens and peoples. It is quite sad. It is lamentably sad.
