Solidarity Message to the Striking Lonmin Miners of South Africa

The Revolutionary Organization of Labor, USA, stands in solidarity with the striking Black miners of the Lonmin platinum mine in South Africa and other South African miners who have joined together in struggle for decent wages and working conditions. We condemn the brutal police massacre on August 16 at Marikana that resulted in the deaths of 34 miners and the wounding of dozens more.

The brutal attack by the South African government that demagogically rules in the name of the Black masses and the Black working class actually serves the interests of wealthy British imperialists instead. The African miners have created vast wealth for Lonmin PLC, the British imperialist mining company that owns the platinum mine, while mining families and Black communities continue to live in poverty – 18 years after the end of the South African apartheid regime!

We applaud the courageous determination and militant actions of the miners that have stood up to the brutal government attack and the corporate threat to fire all the strikers. We take great inspiration from the fact that, in solidarity with the 3,000 miners initially on strike, more that 70% of the 28,000 Lonmin miners refused a direct order to return to work.

Clearly, there is a need for revolutionary working class vanguard organization to lead the fight for working class power and the elimination of all human exploitation in South Africa. We believe this is the Leninist two-stage revolutionary path – the democratic revolution leading to socialism. We wish you the best in the continuation of your struggle. Your fight is our fight!

In revolutionary solidarity,

Ray Light

General Secretary

Revolutionary Organization of Labor, USA

9/5/12

Revolutionary Organization of Labor, USA

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