News / National
Ramaphosa celebrates Marikana 'tragedy'
16 Aug 2019 at 16:05hrs | Views
President Cyril Ramaphosa's Marikana massacre commemoration tweet has been met with a number of negative responses, with most replies saying it was ironic that Ramaphosa would send out such a tweet.
Friday marked seven years since 34 mineworkers were shot dead by police during a protest at the then Lonmin Platinum's Marikana operations on August 16, 2012. An additional ten people, including security guards and police officers, were killed in the run-up to the mass shootings.
"The Marikana tragedy stands out as the darkest moment in the life of our young democracy. Today we remember our 44 compatriots who lost their lives in Marikana seven years ago this week. Never again can we allow such a tragedy to befall our nations," the president tweeted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Marikana tragedy stands out as the darkest moment in the life of our young democracy. Today we remember our 44 compatriots who lost their lives in Marikana seven years ago this week. Never again can we allow such a tragedy to befall our nation.</p>— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) <a href="https://twitter.com/CyrilRamaphosa/status/1162260710832799745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
However, Ramaphosa's tweet did not get the desired result, with people pointing out that he had been embroiled in the saga and a subsequent probe for sending an email calling for "concomitant action" against the protesting mineworkers at the time.
Here's a round-up of some of the responses:
"You called for CONCOMITANT ACTION, that's what we remember," tweeted @SicelMngomezulu.
Friday marked seven years since 34 mineworkers were shot dead by police during a protest at the then Lonmin Platinum's Marikana operations on August 16, 2012. An additional ten people, including security guards and police officers, were killed in the run-up to the mass shootings.
"The Marikana tragedy stands out as the darkest moment in the life of our young democracy. Today we remember our 44 compatriots who lost their lives in Marikana seven years ago this week. Never again can we allow such a tragedy to befall our nations," the president tweeted.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Marikana tragedy stands out as the darkest moment in the life of our young democracy. Today we remember our 44 compatriots who lost their lives in Marikana seven years ago this week. Never again can we allow such a tragedy to befall our nation.</p>— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) <a href="https://twitter.com/CyrilRamaphosa/status/1162260710832799745?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 16, 2019</a></blockquote>
However, Ramaphosa's tweet did not get the desired result, with people pointing out that he had been embroiled in the saga and a subsequent probe for sending an email calling for "concomitant action" against the protesting mineworkers at the time.
"You called for CONCOMITANT ACTION, that's what we remember," tweeted @SicelMngomezulu.
I'm livid, why are you even saying anything about this MASSACRE which you instigated because of your greed and insatiable desire to please your White Masters, which you continue to do.
— Sicelo Mngomezulu (@SicelMngomezulu) August 16, 2019
You called for CONCOMITANT ACTION, that's what we remember.
Stop ryt there wena.. pic.twitter.com/nESMlHyFGM
— KATLEGO M💨 (@Matt___007) August 16, 2019
How dare you make such a statement when you're the one who made the call?!!! You have blood on your hands and some of us will NEVER FORGET. Wow the nerve!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/IrI39dbLPL
— Zanele Kabane (@zeekabane) August 16, 2019
But you keep ignoring your role in this tragedy
— Zwelikhona Madlala (@ZweliMadlala) August 16, 2019
Source - news24
