F*ck the police - Jared Sacks
Jared Sacks provides a critique of the police from South Africa where the ANC is increasingly responding to mass protest with murder at the hands of the police.
According to the Independent Complaints Investigative Directorate (IPID), in the 2011/2012 financial year 720 deaths involving the police and 1 722 cases of police brutality were recorded. In the 2012/2013 financial year, 6 728 cases were reported to the IPID, a 218% increase on the previous year.
Abahlali: We were promised homes for all, not just for ANC party members
Submitted by Steven. on Dec 10 2013 10:54
South African shack dwellers' direct action movement Abahlali baseMjondolo on the death and legacy of Nelson Mandela.
“If the ANC does to you what the Apartheid government did to you, then you must do to the ANC what you did to the Apartheid government.”
- Nelson Mandela, Cosatu1 Conference, 1993
- 1. Main South African trade union federation
Why we should not vote
This looks at why the working class should not vote in the upcoming elections in South Africa.
In the run up to the 2014 elections in South Africa, politicians from across the spectrum – whether from the Democratic Alliance (DA), the African National Congress (ANC), the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), or Pan-African Congress (PAC) – have been calling on us to vote.
Nelson Mandela: some thoughts
Submitted by working class s... on Dec 6 2013 12:02
Some brief reflections on Nelson Mandela, his politics, and legacy.
I must admit to having a lump in my throat when I found out that Nelson Mandela had died (although not sure why) Whatever my thoughts are on him as a person, the ANC, or his legacy, the passing of such a towering international figure deserves honest reflection.
Footsoldiers in a social war: the police, crime and inequality in South Africa - Christopher McMichael
Christopher McMichael on policing, the 'war on crime' and state repression in South Africa.
With allegations ranging from torture of suspects to involvement in extrajudicial executions, endemic violence has increasingly characterised the reputation of the national South African Police Service (SAPS), and the various supporting Metropolitan departments organised at the city level.
South Africa: The state's brutality
The article looks at recent notable acts of repression by the South African state directed at protestors and strikers. Linked to this it looks at what this says about the nature of the South African state, the basis of its economy and the ruling class
In the last year and a half in South Africa, approximately 40 people involved in protests and strikes have been killed at the hands of the police, including at Marikana. Many more people were beaten, tear gassed, shot with rubber bullets, arrested and some even tortured.
The influence of the IWW in South Africa - Lucien van der Walt
Submitted by wojtek on Oct 11 2013 21:00
An article by Lucien van der Walt on the IWW's impact on South African political affairs and those of neighbouring countries in the early twentieth century.
Another Abahlali baseMjondolo activist murdered in Durban, this time by the police
Submitted by red jack on Oct 1 2013 08:39
Nqobile Nzuza, 17 years, old was shot dead by the police yesterday morning on a road blockade. She was shot in the back, twice. This is the statement from Abahlali baseMjondolo.
Nqobile Nzuza a 17 year old girl, a grade 9 learner at Bonella High School and an Abahlali baseMjondolo supporter was gunned down at around 5:00 a.m. on 30 September. Nqobile was shot twice from behind with live ammunition. Luleka Makhwenkwana was also shot in her arm with live ammunition and she is in King Edward Hospital. Thulisile Zide fainted and went unconscious, she is also in hospital.
Abahlali baseMjondolo organise march of thousands in Durban in protest at repression
Submitted by red jack on Sep 17 2013 09:05
This article is from the mainstream press in South Africa. But it gives a good enough account of the large protest (thousands of people) that Abahlali baseMjondolo were able to organise in Durban yesterday despite two assassinations, death threats and relentless (illegal) evictions of their members at the Marikana Land Occupation in Cato Crest, Durban.
Shack dwellers take the fight to eThekwini – and the ANC takes note
Uproar about legal costs for Marikana workers reflects a political retreat
A short article arguing that the debate around the state's refusal to carry the legal costs of Marikana mine workers reflects a retreat into the politics of reconciliation.
In a recent article Jackie Dugard defends Dali Mpofu against accusations of greed and self-promotion made by Nathan Geffen and Jack Lewis among others. Mpofu is an advocate representing mine workers injured and arrested last year during the strikes associated with the Marikana massacre.
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