Marikana cops had other options

POLICE yesterday denied not having a contingency plan to deal with labour unrest at Lonmin’s platinum mine in Marikana, North West, last year.

Maj-Gen Charl Annandale told the Farlam Commission of Inquiry measures had been built into the main plan. “We didn’t have plan A, B and C… Threats we had foreseen were built into this (main) plan.”

The contingency plans were put into effect with police using barbed wire to set up a barrier between themselves and striking mineworkers.

The commission, chaired by retired Judge Ian Farlam, is investigating the deaths of 44 people killed during the wagerelated unrest in Marikana.

Annandale headed the police’s special tactical operations team during the unrest.

The commission also reviewed a report by public order policing analyst Gary White that said police should not have immediately stopped negotiations with the protesters. They should have surrounded them and continued with talks to try to find a peaceful resolution.

Annandale rejected White’s report and said police had already tried to negotiate with the miners. “Surrounding them would have meant putting vehicles 360° around the koppie and creating an obstruction,” Annandale said. “It wouldn’t have been sound.”

White’s report said only 33 rounds of rubber bullets were fired at protesters and 268 rounds of live ammunition. He claimed police were not facing extreme danger and at the very most, 14 rounds of live ammunition had been fired at them from the protesters.

White’s report also noted not all the officers were firing shots. “One officer can be seen waving his hands and saying cease fire (in the footage),” said White. This showed he did not feel threatened, he said. – Sapa