BOSA called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare 16 August a national holiday to commemorate the mineworkers who were killed by the police on this day in 2012.
“Today, 13 years ago, 34 mineworkers were killed and 78 were injured, many of them critically, because they dared to stand up and speak out against their living conditions and their low wages. These men were shot down, some at point-blank range, by a government and its police force whose response to protest is brutality,” reads a statement from BOSA spokesperson Roger Solomons, issued on Saturday.
“There is no closure, and there is incomplete justice for the families who are now fatherless. This is a blemish on our nation, and we ought to right these wrongs.
“That is why we call on President Cyril Ramaphosa to declare 16 August Marikana Memorial Day - to be commemorated each year in honour of the breadwinners who were killed 13 years ago.
“The President is empowered, through proclamation, to declare any day to be observed and commemorated. We implore him to do the right thing and declare today a commemorative day.”