At least 30 people were killed Thursday when South African police opened fire against thousands of striking miners at Lonmin's Marikana platinum mine, NBC News reported. The miners, armed with machetes and sticks, walked off the job last Friday, demanding higher wages. The strike has reflected a deep frustration with the slow pace of South Africa’s post-apartheid transformation, and the growing perception that the ruling party and its allies have become too close to big businesses. According to The New York Times, miners have occupied an outcropping of rock near the mine for the last three days, chanting and dancing, pledging their readiness to die if their demands were not met. Although South African President Jacob Zuma condemned the violence, he refrained from criticizing the police outright. In a statement, Zuma said there was "enough space in our democratic order for any dispute to be resolved through dialogue without any breaches of the law or violence.”
