Pretoria — Put down your weapons and stop committing violence, or face the full might of the law, Justice Minister Jeff Radebe warned striking miners on Friday.
In an announcement made in Pretoria, following a meeting of security cluster ministers and other Cabinet members, he said government would no longer tolerate the violence, threats and intimidation taking place in the mining sector.
"The South African government has noted and is deeply concerned with the amount of violence, threats and intimidation that is taking place in our country, particularly in the mining industry.
"These acts... clearly undermine our government's efforts of ensuring economic and security stability," Radebe said.
Government recognised that if the current situation continued unabated, "it will make it even harder to overcome our challenges of low economic growth and high unemployment".
"Our government will not tolerate these acts any further."
He announced measures to be put in place to ensure the situation was brought under control.
These included that "illegal gatherings, the carrying of dangerous weapons, and incitement, as well as threats of violence against anyone in the affected areas, will be dealt with accordingly".
Radebe said law enforcement agencies "will not hesitate to arrest those who have been found to have contravened the law".
Government was making a "clarion call" on all South Africans to desist from such illegal acts.
Asked if he was declaring a state of emergency, Radebe responded: "No, but we want stability; we want to bring about normality in the mining sector in South Africa. We can no longer tolerate acts of intimidation, illegal gatherings, and the carrying of dangerous weapons."
Those who wanted to go to work had to be allowed to do so without any intimidation.
Speaking at the briefing, State Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele said the "key" issue was the deaths caused by dangerous weapons.
"What is key is... these dangerous weapons kill our citizens. They are not just decorative things, or traditional things, but they actually have killed our people.
"Carrying dangerous weapons and firearms [and] participating in illegal gatherings is not going to be tolerated by law enforcement officers," he said.
Asked if the police would use live ammunition to enforce the law, Radebe responded: "The question of live ammunition -- that's an operational matter, so we will not answer that."
He said the measures announced applied to affected mining areas only, and not the rest of the country.
Asked if the announcement was a warning to expelled ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema -- who has called on miners to stage a mass national strike -- Radebe said the measures were not aimed at specific individuals.
"This statement... is not directed at any specific individual or individuals."
It sought to ensure stability in the country.
He then added: "But all those who break the law, regardless of who they are, they will be dealt with the full might of the law. That's the message we want to present today."
Cwele told journalists: "No more incitement of violence will be tolerated."
Asked if the army would be deployed to help police, Radebe, after noting that it was the police who were responsible for security in South Africa, said: "That will be an operational matter. Who they want to be reinforced with."
The decision would be taken by the national commissioner.
He said law enforcement agencies "will not hesitate to arrest those who have been found to have contravened the law".
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It is obvious that the government is submiting to threats from the big multinationals ""The people do not want to work under the present conditio9ns they have lost 44 of thier peers tot his strike and the police supporting the corporations and the government is now also siding with the big companies?? The people want to buy a house they want to send their chidlren to good schools pay taxes so they can have good education not education that does not promote equality; they wantb to take holidays like everty one else. Every other miner onthis planet is a middle income wage4 earner, that is right they have nice houses they have cars they have money in the bank and they go on holidays and thier children go to university why not the same in South Africa/// I will tell you why, you are black workers these are white companies and they do not want tom pay you what you are worth. . Ask any one of those who have internetb to look at the wage differnces for miners in other parts of the world and ask yourselves what is the differnce between you and them when the same people own most of the same type mines.Isnot it due time for Deboersor whatever the great giant of mining in Africas name is; it is time to comrelinquish some of those trillions of dollars they took out of Africa???Give to the people especially of S.Africa whom they have bled for centuries give them a chance to live and give thier children a chance. What we see in the world is the west udner the delusion that Africans are alright to live with one dollar a day ; that is complet rubbish foolishness folly its inconveiveable> Africa must grow and that happnes when the people are growing economicaly. The S.African government has taken sonme very odd steps thsi year by allowing WALMARTinto SA when they will clearly take away the advantage of black onwed busineses and wont bend to the will of more even distribution of the land. This in itself will undermine black owneship of fgarm lands; has the SAfrican government forgotten thier agenda of land redistribution?Education system is rotten in Safrica you are not doing enough in Africa to promote black ownership ofr land and businesess. I will contiue to say that there is no way you should have allowed fro Zimbabwe to fail agriculturaly nor Malawiand instead of getting your act together you threaten the miners of imprisonment because they want higher wages to live alife that is reality . Get themselves out of those shacks they live in wanting to have houses and not just empower the wealthy getting them mre rich. someonehas to bend the wealthy must be subdued they must share the wealth and stop taking Africa and Africans as thier sacred cash cow!!!!" They still think they are living in the days of slavery where they are the wealthy plantation owners ad they have blacks mining and farming fr them hwere they get peanuts to live off!!! I would ve expected a more revolutionary attitude fropm the government The government needs to look at Africa and see that what you see in the north and west is what is transpiring over the planet. The earth is up in arms against the hegmony of the American and thier greed and thier disrespect for others lives and lands. What we see in the opinion of over one billion people inclusive of the African continent so shoudl we look at Africa independent Africa one that is not sucking up to western world hegemony we would count close to two billion peoplethese are alot of people. we see the entire muslim world up in arms. Does this look like de'javu; when we saw Cote d'Ivoire standing up for thjier righst against oppression from France that lit up the African continent that the west wants to take credit for espousing thier silly babbl about Arab Spring !!! Today we see live s.Africans taking ot the street rejecting opressive slaries that only represent the staus quo and thier ideals, they do not represent a modsern Africa who has wealth and should be able to empower the majourity fo its people. The days of bowing and scraping ones knees is truly over, the people know what thier contient is valued and they want to see the wages to go with it; they do notr want to enrich the overseer and the land grabbers!!! They are within thierr righsts, its all in the spirit of the revolution!!!! S.Africans must stop must look at the entire continent as erflecting the same views there is no differnce between a S African or a Egyptian or Nigerian we are styruggling to better the land better the peopleon the lands the topics are the same and the politics are the same do not make the same mistake you did last time by not reading the signs carefully"!!!The people of Africa is your perogative not security, when you talk you are not speaking like an African you are isolating making yourself different than those who are your blood your family;; think!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!This tyoday is about empowerment of the African people and the poor"